Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3-22-19 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

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March 22, 2019 | 15 Adar II 5779

Candlelighting 7:16 p.m. | Havdalah 8:16 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 12 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Bringing Wiesenthal back to life

Saliva sample confirms belief in Jewish heritage

Play about famous Nazi hunter comes to Pittsburgh. Page 2

“What do you mean? I’m 50 percent,” she said. Prokopiv phoned her brother, Sergey Khatsevich. The Ukrainian man offered a similar suggestion that maybe their mother’s mother was Jewish. No go. She phoned her sister once more and probed for any explanation as to how a Christian girl raised in a Christian family in western Ukraine could suddenly be Jewish. Defying a vow issued decades ago, Khatsevich shared a memory that started Prokopiv along a narrative web knotting countries and entangling characters from the United States, Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Israel. “We need to seriously speak,” said Khatsevich. “It’s time to tell you everything.” Prokopiv was born on Aug. 16, 1970. Twelve years earlier, Ida and Mykhail Khatsevich welcomed their first child, a

o stranger to the rejuvenating effect of knowing that people halfway across the world are with you in your time of need, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, itself less than five months removed from the Oct. 27 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill, was among the first to reach out to Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, reeling in the aftermath of attacks on two mosques March 15 that left 50 worshippers dead. Linking the two, according to news reports, was a white supremacist hate that makes little if any distinctions between hated groups. “Unfortunately we are all too familiar with the devastating effect a mass shooting has on a faith community,” Meryl Ainsman, chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said in a statement. “We are filled with grief over this senseless act of hate. May those who were injured heal quickly and fully, and may the memories of the victims forever be a blessing.” As news of the attacks on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre spread late last week, the Federation began accepting donations to help the Muslim community of Chirstchurch. “We were definitely motivated in part by the fact that the Muslim community of Pittsburgh was enormously supportive after the Oct. 27 shooting,” said Adam Hertzman, Federation’s director of marketing. By Tuesday, the Federation had received more than $230,000. That sum, as well as the fact that more than 3,200 donors have contributed, was staggering, said Hertzman. “We have a regular role in the Jewish

Please see Russian, page 16

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Israeli takes up media cause

Her vision is for outlets and news consumers to partner.

TRAVEL

 Olena Prokopiv, left, Maria Sierova and Igor Kurnikov By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Witness Europe at crossroads

Its Jewish history long and painful, Berlin remains complicated. Page 12

After Christchurch, Jewish community mirrors support By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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saliva sample confirmed Olena Prokopiv’s decades-old belief. After Prokopiv peered down at her computer screen, the lingering sense of difference forever dogging her disappeared as quickly as one can click an email. Staring the Greenfield resident and Ukrainian immigrant in the face was a message with the results of a DNA test she submitted a month before. According to the findings, Prokopiv was 50 percent Jewish. Stunned, relieved and uncertain what to make of a conclusion wholly inconsistent with her upbringing, Prokopiv grabbed a phone and dialed her sister, Lesya Khatsevich. “I asked her, ‘Do you remember anything?’” Prokopiv said in a recent interview. Khatsevich, who lives in Kalush, Ukraine, posited that maybe their grandmother was Jewish. Prokopiv scoffed at the idea.

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WORLD Brexit has Jews eyeing passports

WORLD Jews join Christchurch mourners

NATIONAL Youth take aim at Chelsea Clinton

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Headlines Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal brought to life in one-man show — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

hen Tom Dugan was 8, he felt a piece of shrapnel lodged in the hip of his father, a decorated veteran of World War II, and commented that his father must “hate the Germans.” At the time, the young Dugan did not understand his father’s reply. “He said, ‘No, I don’t judge people by what group they belong to; I judge them by how they behave,’” recounted the actor and creator of the one-man show, “Wiesenthal: Nazi Hunter,” which will run at the August Wilson Cultural Center from March 26 to 28. It wasn’t until years later, when Dugan was reading the obituary of Simon Wiesenthal — a Holocaust survivor who brought more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice — that he finally grasped the significance of his father’s words. “My dad received the Bronze Battle Star, and Purple Hearts, and he liberated a camp called Langenstein, and I always wanted to honor his legacy of being a part of the Greatest Generation, but I couldn’t find a way,” said Dugan, speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles. “Then I was reading Wiesenthal’s obituary and they spoke of his belief in the rejection of collective guilt, and that’s when the light went on in my head, and I went, ‘Oh, maybe this is something I should pursue.’ And it’s turned out to be the right thing to do.” Dugan spent a year researching the life of Wiesenthal and another year writing his 90-minute play. The show, which Dugan insists is “uplifting,” has been playing to sellout crowds since 2014. It played an extended off-Broadway run, and has been nominated for two off-Broadway awards,

p “Wiesenthal: Nazi Hunter” plays at the August Wilson Cultural Center March 26-28. Photo courtesy of Tom Dugan

the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award. Dugan altered his show’s North American tour dates so that he could come to Pittsburgh earlier in its run to help the congregations affected by the Oct. 27 attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building; a portion of the proceeds from the show’s ticket sales will be donated toward the rebuilding of the synagogue. “When you have a Jewish-themed play about tolerance that has been so well received in the U.S. and across the world, it’s not hard to connect dots,” said Dugan. “In a situation like Tree of Life, people want to come and

help. With Wiesenthal, we can give concrete help in these awful circumstances.” Wiesenthal was born in 1908 in what is now Ukraine, and was shipped to various concentration camps during the war. After liberation, he devoted his life to hunting down those Nazis responsible for the murders of millions of innocent people. Dugan’s wife is Jewish, as are his two sons, and though he is Irish Catholic, he says he feels comfortable taking on the persona of Wiesenthal. “He was not prone to oversentimentality,” Dugan explained. “He wanted to get the job done. He understood what needed to

be done. He was not interested in self-aggrandizement, and he was a three-dimensional thinker who was trying to get society to do the same. “When I write a play,” Dugan continued, “I know that if I am going to be performing it, I am probably going to be performing it an awful lot. And I wanted to write something that I believed in. I wanted to write something that I would be proud of, that my children would be proud of, and so I chose this very intelligent, articulate and diligent man who was striving to make the world a better place, not just for Jews, but for everyone.” One thing that many people don’t know about Wiesenthal is that he was an amateur stand-up comedian before the war, according to Dugan. “He had a great sense of humor and he understood that talking about sad things over and over again is not going to keep your audience,” Dugan said. “So, I’ve been able to capture his sense of humor in the play, and audiences find themselves laughing as much as they cry. And people leave the theater extremely uplifted. I want the audience to know that this play is not a drag. It’s an entertainment. It’s an uplifting piece.” Dugan has written six other shows, including plays about Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, Mary Lincoln and Jackie Kennedy. And he just obtained the rights from the Sholem Aleichem family foundation to write about another Jewish man, albeit a fictional one — Tevye. Dugan will soon be working to create a one-man show about the storied milkman and his challenges following expulsion from Anatevka, and trying to make his way on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Israeli organizer promotes organization’s mission of partnering journalists and the public — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

rasping for truth within a cacophonous sea is arduous, as the Internet is flooded by fake news and cat videos. Although the wreckage of a broken fourth estate is evident, Bar Gissin, executive director of the Movement for Public Journalism, said her organization can buoy the remains. The organization’s mission is to promote Israeli journalism that is “for the public,” “of the public,” “funded by the public” and “with the public.” Such are similar aims undertaken by global entities, including The Correspondent, ProPublica and City Bureau, and reflect a public desire for more truthful storytelling, Gissin noted during a “Knowledge and Nosh” event at The Center for Women last week. Where the Israeli-based nonprofit seeks to differentiate itself is in its positioning. The organization is not a news outlet and its leader is not a journalist. Instead, the two-year-old group is a facilitator and has an organizer at its helm. That allows it to float a possible pathway forward, said Gissin. “We want to be the dash between

journalism and the public,” for the benefit of the public.” she explained. “We want Gissin would like to them to work together. … see journalists and news If we want to see a strong consumers, especially in civil society, we have to local settings, cooperate on do it together.” those processes. Gissin, 29, is familiar with “The two sides each activism and articulating have an opinion, or more change. In November 2017, than one opinion, but both as national chairperson for [sides] have something to Young Meretz, a division of contribute,” she said. Gissin pointed to results in the Meretz political party p Bar Gissin for those aged 18-35, Gissin Photo by Adam Reinherz news deserts like Beersheba, traveled to Pittsburgh and where her organization described her involvement worked with residents and with Mekomi, an Israeli organization striving journalists to highlight issues overlooked in to “build the next generation of progressive the southern Israeli city. Cooperation between the parties is Israeli officials.” At the time, Gissin said, Mekomi was encouraging, and may necessitate a new trying to “change the equation” by empow- means of dissemination everywhere, ering those at the bottom. She applied she explained. “Maybe print is not what we need,” she similar imagery last week when describing said, softening the statement by adding, “It’s the Movement for Public Journalism. “The knowledge we produce and publish not scary, it’s just different.” At points throughout her remarks, Gissen should be completed together,” she said. “I think it should be done from the bottom up.” cast parallels between Israeli and American What this means is not more Facebook media. She mentioned a coziness between users staging posts as surrogate news politicians and publishers, and highlighted sites, but rather a return to the gathering, two investigations involving Israeli Prime processing and publishing of “information Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gissin’s comments bring “an awareness to various women and bring perspectives to Jewish women,” said Christina Ruggiero, executive director of National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section, one of the co-sponsors. Dodie Roskies, co-chair of the “Knowledge and Nosh” program, agreed. “It is refreshing to see intelligent passionate people, in this case a woman, trying to solve a big problem,” she said. The afternoon program, which was known formerly as “ladies who lunch,” is one of about “four to five programs per year” where NCJW, Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Jewish Women’s Foundation are able to meet for a “one off, one of a kind” event, said Rachel Lipkin, Federation’s director of women’s philanthropy. At the program’s conclusion, local historian Barbara Burstin spoke of the urgency in welcoming such speakers. Said Burstin, “There is a real disconnect between Israeli women and American women, and bringing Israeli women here is very important.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 The Jewish Association on Aging and the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania will share an overview of Parkinson’s disease, including pathology, management and some of the more notable research that is currently being conducted from 1 to 3 p.m. at the JAA, 200 JHF Drive. The session is free and open to the community. Contact Amy Dukes, director of Memory Care Operations at 412-521-8295 or adukes@jaapgh.org or visit jaapgh.org/events for more information.

>> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q THURSDAY-FRIDAY,

MARCH 21-APRIL 12

WorkLaunch, a series of work readiness events held each spring by JFCS Career Development Center in partnership with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, provides offerings to meet the needs of the changing regional workforce. This year events will take place at the main branch of the Carnegie Library in Oakland. WorkLaunch helps job seekers in Allegheny County gain access

to workforce-related information and connect to employers and resources in the area. The series will culminate in a Career & Community Resource Fair and the opportunity to connect with more than 20 area employers and community resource organizations. Visit jfcspgh. org/?s=worklaunch&submit=Go for more information and jfcspgh.org/events to check out the scheduled programs on the calendar. q SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Shalom Pittsburgh of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will hold its Young Adult Purim Party from 9 p.m. until midnight. Visit shalompittsburgh.org/event/jfed-young-adultpurim-party for more information and to RSVP.

Party bus to Shalom Pittsburgh Purim party at Capital Cathedral. Moishe House events are for young adults ages 22-32. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information. q SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Congregation Beth Shalom’s Derekh Speaker Series will host Idra Novey, author of “Those Who Knew,” at 10 a.m. as part of a series of talks by authors from across the country made available through the Jewish Book Council. There will be a book sale and author signing at the end. Visit bethshalompgh.org/speakerseries for more information. The Tikkun Olam Center of Temple Sinai and Ceasefire PA will hold an event, Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai to introduce this new organization to the community and to present a workshop, led by Rob Conroy of Ceasefire PA, on the legislative path to ending gun violence. Visit squirrelhillstandsagainstgunviolence.org or squirrelhillstandsagainstgunviolence.org/ events-1 for more information.

q MONDAY, MARCH 25 Music at Rodef Shalom presents Violin and Dance, with Attack Theatre dancers at 8 p.m. with dance music by Bach, De Falla and Sarasate, Sonata in D Minor by Brahms, and pieces by Ernest Bloch, in addition to Amy Beach for violin and piano. Roy Sonne is the featured violinist with Yeeha Chiu playing piano. Visit rodefshalom.org for more information. q TUESDAY, MARCH 26 Game Night at Moishe House from 7 to 9 p.m. Showcase your artistic abilities with Pictionary, take over the world of Catan or claim your Scrabble championship title. As always, feel free to bring your own games to teach others. Moishe House events are for young adults ages 22-32. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. The North American Grinspoon Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education celebrate educators who teach with distinction. The award celebrates successful innovation in Jewish education. Nominations for the Grinspoon Award 2019 Outstanding Day School Jewish Educator must be submitted by March 26 for review by the selection committee. Contact Carolyn Linder at clinder@jfedpgh.org for more information or visit research.net/r/Grinspoon.

Sisterhood Movie Night at Rodef Shalom Congregation will screen the film “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” which charts Israel’s national baseball team as it competed for the first time in the World Baseball Classic in 2017. The film will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in Levy Hall and is free and open to the community. Visit rodefshalom.org for more information. JC Symphony 2019_Eartique 3/19/19 1:17 AM Page 1

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 4 q TUESDAY-THURSDAY, MARCH 26-28 Performances of the play “Wiesenthal (Nazi Hunter)” written by and starring Tom Dugan will be held at the August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Ave. Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, was responsible for bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Tree of Life. Visit trustarts.org or contact 412-4566666 for tickets and more information. q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s next Generations Speaker Series guest will be Susan Hawkins, the daughter of survivors from Hungary and Ukraine. She will tell her parents’ story of loss and survival through concentration camps, hiding and emigration. She will also discuss her own recent journey of traveling back to Hungary and Ukraine years later, and retracing some of the places where her family lived. The program begins at 7 p.m. at 826 Hazelwood Ave. Visit hcofpgh.org/generationsspeaker-series for more information. q THURSDAY, MARCH 28 The Jewish Association on Aging’s Amy Dukes, director of memory care operations, will present “Healthy Living for the Brain & Body” at 7 p.m. at the South Hills Jewish Community Center. There is no charge. Visit

southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/healthy for more information. q SATURDAY, MARCH 30 The Great Temple Sinai Bake Off will have seven of the best Temple Sinai bakers compete for the winning spot. Sample the creations and vote for “The People’s Choice” winner from 6 to 9 p.m. The $20 charge will include appetizers, dessert, two drinks and the competition. RSVP to Kate Passarelli at klpassarelli@ verizon.net by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26. Visit templesinaipgh.org/BakeOff for more information. Havdalah Music Share at Moishe House from 8 to 10 p.m. Bring your ukulele, clarinet or just your vocal cords, and get ready for a musical night of singing and community. We will have some songbooks and suggestions, but feel free to teach us your favorite song or melody. Moishe House events are for young adults ages 22-32. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. q SUNDAY, MARCH 31 Temple Sinai will hold a security update and safety training session with Brad Orsini, director of Jewish Community Security at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m. Executive Director Drew Barkley will address recent security improvements and plans, and Orsini will share information on how to react when confronted with life-threatening situations. Contact Barkley with questions at 412-421-9715, ext. 111 or Drew@TempleSinaiPGH.org.

Temple Emanuel invites previous and newly bereaved adults to its Bereavement Support Group on at 10 a.m. All are welcome to attend. Contact the Temple office with questions at 412-279-7600. q SUNDAY, MARCH 31,

THURSDAYS APRIL 4 AND 11

JFunds, the network of financial support services in the Jewish community, will be tabling outside Murray Avenue Kosher on Sunday, March 31, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays April 4 and April 11, 4 to 8 p.m. Representatives will share information and answer questions about accessing financial resources for monthly bills, large expenses, Israel travel, college tuition, and more. For information about JFunds any time, visit jfundspgh.org. q MONDAY, APRIL 1 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills hosts its monthly First Mondays program with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and featuring Carnegie Mellon University robotics and computer science professor Reid Simmons discussing “Artificial Intelligence: What is it and how is it impacting us?” Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and the lecture starts at noon. There is a $6 charge. Call 412-561-1168 to make a reservation. Michal Samuel, executive director of Fidel Association for Education and Social Integration of Ethiopian Jews in Israel, will speak at The Center for Women, 1620 Murray Ave. from noon to 1:30 p.m. Bring a

brown bag lunch; dessert and drinks will be provided. Fidel is an organization committed to helping the Ethiopian population integrate successfully into Israeli society. RSVP by Friday, March 29 to Julia Blake at jblake@ jfedpgh.org, Judy Cohen at jcohen@jwfpgh. org, or Cristina Ruggiero at cruggiero@ ncjwpgh.org. q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3 The Jewish National Fund’s Breakfast for Israel will feature Ethan Zohn, an inspirational speaker and winner of “Survivor: Africa,” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Zohn is a cancer survivor and Israel advocate. He attributes his victory on “Survivor” to his strong Jewish values. Zohn played professional soccer in Hawaii, Cape Cod and Zimbabwe, and co-founded Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit that combats HIV/AIDS in developing countries. There is no charge. RSVP by March 21 at jnf.org/wpabfi. q THURSDAY, APRIL 4 Shalom Pittsburgh will hold a Young Adult Passover Cooking Demo from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/yad-event-3 for more information and to register. q FRIDAY, APRIL 5 Grad students and young professionals (over 21) are invited to Shabbat Across America at the Chabad of Pittsburgh Social Please see Calendar, page 6

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 5 Hall, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Participants are welcome to invite Jewish friends from school, work or the community. Guests must register at jewishpittsburgh.wufoo. com/forms/shabbat-across-pittsburgh. The event is sponsored by JGrads Pittsburgh, JGrads CMU, J’Burgh and Shalom Pittsburgh. Contact info@jgradspittsburgh.com or 412952-4702 for more information. q SUNDAY, APRIL 7 Congregation Beth Shalom’s Sisterhood 2019 Torah Fund Brunch at 10 a.m. will be honoring Benita “Bunny” Morris, a lifetime board member who has served on numerous committees, and she and her family have been with the shul for generations. There is a $20 charge. Visit bethshalompgh.org/eventsupcoming for more information. Take a walk through the Haggadah with Rabbi Don and enjoy great Passover desserts and recipes with Fran Rossoff at 10:30 a.m. The Rossoffs will lead a Passover-themed discussion at Temple Emanuel. Contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 or templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org for more information and to register. Friends All Around, Friendship Circle’s celebration of 13 years of friendship, will be at The Pennsylvanian at 5:30 p.m. at 1100 Liberty Ave. During the annual fundraiser the 2019 seniors will be honored. There will be

a silent auction, raffle and strolling dinner. Visit fcpgh.org/friends-all-around/friendsall-around-ticket-information for more information and to RSVP. Celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday with a concert from 7 to 9 p.m. featuring a combined choir from Temple Sinai and Rodef Shalom congregations and guests from the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, Cantors Assembly and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Temple Sinai member and Bernstein assistant conductor Flavio Chamis will delight the audience with stories of his time working with Bernstein. The concert will be held at Temple Sinai. There is a $20 charge. Visit templesinaipgh.org/ Bernsteinat100 for more information. q TUESDAY, APRIL 9 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a prePassover lunch for seniors with a holiday program and model seder at noon. The building is wheelchair accessible. There is a $5 suggested donation. Contact 412-2782658 or barb@chabadsh.com to preregister. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will present The Numbers Keep Changing: Poems and Paintings by Judith R. Robinson at 7 p.m. at the Holocaust Center, 826 Hazelwood Ave. As a Jew born during World War II, Robinson has always been conscious of how easily her life might have been different if she had not been born in the United States. For that reason, the Holocaust became a subject of study and identity for her. Anti-Semitism and the enormity of loss it created and continues

to create led Robinson to address these themes in multiple media. Poetry and painting weave together to interpret a shared history. Robinson will read her poetry alongside corresponding paintings that will be on display at the Center through April. This event is free and open to the public. Visit hcofpgh.org/ judy-robinson for more information. q THURSDAY, APRIL 11 The dedication of Krause Commons Apartments, the new location of the Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse and Jewish Residential Services, will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at 2609/2615 Murray Ave. Contact Alison Karabin at JRS at 412-325-0039 or akarabin@jrspgh.org. Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David will lead a discussion of the book “Orphan #8.” This novel by Kim van Alkemade was inspired by true events of a woman who must choose between revenge and mercy when she encounters the doctor who subjected her to dangerous medical experiments in a New York City Jewish orphanage years before. The discussion will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Monroeville Public Library and again from 7 to 8:30 p.m., also at the library. Visit templedavid.org for more information. Rabbi Don Rossoff will discuss understanding the Haggadah before your Passover seder at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Emanuel. Contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 or templeemanuel@ templeemanuelpgh.org for more information and to register.

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q SUNDAY, APRIL 14 David Shribman will discuss his career as executive editor and vice president of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the past 16 years, and his and his wife’s new positions at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The 10 a.m. Herzog Breakfast is sponsored by Brotherhood and the Women of Rodef Shalom and is open to the community. There is no charge. Visit rodefshalom.org for more information. Charles O. Kaufman, B’nai B’rith International president, will speak about the organization and vital issues in the world today as it celebrates its 175th anniversary of service to the world. Neighboring lodges and units from Pittsburgh to Cleveland are invited to this event at 10 a.m. followed by a brunch hosted by the Aaron Grossman Lodge # 339 JCC of Youngstown, 505 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown, Ohio 44504. Seating is limited. To RSVP, call Alan Samuels at 724-658-8223 and leave your name and the number of guests who will attend or contact bootman55@aol.com. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will present Chana Brody for the Generations Speaker Series at 10 a.m. at Adat Shalom, 368 Guys Run Road in Cheswick. Born in the Czech Republic, Chana and her parents, Ann and William Jakubovic, immigrated to the United States in 1969. Brody feels that there is no better way to honor her parents’ memory than to tell their story. This event is free and will include a light breakfast, but registration is required; no walk-ins will be allowed. Visit hcofpgh.org/generations-speaker-series/ for more information and to register. PJC

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7 LOCAL

Headlines Brexit is pushing Jews to seek passports from countries that persecuted their ancestors — WORLD — By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

ortugal used to be little more than a sunny holiday destination to Adam Perry, a 46-year-old Londoner who works in procurement. But following the United Kingdom’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, Perry, who is a Sephardic Jew, applied for citizenship in the Iberian nation. Since 2015, legislation there and in Spain allows for the naturalization of descendants of refugees persecuted 500 years ago. Amid growing uncertainty over Brexit, whose deadline is March 29 (for now), applying to become a Portuguese citizen “was a pragmatic decision,” said Perry, whose 5-year-old daughter may also be naturalized once his application is approved. But, he added, it was “also a form of protest action against Brexit, with which I deeply disagree.” Perry is just one of thousands of British Jews and non-Jews who have been prompted by Brexit to apply for citizenship in other European Union member states — most notably countries from which their ancestors had fled to escape persecution. Portugal, for example, last year saw a 25-percent increase in naturalization by British citizens, though only a few dozen of the 3,832 Brits who became Portuguese last year were Sephardic Jews. The other are mostly non-Jews who have been living in Portugal as residents long enough to get citizenship. Many more British Jews are becoming citizens of Germany, where their grandparents barely managed to escape alive. Hundreds of them have asked for assistance from Britain’s Association of Jewish Refugees — a group founded in 1941 by Jews who fled the Holocaust to Britain, according to its chief executive, Michael Newman. “We are well aware of the irony of the situation,” he said. “It’s one of the many unexpected results of this chaotic thing called Brexit.” Since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, the German embassy in London has received more than 3,380 applications for restoring German citizenship under article 116 of the German constitution for descendants of people persecuted by Adolf Hitler’s party. In previous years, only about 50 such requests were made annually. To some applicants, becoming German is a purely pragmatic decision. Gaby Franklin, an author and interior designer, described getting a German passport as “an insurance policy” in an interview published earlier this month with Politico. Beyond ownership issues of family assets in France, she said, “We don’t know what the travel arrangements will look like.” EU countries waive visa and passport regulations for their citizens within the bloc and with some foreign countries. The status of British citizens in the

p The Association of Jewish Refugees’ Michael Newman, right, and British politician John Attlee in London last year

Photo courtesy of AJR

European Union is unclear also because the British parliament has twice rejected the terms of a deal worked out between Prime Minister Theresa May and Brussels. May is expected to ask for a delay to avoid Britain crashing out of the union without a deal — a scenario whose practical consequences are as yet unclear. But getting a German passport specifically can get tricky for some prospective applicants for German citizenship. One prospective applicant, journalist Adrian Goldberg, wrote about his conflicted feelings in an op-ed for the BBC in December, titled “Sorry, Dad — I’m thinking of getting a German passport.” For most of his life, the idea that he might seek German citizenship “would have been utterly laughable,” Goldberg wrote. “I’m British through and through,” he added, and “I can’t deny that a rare England football victory against Germany always brings a special satisfaction.” Brexit, though, “has changed the way I think.” As a German citizen, Goldberg would have the right to work and travel freely across 27 nations without any visa requirements, as does any other EU citizen. “That might well come in handy if I decide to wind down my radio career on an English language station in, say, Mallorca,” in Spain, he wrote. “Even more importantly,

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my three young daughters would share the same entitlement.” But “it’s not such a straightforward calculation,” Goldberg also wrote. “Sure, I can get a passport which might conceivably make life easier for myself and my children. But only if I adopt the nationality of the country that murdered most of my dad’s family.” Yet getting German citizenship can also feel like reclaiming a part of one’s identity, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, a member of the British House of Lords, argued in an essay she wrote after the Brexit referendum. “It doesn’t make me any less British, but it does allow me to reclaim a bit of my history,” Neuberger, whose mother was a refugee from Germany, wrote in The Guardian. “It also declares a belief in Europe, an admiration for how Germany has dealt with its Nazi past, and a real belief that [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel’s welcome of migrants was both right and brave.” Still, dilemmas about the subject are “causing internal debates, with some passionate disagreements” among many British Jews who may claim German and Austrian citizenship, Newman, 44, said. Newman, who has two children, personally is grappling with a related dilemma. He is entitled to a Polish passport through his mother. But a recent Polish law that outlaws blaming the Polish nation for Nazi crimes “creates a serious moral dilemma” for

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Newman, he said. The law, he added, “places limitations on studying the Holocaust and I’m not sure that’s something I can agree to and just become a citizen of a country that does that.” For Jews especially, Brexit is not the only uncertainty making foreign citizenship look appealing in Britain, where anti-Semitic incidents have reached record levels for the third year straight in 2018. According to a survey from September, almost 40 percent of British Jews would “seriously consider emigrating” if Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, often accused of condoning or promoting anti-Semitism, became prime minister. Also making Jews uncomfortable is the nativist sentiment that begot Brexit (harassment of foreigners for speaking languages other than English has become commonplace in the United Kingdom). This means that applying for a foreign citizenship is not always socially convenient, Perry, the applicant for a Portuguese passport, conceded. “But in London, which is very cosmopolitan, this is not really an issue,” he added. “I speak openly about seeking a foreign passport as a result of Brexit.” Yet, upon hearing that Goldberg, the Jewish journalist, is seeking German citizenship, one of his closest friends told him: “You’d be a traitor, wouldn’t you?” PJC

MARCH 22, 2019 7

8 WORLD

Headlines New Zealand Jews ‘sickened’ by mosque shootings that killed 50 — WORLD — By Henry Benjamin | JTA

ewish groups from New Zealand and beyond expressed their horror at the slaying of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch last week. The New Zealand Jewish Council is “sickened and devastated” by the attacks, in which at least one armed individual killed dozens of people by shooting them at close distance with a semi-automatic rifle. Footage of the carnage, which the killer filmed and streamed live, shows victims huddling and moaning as the killer fires into the crowd. “We offer our full assistance and support to the Muslim community and stand united with it against the scourge of terrorism and racism, which we must do all we can to banish from New Zealand,” Stephen Goodman, the president of The New Zealand Jewish Council, said. Statements of support also came from the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand and other leading organizations in New Zealand. World Jewish Congress President Ronald Please see New Zealand, page 17

p A picture is left among flowers and tributes near Al Noor mosque on March 18 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed, and dozens are still injured in the hospital after a gunman opened fire on two Christchurch mosques on March 15. Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

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9 WORLD

Headlines Muslim, Jewish students at vigil tell Chelsea Clinton she is a cause of mosque attack â&#x20AC;&#x201D; NATIONAL â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x160;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so sorry that you feel that way,

By Marcy Oster | JTA

Palestinian activist and an American-Israeli activist confronted Chelsea Clinton at a vigil for the 50 Muslims killed in an attack on two New Zealand mosques and accused her of being a cause of the massacre due to her criticism of an anti-Semitic tweet by New York Rep. Ilhan Omar. The vigil was held at New York University on Friday night, March 15. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put out into the world,â&#x20AC;? NYU senior Leen Dweik, who is Muslim, told Clinton at the vigil. The exchange was filmed by NYU senior Rose Asaf, who is Jewish. The students met through the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, The Washington Post reported. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so sorry that you feel that way, certainly it was never my intention, I do believe words matter,â&#x20AC;? Clinton responded on the video. Following Omarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tweet that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about the Benjamins, baby,â&#x20AC;? which reinforced the anti-Semitic trope that Jews have money and

certainly it was never my intention,

â&#x20AC;?

I do believe words matter.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; CHELSEA CLINTON

use it to run the world, Clinton tweeted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism.â&#x20AC;? She later thanked Omar for her apology and noted that she looked forward to meeting the congresswoman so that they could talk about both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Clinton is not Jewish but her husband, Mark Mezvinsky, is Jewish. She has frequently called out anti-Semitism and other forms of hate. The students published an essay about the encounter in Buzzfeed on Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We did a double take when we first noticed Chelsea Clinton was at the vigil. Just

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weeks before this tragedy, we bore witness to a bigoted, anti-Muslim mob coming after Rep. Ilhan Omar for speaking the truth about the massive influence of the Israel lobby in this country,â&#x20AC;? they wrote, adding that they thought it was â&#x20AC;&#x153;inappropriateâ&#x20AC;? for Clinton to show up at the vigil since she had not apologized to Omar â&#x20AC;&#x153;for the public vilification against her.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chelsea hurt our fight against white supremacy when she stood by the petty weaponizers of antisemitism, showing no regard for Rep. Omar and the hatred being directed at her,â&#x20AC;? they also wrote. In a direct message to Clinton they wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want you to know that it is dangerous to label valid criticisms of Israel and its lobby as

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anti-Semitic. We know that this is a tactic to silence us and deny us our free speech.â&#x20AC;? Clinton had tweeted earlier on Friday that she was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heartbroken and horrifiedâ&#x20AC;? by the attack and called for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;global response to the global threat of violent white nationalism.â&#x20AC;? Many public figures rose to Clintonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defense, including New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Donald Trump Jr. Trump tweeted that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sickening to see people blame @ ChelseaClinton for the NZ attacks because she spoke out against anti-Semitism. We should all be condemning anti-Semitism & all forms of hate. Chelsea should be praised for speaking up. Anyone who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand this is part of the problem.â&#x20AC;? Dweik told The Washington Post that the confrontation was not planned, and that she waited until after the vigil to approach Clinton. Clinton had been invited to the vigil by the Of Many Institute, a multifaith organization at NYU that she helped found, Clintonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spokeswoman, Sara Horowitz, told the Post. The Clinton confrontation also was the subject of hundreds of tweets and threats on Twitter. Asaf, who posted the exchange on Twitter, deleted her Twitter account by Saturday afternoon due to threats against her and Dweik, according to the Post.â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC

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10 WORLD

Headlines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WORLD â&#x20AC;&#x201D; From JTA reports

US bans entry to officials pursuing international court charges against Americans and Israelis U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a visa ban on officials pursuing International Criminal Court charges against Americans and Israelis. Pompeo said that the department had already blocked entry to ICC officials looking into alleged war crimes committed at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t assume youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get a visa,â&#x20AC;? he said. The ban extended to ICC cases against â&#x20AC;&#x153;allied personnel, including Israelis.â&#x20AC;? Israel was the only country mentioned as an example in the statement. Pompeo said the Trump administration was also considering sanctioning officials pursuing ICC actions against the United States. The Palestinian Authority has asked the ICC to open investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes since 2014, when the Palestinian government joined the international body, for Israeli actions in Gaza, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. This State Department move is a sharp rebuke of that concept â&#x20AC;&#x201D; especially since the statement specifically mentions Israel in its text.

Neither the United States or Israel are members of the ICC, but their officials may be subject to arrest when they visit member nations. Joe Lieberman says Democratic Party is not anti-Jewish â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but some members are Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat turned Independent who ran for vice president in 2000, said the Democratic Party is not anti-Jewish, but individual members have problems with Jews. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Democratic Party is not an antiJewish party, but there are some people in the party now, including in Congress as weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen from Congresswoman Omar â&#x20AC;Ś who are saying explicitly anti-Semitic things,â&#x20AC;? Lieberman, who is Jewish, told radio host John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York in a March 17 interview, The Hill first reported. Lieberman was referring to remarks made in recent weeks by Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar suggesting that she and her colleagues were being asked to show â&#x20AC;&#x153;allegianceâ&#x20AC;? to a foreign country and that the pro-Israel lobby buys its support in Congress. Following Omarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest comments, President Donald Trump tweeted March 7 that the Democratic Party is â&#x20AC;&#x153;anti-Jewish.â&#x20AC;? Trump, quoting former campaign aide Elizabeth Pipko, also tweeted that â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jewish people are leaving the Democratic Party. We saw a lot of anti Israel policies start under the Obama Administration, and it got worsts [sic] and worse. There is anti-Semitism in

I n - Ho m e Care S e r v i ce s

the Democratic Party. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about Israel or the Jewish people.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Elizabeth Pipko, Jexodus.â&#x20AC;? Pipko is the spokeswoman for Jexodus, a Republican effort to get millennial Jews to bolt the Democratic Party. Israeli father of 12 dies of injuries from West Bank attack An Israeli father of 12 shot during a terror attack in the West Bank died Monday morning of his wounds. Rabbi Achiad Ettinger of Eli is the second person who was killed in the Sunday morning attack at the Ariel and Gitai junctions. Ettinger, who managed to fire four bullets at the attacker from his car after being shot in the head and neck, was the founder of the Oz Vâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;emuna hesder yeshiva in South Tel Aviv. Ettingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family asked that his organs be donated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rabbi Ettingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work will continue and be amongst us even after his passing, and the strength he gave his pupils and the community he led will continue to strengthen us through the enormous grief and sorrow,â&#x20AC;? President Reuven Rivlin, who visited the family at the hospital on Sunday, said in a statement. A soldier hit by the shooter at the Gitai Junction remains in serious condition. Gal Keidan, 19, the soldier who was stabbed by the attacker, was buried Monday morning at the Beersheba military cemetery. He was promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant. The suspected attacker has been identified

Israeli spacecraft Beresheet conducts final major maneuver The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet successfullyÂ conducted its final major maneuver as it continues on its journey to the moon. The spacecraft burned its engine for 60 seconds as it moved to an elliptical orbit around the earth that will intersect the moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orbit and be captured in it. The rendezvous is scheduled for April 4 at 251,655 miles from earth, SpaceIL said in a statement. The lunar lander is expected to land on the moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface on April 11. The landing site has been identified as the northeastern part ofÂ Mare Serenitatis, or the Sea of Serenity, a flat area on the moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. The spacecraft continues to communicate with the Israel Aerospace Industries and SpaceIL control room in Yehud in central Israel.â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC

This week in Israeli history March 25, 1950 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Saudi pledges no recognition

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WORLD â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

March 22, 1945 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Arab League formed

Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Transjordan sign the Arab League Constitution after deliberations that began five days earlier in Cairo. A Palestinian representative, Musa al Alami, participates in the talks but does not sign the document.

March 23, 1915 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Zion Mule Corps created

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as Omar Abu Laila, 19, of the Az-Zawiya village. He reportedly does not belong to a terror organization nor have a history of security violations. He remains on the lam, though Israeli security officials reportedly arrested his father and 16-year-old brother. On Sunday morning, Abu Laila allegedly stabbed Keidan and stole his gun, shooting at passing cars at the Ariel Junction where he hit Ettinger, before getting in a car abandoned by a frightened driver and heading to the next junction, where he shot at soldiers waiting at a bus stop.

A Jewish unit of the British army is formed in Alexandria, Egypt, with about 500 volunteers, many of whom had been expelled from Palestine in December 1914 because of the Ottoman Empireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fear that the Jewish population posed an internal threat.

March 24, 1993 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Weizman elected president

Ezer Weizman, a nephew of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first president, Chaim Weizmann, is elected the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seventh president on the second ballot on a 66-53 vote in the Knesset. A native of Tel Aviv, Weizman is one of the founders of the Israel Air Force, which he commanded in 1958, and a former deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. As defense minister, he was part of the Israeli delegation in the Camp David peace process with Egypt.

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Visiting Saudi Arabia, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State George McGhee asks the Saudi deputy foreign minister, Sheik Yusuf Yassin, whether Arab states could normalize relations with Israel. Yassin responds that the Arab nations will never agree to any working relationship with Israel.

March 26, 1979 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peace treaty signed

Sixteen months after Egyptian President Anwar Sadatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic visit to Jerusalem and six months after the signing of the Camp David Accords, Sadat joins Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the White House to sign the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, the first such agreement between Israel and an Arab nation.

March 27, 1839 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jews forcibly converted

A Shiite mob attacks the Jewish district of the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad after alleged misconduct by a Jewish woman. The rioters kill 30 to 40 Jews, burn the synagogue, loot homes and abduct children. The entire Jewish community of nearly 2,400 is forced to convert to Islam in an event known as the Allahdad.

March 28, 1932 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1st Maccabiah Games

The first Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics, open with athletes from 18 countries in Tel Aviv.â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC

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Lamar Advertising Cindy Goodman-Leib and Scott Leib Carol Robinson and Jeffrey B. Markel Orr’s Jewelers Peoples Gas Pittsburgh Brewing Company Pittsburgh City Paper Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Polyconcept North America The Donald & Sylvia Robinson Family Foundation Linda and Ken Simon Trust-Franklin Press Co. WYEP / WESA Spring Break All Occasions Party Rental big Burrito Restaurant Group Cathy Reifer and Sam Braver Betsy and Marc Brown Common Plea Catering Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. Exceptional Exteriors and Renovations Inc. Stefani Pashman and Jeremy Feinstein Mary Pat and Eric Friedlander Gray Phoenix Ina and Larry Gumberg Henderson Brothers, Inc. Hens and Chicks Anna Hollis and Gregg Kander Ellen and Jack Kessler Sue Berman Kress and Doug Kress Lauren and Jason Kushner Patty and Stan Levine Littles Shoes Mosaic Linens Pittsburgh Oral Surgery, P.C. PJ Dick Incorporated / Trumbull Corporation / Lindy Paving The Plung and Resnick Families Nancy Bernstein and Rocky Schoen Signature Financial Planning Silk & Stewart Development Group St. Moritz Building Services Marla and Michael Werner Nancy and Jim Wolf All-Nighter Meryl and David Ainsman B&R Pools and Swim Shop Dan Taylor Interiors Fifth Third Bank Fragasso Financial Advisors Goldblum Sablowsky, LLC Jennifer and Joe Goldston Merris and Yram Groff Guttman Energy, Inc. HMS Marketing Michael and Susan Kurtz

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Kathleen and Jay Lutins Marsha and Bernie Marcus MBM Contracting, Inc. Nu Bistro / Pamela’s P&G Diners Lisa and Lee Oleinick Reed Smith LLP Karen and Tony Ross Rothschild Doyno Collaborative Audrey Russo Sterling Paper Company The Stern Family & The Manor Theatre The Rubinoff Company United Concordia Dental University of Pittsburgh Vigliotti Landscape & Construction, Inc. W.B. Mason Walnut Capital Dorm Life Anonymous Allegheny Rooﬁng & Sheet Metal Co., Inc. Alpha Screen Graphics Dr. David Baker and Sharon Dilworth Baker Tilly Deborah and Sam Berkovitz Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox Chapel Rachel Firestone and Jason Binder Block & Associates, LLC. Brandywine Agency Sylvia and Sidney Busis Center for Urologic Care, P.C. Norman & Gail Childs and Family Coldwell Banker Cooper Imaging Carol and Gary Cozen Dean Damick and Marion Damick Desmone Architects Dipcraft Fiberglass Panels Ditto Dollar Bank Dodi Walker Gross and Daniel Edelstone Andrea and Andrew Eller Beth and Dan Erlanger Julie and Josh Farber FastSigns Federated Investors Foundation, Inc. Findley Fireman Creative First Commonwealth Bank Fort Pitt Capital Group Karen and Jack Friedman Rosalind Chow and Jeffrey Galak Ruth and Alan A. Garﬁnkel Julie and Ed Gelman Cheryl Gerson Americus The Glickman Family Glimcher Group

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Elizabeth Goldberg and Michael Weisberg Jake Goodman and Sean Shepherd Mary and Skip Grinberg Susie and Don Gross Linda and Steve Halpern Drs. Jennifer and Matthew Harinstein Harry S. Cohen & Associates, P.C. Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. H. Lazar & Son, Inc. Jan and Mitchell Hoffman Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Mardi and Bill Isler Jacobson Associates, Inc. Kline, Keppel and Koryak, P.C. The Krasik Families Dana and Jason Kunzman Lynn and Larry Lebowitz Susan and Louis Leff Lieber Hammer Huber & Paul, P.C. Marbury Group Rachel H. Marcus Elaine and Todd Miller JiruLife.com NOVA Contracting Services, LLC NuGo Nutrition Sharon Werner and Eric Olshan Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Steelers Pollock Begg Komar Glasser & Vertz LLC Melissa and Peter Rackoff Reed Smith LLP Tracy and Josh Royston The Rudolph Family Linda Safyan and Tom Holber Cathy Green Samuels and Michael Samuels Veronica and Jonathan Schmerling Laura and Henry Schneiderman Stacey and Scott Seewald Shady Side Academy Joanne and Ben Simon Smallman Street Deli Jennifer and Josh Steiman Rabbis Barbara and Ron Symons The Prop Shop Judy Tobe Marc Weber Tobias Traction Rec Tri-State Signs & Reprographics, Inc. TWIN Capital Management, Inc. Marcie and Matthew Weinstein Arlene and Richard Weisman Winchester Thurston School Windstream Business Lee Wolf Zeke’s Coffee Pittsburgh zTrip

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Life & Culture Berlin now an affordable travel destination — TRAVEL — Jeff and Virginia Orenstein | Special to the Chronicle

f you are looking for a European destination that is rich in history, splashed with eclectic architecture and vibrating with a dynamic nightlife, head for Berlin. And if that’s not enough inducement, the German capital is affordable and welcoming. Walking the streets of Berlin, the capital of past and present Germany, it is impossible to escape history. The city dates from the 13th century and has experienced centuries of Prussian and German political achievements and turmoil and was essentially destroyed during World War II. It also played a huge role in the Cold War and its infamous Berlin Wall. Despite its being occupied and divided in the aftermath of World War II, contemporary Berlin has recovered smartly in the last generation. Its architectural mixture of new and old reflects both its history and the city’s deliberate and ongoing choice to recover fully from its destruction. Its Holocaust Memorial, Jewish Museum and historical markers are evidence that the city is trying to both remember and denounce its Nazi past. Although the city gleams with new skyscrapers and striking modern architecture, visitors can find many restored and/or preserved buildings such as the Reichstag and city gates. With its many trendy clubs and restaurants, Berlin has attracted throngs of young people and has again become a

significant business center. With smart shopping streets, a vibrant street café scene and great museums, Berlin is definitely worthy of a visit, especially since its hotel rates are among the lowest in Europe. This year is a good time to visit since it marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and, as usual, boasts a busy cultural calendar which will reflect a now thoroughly united metropolitan area and the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement, so influential in modern architecture and banned by the Nazis.

Before you go, check out:

• visitberlin.de/en • handluggageonly.co.uk/2017/01/09/ 17-sights-you-need-to-see-on-a-firsttime-visit-to-berlin-germany/ • youtube.com/watch?v= 4TwGid87U8g

Getting there and getting around:

Berlin can be reached by highway, air or train. • By air, Berlin’s main airport is Tegel (TXL), 5 miles from the Berlin Central Train Station. Schoenefeld (SFX) is another airport served mainly by budget airlines. It is linked by train to Central Train Station, 15.5 miles away. • By car, Berlin is served by Autobahns 9 to Munich, 24 to Hamburg and 13 to Dresden. • By train, Berlin has a central train station and several outlying stations and is part of the DB and Eurail system. • The nearest cruise port is Warnemunde, 165 miles north.

Must-sees for a short trip:

Among attractions that you should take in are: • Getting a Berlin Welcome Card and taking

p The soaring DB (German Railroad) tower at Potsdamer Platz is typical of the new buildings that have risen from the rubble of bombed-out buildings in Berlin. Note the shadow of another skyscraper across the street. Photos by Jeff Orenstein

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p The central train station in Berlin, the Berlin Haputbanhof, is a transportation hub as well as a tourist mecca with its many shops, tourism office, frequent trains and nearby restaurants.

advantage of included public transportation and museum admissions. • Explore the walkable Mitte District which includes Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Memorial, the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) with its rotating restaurant, the Reichstag (parliament) building. Also noteworthy in Mitte are the Cathedral Church, Tiergarten park, Alexanderplatz, Museum Island and Potsdamer Platz.

If you have several days:

• Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s most important shopping and dining districts

p The ruins of the former Anhalter Bahnhof train station, once the largest in Europe. Started in 1839 and rebuilt in 1880, it was an important station used to ship soldiers and supplies to the fronts of World War I and II, by visitors to the 1936 Olympics and, involuntarily, by Jews on the way to Nazi death camps after 1942. It was bombed in WWII and closed in 1952.

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• Memorial Church. The partially restored church is both a unifying symbol and a reminder of wartime destruction. • Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, moving series of 2,711 coffinlike concrete shapes. • Visiting the Jewish Museum • Exploring the museums at Museum Island in depth. • Visiting the Zoological Garden • Taking a boat tour on the River Spree • Checking out decommissioned Tempelhof Field of Berlin Airlift fame Please see Berlin, page 13

p The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) is visible from most of central Berlin. It boasts a popular rotating restaurant.

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Life & Culture

Parkinson’s RX: Keep moving. And attend a JAA Education Series event.

p One of the many historic city gates in Berlin

Berlin: Continued from page 12

Ginny O’s tips for dressing the simply smart travel way for Berlin: Berlin is trendy and fashionable so dress up a little when out for a nice dinner. Upscale casual is OK for daytime.

This destination at a glance:

sidewalks and accessible public transportation and museums. When to Go: May through September has the best weather. Winters are cold and gray. Where to Stay: Berlin boasts about 800 hotels and guesthouses at all price ranges. We found the Mercure Berlin Mitte a comfortable and convenient choice to explore the city’s Mitte section.

Over 50 Advantage: Great museums and lots of good local tours.

Special Travel Interests: German and Cold War history PJC

Mobility Level: Low to moderate. Among the best in Europe with many broad

Jeffrey and Virginia Orenstein are travel writers from Sarasota, Fla.

Jewish Berlin

Wednesday, March 27 1:00-3:00 PM JAA Community Room 200 JHF Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15217

p One of the many historic city gates in Berlin.

oday’s Berlin has a thriving Jewish community despite the decimation of Jews during the Holocaust. Among the city’s most illustrious past Jewish residents were philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, Fanny Mendelssohn, Rosa Luxemburg and Albert Einstein. A Jewish presence in Berlin dates to at least 1295, when Jews were mentioned in a master wool weaver’s certificate forbidding wool merchants from trading with them. Early Jews lived mostly in a Jewish quarter, but some wealthier Jews lived elsewhere. In 1671, 50 Jewish families moved there from Vienna, invited there by Frederick William of Brandenburg, to help with war reconstruction. During the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-1786), Jews enjoyed some freedom and prosperity. Eighteenth-century Berlin Jews were typically bankers and traders, and a few served as court Jews. The edict of 1812 finally bestowed Prussian citizenship upon the Jews. Many 19th-century Berlin Jews were prominent in journalism, literature and the arts, although they faced strong and consistent anti-Semitism. By the 1920s, the city was home to about

70,000 Jews, albeit part of their environment was a backdrop of anti-Semitic culture. Most were forced to flee Germany after Hitler’s rise to power, and 55,000 perished in the Holocaust. From late 1942, only Jewish laborers employed in vital war production were safe from deportation. After the war, the community had a registered membership of 5,070, most with non-Jewish spouses; 1,321 survived the war by hiding, and 1,628 returned from concentration camps. By 1970, there were about 5,600 Jews. By the 1990s, however, Berlin’s Jewish population exploded with immigrants from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere. The current Jewish population is about 100,000 out of roughly 3.6 million. Today, there is a Jewish Museum, a Holocaust memorial, three Conservative congregations of varying size, four Reform congregations and six Orthodox congregations. Kosher food is obtainable, and there are several tours of Jewish Berlin available. Unfortunately, despite this renaissance, anti-Semitism still exists. An April 2018 article in The New York Times chronicled its presence, despite official government efforts to stamp it out. PJC

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MARCH 22, 2019 13

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Opinion Leave Chelsea out of it — EDITORIAL —

he news last week that a suspected white supremacist from Australia murdered 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, has left us heartbroken. Still reeling from the anti-Semitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building less than five months ago, we can feel this newest assault on people of faith in our bones. Jewish Pittsburgh immediately took action to do what it could to help. As you will read on the cover of this week’s paper, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh raised $230,000 in just a few days, and Tree of Life added to that with its own effort. Synagogues called for Pittsburgh Jews to show up for our Muslim brothers and sisters as they entered their mosque to pray on Friday, the equivalent of their Sabbath. The Muslim community stood with Pittsburgh after the massacre of Oct. 27, and we stand with the Muslim community now. What happened in Christchurch is a horrific tragedy and we unequivocally condemn it.

It is unfortunate that there are those on both the confrontation, during which Dweik sides of the political spectrum who are using chastised Clinton for the former first daughthis tragedy to advance knee-jerk, ideological ter’s earlier criticism of comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) about narratives that increasingly American policy toward are making less and less sense. Israel. Omar’s comments We disagree with those on — which accused Jews of the left who place blame for dual loyalty and controlling this attack halfway around world affairs through money the world solely at the feet of — were widely condemned President Donald Trump, just as anti-Semitic. as we disagree with those on Dweik told Clinton that the right who claim he bears the memorial service was no responsibility at all for “the result of a massacre enabling white supremacists stoked by people like you through his anti-immigrant and the words that you put and hateful rhetoric. Statistics Chelsea Clinton out into the world” and that don’t lie. Hate crimes rose p Photo by Neilson Barnard/ 17 percent in the year after Getty Images “people died because of the rhetoric you put out there.” Trump took office. Many on the far-left jumped to defend But we headed down the rabbit hole last weekend at a New York University vigil for Clinton’s attackers. Woman’s March leader Christchurch victims, where Palestinian Linda Sarsour — who herself has promoted Muslim activist Leen Dweik confronted anti-Semitism — tweeted that she was “trigChelsea Clinton, absurdly claiming gered by those who piled on Representative Clinton was responsible for the New Ilhan Omar and incited a hate mob against Zealand murders. her until she got assassination threats now A video posted on social media showed giving condolences to our community.”

“What we need you to do is reflect on how you contribute to islamophobia and stop doing that,” Sarsour wrote about Clinton. The implication is that just by criticizing someone who is Muslim, one is ipso facto Islamophobic, even if that Muslim is a member of Congress and hurls age-old and dangerous tropes against Jews. A tweet by left-leaning journalist Glenn Greenwald, defending the NYU activists, was even more absurd, claiming that their point wasn’t that Clinton was the “literal cause of the massacre,” but that Clinton’s family’s “vehement pro-Israel politics, along with the role she bizarrely played in attacking Omar, made her a bad choice” to include at the vigil. So, having pro-Israel relatives is now a disqualifier for supporting other minority victims? Politicizing massacres — especially in ways that defy rationality — are a distraction from our charge. After Christchurch, after Tree of Life, after Mother Emanuel, we need to be calling out hate where it lies, regardless of where we are on the political spectrum. And we need to mourn. PJC

What a Bergen-Belsen prenup teaches us about Jewish resilience Guest Columnist Henry Abramson

t is jarring to see a Star of David placed between the Hebrew transliteration of the words Bergen-Belsen, the notorious Nazi concentration camp where 37,000 Jews, including Anne Frank, were murdered — and on a marriage contract, no less. But there it was, a small bureaucratic form, typed in rabbinic Hebrew, meant to address the heartbreaking implications of marrying in the aftermath of genocide. When British troops liberated BergenBelsen in April 1945, they found 10,000 emaciated corpses scattered about the prison grounds, a horrific vision of apocalyptic proportion that has been memorialized in photographs and newsreels from the period. Many of the some 60,000 inmates still alive were seriously ill — about 13,000 died post-liberation, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Yet within months, the site became the epicenter of a furious revival of the Jewish population, as survivors engaged in what historian Atina Grossman called “biological revenge”: Jews affirming life in the most elemental manner by marrying and bearing children. By 1948, according to Grossman, the displaced persons camps (of which BergenBelsen was the largest) witnessed a birth rate of 36 children per 1,000 Jewish women, approximately seven times the rate for

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German women. The children were called moshiachskinder, meaning children born as part of the messianic redemption of the world. The Star of David found on a BergenBelsen ketubah is an expression of that life-affirming impetus. Like the famous Survivor’s Talmud, a full edition of the Widow and Brothers Romm Talmud published in 1948 in Heidelberg on the very same presses that once produced Nazi propaganda, Jewish Holocaust survivors refused to grant Hitler a posthumous victory: In a place of terrible death, they would create life. I was asked to present the story of resurgent Jewish life in the DP camps to the Project Witness Educators’ Conference on Women in the Holocaust, a remarkable annual gathering of teachers in Jewish schools to share ideas and network with other educators, many of whom struggle to teach the Holocaust in haredi Orthodox institutions that ban the use of internet-based resources. The YIVO Archives preserves an impressive collection of DP-related artifacts, and I spent several hours looking for documents to assist the educators’ classroom work: The microfilmed images generally were poorly typed work authorization letters, printed notices for public lectures, and handwritten letters in Yiddish, Polish and German. But when I came across a terse prenuptial agreement, my blood ran cold. The DP camps in Germany and Italy contained some 300,000 Jews, most of whom emerged from the death camps before the Nazis could complete their Final Solution. Many married before the war could not determine whether or not their spouses were still among the living. Neither divorced nor

widowed, the survivors remained “chained” to their former husbands and wives, unable to remarry under Jewish law until the fate of their spouses could be ascertained. The situation for such women, known as agunot, was more dire than that for men, as women are prohibited from remarrying if their husband has not agreed to a divorce or if there is no proof that he has died. So the rabbis of the DP camps employed the full arsenal of Talmudic logic to declare missing husbands dead and allow their widows to remarry. The document I found, however, was not for women. It was something I had never seen before: a sobering prenuptial agreement for a prospective groom who wishes to remarry after his wife disappeared in the maelstrom of the Holocaust. Addressed to the “Honorable Court of Justice Established to Address Agunot in the Central Office of the British Zone (in Germany),” the form has the groom agreeing to abide by the dictates of the court should his first wife somehow emerge from the ashes of the Holocaust. The text reads in part: “I, the undersigned, accept upon myself without any duplicity and with good will, without being coerced in any way, that if my first wife returns home …” A blank space is reserved for the groom to enter the name of the missing woman. “I, and the woman that I will marry, will abide by the ruling of the Bet Din, whether it requires divorce and the division of assets, or any other matter,” the document says. This post-Holocaust prenuptial agreement, which involved obligation to the presumed dead as well as the living, required

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the groom “to inform my [subsequent] wife of this obligation prior to the chuppah.” Finally, the groom affirms that “if I fail to obey the dictates of the Bet Din, behold I accept that the Bet Din may nullify my [subsequent] marriage, as the court sees fit.” One can only imagine the tearful conversations between groom and bride, poised on the cusp of their blissful future together, as they reviewed the implications of this painful document. Hope inescapably mixed with tragedy, rebirth entwined with death. The emotional heroism of these survivors must have been overwhelming. As a historian, however, I reflect also on the fact that this artifact in the YIVO Archives is not a personalized, handwritten document that reflects the misfortune of a single family. It is rather a form letter, composed and reproduced for repeated use. It is the blank spaces, left unmarked, that provide silent witness to the thousands upon thousands of unspoken tragedies extending well beyond the war’s end. I have the honor of working in a college environment where many of my young students make the transition to the sacred marriage canopy. I doubt that many of them contemplate the fragility of life — that is a privilege that seems to be reserved for the elderly. But documents like this postHolocaust prenuptial agreement illustrate how as Jews we must appreciate the drive of these elderly, after unspeakable tragedy, to nevertheless survive and endure. PJC Henry Abramson is a specialist in Jewish history and thought who currently serves as a dean of Touro College in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Opinion Connection between Jews and Democrats is deep Guest Columnist Dan Frankel

onfronted with the litany of lies, offensive remarks and misinformed pontificating that comes from the White House, I sometimes find myself tuning it out as I try to focus on the policies I can change and the help I can provide for my constituents. But President Donald Trump got my full attention late last week when he touted a “Jexodus” movement to convince Jews to leave the Democrat Party. This followed Trump’s comments that the Democrats are the “anti-Jewish” party because of their handling of controversial remarks by freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

It’s no surprise that this president would not understand why such a large percentage of American Jews identify politically with Democrats. Nearly eight out of 10 of them voted for Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterms, according to exit polling data. I cannot speak for all Jews — it’s as disparate a group as you’ll find — but I can tell you that the connection between these two groups runs deeper than any one policy or controversy could. My Jewish faith and experience informs my experience as a Democratic legislator every day. The legacy of my ancestors continually pushes me to serve my neighbors, to fight injustice and to care for the sick and the defenseless. Those are the principles that also drew me to the Democratic Party, and I feel perpetually challenged to live up to them. My road to Harrisburg was a path laid by service in the Jewish community, where I volunteered and advocated at every level for

large and small organizations designed to help people. It was clear that our work was to care for the most vulnerable amongst us. That’s the job of community organizations, and it’s also the work of government. Importantly, that’s what the members of Dor Hadash, one of the three congregations attacked at the Tree of Life synagogue building, were trying to do by inviting in and caring for refugees in our community. Jews don’t have to look backward far in history to understand what it means when people’s humanity is stripped away from them; my children’s grandmother survived Auschwitz. The stories of the Holocaust are not distant or abstract to our community, and they continue to guide us in many ways. That truth makes me all the more vigilant about recognizing anti-Semitic words and acts. I stand up against anti-Semitism, and I call it out when I see it. I also stand up for the

civil rights of gays and lesbians, transgender men and women, people of all colors and races, and — yes — immigrants. I also educate, clarify and discuss. I have learned the difference between anti-Semitism borne of ignorance and anti-Semitism borne of hatred: Both are insidious, but they are far from the same. As a Jew and a Democrat, I know well that these are not homogenous groups. I’ve seen the volume go up at plenty of caucus meetings and I’ve seen heated arguments take over more than a couple of Shabbat meals. And while there is no lack of fodder for debate and personal introspection among Jews and Democrats, absolutely including Omar’s comments, our fundamental principles drive us together. PJC Dan Frankel, a Democrat, represents the 23rd District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Kahane is an easy target, but the name-calling is wrong Guest Columnist Hirsh Dlinn

n the March 1 edition of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle an article was reprinted from the JTA by Ben Sales (“An extremist rabbi’s legacy is again haunting Israeli politics”) disparaging Rabbi Meir Kahane, a lover of Israel and a man whose life’s work was dedicated to teaching fellow Jews to protect themselves and to defend and enhance Israel as a strong Jewish country. Sales’s description of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s actions as that of a racist or terrorist are untrue and shameful. He starts by stating that Kahane called for “Arabs to be expelled.” Actually, Kahane

called for Arab law breakers who were threatening innocent Jewish citizens to be expelled. In his prophetic book written in the 1970s, “They Must Go,” Kahane offered the Arabs the choice of either leaving the West Bank for a very fair compensation or accept full Jewish sovereignty over the West Bank. At that time, 60 percent of the Arabs opted to take the compensation but the Israeli government refused to allow them to leave. Had the Israeli government accepted Kahane’s suggested action, many Israeli lives would have been saved. Today, the cost of paying all the Arabs that wanted to move would be paltry compared to the costs today of having to fund special shields for homes, funds to pay Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, funds to offer electricity, water, etc. for the Arab citizenry. Kahane’s philosophy and actions were based on the Torah. He was the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ohr Ha-Raayon. He wrote a magnum

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opus called “Ohr Ha-Raayon,” which was a detailed explanation of Torah-based texts. He explained that Judaism is not just a religion. “We are a holy nation, an am kadosh,” he said. “The Jewish people stand on two legs, nationalism and religion; together they combine into a Jewish nation, a holy people, a people that keeps the commandments.” His yeshiva not only taught Torah and the commandments, it taught students to be scholar warriors, those who use their talents to teach others and to defend the Jewish people as was always taught in historic Jewish learning. Kahane was a prolific writer, penning such works as “Never Again and Why be Jewish?” He also wrote for many years for the Jewish Press, and his columns were eagerly anticipated. He wrote “The Story of the Jewish Defense League,” which, again, was based on the Torah. “We are not vigilantes,” he writes. “We don’t go out to apprehend anyone. We

Hirsh Dlinn lives in Squirrel Hill.

Letters to the editor via email: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Address & Fax: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Fax 412-521-0154

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protect Jewish life and property. When someone attacks you, you fight back. That’s the law. When someone comes to kill you, you have the right to defend yourself.” In pursuit of implementing his philosophy, Kahane started a political party, Kach, to have the opportunity to teach his Torah and values. When it became clear that he would win almost 10 seats in the Knesset, Kach was undemocratically banned. Name calling of Kahane is an easy way to discount the mistakes that the Israeli government has made over the years as it participated in destructive agreements to its demonstrative disadvantage. One needs to read the rabbi’s numerous writings and publications. Then one will come to understand why Sales’s name-calling of Kahane was totally unjustified. PJC

Website address:

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MARCH 22, 2019 15

Headlines Russians: Continued from page 1

son, Sergey. Five years later, Lesya was born. The family of four lived in Kalush, a western Ukrainian city in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Kalush is known for its rather rocky recent history. After the 1939 invasion of Poland, Kalush was annexed by the Soviet Union. Between 1941 and 1944, the city, which once boasted nearly 4,500 Jews, was occupied by Germany. By 1942, the majority of Kalush’s Jewish residents were murdered, and any trace of Jewish life, which dated back to the 16th century, was gone. After World War II, the Soviets resumed control of the town. In the years following, the area became one of the largest producers of potassium salt in the Soviet Union, but excessive mining threatened the city’s foundation. In 1987, 40 houses sunk into the ground. Dumped chemicals mixed and by 2013, several hundred million cubic feet of salty mining wastewater had joined thousands of tons of carcinogenic toxic sludge to collectively infest the Dniester River, a water supply for approximately 10 million people in western Ukraine and Moldova, according to the Kyiv Post. Like the city they inhabited, the Khatseviches experienced their own turbulence. In the summer of 1969, Ida and Mykhail separated. Mykhail retreated to a nearby farm where his father lived, but despite the split returned to Kalush periodically to visit his children in the family’s apartment. Even for those enjoying marital bliss it was a challenging period, as the perils of rationing and want plagued inhabitants of the Soviet-controlled city. Simple items were in short supply, so when someone came to Kalush Polytechnic College with a stock of pantyhose, Nikolay Mikhailovich Toleroit, a mathematics and physics professor, purchased a pair. “I did not need them, but I bought them anyway,” he said. Toleroit brought the pantyhose back home. His residence was not far from the college. It was also close to where the Khatseviches lived on Khimikiv Street. Months prior to the purchase, Toleroit, a divorcee, attended a colleague’s birthday party. Ida Khatsevich was also there. She was working as a cashier in the dining room. “We joked a little,” recalled Toleroit. The party concluded and its attendees dispersed, but in the weeks following Toleroit and Khatsevich infrequently passed each other on the street. One day, as Toleroit stood outside the college, he noticed her. The two talked and Toleroit mentioned the pantyhose. He offered them to Khatsevich. She asked him to deliver them to her apartment. He countered and insisted she come to his. “They liked each other,” said Prokopiv. Finally, the two agreed to meet at Toleroit’s residence, and on an autumn afternoon in 1969 Khatsevich ventured to Toleroit’s place. She later left, having received the hosiery and more. Months passed and life within Khatsevich continued. Lesya, who was 8 at the time, remembered very little from the period, apart from a single event. 16 MARCH 22, 2019

One day she was peering outside and saw a man approaching. He was holding flowers. As he reached the doorstep, Lesya saw her father nearing as well. There were shouts. Her father ripped the flowers from the other man’s hands and threw them to the ground. Khatsevich yelled, “This is my family, not yours.” Khatsevich then entered the home. He saw Lesya by the window and understood what she had seen. In an outburst he declared, “This guy wants to take your mother away from us,” and instructed the child to never mention the incident again. Lesya adhered for 48 years, until at the urging of her younger sister she unloaded the memory. Moments later, the sisters completed their phone call and Prokopiv resumed reading the genetics report. The message indicated a “close relative” of Prokopiv’s was living in Germany. Unaware of the details but determined to solve her biographical puzzle, Prokopiv reached out. Anna Ostrovskaya replied. Similarly surprised by the newfound relation, Ostrovskaya asked her father, Mikhail, whether he had engaged in any extramarital relations. The Moscow resident replied no, but remembered something his father had told him nearly three decades earlier. Shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the communist regime opened its borders and permitted Jews to leave — 35,200 Soviet Jews departed for the United States that year. Almost 150,000 ventured to Israel, and Mikhail’s father seized the opportunity. He packed his belongings and asked his 29-year-old son to escort him to the airport. Mikhail agreed. It was hours until the flight departed for Tel Aviv. Recognizing the precarious time, the father did not know whether he would see his son again. As the two approached the airport, Mikhail’s father blurted, “You may have a sister.” Ostrovskaya, having listened to her father relate the incident, decided to call her grandfather, an octogenarian residing in the northern Israeli city of Karmiel. He confirmed the episode. She then contacted her father, and reached out to Prokopiv. “You are my aunt,” Ostrovskaya declared. The realization shot through Prokopiv like a bolt of clarity. “I felt, my whole life, different,” said Prokopiv. Her childhood family was heavy set, with dark hair and dark eyes, but Prokopiv was slender and athletically built. Her hair is light and her eyes are blue, and apart from appearance her interests differed. “When I was young my father told me to go to music school. I didn’t want to. I wanted to do gymnastics,” she said. “My whole life I had questions and all of a sudden I got the answers.” With her biography rapidly clearing, Prokopiv realized the implications of her newfound presence. She reached out to Ostrovskaya again; perhaps it was best to remain a secret, suggested Prokopiv. Ostrovskaya rejected the notion, and replied, “We all want to meet you.” Prokopiv’s appreciation swelled, and by the time Toleroit’s email arrived several days later, the emotional dam had nearly burst. “Hello, Lena,” began the message. “I feel

very uneasy because I am afraid to say something wrong. I apologize in advance.” The email related how he met Ida Khatsevich, how he offered her the pantyhose, what followed, and how in 1972 he left Kalush because “your mother asked me to.” Toleroit, who after arriving in Israel adopted the name Akiva, said he was not a “rich man,” but offered to send money to Prokopiv’s children throughout his remaining days. “I am in Israel since 1991. You can think about me differently,” he wrote. “You can treat me calmly, you can despise me or even hate me, but in any case I am your biological father.” He closed the letter with a request: “From my side I ask you when you will be in the cemetery please put a flower on the grave of Ida and your father Mykhail who brought you up. I am very grateful to them for your education. … All the best to you. Kiss.” The email was a gift, explained Prokopiv. Ida Khatsevich died in 1998. Mykhail Khatsevich died in 2013. “I thought my parents were dead, and now I have a father again,” she said. Since that initial email months ago, Prokopiv and Toleroit have spoken daily. In the process, she discovered aspects of her life she never knew, such as how the man who raised her promised his wife that if she took him back, he would be a better father to Prokopiv than he was to his own biological children. The pledge was wholly fulfilled, said the daughter. After reconciliation, Khatsevich rearranged the house and built a nursery for the child. From her birth until his death, Khatsevich only referred to her with diminutive words — always making her feel as though she was the favorite. He paid for her education, her wedding, and when her first daughter was born, he raised that baby so Prokopiv could return to work. Their appearance and interests differed, but Prokopiv and Khatsevich shared a palpable connection. “My mother was very kind and caring. She cooked, but wasn’t actively involved in parenting. My father did that,” she explained. “He was strict but loving.” In frequently conversing with her biological father, she also learned of the last time Toleroit saw her. When Khatsevich returned home in 1970 he questioned his wife how she could leave him and take the other two children. Even if she had feelings for someone else, spurning her husband would destroy the family, he explained to her. Forced to choose between the two men, Ida Khatsevich begged Toleroit to leave Kalush. He agreed, but said he would go only after the baby was born, so shortly after Prokopiv’s birth Khatsevich walked by Toleroit’s home. As his former lover and their child passed, he peered out the window. “I saw her once when she was a baby. She was in her mother’s arms,” he said. Toleroit quietly left Kalush. He moved to Ivano-Frankivsk, then Kiev and finally Israel. Decades spanned without connection. Prokopiv grew, pursued mathematics and business, and went on to become a manager of Henkel Ukraine, a subsidiary of the multinational German company. Toleroit aged and

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

p Olena Prokopiv, right, Lesya Khatsevich, seated, and Sergey Khatsevich

Photo courtesy of Igor Kurnikov

established residence in the Misgav region. One day, he opened his computer, searched on social media and while peering through the screen saw her. He discovered Prokopiv had children, was successful and had created a life for herself. Toleroit attempted no correspondence. Instead of invading their existence, he left again. “I didn’t want to frighten them,” he said. Prokopiv’s later desire for connection was surprising. He never imagined she was interested in speaking with him once, let alone daily. He was certain their paths had severed, but Prokopiv defied his expectations. In June, she and her family are going to Israel for 10 days. Their specific purpose is seeing him, she said. Little can be said of such a reunion, explained Toleroit. “I am overjoyed to welcome them. They are my relatives.” Prokopiv is “happy to be Jewish” and enjoys discovering her family history. She learned how Toleroit’s mother, Miriam, lost her husband and child during a pogrom in the Russian civil war, how Miriam later bribed a Russian official with a box of sweets to change her name to Maria, so as not to draw attention as a Jew and how Toleroit’s father, Moishe, a member of the Soviet Army, died in World War II fighting the Germans. “It’s very interesting how the genes work,” Prokopiv said. “Like my biological father, I am active and ambitious. I study math.” Prokopiv is enrolled at Community College of Allegheny College. She takes math courses, but already knows the subject, she said. The objective is to master any corresponding English. Before Prokopiv unearthed her past, her husband completed a similar DNA test. Igor Kurnikov found no surprises, but thought his wife might be interested in seeing what followed. She agreed. Having now recovered a sizable story from a small sample of saliva, the Greenfield residents mailed one more package. They addressed it to Akiva Toleroit and shipped it to Israel. “I sent him the test to make sure everyone matches,” said Kurnikov. They did. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Far-right settler who supports legalizing weed could sway Israel’s upcoming election

Feiglin was elected to Knesset for one term in 2013 when he placed high enough in Likud’s primary. But during the following election, two years later, he did not receive enough votes to win reelection. He founded his party soon afterward. During the 2014 Gaza War, he called for “concentrating the civilian population” in “tent camps” in open areas, and then shelling the evacuated cities with “maximum firepower.” Ali Abunimah, a PalestinianAmerican activist and writer who calls for a single Palestinian-Israeli state, wrote that “citizens and public authorities around the world should attempt to have Feiglin arrested and prosecuted under the Genocide Convention for his statements, should he set foot in their territories.” Feiglin was, in fact, banned from entering the United Kingdom in 2008 due to his activism. Alongside his nationalist policies, he has also long been a leading advocate of libertarianism, pushing for legalization of marijuana, radical reduction of the size of government and an end to state control of religious ceremonies. “The root of freedom is the belief in one God,” he said in 2013, describing the seeds

of his libertarianism. “We worship him and therefore we can’t be enslaved to anyone else. An eternal nation doesn’t work against natural history, and our return to our land, to national sovereignty, means we’re connected forever.” These policies, particularly the marijuana piece, are the draw for Israeli voters outside the traditional right-wing. More than half a million Israelis smoke pot, and Feiglin’s wife has used it for medical purposes. Feiglin himself does not toke. “Weed is the biggest symbol of a place where the state can’t get in line with reality, and it’s unclear why,” wrote Gal Ohovsky, a columnist for Mako, an Israeli news website. “Feiglin’s combination between decriminalizing weed and creating a new approach is currently capturing young people’s hearts on every side of the political map.” But in case it wasn’t clear, Feiglin is no leftwinger. His libertarianism is for Jews only. Zehut’s platform, which has been translated to plain English, is a mix of classic American Republican small-government ethos on the one hand, and extreme right-wing policies regarding the West Bank, Palestinians and Israel’s Arab minority. The platform slays several Israeli sacred

cows. It calls for an end to almost all mandatory military service, to be replaced by a professional volunteer army. It says Israel should stop accepting military aid from the United States, which, it claims, reduces Israeli freedom of operation on the battlefield. True to its libertarianism, it calls for privatizing Israel’s government-funded healthcare system. And it would change the Law of Return to stop granting citizenship to non-Orthodox Jewish converts and to non-Jews with Jewish ancestry. Zehut would have Israel declare sovereignty over the entire West Bank, then transform all Arabs in its territory — Israeli citizens and Palestinians alike — into temporary residents, not citizens. It would urge them to emigrate, with financial assistance, and otherwise allow them to be permanent residents — without the right to vote — if they declare loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. A few would possibly be able to become full citizens after a long process. “There is no ‘Palestinian’ nationality,” the platform reads. “There is an Arab nation that does not accept Jewish sovereignty in any part of the Land of Israel … The State of Israel was established to be a Jewish state. The claim that sovereignty requires the automatic granting of citizenship is not true.” Feiglin doesn’t think his platform precludes joining a left-leaning coalition. He says, “We don’t have right and left” in Zehut. If Zehut is accepted into a governing coalition, its positions won’t necessarily be adopted. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who has been in government since 2013, has long advocated full annexation of all Israeli settlements. Though varying forms of annexation are growing more popular among Likud politicians and other rightwingers, none has been implemented. Ronit Dror, a social worker and former Labor party voter who is now number four on Zehut’s Knesset slate, joined the party because she appreciated Feiglin’s advocacy for husbands’ rights in divorce cases. But what about the rest of his platform? “When it comes to the rest, I’m also worried,” she told Walla. “I don’t know what the implications will be. I assume Feiglin isn’t irresponsible and won’t make unilateral decisions. There’s no reason to quake from fear.” PJC

devices in a car belonging to one of the suspects, the BBC reported. The attack, which came around the time people were attending the mosques for Friday prayers, was the deadliest in the nation’s history. U.S. politicians on Twitter drew comparisons between the mosque massacre and last October’s deadly shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue building, where 11 people were killed by a gunman who had ranted against Jews and immigration. “Charleston, Pittsburgh, and now Christchurch,” tweeted Sen. Elizbath Warren (D-Mass.), a candidate for the Democratic

presidential nomination. “Everyone should have the right to worship without fear, and an attack on a place of worship is terrorism perpetrated against all of us. My heart goes out to the people of New Zealand today.” “Pittsburgh, Charleston, Quebec, New Zealand — no one should have to fear going to their place of worship,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. “The hate that has fueled these horrific and cowardly acts MUST be called out. CA stands with New Zealand and Muslims everywhere.” Within hours of news of the killings, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh set

up a New Zealand Attack Emergency Relief fund to support the Muslim community there. The Federation said it is in the process of identifying an international partner for distributing the donations. Republican President Donald Trump also offered his condolences. “My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!” he tweeted. PJC

— WORLD — By Ben Sales | JTA

tripping Israeli Arabs of citizenship. Eliminating the military draft. Refusing military aid from the United States. Oh, and legalizing marijuana. This is the party platform of Moshe Feiglin, who could be the next kingmaker of Israeli politics. Feiglin’s party, Zehut, advertises a unique mix of far-right ideology and libertarian policy. In an election where the top two parties have avoided articulating concrete positions on many of the core issues facing Israel, Zehut offers a vision that is as clear as it is controversial. And it’s drawing voters from left and right, enough to potentially decide who will form the next Israeli government coalition. Recent polls have shown Zehut, Hebrew for “identity,” consistently getting four seats or more in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in next month’s election. Four votes can be the difference when a coalition needs a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. “He has succeeded, in recent weeks, to attract votes from every existing bloc on the political map,” according to Walla, an Israeli news website. “Even though people say he’s only emphasizing [pot] legalization, Feiglin has never hidden all of the details of his platform, which also deals with less popular issues.” Feiglin himself has been a side character in Israel’s political drama for more than a decade. He’s a settler who lives in the northern West Bank. He has served as an avatar of the Israeli far-right, advocating formal Israeli sovereignty over all of the West Bank and exclusive Jewish religious control of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, revered by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif. He has also made a number of racist statements about Arabs. “You can’t teach a monkey to speak and you can’t teach an Arab to be democratic,” he told The New Yorker in 2004. “You’re dealing with a culture of thieves and robbers. Muhammad, their prophet, was a robber and a killer and a liar. The Arab destroys everything he touches.”

New Zealand: Continued from page 8

S. Lauder expressed “horror and revulsion” at the attacks in a statement. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old fitness trainer from Australia, was charged with murder in connection with the shootings. He had in the past described himself as a “regular white man, from a regular family.” Two other men and one woman are also in custody. Police also found multiple explosive

p Moshe Feiglin, the leader of the Israeli Zehut party, supports stripping Israeli Arabs of their citizenship, and legalizing marijuana.

Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

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MARCH 22, 2019 17

18 CELEBRATIONS/TORAH

Celebrations

Torah

B’nai Mitzvah

Being humble, and knowing it Justin Horvitz will become a bar mitzvah Saturday morning, March 23 at Congregation Beth Shalom. Justin is the son of Adriane and Morris Horvitz of Pittsburgh and the brother of Bradley. Justin is the grandson of Susan and Elliot Weinstein of Baltimore, Md., and Patricia Mandell of Zelienople, Pa., and Lee Horvitz (of blessed memory). Justin attends Provident Charter School. He enjoys soccer, hanging out with friends, animals, Legos, reading and dogs. For his mitzvah project, Justin is raising money for multiple sclerosis research.

Jacob Michael Sindler will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday morning, March 23 at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Jacob is the son of Sue Ellen Serbin and Ross Sindler and the brother of Melanie. He is the grandson of Rhoda and the late Marvin Serbin and Norman and the late Marilyn Sindler. Jacob attends Community Day School and enjoys playing Fortnite and basketball in his free time. For his mitzvah project, he is collecting donations for the Free Store 15104 in Braddock.

Alexandra Drea Tarter, daughter of Dina and Barry Tarter became a bat mitzvah on March 2 at Temple Beth El in Northbrook, Illinois. Lexi enjoys singing and acting in her middle school musicals and is an active member of her Chicago NFTY and URJ groups. Her older brother Ian and younger sister Sadie were delighted to participate in the service. Lexi’s mitzvah project involved donations and community service to help young children in reading resources and access to books. Lexi is the granddaughter of Bari and Warren Colman of Glenview, Illinois, and Sharon and Ralph Tarter of Pittsburgh. PJC

Rabbi Levi Langer Parshat Tzav Leviticus 6:1-8:36

n this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Tzav, Aaron the High Priest is told that the kohanim are to clean the ashes from the Altar regularly while wearing the priestly garments. Bachya ibn Pekudah, the noted medieval ethicist, writes that this is to teach the kohanim humility: They were raised up from the people, exalted to perform the Divine service in the Temple, and yet they themselves had to clean away the ashes when the service was done. It is interesting, then, that the kohen is to

his or her life goals of their own In a puzzling teaching, the Talmud tells us that the Sages declared one day that there were no longer any truly humble people left alive, as all the true paragons of humility had departed from the world. Rabbi Yosef promptly spoke up and said, “Do not speak in this this manner, for there is still I.” Rabbi Yosef forthrightly identifies himself as a humble person. He saw in this statement no contradiction to his humility. Rabbi Moshe Sofer, a leading 19th-century Hungarian rabbinic figure, comments that we might have expected Rabbi Yosef to remain silent if he if were really humble. Yet the Talmud teaches us an important lesson here: Rabbi Yosef was humble, but he also considered it vitally important that he not

I need to know what my strengths are, and if I am humble, then that too is something I ought to know about myself. wear the priestly garments when doing this job. Earlier the Torah tells us that the priestly garments are designed to confer upon the wearer “honor and majesty.” It seems quite puzzling to find that these same garments are worn while the kohen does something designed to humble himself. In truth, though, what we have here are two sides to the same coin. Classic Jewish sources teach that humility should not mean that one fails to recognize one’s own self-worth, or to think of oneself as lacking in value. Rather, true humility means that I understand that I have a purpose in life and I have the talents and abilities to fulfill it, yet this does not make me better than my fellows, each of whom has

blind himself to his own strong points. I need to know what my strengths are, and if I am humble, then that too is something I ought to know about myself. So the Torah tells us here: The kohen is to take out the ashes and learn humility. But at the same time, let him not forget who he is. Let him wear the priestly garments, and recognize that in the midst of being modest, one must also celebrate one’s dignity and talents. PJC Rabbi Levi Langer is dean of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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19 color OBITS

Obituaries BROWN: Daniel “Danny” Brown on Monday, March 11, 2019. Beloved husband of Kathleen Brown and the late Dolores Brown; beloved father of the late Estelle S. (late Robert) Peacock and late Fern L. Wasserman; brother of the late Philip Brown; “Zee” and grandfather of Ronna (Tim) Pratt. Also survived by his cat, Betty. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment B’nai Israel Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Tree of Life Congregation, 5898 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, Suite 1B, 5150 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 or Humane Animal Rescue, Attn: Donations Department, 6926 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. schugar.com GERSON: Mildred M. Gerson, age 93, of Squirrel Hill, on Tues., March 12, 2019. Daughter of the late Joseph and Molly Katz Gerson. Sister of the late Norman Gerson. Funeral private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Foundation or a charity of your choice. Professional services trusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory LTD., Lawrenceville. dalessandroltd.com SOLOFF: Hope E. Soloff, on Saturday, March

16, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Herbert Goldberg and Louis Soloff. Beloved mother of Carl Goldberg (Tayelor Kennedy), Barbara Goldberg (Len Maczuga) and Jane (Charles) Yahr. Sister of Lee (Hersha) Goldman. Grandmother of Josh, Ben and Jordana Yahr and Karina Costantino. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to any organization working to preserve the democratic ideals fought for by the Greatest Generation. schugar.com STRAUSS: Adena B. Strauss, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Loving mother of Carolyn (Mark) Kanter of Bronx, N.Y. Daughter of the late Rabbi Pincus F. and Leah Miller. Adoring grandmother of Gavi Lior Kanter. Adena dedicated her life to geriatric social work at Jewish Family and Children’s Service, Jewish Association on Aging and Riverview Towers in the 1980s and 1990s. She was also an avid animal lover. Services at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Visitation one hour prior to services (12-1 p.m.). Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to ASPCA, aspca.org/donate. schugar.com PJC

Name: JAA Width: 5.0415 in Depth: 6.75 in Color: Black Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: Ad Number: 1747_1 A gift from ...

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Anonymous ............................................. Ethel Rogers

Jerome Mattes .................................. Luella M. Mattes

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Jerome Mattes ............................Ruth & Morris Martin

Lisa Campbell................................... Rita M. Friedman

Mrs. Alvin Mundel ......................................B.J. Mundel

Ann & Jerold Coffee ................................. Selma Levin Sylvia & Norman Elias ...................... Nancy Angerman The Goldberg Family .................... Harvey James Roth The Goldberg Family ..................... Azriel Meyer Sachs Karen R. Jurgensmier ......................Samuel Rosenfeld

Lee & Debra Rosenfeld & Family .....Samuel Rosenfeld Fred Rubin ........................................ Jacqueline Rubin Faye Pearl Schwartz................................... Betty Pearl Ms. Freda Spiegel ............................Morris Greenberg

Thomas Klevan ......................................... Myer Klevan

Al & Judy Stein ............................................ Sam Stein

Mrs. Racille Lazar .......................................... Ida Shrut

Allan J. Viess ...........................................Joseph Viess

Jerome Mattes ................... Josephine & Glenn Rikard

Barbara Weiss .................................. Jacqueline Rubin

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday March 24: Rebecca Adler, Ida Goldberg, Bessie Michelson, Mildred S. Moss, Albert Rapport, Isaac Young Monday March 25: Solomon Evelovitz, Sophie Goldman, Helen S. Latterman, Samuel Lichtenstein, Philip Mallinger, Jennie Ostrow, Max Reifman, Sarah Schwartz, Marvin Sniderman, Rose Lieberman Solomon, William Taylor, Sara Weiner Tuesday March 26: Philip Ellovich, Frances Light Feinberg, Philip Friedman, Arthur J. Stern, Sadie Weiss, Robert S. Yecies Wednesday March 27: Anna Bernfeld, Rose Cohen Calig, Charles E. Rosenthall, Bella Rosenzweig, Rae Venig Rubin, Ben Shanker, Fannie Siegel Thursday March 28: Sarah Dorothy Cohen, Gerald B. Greenwald, Saul A. Kwall, Julius Jakob Maas, Darlene Robinowitz, Birdie H. Schwartz Friday March 29: Bella Bilder, Rita M. Friedman, Charles Gilles, William Hinkes, Haimen Kauffman, Abraham Pervin, Al N. Plung, Benjamin Siegal, Vera Silverman, Fannie G. Tavernise

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Headlines Response: Continued from page 1

community to raise money in times of crisis, so when we opened this fundraising effort we had no idea what would happen,” he said. “We thought there might be some people in the Jewish community who would help the victims of the shooting in New Zealand.” Past efforts, such as those to raise money for victims of terror in Israel or earthquake victims in Nepal, have garnered the support of hundreds, so when thousands of individuals began donating, Hertzman was amazed. “This all happened over the weekend. We are literally [still] processing the payments today.” The Federation fund will remain open until March 29, and although the umbrella organization has not yet determined “who the right partner is,” the Federation is exploring several outlets for disbursement, said Hertzman. “Ordinarily when we do crisis relief, which we do regularly, we go through our international partner, the … American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, [which] does not have offices in New Zealand. So we have reached out to them to determine whether they are the right partner, and if not there are a number of options of organizations who are on the ground in New Zealand.” A similar fundraising effort was established on March 16 by members of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha. “After the March 15 attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, we feel compelled

“ We recall with love the immediate, overwhelming support Tree of Life received from our Muslim brothers

”

and sisters in Pittsburgh.

— TREE OF LIFE*OR L’SIMCHA to come to the aid of those communities, just as our Jewish community was so compassionately supported only a few short months ago by people around the world of many faiths,” the congregation announced on its GoFundMe page. “We recall with love the immediate, overwhelming support Tree of Life received from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh.” Like the Federation, Tree of Life has yet to identify where the funds will be distributed. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $34,000 had been received. The congregation’s goal is to raise $100,000. “We are profoundly saddened by the horrific shooting in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand,” read a joint statement from Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life. “We grieve with our fellow sons and daughters of Abraham on the senseless loss of life due to senseless hatred, which is an abomination in a civilized society. We stand beside our Muslim brothers and sisters

and mourn alongside the families and friends who have lost loved ones in this unconscionable act of violence. We will continue to work towards a day when all people on this planet can live together in peace and mutual respect.” Rabbi Alex Greenbaum of Beth El Congregation of the South Hills announced on Facebook that in solidarity “with our Muslim brothers and sisters as they enter their mosque to pray,” he would attend services at the Attawheed Islamic Center on Friday. He asked people to join him between 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and/or 12:40 p.m until 1:25 p.m. at the center, located at 401 Washington Ave. in Carnegie. “Our love is stronger than hate,” Greenbaum wrote in the post. The pattern of shootings and rallying support was not lost on Bob Silverman, chair of the Federation’s Community Relations Council. At its most basic level, “ignorance and distrust” of the other is spurring attacks

on minority groups, according to Silverman. Silverman was at a Federation event Sunday evening at the Pittsburgh Sikh Gurdwara, where individuals from both the Jewish and Sikh communities were invited “to share prayer, food, reflections and solidarity.” Representatives of the Sikh community delivered flowers and a book filled with supportive messages to the Federation in the days following the Tree of Life attack. While Sikhism is independent of Islam, the New Zealand attack occurred “just two days prior to this event,” said Silverman. “Obviously it was a topic of conversation.” “Our communities sadly know all too well the horrors of being targeted by white supremacists or people that hate us,” he explained. Sunday’s program offered “an opportunity to bond together and move forward.” On Aug. 5, 2012, six worshippers at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wis., were killed after a white supremacist entered the building and began shooting. Pardeep Singh Kaleka, whose father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, was among those killed, spoke about the attack and efforts to combat hatred during a panel presentation at the August Wilson Cultural Center last month. “By sticking together and finding common ground” we can make clear that “love is stronger than hate,” said Silverman. “I know it is a cliché, but it does carry some meaning. It really is the only way we are going to get through this.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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22 COMMUNITY

Community Yeshiva Girls welcome mothers Yeshiva Girls High School welcomed mothers from across the country for their annual Mother-Daughter Shabbaton. Mothers arrived on Friday and spent time learning with their

daughters and taking part in classes prepared for the event. The girls prepared the meals and planned and executed a beautiful and inspiring melava malkah to end the weekend.

p Chana Friedman of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and her daughter Doba create artwork together at the Shabbaton.

p Yeshiva alumna Rochel Tombosky of Pittsburgh spends time working on an art project with her daughter, Shayna, who is a current Yeshiva student.

p Sheila Soblick of Pittsburgh and Chani Konikov of Orlando, Florida, participate in chemistry class with their daughters.

p Michal and Shayna Ehven of Pittsburgh enjoy Saturday night’s Photos courtesy of Yeshiva Girls High School melava malkah.

Friendship Circle

Macher & Shaker

Friends at the Friendship Circle’s Teen Workshop hosted by Altimate Air Trampoline Park jumped and were motivated by Katie Smith from the PEAL Center, who shared her message of advocacy for people of all abilities. Smith spoke of her personal experience in self-advocacy and brought relevant tips for everyone to find a voice and become stronger advocates. Teen Scene members and Friendship Circle Friends will continue to take leaps toward a more inclusive community. Photos courtesy of Friendship Circle

Beverly Block, managing member of Block & Associates LLC, has been honored as one of The Pittsburgh Business Times 2019 Women of Influence. The awards honor the region’s most influential businesswomen at for-profit companies, nonprofits and government entities. Block founded Block & Associates in 2018. According to The Pittsburgh Business Times, Block co-chaired a new program at the Alleg heny C ounty B ar Association for women attorneys that provides mentoring and education sessions over a 10-month period. Block resides in Squirrel Hill with husband Zack Block and their children, Jordan, Talia and Benny. Photo courtesy of Zack Block

22 MARCH 22, 2019

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Community Yeshiva Schools pre-Purim event More than 150 children attended the festive pre-Purim event held at Yeshiva Schools. They enjoyed refreshments, face painting, the Balloon Man, and a special live performance from Mitzvah Boulevard, all the way from New York City.

p Mitzvah Boulevard

Photo by Simone Shapiro

Faces of Hate symposium

Saint Vincent College held the symposium “Faces of Hate” on March 12, dealing with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. Robin Valeri, professor of psychology at St. Bonaventure University and widely published author on the issue of hate crimes and domestic terrorism, discussed the phenomenon of cyber hate, with a focus on online anti-Semitism. Valeri is the editor of two recent books analyzing this subject, including “Hate Crimes: Typology, Motivations and Victims” and “Terrorism in America.”

 Robin Valeri speaking at the symposium on “Faces of Hate”

Photo courtesy of Saint Vincent College

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