Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3-29-19

March 29, 2019 | 22 Adar II 5779

Candlelighting 7:23 p.m. | Havdalah 8:23 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 13 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL ‘Survivor’ coming to JNF Champ Ethan Zohn will share passion for Israel.

Recent controversy notwithstanding, support at AIPAC remains bipartisan

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$1.50

Celebrated NPR reporter Melissa Block talks to Pittsburgh

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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sizable delegation from Pittsburgh, were on hand for the three-day conference, which concluded Tuesday with visits by attendees to the offices of their representatives on Capitol Hill.

Pelosi’s attendance was notable for the fact that parts of her own caucus have been highly critical of continued settlement building in the West Bank and the Israeli government’s waning support for a two-state solution. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has criticized AIPAC itself, arguing on Twitter in February that the pro-Israel lobby effectively buys support from American politicians.

“It’s all about the Benjamins,” she tweeted, which was widely regarded as invoking an anti-Semitic stereotype.

In a speech delivered by satellite from Israel Tuesday morning, Netanyahu responded.

“From this Benjamin, it’s not about the Benjamins,” Netanyahu said. “The reason Americans love Israel is not because they want our money, it’s because they share our values. It’s because America and Israel share a love of freedom and democracy.”

elissa Block has reported from the epicenter of global events such as New York City, in the aftermath of 9/11, and Chengdu, China, when a 2008 earthquake left 69,000 people dead. Block, who began working at National Public Radio 34 years ago, shared some insights from her heralded career during a visit to Pittsburgh last week for Point Park University’s Media Innovators Speakers Series.

The March 19 program featured auditory examples of Block’s work, as well as a collegial conversation. Serving as interviewer, and seated beside Block on the Pittsburgh Melissa Playhouse stage, Block Photo by was Lucy Perkins, a Allison Shelley/NPR reporter and producer for 90.5 WESA. Through prepared questions and audience submissions, Perkins explored Block’s professional endeavors, including the latter’s 12-year-span as co-host of “All Things Considered,” NPR’s flagship news program.

(Prior to holding her Pittsburgh post, Perkins worked with Block in Washington, D.C., on “All Things Considered.”)

During her tenure on the show, Block reported on Dujiangyan parents’ search for their child and his grandparents amid the rubble of a collapsed six-story apartment building. At the event last week, an excerpt of that 2008 recording was aired. After hearing Block’s narration interspersed with the parents’ cries and an excavator’s hum, Perkins asked, “What is it like to report on the worst day of their life?”

Block recounted following the child’s

Please see AIPAC, page 16

Please see NPR, page 16

LOCAL Condolences, bound JFCS collects messages of goodwill in book form.

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 Vice President Mike Pence addresses the AIPAC Policy Conference Monday morning.

Photo courtesy of AIPAC

LOCAL

By Jared Foretek | Special to the Chronicle

First Amendment clash

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Panel convened by Duquesne student tackles anti-Semitism and the means to fight it.

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or the first time since freshman Democratic legislators brought renewed scrutiny on the AmericanIsrael relationship — and amidst a rocket attack from Gaza that cut short Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States — AIPAC held its annual Policy Conference in Washington this week.

Despite the controversy, politicians from both sides of the aisle sent a clear message: Israel maintains strong bipartisan support in the halls of Congress.

“We are joined this week by leaders of both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol because support for Israel in America is bipartisan and bicameral, relentlessly bipartisan,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at Tuesday morning’s general session inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. “We are all here connected for good, united in our shared mission to advance peace, prosperity and progress in the Middle East, in America and around the world.”

An estimated 18,000 people, including a

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Israel celebrates British officer

Headlines ‘Survivor’ champ Ethan Zohn to share passion for Israel at JNF breakfast — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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f you are a fan of the long-running CBS reality show “Survivor,” it is well worth your time to re-watch its third season, “Survivor: Africa,” just to see Ethan Zohn play.

In a game in which players commonly resort to deceit and trickery, and where trust is elusive, Zohn won the 2002 season through decency, selflessness and a sense of fairness that he attributes in large part to his strong Jewish values.

Zohn, now a self-described “passionate” advocate for Israel, will be in Pittsburgh on April 3, speaking at a Jewish National Fund breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

“I had every intention to go [into “Survivor”] and be a lying, backstabbing person and do everything I could to win this game,” said Zohn, speaking by phone from his home in New Hampshire. “However, once I got there, I realized it wasn’t necessarily the best strategy for me. My wonderful mom had said, ‘Ethan, just come back with your dignity and self-respect. That matters more than whatever happens there.’”

Once immersed in the game, Zohn “realized that using some of the values I learned growing up in the Jewish community worked well with the people that were there. It was more about being selfless in a selfish game, being the teacher, being a member of the community, being a leader who works well with other people. Those are the things I learned growing up within the Jewish people.”

There were several occasions on the show where Zohn’s Jewishness specifically “came

p Ethan Zohn was the winner of CBS’s “Survivor: Africa.”

Photo courtesy of Ethan Zohn p Ethan Zohn Photo courtesy of Ethan Zohn

into play,” he said. One of those incidents involved his winning a plate of mystery food along with fellow tribemate Tom Buchanan — a goat farmer from Virginia who had never before met a Jew. “On that mystery plate of food was a big, beautiful breakfast, but half of it was bacon and ham,” recalled Zohn. “And here I am starving, and Tom’s like, ‘He’s a Jew! He’s a Jew! He won’t eat the ham!’ And I’m laughing and he’s laughing.”

Both Buchanan and Zohn were criticized for their reactions, Buchanan for making fun of Zohn, and Zohn for laughing it off, but Zohn used the experience as an opportunity to educate.

“That experience was kind of a bonding moment for us where I had this opportunity,” Zohn explained. “I could have got [upset], I could have voted Tom off. But I thought that would be too easy. So, instead, it was a really great opportunity to tell him, ‘This is what Jews are. These are the foods we eat, these are the holidays we celebrate. And these are the rules of our community and our culture.’”

Prior to playing “Survivor,” Zohn played professional soccer for the Hawaii Tsunami, Cape Cod Crusaders, and Zimbabwe Highlanders F.C. He used his $1 million winnings from “Survivor” to co-found Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit that uses the power of the game to combat HIV/AIDS and

improve the health of adolescents in developing countries.

His inspiration for Grassroot Soccer came during an episode of “Survivor” when he was visiting a small village and began kicking around a hacky sack ball with some children.

“I later found out that those kids were HIV positive,” Zohn said. “I couldn’t communicate with these kids, I couldn’t speak the same language, but I had this little ball. And once we started playing soccer, it broke down the barriers. We were able to communicate and laugh and smile and giggle.

“I realized we can use the sport of soccer Please see Survivor, page 17

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Headlines JFCS book, ‘Dear Pittsburgh,’ offers comfort to Tree of Life victims “The book is very meaningful,” said Ellen Leger, whose husband, Dan Leger, was seriously wounded in the attack. “I have it on our coffee table, and I am slowly getting through

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer all the entries. I want to take my time, so I ven on Jewish Pittsburgh’s darkest day can savor each comment.”

The words of support “coming from people — Oct. 27, 2018 — there was light.

Almost immediately, people of all ages, religions and backgrounds has been very healing,” she said. from near and far, Jews “It really has helped. It helps and non-Jews, friends and us know we are not alone.” strangers, began reaching out to the community The book was the idea of Rebecca Remson, director with words of shared grief, of communications of JFCS, sympathy and outrage. who knows firsthand what Those words helped it feels like to be a victim Pittsburgh’s Jewish commuof terrorism. In 2011, the nity feel that it was not Pittsburgh native was living alone and set it on a path in Israel when a bomb planted toward healing, according to by a Palestinian terrorist Jordan Golin, president and exploded at a bus stop, CEO of Jewish Family and ripping through the back of Community Services. the bus she was riding.

An inspiring collection of p ‘Dear Pittsburgh’ Photo courtesy of JFCS Remson escaped with just the notes, emails and cards collected in the weeks following Oct. 27 an eye injury, but afterward went to work at has been assembled in a book called “Dear the OneFamily Fund in Jerusalem to help Pittsburgh,” published by JFCS and given to ease the pain of other victims and survithe victims, families of victims, congrega- vors of Palestinian terrorist attacks. While tions and first responders of the anti-Semitic at OneFamily, Remson witnessed the flood attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building. of letters of support coming in for victims

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and their families, and made sure that those words were delivered to those who needed to read them.

“I know that words of comfort and support help families who are dealing with grief and anguish,” Remson said.

Just two days after the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building, JFCS set up a website where people could leave written messages for those who were suffering in Pittsburgh. Within one week, JFCS had collected more than 500 messages, and by the end of the campaign it had collected about 1,000 more.

Those writing notes “just wanted us to know they stood with us,” said Remson.

Thousands of additional messages of support have gone directly to the individual congregations that were attacked, the families of the victims, the wounded and to other local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives also has been collecting emails, letters and other communications to ensure that a historical record is preserved of the event and its aftermath.

The JFCS book is not intended to be a comprehensive collection of the messages

of comfort received by Jewish Pittsburgh, according to Golin.

“It’s just a snapshot,” he said. “And it was a way to allow people to help.”

There are messages from children, from communities, from families.

“You are strong, and you will get through this. You are not alone,” wrote Owen Gustafson of Buffalo, Minn.

“My prayers are with you,” wrote Sister Carol Boschert of O’Fallon, Mo. “The whole world is mourning for the beautiful lives that were taken from us,” wrote “Leah,” from Shawnee, Kan. The book was compiled by JFCS staffers Dave Offord, strategic marketing specialist, and Sarah Welch, director of the JFCS Career Development Center.

In addition to the notes of comfort, “Dear Pittsburgh” contains Pittsburgh Post-Gazette articles about each of the 11 people who were murdered in the attack, their photos and a letter of condolence from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The books are available to the public, by request, and for a donation of more than $100. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronincle.org.

Name: City Theager Width: 10.25 in Depth: 6.75 in Color: Black plus three Ad Number: -

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Headlines Anti-Semitism and First Amendment symposium purposely raises questions — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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avid DeFelice always intended that people would leave his panel with more questions than answers, so when nearly 200 attendees exited his event last week pondering hate speech, anti-Semitism and the evolution of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, DeFelice was pleased.

Even before the events of Oct. 27, the Duquesne University student considered hosting a symposium on anti-Semitism and the First Amendment as part of his senior thesis. Following the horrors of last fall, however, DeFelice sensed a newfound urgency for public dialogue.

“I wanted to open it up to the community and get more people involved to kind of have a more nuanced debate on hate speech, which is often the precursor to hate crimes,” the political science major said outside of his March 18 panel.

In exploring the topic, DeFelice moderated a discussion between Alana Bandos, Bruce Ledewitz, Stephanie R. Reiss and Joshua Sayles. DeFelice began the

TEMPLE SINAI & RODEF SHALOM Combined Choirs

p Joshua Sayles, left, Stephanie R. Reiss, David DeFelice, Bruce Ledewitz and Alana Bandos participated in the symposium on anti-Semitism and the First Amendment at Duquesne University.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

conversation by asking the panelists to define hate speech, anti-Semitism and the legality of anti-BDS legislation.

SPECIAL GUESTS FROM Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, Cantors Assembly, & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

“The cure for bad speech isn’t more speech legislation,” said Reiss, an attorney and member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Greater

Pittsburgh, Legal Committee. “When you have restrictions on speech, even in a small area, it has a chilling effect on speech in general.”

Ledewitz, a Duquesne University School of Law professor, expounded on protections afforded by the First Amendment with an auditory example. As awful as it may be to declare “Jews are vermin,” such a statement is protected, he explained.

DeFelice invited Bandos, education director for the Anti-Defamation League’s Cleveland office, to explore other threatening speech, such as that espoused by some BDS activists.

“BDS is really a college student movement,” said Bandos. “Most students believe they are buying into social justice,” but the issue is murkier. Students should research Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, she advised, and learn his positions regarding Israel.

Doing so will allow students to see “BDS is very complicated and we need to look at all of its goals and we need to look at all of its practices,” she said.

During a question and answer segment, DeFelice read audience-submitted queries, including one asking for strategies Please see Symposium, page 17

Bernstein Assistant Conductor

FLAVIO CHAMIS

FOR TICKETS: TempleSinaiPGH.org/BernsteinAt100•(412) 421-9715 x115

Sunday, April 7•Concert 7 PM•$20 Temple Sinai•5505 Forbes Avenue•Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Temple Sinai is an inclusive community that embraces, supports, and values all people, regardless of ability or needs, to participate in every aspect of our Reform Jewish synagogue life. If you need an accommodation, please call Judy Rulin Mahan at (412) 421-9715 ext. 110.

Photo #1 by Allan Warren, 1973; Photo #2 & 3 by Paul de Hueck, Courtesy of the Leonard Bernstein Office; Photo 4 by Al Ravenna, 1955, courtesy of the Library of Congress

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Join with your Pittsburgh neighbors For a Movie, Conversation & Snacks

Dear White People Described by Vanity Fair as a sharp and very funny Netflix comedy that should be on everyone’s watch list, Dear White People follows several Black students at an Ivy League college as they navigate campus life and racial politics.

Thursday, April 11 • 6:30 PM Center of Life, 161 Hazelwood Avenue • Pittsburgh, PA 15207 Enter on Sylvan Avenue; street parking is available.

Free and Open to All Transportation will be provided from the JCC. To RSVP and for transportation details, visit tinyurl.com/April112019 Childcare will be available downstairs at the Center of Life.

Artwork by Jasmine Green and Ron Butler will be on display.

*Movies We Have to Talk About is an initiative of the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh and community partners. Look for upcoming movies in the months to come.

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Headlines Pittsburgh native joins British Jewish security group — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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n Oct. 27, 2018, Jessica Neiss was on a train in London, England, when a friend messaged her that there was an active shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue building.

“I went into panic mode,” recalled Neiss, a physical therapist with three young children, who grew up attending services at Tree of Life and who moved to London from Pittsburgh last summer. “It felt like 9/11. I messaged all my friends and my parents, and I got off at the first train stop to get my bearings. I was in absolute shock.”

Wanting to help in whatever way she could from across the pond, Neiss volunteered to speak at a London vigil organized by the JW3, a Jewish community center there.

When she arrived at the vigil, she saw that others on the lineup included such luminaries as Home Secretary Sajid Javid; London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan; the American ambassador to London, Woody Johnson; and Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev.

Of those on the roster, though, “it was Jessica whose words touched the packed audience,” reported Britain’s Jewish News.

“I am a Pittsburgher,” Neiss told the crowd, according to the Jewish News. “Squirrel Hill is where neighbors treat each other with respect and people of all races and creeds and backgrounds can live together peacefully.”

p Jessica Neiss

Photo courtesy of Jessica Neiss

Neiss told the audience that British people had asked her if there were security guards at her synagogue. “My response has been, what for?” Neiss said. “I guess that’s going to have to change.”

Neiss’s speech was broadcast live and received a lot of attention in the British press. It also caught the attention of Britain’s Community Security Trust, a Jewish organization that works for the physical protection and defense of British Jews, promotes good relations between British Jews and the rest of British society, and helps the victims of anti-Semitic attacks or bias. The nonprofit provides security advice and training for Jewish organizations, congregations and schools at no charge.

CST invited Neiss to speak at its annual dinner on Feb. 27, which attracted 1,000 guests.

“I opened the dinner,” Neiss said, speaking by phone from her home in London. “They brought me down to headquarters, and took me on a tour around them. The attitude Jews have here, and the attitude Jews have in America [about security] is very different.”

When an anti-Semitic problem arises in the United Kingdom, “Jews here are about protecting themselves,” said Neiss.

“In America, Jews turn to the police to protect them.”

During her speech at the CST dinner, Neiss explained that, before Oct. 27, the peaceful and cooperative character of Squirrel Hill had not demanded the type of security precautions undertaken by British Jews.

“Back home, we have over 13 shuls within 5 miles of each other,” Neiss told the audience. “They didn’t have security guards, because we didn’t need them. People loved to come and go. To pray with their neighbors and celebrate life’s simchas together. There were no ‘lists’ of congregants. We moved between the shuls, regardless of affiliation.

That is the innocence that was destroyed at Tree of Life synagogue.”

“Jessica’s address at the main U.K. Jewish community commemoration for the Pittsburgh victims was deeply moving and powerful,” said David Delew, chief executive of the CST. “It was a privilege for CST to have her open our annual dinner. Her speech explained the reality of terrorism, anti-Semitism and Jewish unity to our

1,000 guests. It was greatly appreciated by all present, including the chief officer of London’s Police and the U.K. Government Home Secretary.”

Since she has been living in London, Neiss has observed “security outside all Jewish buildings,” both trained security officers and trained volunteers. There are four security guards posted outside her children’s Jewish day school every day.

“It is not an open-door policy here at all,” according to Neiss. “There is a different mindset here to prevent things like what happened at Tree of Life.”

While anti-Semitism frequently makes the headlines in Great Britain — including recurrent incidents involving the liberal Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn — Neiss has not witnessed any problems firsthand.

She has, however, registered to become trained by CST as a security volunteer to help keep her new community safe.

“I don’t believe in violence,” she said. “But I do believe in protecting ourselves. I see that it works here. Thank God they haven’t had a problem here [inside a Jewish building] in a really long time.”

CST, and its emphasis on strong preventative measures, could be a model for Pittsburgh, Neiss believes.

“It’s great to learn how to ‘stop the bleed,’ but it is better to learn how to prevent it from happening,” she said. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Student: Music speaks when words do not — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Experiences like Oct. 27 demonstrate “the power of music,” said Dubin: “On such a challenging day for both the Jewish

In moments unconsumed by music or musical theater, Dubin focuses on sharing his love of Israel. As a StandWithUs intern,

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Dubin recently shared knowledge of Israel with CAPA classmates.

“I did a program last month, or two months ago, about LGBTQ rights in Israel, and that was something that the audience was interested in, you know, more so than politics or, you know, science.”

Interest notwithstanding, when it comes to Israel education, Pittsburgh has its share of unschooled constituents, said Dubin.

“In general, there is a good group here but we’re also seeing a lot of kind of issues based off of ignorance. A lot of people, especially in a public school community, don’t know anything and are really succumbing to misinformation, and I think that there’s an important mission that we need to make sure we fulfill outside of, you know, just the Jewish community.”

When seeking understanding about the Jewish state, music can be an incredible vehicle, he explained.

Experiences such as conducting Temple Sinai’s annual Thanksgiving interfaith service, which includes Christian and Muslim musicians, have provided “circumstances where I can see what music can bring to people.”

Music, Dubin added, is a “whole other language. It’s the only language that everybody in the world speaks.” PJC

ven at the age of 16, Mitchell Dubin understood that the futility of words can be offset by music. On the evening of Oct. 27, Dubin, a junior at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School, was set to conduct the CAPA orchestra for a special production of “Annie” by the Pittsburgh Musical Theater.

Given the day’s horrors, there was talk of canceling the Byham-based performance, but organizers proceeded. Hours before opening, Dubin prepared to lead 50 student musicians.

He knew “Annie” would begin with a moment of silence, but decided to extend the gesture.

“I pulled together an arrangement of ‘Hativka’ for the orchestra to play,” he said.

The orchestra was “for the most part not Jewish … and I know from speaking to p Mitchell Dubin has been interested in music most of his life.

Photos courtesy of Mitchell Dubin a lot of them, and watching them, a lot of them were really moved by being able to community and people who live in the city Dubin is one of nearly 90 high school do something.”

After the performance, a musician of Pittsburgh,” music helps “heal ... and we’ve students nationwide who receive educaapproached Dubin. seen now in the past few months people tion and training from the Los Angelesbased nonprofit.

“I was wearing a Jewish star on my lapel turning to music for healing.”

StandWithUS is “rooted in helping everypin and he told me that the whole night, he For most of Dubin’s life, he has been interwas looking up at me.” ested in music. He began playing bassoon body find their own truth and working Playing Israel’s national anthem, hours four years ago and piano eight years prior within boundaries of facts and education, to after 11 Jews were gruesomely murdered to that. Conducting, however, is a more move toward good speech and progress and, in their place of worship, was meaningful, recent pursuit — he started approximately hopefully, understanding about issues in the Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ region,” said Dubin. explained Dubin. three years ago. pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar 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. >> 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 THROUGH FRIDAY, 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 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 at 10 a.m. All are welcome to attend.

Contact the Temple office with questions at 412-279-7600.

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 TUESDAY APRIL 2 AND APRIL 9 Beth Shalom will host a Lunch and Learn on the topic “Homosexuality, Human Dignity and Halakhah” at noon, downtown at 535 Smithfield St., April 2, and at Beth Shalom at noon on April 9. The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has been reviewing contemporary halakhic issues for the Conservative movement for more than 90 years, and has a long-standing tradition of issuing thoughtful, sensitive responsa to the challenges of keeping Jewish law in today’s world. There is no charge. Visit tinyurl.com/ LunchLearnApril2019 for more information. 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 (20s and 30s) are invited to Shabbat Across Pittsburgh at the Chabad of Pittsburgh Social

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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 412-952-4702 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/ events-upcoming 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.

The Fran Lefkowitz Biblical Archaeology Series at Rodef Shalom Congregation with Ron Tappy, a weekly Sunday seven-week course through May 19, will begin with a light lunch at 12:30 p.m. followed by class from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the chapel. Tappy, of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, will delve into topics surrounding the Hebrew Bible, the life and times of Amos the Prophet, the Battle of Lachish and the Theology of Jerusalem, and more. In addition, Tappy will present a series of major inscriptions related to Israel but were written by scribes and rulers in multiple powers outside of Israel. There is no charge. Visit rodefshalom.org/RSVP to RSVP and for more information.

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 pre-Passover 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

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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 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 The CDS Parent Association and Jewish Community Center/The Second Floor invite the community for a free screening of the new documentary “Angst, Raising Awareness Around Anxiety” at 7 p.m. at the Katz Theater at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. The 56-minute film explores anxiety, its causes and effects and what we can do about it, telling stories of kids and teens who discuss their anxiety and how they found solutions and hope. A post-film panel discussion with mental health and child development professionals will follow, opening up a dialogue among families, community leaders and experts. The event is free, but space is limited; attendance is limited to two people per household. There is no charge. RSVP at comday.org/angst. 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. q THURSDAY APRIL 11 TO

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

The Spring Thrift & Designer Sale at the Designer Days Boutique will be held at Thriftique Pittsburgh, 125 51st St. in Lawrenceville. Free parking is available. All proceeds benefit National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section’s community service programs for women, children, and families. There is no charge. Visit facebook. com/events/569863340186858 for more information.

Please see Calendar, page 9

MARCH 29, 2019 7

“Teens who spend 5 or more hours per day on their smartphones are 71% more likely to have one risk factor for suicide.”

— Clinical Psychological Science, November 2017

TEEN MENTAL HEALTH TOWN HALL Join us for this important community conversation

Featuring Dr. Jean Twenge. Dr. Twenge will speak about the mental health effects on teens who are addicted to their smart phones and social media. Following her talk, we will have a panel discussion with teens who will provide personal insights into their smartphone use, how it effects them and their peers, and the impact on their own social lives.

Sunday, April 28 • 4-6 pm Squirrel Hill JCC, Katz Theatre Open to the community - Both teens and adults • • • •

Free to attend.

Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Staunton Farm Foundation Arrive early or stay late to explore opportunities to get involved with local organizations that will provide your family with alternative experiences to using smartphones. Mental health service providers will also be on hand for anyone in need.

Dr. Jean Twenge is psychology professor and author who wrote, “IGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.” Jean has also been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR and many other media outlets speaking on this topic.

To RSVP: jccpgh.formstack.com/forms/community_conversation QUESTIONS? Contact Rachael Speck at 412-697-3539, rspeck@jccpgh.org.

8 MARCH 29, 2019

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 7 q SUNDAY, APRIL 14 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/generationsspeaker-series/ for more information and to register.

Rabbi Don Rossoff of Temple Emanuel will present part 3 of his Jewish Life Cycle adult education series at 10:30 a.m. Topics will be illness, death and mourning. Contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 or templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org for more information and to RSVP. Chabad of the South Hills will hold a prePassover wood workshop to create a matzah holder for the seder table from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Home Depot in Bethel Park, 4000 Oxford Drive. The cost is $5 before April 7 and $7 after April 7. Children registered before April 7 will be entered into a raffle for a free pass to Snapology. Visit ChabadSH. com or contact mussie@chabadsh.com or 412-344-2424 to register.

Campus Superstar, a professionally produced singing competition featuring Pittsburgh’s most talented college students, will be held at Stage AE on the North Shore from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ten finalists compete for the Elly Award and the Ellen Weiss Kander Grand Prize of $5,000. This year’s honorees are Sue Berman Kress and Doug Kress and the proceeds of this event will benefit the activities of the Hillel Jewish University Center. Visit campussuperstar.org for more information and tickets. q MONDAY, APRIL 15 The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will present local historian David Rosenberg’s exhibit “Rediscovering the Jews of Amiens” at 7 p.m. After France fell under Nazi control

4905 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 rodefshalom.org

The Fran Lefkowitz Biblical Archaeology Series with Dr. Ron Tappy of the Pittsburgh theological seminary A 7-Week Course Beginning at 1 p.m., Sunday, April 7

Light lunch served at 12:30 p.m. Class is held from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., every Sunday beginning April 7. The last class will take place Sunday, May 19.

J

oin Dr. Ron Tappy of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary for an exciting exploration of the world of Biblical Archaeology, complete with sessions that confirm the reality of well-known biblical narratives that have shaped history. Delve into topics surrounding the Hebrew Bible, the life and times of Amos the Prophet, the Battle of Lachish and the Theology of Jerusalem, and more. In addition, Dr. Tappy will present a series of major inscriptions related to Israel, but were written by scribes and rulers in multiple powers outside

in 1940, Jews across the country were forced to register with local authorities. The majority of Amiens Jews were later murdered. For decades, their names and photographs were tucked away in a government building in Paris. Slowly, they began to fade from the collective memory of their former neighbors.

The exhibit shares the faces and collected biographical details that Rosenberg has unearthed. At the opening, Rosenberg will discuss some of the history and process behind the exhibit. There is no charge. Visit hcofpgh.org/amiens for more information.

Raffle - Basket Auction. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Children ages 10-15 are $10 and children under 10 are free. Takeout is also available. Limited tickets will be available at the door. Contact 412-422-1850 or visit jrspgh.salsalabs. org/2019ClubhouseSpaghettiDinner for more information and to purchase tickets.

Proceeds benefit the Sally & Howard Levin Clubhouse, a program that supports adults with mental illness.

q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host author Sloane Crosley at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave. The cost is $22, which includes a paperback copy of Crosley’s book, “Look Alive Out There.”

Visit pittsburghlectures.org/lectures/sloanecrosley for more information.

Squirrel Hill AARP will hold its next meeting at 1 p.m. in the Falk Library on the second floor of Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. The meeting is open to all seniors in the community. The nominating committee will present nominations for the chapter’s 2019-2020 operating year and the floor will be open for other nominations. Voting will take place during the chapter’s May meeting with installation at the annual June luncheon.

Following the business meeting, Lisa Epps, Pittsburgh fire inspector/fire prevention officer, will speak on basic fire safety and escape plans. Barbara M. Morello, supervisor/ CERT instructor of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, will discuss creating a 72-hour kit, and the importance of family emergency and communication plans. Contact Marcia Kramer at 412-731-3338 for more information.

Sally & Howard Levin Clubhouse will hold its spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. There will also be a 50/50

q TUESDAY, APRIL 23

q THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 27 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s traveling exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race will be at the Heritage Discovery Center in Johnstown.

The exhibition examines how the Nazi leadership, in collaboration with individuals in professions traditionally charged with healing and the public good, used science to help legitimize persecution, murder and ultimately, genocide. Admission to the entire Heritage Discovery Center will be free every Saturday during the exhibition in order to maximize the number of people who see it.

Visit jaha.org for more information. PJC

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of Israel. The historical information recorded in the inscriptions you will study with Dr. Tappy provide an in-depth look at Israel’s history throughout the period of the Hebrew judges and kings, giving you the chance to study archaeological proof of biblical stories cherished in Judaism.

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MARCH 29, 2019 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Alabama congressman compares Democrats and media with Nazis in House floor rant An Alabama Republican congressman compared Democrats and the media with the Nazis and quoted Adolf Hitler during a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mo Brooks on Monday condemned the Mueller investigation and its supporters, accusing Democrats and members of the media of propagating a “big lie” about collusion.

Hitler had coined the expression in his book “Mein Kampf ” to describe “the Jews, with their unqualified capacity for falsehood, and their fighting comrades, the Marxists,” to blame Germany’s loss in World War I on an anti-Semitic general.

“A big lie is a political propaganda technique made famous by Germany’s National Socialist German Workers Party, but more on that later,” Brooks said, referring to the Nazi Party. “For more than two years, socialist Democrats and their fake news media allies — CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Washington Post and countless others — have perpetrated the biggest political lie, con, scam and fraud in American history.”

Brooks concluded: “America can either learn from history or be doomed to repeat

it. When it comes to ‘big lie’ political propaganda in America, as the Mueller report confirms, America’s socialists and their fake news media allies are experts and have no peers. Regardless, America must reject their big lies or succumb to the danger that lurks, and horrific damage that results.”

The Anti-Defamation League condemned Brooks.

“It’s unconscionable for a member of Congress to demonize an opposing party by claiming it’s comparable to Nazism,” the ADL said in a tweet. “The vicious Nazi regime was responsible for the murder of 6 million Jews and millions more. This is dangerous and @ RepMoBrooks must apologize.”

Brooks posted a video of his speech on the House floor on his YouTube channel.

Pompeo: Possibly Trump sent from God to ‘help save’ the Jews Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested that President Donald Trump may have been sent by God to protect Israel.

Asked in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network whether he thought “President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace” — a reference to the story behind the Purim holiday, and to the present-day relationship between Iran and Israel — Pompeo said: “As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.”

He added that with “the work that our administration’s done to make sure that this democracy in the Middle East, that this Jewish state, remains,” that he is “confident that the Lord is at work here.”

Pompeo was in Jerusalem, where he accompanied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Western Wall.

The secretary also said that the Trump administration’s peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians doesn’t sacrifice “core principles” of any religion.

“I’ve seen the details of the plan as it stands now,” Pompeo said. Asked if it includes dividing Jerusalem, he said it “doesn’t sacrifice any of these core principles, frankly, of any of the faiths.”

Israel has opposed relinquishing control of the Western Wall and other sites holy to Judaism to the Palestinians.

Alex Bregman signs the largest-ever contract for a Jewish athlete Alex Bregman has agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract with the Houston Astros — likely the largest deal ever for a professional Jewish athlete.

Bregman, who turns 25 at the end of the month, has established himself as one of Major League Baseball’s top players. Last year he finished fifth in the American League’s Most Valuable Player voting following a season of 31 home runs, 103 runs batted in and a league-best 51 doubles. He also was

named the All-Star Game’s MVP. Fellow Jewish major leaguer Ryan Braun’s contract from 2008 — for $45 million with the Milwaukee Brewers — now appears small in comparison.

They all do now compared to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout: On March 20, the two-time American League MVP signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract, one of the largest deals ever in pro sports.

Anti-Semitic fliers hung near several Los Angeles schools Fliers with anti-Semitic messages were hung near several schools and a shopping mall in Los Angeles.

The flyers were discovered on Monday and later removed by police, the Algemeiner first reported.

Images on the flyer compared a Star of David to a Nazi swastika, calling them both hate symbols. It also asked “What is the difference between crackheads and Jews?” and also said “The murder of innocent women and children by a Rothschild led Jewish Zionist armed militia to forcibly confiscate the Land of Palestine now known as Israel.”

They were found near two high schools and an elementary school in neighborhoods with large Jewish populations.

The fliers are being investigated as a hate crime the Los Angeles Jewish Journal reported, citing the Los Angeles Police Department. PJC

LAPPEN EYE CARE This week in Israeli history Pittsburgh April 2, 1979 — Begin visits Egypt

— WORLD —

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Israel calls up 30,000 military reservists and announces Operation Defensive Shield in response to a particularly brutal month of terrorist attacks a year and a half into the Second Intifada.

March 30, 1135 — Maimonides born

Moses Ben Maimon, known as Maimonides and the Rambam, is born in Cordoba, Spain.

March 31, 1979 — ‘Hallelujah’ wins Eurovision

Israel wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the second consecutive year as Gali Atari and Milk & Honey take the title with the song “Hallelujah.” The contest is held in Jerusalem because Israel’s entry in 1978, “A-Ba-ni-bi”

by Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta, won the Europe-wide event in Paris for the first time.

April 1, 1925 — Hebrew University opens

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem opens on Mount Scopus, fulfilling a dream first expressed in a letter from Heidelberg University professor Herman Schapira to the Hebrew-language newspaper HaMelitz in 1882.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Menachem Begin becomes the first Israeli prime minister to visit Egypt when he arrives in Cairo a week after signing the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. He is greeted by an Egyptian military band playing the Israeli anthem, “Hatikva,” then enjoys a day of sightseeing, including the pyramids at Giza, war memorials and Cairo’s Gates of Heaven Synagogue.

April 3, 1994 — 2nd Air Force commander dies

Maj. Gen. Aharon Remez, one of the founders of the Israel Air Force, dies in Jerusalem at age 74. A native of Tel Aviv, he serves as a Mapai member of the Knesset in the 1950s and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1965 to 1970.

April 4, 1920 — Riots break out in Old City

The Nebi Musa festival, a pilgrimage to the site Muslims believe to be Moses’ grave near Jericho, breaks into rioting in Jerusalem’s Old City, killing five Jews and four Arabs over three days. Hundreds of others, most of them Jews, are injured in the fighting, which begins on the second day of Passover. PJC

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Headlines Megadonor Michael Steinhardt is accused by 7 women of a pattern of sexual harassment — NATIONAL —

By JTA Staff

M

ichael Steinhardt, the megadonor who helped found Birthright Israel and supports a wide range of Jewish institutions, has been accused of a pattern of propositioning and making sexually inappropriate remarks to women who have approached him as part of their work in Jewish philanthropy or the arts.

The New York Times and ProPublica, the journalism nonprofit, interviewed seven women who said that “Steinhardt asked them to have sex with him, or made sexual requests of them, while they were relying on or seeking his support.”

Steinhardt, 78, issued a statement denying the accusations, but acknowledged a pattern of comments “that were boorish, disrespectful, and just plain dumb.” Friends and supporters of Steinhardt are quoted in the article saying that they knew of Steinhardt’s often crude comments to men and women subordinates, but they were surprised that he crossed the line into sexual harassment.

None of the women interviewed by The Times and ProPublica said Steinhardt touched them inappropriately, but they said they felt “pressured to endure demeaning sexual comments and requests out of fear that complaining could damage their organizations or derail their careers.”

Sheila Katz, a vice president at Hillel International, said she was a young executive at Hillel when she was sent to solicit a donation from Steinhardt. Katz said Steinhardt repeatedly asked if she wanted to have sex with him.

“Institutions in the Jewish world have long known about his behavior, and they have looked the other way,” Katz said. “No one was surprised when I shared that this happened.”

Deborah Mohile Goldberg, the director of communications for Birthright from 2001 to 2010, said Steinhardt asked her if she and a female colleague would like to join him in a threesome. Goldberg said she reported the incident to Shimshon Shoshani, who was then Birthright’s chief executive. Shoshani said he did not recall Goldberg’s allegations.

Natalie Goldfein, the national program director of Synagogue Transformation and Renewal from 2000 and 2002, said Steinhardt suggested in a meeting “that they have babies together.” Goldfein, now a consultant to nonprofits, said he repeatedly made inappropriate comments to her.

Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, professor of Jewish thought and director of admissions at the Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, said Steinhardt suggested that she become his concubine while he was funding her in a rabbinical fellowship in the mid-1990s.

“He set a horrifying standard of what women who work in the Jewish community were expected to endure,” she said.

Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses, another Steinhardt Fellow at the time, said that

p Michael Steinhardt speaks at the Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala in New York City in 2017.

Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Steinhardt told her she should date a married rabbi at the institute. She said she and Sabath complained about Steinhardt’s comments to the head of the fellowship.

Two women who worked at a small Jewish nonprofit not identified in the article said Steinhardt, during a meeting at his office about a donation, suggested that they take part in a “ménage à trois” with him.

Two women at a Manhattan art gallery alleged that Steinhardt, an important client, had made sexually loaded comments. They filed separate sexual harassment lawsuits, which did not name Steinhardt as a defendant. One was discontinued, the other settled.

Steinhardt declined to be interviewed for The Times article, but said his “boorish” comments were made in jest. Through a spokesman, Steinhardt “denied many of the specific actions or words attributed to him by the seven women.”

“In my nearly 80 years on earth, I have never tried to touch any woman or man inappropriately,” Steinhardt said in his statement, according to The Times. Provocative comments, he said, “were part of my schtick since before I had a penny to my name, and I unequivocally meant them in jest. I fully understand why they were inappropriate. I am sorry.”

Steinhardt, 78, a retired hedge fund founder, has given at least $127 million to charitable causes since 2003, according to The Times.

His signature projects include Birthright Israel, which has sent more than 600,000 young Jewish adults on free trips to Israel; a

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

network of Hebrew charter schools; and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv. He has made major gifts to dozens of Jewish institutions large and small.

Last year, Hillel International launched an internal investigation of allegations that Steinhardt made inappropriate sexual remarks to two female employees, The New York Jewish Week reported. The investigation, which ended in January, concluded that Steinhardt had sexually harassed Katz and another employee in a separate incident. Hillel removed his name from its international board of governors.

Rabbi David Gedzelman, president and CEO of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, is a member of the board of directors of 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company. The foundation’s most recent gift to 70 Faces was $5,000.

What others are saying: Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, the president of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life for a decade, said he “repeatedly rebuked Steinhardt for using belittling language toward both men and women.” Tension over Steinhardt’s behavior was a factor when Greenberg, a major theologian of the Holocaust, left the job in 2007.

“I understand that the women felt more shaken or threatened than I recognized at the time,” Greenberg is quoted as saying.

Abraham Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, acknowledged that Steinhardt had a “passion” for matchmaking and programs that encouraged Jews to marry and have Jewish children.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

“Call it a passion, call it an obsession, call it a perversion. Some may. I don’t — I understand it,” Foxman said. “It’s just the way it comes out, which may disturb people.”

Shoshani, the former Birthright chief executive, said he had heard “rumors” of Steinhardt’s inappropriate comments, but did not hear them himself.

“I appreciate him very, very much. Even if there were some comments, about sex, about women, I wouldn’t take it seriously,” Shoshani told The Times, “because he made important decisions in other areas concerning Birthright.”

Charles Bronfman, the co-founder of Birthright, wrote to The Times that “Michael has his unique sense of humour. He loves to tease males and females, and certainly his very good friends. I can attest to that! Always has. But to conjure up intentions that he never had or has is more than a disservice.

It’s downright outrageous!”

Shifra Bronznick, who created an organization to include more woman in positions of Jewish leadership, recalls calling out Steinhardt for his behavior in 2004 and getting pushback from colleagues who recalled his generosity to Jewish institutions.

“When people say bad things about Jews, our community leaders are on red alert about the dangers of anti-Semitism,” she said. “But when people harass women verbally instead of physically, we are asked to accept that this is the price we have to pay for the philanthropic resources to support our work.” PJC MARCH 29, 2019 11

Headlines Blair Braverman becomes first Jewish woman to finish the Iditarod sled dog race — NATIONAL —

By Emily Burack | JTA

W

riter and adventurer Blair Braverman appears to be the first Jewish woman to race in — and complete — the historic Iditarod sled dog race, finishing the grueling 1,000-mile course in 13 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes and 2 seconds.

The 30-year-old musher crossed the finish line Sunday in Nome, Alaska, in 36th place.

Her sled was pulled by 14 dogs.

“WE DID IT!!!!!!” she tweeted Sunday. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And also the most beautiful. The dogs and I took care of each other the whole way. Stories to come, but for now we plan to nap (and eat) for days.

All dogs and humans are doing great.”

Braverman told Alma last year that the Iditarod is “something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.” She grew up in Davis, California, and now lives in northern Wisconsin with her husband, Quince Mountain. They run BraverMountain Mushing (a portmanteau of their names).

On Twitter, where she has a dedicated following of over 70,000 people, Braverman tweets long-form stories. She shares her life raising dogs, racing and being the only Jew in her rural Wisconsin community. She’s become somewhat of an internet sensation: Her fans call themselves the “Ugly Dogs” following a Twitter troll that told Blair to “Go back to your ugly dogs, Karen.”

In an NPR profile of Braverman, she explained that she believes her Twitter popularity is due to the inaccessible nature of the rural sport.

She also reminds her followers time and

p Braverman came in 36th place in the 1,000-mile race.

again that all her sled dogs are Jewish (with the exception of one). As she told Alma, “They are proud Jewish sled dogs.” She also tweets about feeling “like a Jewish grandmother” when she watches her dogs eat.

“My dogs are my family,” she wrote in Vogue. “I love them like pets, but we also have a different, deeper connection that comes from relying on each other in the wilderness. That bond with my dogs — the love we share and the things we can do together — is the whole point of all of this.”

Braverman graduated from Colby College and received her master’s degree in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa. In 2016, she published her memoir, “Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North,” about navigating the arctic as a

Photo by James Netz

woman. She also writes an advice column for Outside magazine called “Tough Love,” and has contributed to Vogue, BuzzFeed, Smithsonian and others.

“I’ve lived in places where I’m the only Jew, particularly in rural Norway. And it’s dangerous, I think, for people to think they’ve never met certain kinds of people.

Like if you think you don’t know any queer folks, or immigrants, or Jews — that’s how groups of individual humans are reduced to symbols and ideas. If I know someone, if I’ve lived with them, I don’t want them to be able to tell themselves that they’ve never met a Jew,” Braverman told Alma.

Braverman joins a small group of Jews to have completed the Iditarod, now in its 47th year. In 2009, the Forward reported that 11 Jews have raced in the competition’s history.

The first Jewish musher to complete the race was Fred Agree, who raced in 1984 and 1985. His lead dog was named God and his wheel dogs — the ones in the back — were named Sodom and Gomorrah because, as his wife, Nona Safra, wrote in an email, “you should never look back.”

The 2011 Iditarod champion, John Baker, is of Jewish and Native Alaskan heritage. He is the only Inupiaq — and only Jew — to ever win the Iditarod. Baker competed in the Iditarod 22 times. His Jewish grandmother, Clara Levy, was born in 1914 in Kiana, Alaska. In 2002, Rabbi Mark Glickman traveled to Kotzebue, Alaska, for her funeral and wrote a moving account of her life and her family.

Jake Berkowitz is a three-time Iditarod finisher (in 2008, 2009 and 2013); he now covers the race for the Anchorage Daily News. Born in St. Paul, Minn., the Forward reported that he attended Talmud Torah of St. Paul Jewish day school and studied at Hebrew University for a year after graduating high school.

Braverman’s fans have been vocal in their support for her throughout the race. They also started a campaign to support Alaskan schools as she races (naming the campaign “Igivearod”). As of this writing they have raised over $80,000 for Alaskan teachers and schools, funding over 100 projects.

Braverman had no idea that her fans were going to take on the fundraising project.

After finishing the race, she tweeted, “A few hundred miles into the race, teachers started hugging me in villages. ‘We haven’t been able to buy new glue sticks in six months, but now my classroom will have a garden and a project to get girls into engineering!’ one woman told me. I happy cried all the way up the Yukon.” PJC

Why a Bible-toting, onion-eating British officer remains a hero in Israel 75 years after his death 41, Wingate is being honored and remembered throughout Israel at institutions founded in his honor and by those who carry on his legacy.

— WORLD —

By Hillel Kuttler | JTA

H

OF HACARMEL, Israel — Few non-Jews and even fewer British soldiers are regarded as highly in Israel as Orde Charles Wingate, a senior officer who became a legend here by shaping Israel’s prestate military. Many Israeli towns have a Wingate street or square, and relatives and others who share his name are often reminded of Israel’s debt to him.

“I had recognized him as a man of genius, and I hoped he might become a man of destiny,” British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote to Lorna Wingate after her husband’s death aboard an American military plane that crashed in Burma 12 MARCH 29, 2019

Yemin Orde Youth Village, Hof Hacarmel

p Street signs honoring Orde Wingate, like this one in Haifa, are common throughout Israel.

Photo by Hillel Kuttler

p Orde Wingate, shown in 1940, has been called the father of the Israel Defense Forces.

Photo courtesy of Bettmann/Getty Images

on March 24, 1944. David Ben-Gurion thought Wingate might have become the Israel Defense Forces’ first chief of staff — an extraordinary possibility for a Christian steeped in a religiously inspired Zionism.

Seventy-five years after his death at age

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In this campus named for Wingate atop the Carmel Mountains, seven members of a high-school drama troupe sat in a semicircle reciting paragraphs about him. It was their first meeting ahead of an April 1 performance in his memory.

“Wingate was the father of the IDF. The IDF today remains Wingatean in terms of its tactics,” said Knesset member Michael Oren, a historian who wrote a screenplay on Wingate that Hollywood optioned but hasn’t produced.

Please see Officer, page 13

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Headlines Officer: Continued from page 12

A son of missionaries, Wingate carried a Bible wherever he went in pre-state Israel and trumpeted Jewish claims to the land just as British Mandatory policy turned anti-Zionist.

He arrived in September 1936 charged with ending the Arabs’ sabotage of an oil pipeline running from Iraq to Haifa through the Jezreel Valley, then trained that region’s Jewish fighters to repel attacks during the Arab Revolt, the nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs against the British Mandate.

Wingate, a captain, formed the Special Night Squads in which British infantry soldiers and Jewish paramilitary retaliated, often ruthlessly, against Arab insurgents.

(Palestinians and some Israeli historians take a dimmer view of Wingate’s exploits, accusing him of sadism and targeting civilians as well as combatants.)

Wingate drilled his men in an ethos of utilizing offense over defense.

“The concept was new to us,” Moshe Dayan wrote in his autobiography of his first meeting Wingate, when the visitor led a nighttime ambush. “Arab attackers had been forced to realize that no longer would they find any path secure for them.”

Wingate taught himself Hebrew. He had an eccentric side, too. Dayan wrote of Wingate regularly holding meetings in the nude while eating a raw onion, which he would sometimes wear around his neck on a string. His troops often were subjected to long religious sermons.

After learning of Wingate’s influence, Ella Brahanu, a Yemin Orde 10th-grader said, “Now I understand and appreciate this place.”

p Orde Wingate, center, with Special Night Squads members.

Photo courtesy of Beit Shturman

Nahariya

Kibbutz Ein Harod

Forty-five miles southeast and several hours later, two soldiers visited Beit Shturman, a museum at the kibbutz that served as Wingate’s base during the Arab Revolt.

Down the path from the museum is a building with a picture of Wingate marking his headquarters.

The duo had come to arrange the visit of hundreds of recruits from Israel’s elite Golani Brigade for a full-day seminar on Wingate.

They stood in a lower-level room devoted to the British officer, who had risen to major-general at his death. A case displayed Wingate’s Bible, which Lorna dropped from a hovering airplane to residents of a besieged moshav, Ramot Naftali, during Israel’s War of Independence. One wall told of the Special Night Squads. Another featured verses from Chapter 7 of the Book of Judges, whose central figure, Gideon, was Wingate’s hero.

Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports, Netanya

Last July, Rick Summers ate lunch at a picnic table with players from the Wales national team competing here in the World Lacrosse Championship. Summers was their assistant coach.

Playing for England’s squad heading to Baltimore for the 1982 world championship, Summers had submitted personal documentation to staff. Word leaked of his given name: Orde.

This athletic-training complex where Summers sat memorializes his namesake, who, said Effy Yaacobi, the Wingate Institute’s former director of external relations, “was an absolute meshuga on physical fitness.”

Abutting the institute is an army base, Machane Hayedid. Wingate was known as “hayedid,” the friend — so much so that his superiors evicted him from the country.

Another of Wingate’s namesakes lives in suburban Washington, D.C. Orde Kittrie expressed surprise at an email introduction to Summers he received last summer.

“This is the very first time I have had the pleasure of meeting someone else named Orde,” Kittrie responded.

Kittrie, 54, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, consults for the Pentagon, where American officers sometimes ask, “Are you named after … ?” Next to the Pentagon is where Kittrie’s father, Nicholas, a Tel Aviv native, took him — “from as young as I can remember,” Kittrie said — to annual Wingate ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Wingate is buried there in a common grave with the other victims of the plane crash.

When Ireland’s parliament considered legislation last year to criminalize the purchase of goods and services from Israeli settlements, Kittrie, a lawyer, warned Irish corporate and political leaders about how U.S. anti-boycott laws would impact subsidiaries of American companies.

Ireland will likely quash the bill because of potentially huge economic losses, Kittrie said.

Wingate “serves as an inspiration to me,” Kittrie said. “His hallmark was using unconventional military tactics. I, similarly, try to use creative tactics … to achieve national security and foreign policy objectives.”

p Duncan Orde holds a book on his cousin Orde Wingate.

Photo by Hillel Kuttler

p Kibbutz Ein Harod’s Shturman Museum includes Orde Wingate’s Bible and excerpts from the Book of Judges, which tells of Wingate’s hero, Gideon.

Photo by Hillel Kuttler

Summers’ father, Harry, an observant Jew who served in Britain’s military during World War II, admired Wingate for leading Jews, Ethiopians and Burmese toward independence. Wingate commanded Ethiopians against Italy’s occupation — characteristically he called his unit the Gideon Force

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— and organized Indian and British forces he dubbed the Chindits against Japanese invaders in Burma.

“My father recognized that this was a guy who stood up for what he believed and had principles,” said Summers, a 62-year-old engineer from Manchester, England.

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Orde Wingate died seven weeks before his only child, Orde Jonathan Wingate, was born. Like his father, grandfather and relatives (T.E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, was a distant cousin of his father), Orde Jonathan served in the British military.

His seventh cousin, Duncan Orde, has lived in Israel since 2004. Orde, 60, is related through Ethel Orde-Browne, Wingate’s mother. At a coffee shop, he showed a journalist his family tree. Orde Wingate’s appearance on it helped Duncan attain Israeli residency visas for himself, his wife and their three children, all Christians. So did letters on Orde’s behalf from several of Wingate’s Special Night Squads soldiers.

“The mere fact that former SNS members are so respected in Israel obviously carried weight,” Yaacobi said. “It produced results.”

Orde said he feels “a spiritual connection” to Wingate through their common devotion to Zionism.

“He believed that this is your homeland, and he did something about it. He didn’t just talk about it,” Orde said.

Orde’s sons, John-Joseph and Ben, acted, too. They served in the IDF and live with their sister in Jerusalem.

John-Joseph’s commanders had learned about Wingate in officers’ training course, and asked about his surname. John-Joseph confirmed his relationship to Wingate.

“They have a lot of respect for Wingate and what he did,” John-Joseph, 24, said. “It’s nice to be in the same family.” PJC MARCH 29, 2019 13

Opinion AIPAC’s image issue — EDITORIAL —

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here is little question that AIPAC has an extraordinary record of success in promoting the U.S.-Israel relationship. And the rising number of participants of all ages, colors, faiths and political stripes in AIPAC’s yearly Policy Conference — more than 18,000 gathered this week in Washington, D.C. — reflects the popularity of the pro-Israel agenda and a giant embrace of what is universally recognized to be one of the country’s most effective political organizations. But despite all that success, there is a strong sense that AIPAC has an image problem — even if caused by events that are largely out of the organization’s control.

First came the ascendancy of three remarkably anti-Israel progressives to the House of Representatives in the 2018 election, and the varied responses to some of their more offensive pronouncements. Second, there have been mixed reactions to what are seen as one-sided Israel-related declarations and policy pronouncements coming from U.S. President Donald Trump. And third, there has been increasing discomfort with certain policies

p Bernie Sanders greets supporters after addressing the crowd at the Royal Family Life Center in North Charleston, S.C., on March 14. Sanders is the only Democratic candidate to explain why he skipped AIPAC this year.

Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images

and positions taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition government — all on the eve of Israeli elections scheduled in less than two weeks.

Somehow, that all became AIPAC’s problem. One almost got the sense that the organization was being criticized for doing its job too well. So when MoveOn called on the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders to boycott the AIPAC gathering — an event in a

non-election year to which very few of them had even been invited — the fact that some of them were ready to stand on the anti-AIPAC side was disheartening, and only sharpened the perceived domestic political divide and finger pointing that has plagued our country’s political reality.

AIPAC is really good and remarkably effective, but not perfect. That said, our critique has more to do with the organization’s slow

pace of adjustment than with its fundamental goals and positions. AIPAC’s mission is straightforward: to strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel. Who can argue with that?

As a bipartisan organization, however, AIPAC must strive for neutrality — and the appearance of neutrality — in U.S. politics and in Israeli politics. But even though AIPAC doesn’t decide who will lead either government, critics have focused on AIPAC’s unyielding support for Netanyahu and on its domestic embrace of the Republican Party and perceived distancing from the Democrats.

Some will say that these challenges are simply the reality of today’s toxic political environment, and that AIPAC should just continue doing what it’s doing so well, stay focused on its mission and let the chips fall where they may. We think that is a mistake.

We hope that AIPAC will consider ramping up its public relations game and burnish its strong bipartisan credentials and bipartisan support in both Washington and Jerusalem.

Above all, AIPAC deserves our continued support, and needs to do what it can to help make that possible. PJC

When the word ‘optimal’ has newfound meaning Guest Columnist Gene Tabachnick

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arch 16, 2018, San Diego, California. The Great Cut. Donated locks flowed in from around the world to benefit Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit organization that provides natural-hair wigs, free of charge, to children who suffer hair loss due to chemotherapy, alopecia or other medical conditions. After all of the donations were weighed and tabulated, a new Guinness World Record had been set — 339 pounds of hair, enough to supply hundreds of wigs to needy children.

I was proud to be a donor, and to participate in person. Is it a worthy cause? No doubt. Was it a noble endeavor? For sure. But for me it marked the completion of a long and challenging period. Seventeen months prior, on Oct. 16, 2017, my father died. My mother had died 17 months before that, and my brother, Kenny, six months before that.

So, in a period of less than three years, my sisters and I not only become intimately familiar with the Jewish way in death and mourning, but experienced it fully.

One following the other, each mourning was unique. We made a conscious effort to not merely follow the mandates of Jewish law, but to honor each of our parents and our brother in a way that would be special to them — a path that led me to San Diego for The Great Cut. A common practice is for mourners to refrain from cutting their hair. As Rabbi Maurice Lamm explains in “The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning,” “When mourning for relatives other than parents, haircuts are not

14 MARCH 29, 2019

p Gene Tabachnick, left, before The Great Cut, and after. Photos by Toby Tabachnick

permitted until the end of the 30-day period, the shloshim.” He continues: “Optimally, those in mourning for a parent should not cut their hair for 12 months. However, the law provides for the principle of ‘social reproach’ … [so] that those in mourning for parents may cut their hair after the 30 days at the first instance of even mild reproach or criticism by friends or neighbors.”

Frankly, I had never known anyone who had refrained from cutting their hair for the full year of aveilus; I am not even sure I knew that was a thing. I was aware of the “social reproach” principle and had employed it when mourning for my mother. Given the scores of times I had read or referenced Rabbi Lamm’s book over these past few years, it was only in the context of mourning for my father when that one word — optimally — stood out. If growing my hair for the full year was “optimal,” that is what I wanted to do.

And that’s what I did. Along the way, I developed a newfound appreciation for

those who care for and manage their long hair. As my hair grew, I learned and made adjustments. For example, I experimented to find the best way to wear tefillin with long hair (place the knot of the shel rosh under the ponytail or man bun). And with each passing month, I had repeated opportunities to explain to those who asked that I was growing my hair to honor my father’s memory, in accordance with Jewish tradition.

We marked Dad’s first yahrzeit on the 26th of Tishrei, 5779 (corresponding to Oct. 5, 2018), and my hair was longer than it had ever been before. At that point, it seemed wasteful to simply have it cut, only to be swept up from the barber shop floor. So, I researched whether it could be donated. A handful of organizations collect hair donations, and each has its own requirements regarding minimum length, whether they will accept gray hair (I have some), dyed hair, etc.

During my research, I came across TheLonghairs.us, a website designed

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specifically for men with long hair.

Coincidentally, they were just then announcing their campaign to set a new world record for the most hair donated in a single 24-hour period. They teamed up with Children With Hair Loss, and set Saturday, March 16, 2019 as the day. My hair met all of their requirements; my only problem was that I wouldn’t be able to donate my hair until after Shabbos. I contacted them, and they were eager to accommodate, promising me a prime cutting time slot after Shabbos ended. I was in.

The Great Cut event ran from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at The Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier.

Men, women and children filed in to donate their hair, or to encourage and support those who were donating. More than 2,000 of us donated; those who could not attend in person mailed in their donations. Together we set a new world record but, more importantly, we did a mitzvah for those kids.

I cannot speak for the others, or their motivations for donating their hair that, in some cases, they had grown for eight years or longer. I, however, was pleased to be able to leverage the mitzvah of honoring my father’s memory with the added mitzvah of using my hair to help children in need.

That Shabbos was Shabbos Zachor, “remember.” In shul, the rabbi welcomed me and asked what brought me to San Diego.

Another opportunity to tell about growing my hair for the year of aveilus to honor my father’s memory, about The Great Cut, and the chance to multiply mitzvahs.

As I sat in shul, I remembered my father, and hoped that I made him proud. PJC An attorney in Pittsburgh, Gene Tabachnick is the husband of Chronicle senior staff writer Toby Tabachnick.

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Opinion Respect tradition and respect each other Guest Columnist Maddie Cosgrove

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n a recent tour through the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, our guide introduced us to the life and times of Jesus. We learned that before Jesus entered Jerusalem he stood on the top of Mount Zion, and from there he could see the Beit Hamikdash (the Second Temple). Jesus witnessed the verbal and physical fighting between the Sadducees and Zealots, two ancient sects of Judaism. When Jesus saw the Israelites fighting among themselves, he wept for the divisions within the Jewish people, and predicted the downfall of the sacred Beit Hamikdash.

While I sat with my friends over falafel, I couldn’t help but think how little things have changed since then. As a participant of Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim, the Conservative Movement’s Camp Ramah high school semester in Israel program, I am proudly egalitarian — a daily tefillin wrapper and tzitzit wearer. With the new month of Adar upon us, the women in our group were excited to join the Rosh Hodesh celebrations of Women of the Wall on March 8 at the Kotel. One can only imagine how deflated we were when we were told that we no longer had permission to attend due to the predicted clash between WoW and thousands of ultra-Orthodox youth who were being bussed in to protest against the planned prayer service. These fears proved to be well-founded as news reports emerged of verbal and physical violence at the Kotel.

Still, my disappointment at being prevented from attending the service was trivial compared to my sadness at the disunity within the Jewish people. Naturally, we look for a source to blame for the mayhem at the Kotel. We instinctively choose a side, stick with that side, and believe that the other side is outrageous and completely inappropriate.

What if we didn’t direct our anger toward one side? What if we acknowledged the validity and flaws of both sides? And what if, in the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, we accepted that “all are responsible.”

I refuse to be angry at the haredi protesters, and I refuse to be angry with the WoW worshippers. I mourn the fact that our people have split into sects so extreme that they inflict chaos and violence at a place meant for holy prayer and unity. There was fighting among Jews in this place before, and now our people are split again, no different than the Sadducees and Zealots. Once again we act with intolerance toward one another. Once again we have forgotten that no one person or group is in possession of absolute truth or of God’s will.

Once again, we have forgotten to have productive conversations with one another. Once again we are on the verge of falling into the abyss of violence and senseless hatred.

How ironic that during this month of Adar when we are commanded to be joyous and remember the resilience of our people, I am mourning the disunity of what we have become. I mourn the transformation of our holiest site to a place of aggressive political demonstrations. I mourn how we have forgotten the value that “proper behavior precedes the Torah.” This means that the strength of our faith is not only measured by the degree to which we respect tradition but also according to the level of respect with which we treat others who have ideas different than our own. When we fail to remember the core Jewish demand to treat every human being as a person created in God’s image, we become unable to truly preserve any other Jewish value.

The contemporary threat to Judaism is not Women of the Wall who question ancient gender roles in Judaism. It is also not the haredi Orthodox who want to remain fully immersed in their ways. The threat is how we treat one another. Disagreement, or “machloket,” has always been a fundamental aspect of Judaism. In fact, our Talmud is a compilation of disagreements on Judaism.

But underneath the Talmudic disagreements there was mutual respect. The possibility of Judaism radically evolving has constantly been there. Opposing ideologies have always existed in Judaism. Our faith is meant to be challenged and to be upheld meticulously. Our task is to remember that pluralism in Judaism is a natural and beautiful thing, and it is only when we forget how to respectfully coexist among the different sects and theologies of our religion that Judaism is threatened.

We do not have to change our practices.

It is actually very important that we are all confident in our divergent customs, but we do have to change our instinct to defend only one side. We must teach ourselves to not immediately assume one denomination is “right,” and all others are mistaken.

Modern Judaism is made up of many branches. When one branch is rejected, the whole tree is weakened. It is imperative to realize that all of the branches grow from the same trunk and the same roots. It is only because the branches have each developed and stretched out in different directions, that the tree of Judaism can be beautiful, healthy and wholesome. PJC Maddie Cosgrove, 16, lives in New York City and is currently spending four months studying in Jerusalem on Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim. Her grandmother is Pittsburgh’s Barbara Burstin. This article first appeared in the New York Jewish Week.

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MARCH 29, 2019 15

Headlines AIPAC: Continued from page 1

Netanyahu was scheduled to be at the conference Tuesday morning to deliver his remarks, but he returned to Israel after a direct hit from a rocket injured seven Israelis, including two toddlers, in a house outside Tel Aviv. On Monday evening, Israeli aircraft struck Hamas targets inside Gaza.

The prime minister is also in the midst of one of his most difficult re-election bids since he returned to office in 2009, as he faces indictment for a bribery scandal following a two-year investigation. One of Netanyahu’s strongest challengers, the Blue and White Party chair Benny Gantz, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, addressed the AIPAC conference Monday morning. He spoke at length about his time as a general in Israel’s army, vowing to maintain Israel’s military dominance and to protect the Jewish state from a hostile Iranian regime.

He also told of how his mother survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany during the Holocaust.

But while he commended Netanyahu for returning to Israel, he also barbed the sitting prime minister for his recent decision to bring the far-right, nationalist party Otzma Yehudit into his coalition.

“There will be no Kahanes running our country,” he said, referencing the fact that Otzma Yehudit is regarded as the evolutionary offspring of the banned Kahane Chai party.

“There will be no racist leading our state institution, and there will be no corruption leading our way, no corruption whatsoever. The leaders of Israel cannot be led by anything else other than the best interest of Israel and its people.”

While Netanyahu faces increased scrutiny in Israel, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence used his address at the AIPAC gathering to celebrate the conclusion of another high-profile investigation, this one in Washington. Days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller finished his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice committed by the Trump administration, Pence claimed that President Donald Trump was completely exonerated.

“I just have to say, yesterday was a great day for our country, our president and every American who cherishes the truth,” Pence said Monday. “After two years of investigation and reckless accusations by many Democrats and members of the media, the special counsel confirmed what President Trump said all along: There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, and the attorney general confirmed there was no obstruction of justice.”

In his report, Mueller reportedly left the question of obstruction of justice up to Attorney General William Barr, but did not clear the president of any wrongdoing.

Trump is widely popular in Israel for moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and is seen by many as a natural ally of Netanyahu.

Echoing that theme, Pence celebrated another recent foreign policy reset. Last week, Trump became the first U.S. president to recognize Israel’s authority over the Golan Heights, a contested area at Israel’s border with Syria that Israel captured in 1967 and annexed in 1981, a move condemned at the time by the United Nations. Trump signed an executive order to that effect on Monday in the presence of Netanyahu.

“Our president made these decisions in

“ There is a bipartisan agreement that Israel must be protected and that the U.S. and Israel must have a strong

”

bond.

— ISAAC BROWN the best interest of the United States, but he also believed they were in the best interest of peace, because a lasting peace can only be built on the foundation of truth,” Pence said, before blaming the lack of movement on a peace process during the Trump administration on Palestinian aggression.

For Pelosi, the ultimate message of the conference was that Democrats remain committed to American support for Israel, and that the issue of Israeli security and prosperity should not be one subject to partisan disagreement.

Democrats in Congress have accused Republicans of trying to make Israel a “wedge” issue through legislative tactics and public statements, but Pelosi promised that support for Israel will always be strong in her Congress.

“From Israel’s founding through the present day, our pledge remains the same. Israel and

NPR: Continued from page 1

parents, Fu Guanyu and Wang Wei, throughout the day in question.

“There were moments where I wondered should we be there or should we give them space,” said Block. “There is a struggle with how invasive this can feel.”

Regardless of story or locale, though, reporting on horror is a necessity, explained Block. When disaster strikes, “people want to do something. As a journalist, you have an outlet and some role to play.”

For decades, Block has been celebrated for filling that charge.

In 2019, she received the Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, awarded by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. One year earlier, Block won a James Beard Award for reporting on the legacy of the Chinese community in the Mississippi Delta. In 2001, her reporting after 9/11 helped NPR earn a George Foster Peabody Award.

These days, Block serves as special correspondent and guest host of NPR’s news programs. Although she reported on the shootings in Charleston, S.C., and Parkland, Fla., she did not cover the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building on Oct. 27.

16 MARCH 29, 2019

p Melissa Block, left, and Lucy Perkins chat.

“You just sort of dread getting that call of having to go cover a story like that,” she said following the event. “It’s always really hard and there are seldom any good parts of that story, except in this case the community coming together as beautifully as it did.”

Her advice to those chronicling the Tree of Life tragedy is to focus on “how a community rebuilds and what happens to faith when something like that happens in your midst.”

Larger issues are also worth pursuing, she added.

“Especially thinking about what just happened in New Zealand, I think exploring the roots of what is behind these shootings and the growth of anti-Semitism and

Photo by Adam Reinherz

right-wing extremism” is critical, she said. “I think the temptation can be this sort of, if you ignore it, it’ll go away, and I think the challenge for all of us is to pay attention and to really spend the time to explore what exactly is going on and challenge the notion that these are local factors, because there’s clearly broader societal things at play and networks that really need to be paid attention to.”

Block, who is Jewish, was born into a family of craftsmen. Her parents owned Handcrafters, a crafts store in Old Chatham, N.Y. Block’s uncle was “a leather craftsman and fiddler who made sandals and music in his Greenwich Village shop — which became a bubbling hub of folk music during

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America are connected now and forever,” Pelosi said. “We will never allow anyone to make Israel a wedge issue. That pledge is proudly honored in this Congress where support for Israel remains ironclad and bipartisan.”

Among Pittsburghers at the conference, Yoshi Mahony was part of a group of Hillel Academy seniors who participated. Mahony was surprised by the conference.

“It isn’t what I expected originally. Before I went on AIPAC I thought it was just going to be an assembly of conservative Republicans and Jews who are pro-Israel, and I think it’s really important to instill in kids in my school and from other schools that it’s all kinds of people from different religions and with different beliefs, and it is amazing that they are united together,” said Mahony.

Classmate Isaac Brown agreed.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or liberal,” he said. “There is a bipartisan agreement that Israel must be protected and that the U.S. and Israel must have a strong bond.”

Samuel Balyasny, a Hillel Academy senior, said hearing from Pence and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was “surreal.”

“In order to be an activist in any arena you need to be educated on the issues, and I think this is the best place to get that education, because you are not only learning from panelists and speakers but you’re learning from other attendees,” University of Pittsburgh senior Alyssa Berman said. This year’s event was her second AIPAC conference. PJC Jared Foretek writes for Washington Jewish Week, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Chronicle staff writer Adam Reinherz contributed to this article.

the 1950s and ’60s; a showcase for talented pickers and singers like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Doc Watson and Maria Muldaur; and a destination for aspiring musicians like John Sebastian and Bob Dylan,” according to The New York Times.

“My family’s Jewish,” said Block. “I’m not an observant Jew and I was not raised with any particular faith. I was never bat mitzvahed, and our daughter, we’re not raising our daughter in any religion, but my family is Jewish on both sides.”

Attendees said they found Block to be approachable.

“She seemed so natural when she talked,” said Arlene Berthenthal of the South Hills.

“Being in the same room as her and seeing her, I was finally able to put a face with the voice,” noted Maryann Jordan of Scott Township.

Well aware of the fact that she has been broadcast into listeners’ homes, bedrooms and cars for decades, Block has not tried any tricks to become more relatable. Instead, her tactic is “active listening.” That, and following a subject’s body language, informs her whether to push a subject or ease up.

“I think your first role is to be a human being and then journalism comes second,” she said. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Survivor: Continued from page 2

to help change behaviors of young boys and girls in Africa,” he continued. “That’s what came out of ‘Survivor.’”

Founded in 2002, Grassroot Soccer is now in 50 countries, has graduated more than 2.2 million kids from the program, and has raised $80 million to promote good health for adolescents.

Zohn is looking forward to his upcoming visit to Pittsburgh. Raised a Conservative Jew in Lexington, Mass., he has visited friends here several times in the past and worshipped at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha on a few of those visits.

“I spent a lot of time in Pittsburgh, in Squirrel Hill,” said Zohn. “I’ve been to the Tree of Life on three separate occasions, one of which was at the High Holidays. I’ve been there, I’ve been a part of that community at that time, and so with my personal connection, it makes me feel good to travel back to Pittsburgh. To be connected to the Jewish community there means a lot to me personally.”

Zohn has felt deep appreciation for being part of the Jewish community since he was a teenager mourning the death of his father.

“When I was 14 years old, my father passed away from cancer and for the year following his death, I pretty much tried to go to minyan every night,” Zohn recalled. “It’s just that community

p Ethan Zohn and his wife, Lisa Heywood Zohn

structure that is kind of built into our religion, which I think is incredible. Any way we can get people together to celebrate Judaism, and celebrate who we are as a community and a tribe

Photo courtesy of Ethan Zohn

and a people is important.”

A two-time cancer survivor himself, Zohn is now the global spokesperson for Stand Up 2 Cancer. Although he did not

Symposium: Continued from page 4

appropriately criticizing “AIPAC’s power.”

Problems exist when certain “tropes” or “age-old anti-Semitic canards” are employed, said Sayles, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council.

“AIPAC has dozens of positions on Israel.

Attack those policies, not AIPAC.” Hope Arnold, a Duquesne junior studying corporate communication, was among those who attended the program.

“Honestly, I appreciate the information that I learned here today, because it gives me a lot of context for things that I didn’t have the knowledge about before,” said Arnold.

Liz Boody, a self-described “huge social justice warrior,” similarly valued the 90-minute forum. “I thought it was a great conversation. We discussed a lot over the course of the time.”

Brian Burke, a University of Pittsburgh senior, traveled to Duquesne to support DeFelice.

“I actually went to Israel with David on the Federation alternative spring break trip last

p The panel addresses the symposium.

year, and this is something I know he’s been working on for a couple months,” said Burke.

Burke was impressed by the turnout.

“We worked hard to try to publicize the event, so I was happy to see that amount of people,” said DeFelice. “I think the university

Photo by Adam Reinherz

and the Jewish community kind of cared about the importance of this event. You know we keep seeing these awful hate crimes occur, whether it be Jewish communities, Muslim communities, so kind of having this debate surrounding the legal context behind

turn to daily prayer while he was sick, he did feel the power of prayer from his extended Jewish community.

“There were people all over the world saying misheberachs for me,” Zohn said.

“It was a part of my survival. It was very comforting to feel like I had the support of my tribe, my community.”

As part of the U.S. Maccabi soccer team, Zohn traveled to Israel for the first time in 1997. While there, he visited the Negev with JNF and planted a tree in honor of his late father. Although he enjoyed that trip, it wasn’t until his second visit to the Jewish state—post-cancer and along with his girlfriend who would become his wife—that Israel impacted him in a significant way.

“When I went back to Israel, I had a much more transformational and powerful experience and that caused the shift in my outlook on Israel and how important it was to myself and to my now-wife, who was not Jewish, but is Jewish now thanks to that trip,” he said.

Experiencing Israel along with someone who did not grow up Jewish was impactful for Zohn.

“Seeing her witness Israel and Judaism for the first time helped me see it a little more clearly,” he said. “Having an outside perspective of how great our tribe is helped me realize how important this community was to me.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

it is definitely important.”

A conversation about anti-Semitism and the First Amendment can get theoretical, but it’s a conversation worth having, said Sarah Eileen Linder, a second-year law student at Duquesne.

“People that weren’t able to make it tonight should know that there can be a range of differing feelings and opinions on hate speech and its place in Jewish life in American society as a whole,” said Linder, “but the law is the law, and we have to be proactive if you feel strongly if you want to change it.”

DeFelice acknowledged the difficulty of legislating speech.

“On one side you don’t want people to hate, but on the other side you have to recognize that too broad of hate speech laws, or even too narrow, can often discriminate and be counterproductive to your cause,” said DeFelice. “So it’s kind of about striking a balance, you know, protecting political speech, but also making sure that people don’t discriminate against Jews or African Americans, Asian, etc.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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MARCH 29, 2019 17

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T

he portion of Shemini begins with the great drama of the weeklong consecration ceremony of the Tabernacle.

The nation is exalted, the leadership is inspired — but suddenly joy is turned into tragedy when the two sons of Aaron the High Priest are consumed by a fire sent down by God. What caused such a hapless event? The biblical text seems to say that it was because “they offered a strange fire which [God] had not commanded.” What possible sin could these two “princes” in Israel have committed to make them worthy of such punishment?

The expression “strange fire” is so ambiguous that the various commentaries offer a number of possibilities. Immediately after the deaths of Aaron’s sons, the Torah issues a command forbidding Aaron and his sons to ever carry out their Tabernacle duties under the influence of any intoxicants. If a person cannot “distinguish between the holy and the mundane, and between the unclean and the clean,” he doesn’t belong in the Tent of Meeting. Thus it’s not surprising that one Midrash looks upon this injunction as a biblical hint that Nadav and Avihu were inebriated when they brought the incense offering, the intoxicant turning their incense offering into a “strange fire.”

Another Midrash explains that Nadav and Avihu so envied Aaron and Moses that they couldn’t wait for them to step down so that they could step up. This is the strange fire of jealousy which hadn’t been commanded of them; they themselves initiated a sacrifice without asking permission of their elders, Moses and Aaron. They were too ambitious for their own good.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, my rebbe and mentor, has often taught that in order to grasp how the Sages wanted us to understand a given Torah portion, we should always turn to the haftorah for that week, which often serves as a commentary in and of itself.

Three separate events take place in the haftorah of this portion: Thirty-thousand of the nation’s chosen join with King David on his journey to restore the previously conquered Holy Ark to Jerusalem, turning the occasion into a celebratory procession accompanied with all kinds of musical instruments. The ark is transported in an oxcart that belongs to the brothers, Uzzah and Ahio; when the oxen stumble, Uzzah reaches out to take hold of the ark. Right then and there, God strikes Uzzah dead.

Three months pass before David again attempts to bring back the ark, and when he arrives triumphant in the city of Zion, he dances with all of his might, upsetting his wife who chastises him: “How did the king of Israel get his honor today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows who shamelessly uncovers himself?”

The third incident records that David decides he wants to build a permanent dwelling for the ark of God rather than allowing it to rest in a curtained enclosure.

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At first the prophet Nathan is encouraging, but later in the night a voice tells him that although David’s throne will be established to last forever, he personally will not build the Temple; his son Solomon will. In the account of the same event recorded elsewhere, the blood that David caused to flow in the various wars he fought prevents him from building a Temple which must be dedicated to peace.

All three incidents point to the same theme: The emotional instinct of the individual has to take a backseat to the emotional desire to come close, too close, to the holy; the holy must be revered from a distance.

Uzzah certainly did not intend disrespect when he took hold of the ark; nevertheless, touching the holiest object in existence without permission was forbidden. Since Michal is the daughter of King Saul, and knows first-hand that a king’s honor is not his own but is rather the nation’s, she cannot applaud David’s leaping and dancing in wild abandon — even if it be in religious ecstasy.

As such, the monarch of Israel must always behave honorably and respectfully, fully in control of his actions.

And as to who will build the Holy Temple, King David himself must be ruled out because of all the spilled blood; his wars may have been necessary and even obligatory, but even the most just of wars brings in its wake excessive killing, often accidental killing of the innocent, emotional hatred and passionate zeal. What the haftorah reflects back on is that performing a mitzvah for God which God didn’t command — no matter how inspired, spiritually or ecstatically — invites a disapproving, destructive blaze from heaven.

Like Uzzah, Aaron’s sons got too close to the sacred, took the sacred into their own hands.

Ecstasy, especially in the service of God, can turn into a sacrilegious act of zealotry, of passionate pursuit of God’s honor at the expense of human life and respect for others.

Passionate religious fire in the name of God can turn into “self-righteous fanaticism” which can tragically lead to the desecration of the divine name, even to suicide bombers.

Nadav and Avihu are rare Jews, sons of Aaron, nephews of Moses, their lives dedicated to service in the Temple, privileged to be among the chosen few to have had a sapphire vision of God’s glory back at the sealing of the covenant in the portion of Mishpatim. We cannot even begin to comprehend their spiritual heights. Nevertheless, they die tragically because they brought a passionate fire not commanded by God. When people on the level of Nadav and Avihu fail to distinguish between Divine will and human will, allowing their subjective desires to take over, they are expressing their own emotions but are not necessarily doing the will of the Divine.

Confusing our will with God’s will is truly playing with fire. If we limit ourselves to God’s commands in the ritual realm, we can be reasonably certain that we are serving God and not our own egos and subjective hatreds and passions. One dare not get too close to the divine fire, lest one get burnt by that very fire. PJC Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the chief rabbi of Efrat.

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Obituaries BUSIS: Sidney N. Busis, age 97, on Friday, March 22, 2019. Husband of 71 years of Sylvia.

Father of Neil, Richard (Judy Beck), James (Maureen Kelly) and William (Leslie Hall).

Grandfather of David (Catherine Blauvelt), Anne (z”l), Hillary (Michael Palmieri), Sarah (Matthew Cohen), Deborah (Mathew Levine), Samuel, Ethan, Hannah, Abigail, Adam, Daniel and Molly. Great-grandfather of Arthur, Joshua, Noah and Diana. Brother of Jean Simon. Sidney’s eventful life spanned almost a century, far too rich to capture in an obituary. He mostly grew up during the Depression. His uncle’s untimely death inspired Sidney at an early age to want to become a physician. He attended the University of Pittsburgh both undergraduate and then medical school under the sponsorship of the U.S. Army. He graduated to become a flight surgeon in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II. Specializing in Ear, Nose and Throat medicine (Otolaryngology), Sidney became a fixture in the Pittsburgh medical community.

Early in his career, he worked with the team that treated polio-stricken children as Dr. Jonas Salk was developing the polio vaccine.

With a thriving private practice for more than 50 years, he seemingly treated a large portion of the population of Western Pennsylvania.

He taught medicine to medical students, interns, residents and colleagues. He was a Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

He also published numerous articles and book chapters and participated in national medical organizations. He was widely recognized for his work. Sidney simultaneously pursued a second career as a lay leader in many local and national Jewish communal organizations. Among these, he served as the President or Chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Family and Community Services, and Rodef Shalom Congregation. In his many roles, he led a wide variety of initiatives, including the establishment of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. Among the many boards on which he served, perhaps his favorite was that of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, for which he traveled the world assisting Jewish communities in need. Over the course of his volunteer career he garnered numerous honors. Above all else, Sidney was a devoted family man, who deeply loved his wife, four sons and their wives, and then grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as his parents, uncles, aunts, sister, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces and cousins. He was the bedrock of his family, always supportive and helpful.

All will cherish his memory. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/donate.

Arrangements entrusted Schugar Chapel, Inc.

to

Ralph

MALVIN: Denise (Rosenfeld) Malvin, of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Squirrel Hill, passed away on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Beloved wife of Dr. Jack Malvin; loving mother of Reid Malvin (Courtney), Brett Malvin, all of New Jersey, and Kari Vissichelli (Christopher) of Pittsburgh; devoted grandmother of Emma Joely and Riley Whitney; sister of the late Sherri Pisarek; daughter of the late Jack and Rose Rosenfeld. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Denise was a dedicated teacher for the Pittsburgh Public Schools and will be remembered for her unwavering love and devotion to her family. She will be sorely missed by everyone that knew her. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Make-A-Wish Foundation, 707 Grant Street, #3700, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. schugar.com MIKITA: Shirley R. Mikita, age 81, on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Beloved wife of Stanley. Loving sister of Betty Klein. Special aunt of Diane Klein and Susie Mondry.

Devoted great-aunt of Drew, Emily and Carly Klein. Graveside service was held at Adath Jeshurun Cemetery Memorial contributions may be made to Animal Friends. Professional services trusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Cremator y LTD, L awrence ville. dalessandroltd.com

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

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Anonymous .............................. Cecelia Feingold

Faye Nickel ................................. Rory S. Melnick

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Marian Pearson ....................Fannie G. Tavernise

Charlotte G. Bluestone ............... Meyer Goldfarb

Nathaniel S. Pirchesky..................... Louis Caplin

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Nathaniel S. Pirchesky.......Belli Caplin Pirchesky Sylvia Pearl Plevin ..............................Betty Pearl Bernice Printz .................Dr. Albert A. Rosenberg Rita Reese ...................................Jacob Barniker

Harriette Libenson ........................ Jean Katzman

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Nessa Mines ..................... Samuel C. Mines, MD

Dr. Sanford L. Rosenfeld ............. Anne Schwartz

Larry Myer .....................................David A. Myer

Patricia Green Shapiro .............. Marty B. Kaplan

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —

Sunday March 31: Ann Goldstein Beck, Herman B. Cohen, Albert Gross, Rebecca Marks, Herman Samuels, Nathan Louis Stearns, Albert Weinberg Monday April 1: Joseph Bleier, Belle Finkel, William Horwitz, B.J. Mundel, Samuel Rosenfeld, Audrey M. Seigworth, Sophie Warmstein, Tillie Rosenberg Westerman Tuesday April 2: Anne Fierst Goldberg, Ann R. Klein, Ethel Plesset, Aaron Louis Shefler, Morris Simon, Anna Snitkin, Sam Weiss Wednesday April 3: Sidney Jay Israel, Rory Sue Melnick, Rose Schultz, Beltran Shine, Geraldine Wald Thursday April 4: Rabbi A.M. Ashinsky, Pearl Cohen, Meyer Levine, Lena R. Mallinger, Joseph J. Reader, Nettie Ripp, Gertrude Rosenberg Friday April 5: Maurice Gutmacher, Selma B. Leuin, Eleanor Silverstein Saturday April 6: Edna Anish, Herman Berliner, Morris Bloom, Rose Edith Donofsky, Emanuel Epstein, Cecelia Feingold, George Fink, Audrey Green Frank, Joseph Glantz, Mary R. Goodwin, Bessie Halpern, Lilly Hirsch, Evelyn R. Johan, Marty B. Kaplan, Bernard Lieberman, Calvin Morgan, Hetty S. Numerosky, Sylvia Peris, Belle Pirchesky, Jacqueline Goodman Rubin, Alvin Schonberger, Anne Schwartz, Anne Simon, Judith V. Tucker, Benjamin Weiss

NEUMAN: Dr. Charles P. “Chuck” Neuman, on Friday, March 22, 2019. Beloved husband of Susan (Goldstein) Neuman, Ph.D.; son of the late Frances and Daniel Neuman.

Brother-in-law of Robert (Robin) Goldstein and Sara (late Alan) Hodes. Also survived by four great-nieces and many cousins. Dr. Neuman graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School as Valedictorian. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in applied mathematics from Harvard University. He worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Whippany, N.J., from 1967-1969. Dr. Neuman also worked from 1969-2015 at CMU and retired as professor emeritus of computer and electrical engineering. He served on the board of Hillel Academy and currently was serving on the board of the Kollel Pittsburgh. Graveside service and interment were held at Poale Zedeck Memorial Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Poale Zedeck Congregation, 6318 Phillips Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, Kollel Pittsburgh, 5808 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

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

Please see Obituaries, page 20

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MARCH 29, 2019 19

Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

SCHWARTZ: Fred I. Schwartz, on Tuesday, March 19. Former spouse of the late Annette “Sissy” Schwartz; loving father of Jeffrey “Jake” (Susan Levitas) Schwartz of Atlanta, Georgia, Ron (Josie) Schwartz of Pittsburgh and Missy (Dan) Jacobs of Millburn, New Jersey; brother of the late Sidney Schwartz; grandpa of Cydney, Ariel and Coby Schwartz, Lily Jacobs, Annie Schwartz and Sam Jacobs. Fred and business partner, Mel Solomon, for more than 40 years, owned several manufacturing companies, including Tri-Arc, one of the leading manufacturers of ladders in the United States. Fred owned horses and loved riding with friends, and excelled athletically in football at Taylor Allderdice High School and as a handball player at the Jewish Community Center. Graveside services and interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Stanley M. Marks Blood Cancer Research Fund, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, 5th Floor, 5150 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, stanmarksresearchfund.com. schugar.com WEISS: Bernard “Bernie” Weiss, on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Beloved husband for over 50 years of Judy Weiss. Loving father of Bretton (Shani) Weiss of Demarest, N.J., and Todd

Headlines

(Laurie) Weiss of Atlanta, Ga. Brother of Frances (Harvey) Merenstein of Cooper City, Fla., and the late Melvin Weiss.

Brother-in-law of Kevin (Shawna) Householder of Pittsburgh and Ellen (Darin) King of Ellwood City. Cherished “Papa B” to Ryan, Cody, Dani, Hailey and Joshua Weiss. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Bernie has been the CEO and president of Sonitrol Security since 1975. He also served as president for two years of the Sonitrol Achievers, an elite group of the top 20 Sonitrol dealers in the country. Bernie was a member of the Squirrel Hill Kiwanis, he was past president of Community Day School (CDS) and was instrumental in the merger of CDS with the Solomon Schechter Day School. He was an avid golfer and planner, planning many golf outings and trips with his golf buddies. Bernie loved traveling with his treasured wife, Judy, and their dear friends from Florida, Mel and Hillary Feinberg. A devoted family man, Bernie adored his grandchildren and his wife Judy, whom he thanks deeply for all the care she has given him. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bernie’s memory may be made to Community Day School, 6424 Forward Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or to the American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205. schugar.com PJC

Free seder meals available for seniors

S

enior citizens in the Pittsburgh area who are unable to attend a seder, whether they live alone or in an assisted living facility, are eligible to receive a PassoverTo-Go seder meal courtesy of the nonprofit organization GIFT. The Passover-To-Go packages are kosher and include everything that is needed to have a full seder. These kits,

made possible with the partnership of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha’s Sisterhood, are offered at no cost.

Anyone interested in receiving a meal can contact GIFT before April 15 at 412-5128108 or giftpgh@gmail.com.

Anyone interested in volunteering to deliver meals can sign up at http://signup. com/go/kdEAdZq. PJC

Penn State announces naming of new Hillel building

T

he new Penn State Hillel building, located in downtown State College, will be named The Nancy and Bernard Gutterman Center for Jewish Life, honoring Nancy and Bernard Gutterman, alumni and longtime supporters of Penn State and the Hillel movement.

The Gutterman Center for Jewish Life broke ground in September at the corner of Garner Street and Beaver Avenue.

“This is not just a building,” Penn State Hillel Executive Director Aaron Kaufman said in a statement. “We’re creating a nerve center to enable Jewish life, in all its varied forms, to thrive across campus and to expand our engagement with the entire Penn State community. Today, when countless opportunities and possibilities are available to students from every direction, Jewish life must be visible, authentic and attractive.”

The Guttermans have held leadership roles in Jewish communities across the country within Hillel, Jewish Federations and multiple synagogues.

Highlights of the new facility will include open lounge and study spaces, shared staff and student leadership workspace, flexible event spaces and a private terrace.

In partnering with CA Student Living for construction, Penn State Hillel will focus on the engagement of Jewish students and the financial resource development program to sustain its work.

The site, extending the rest of the block toward Calder Way, will be home to a mixed-use development called HERE, including student housing and retail. PJC — Toby Tabachnick

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22 COMMUNITY

Community Purim around the Community

At New Light New Light Congregation’s Purim shpiel and dinner were held on March 21 in the Congregation Beth Shalom Ballroom. The Purim shpiel, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” and dinner were attended by invited guests, first responders, members of the Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Hindu-Jain Alliance, Islamic Center and family and friends of New Light Congregation. The cast consisted of Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, Beth Kissileff Perlman, Carol Black, Barry Werber and Sonja Reis, with Julie Harris on percussion and horn.

Barbara Caplan and Stephen Cohen, New Light co-presidents, and Harold Caplan worked on putting it all together.

Photo courtesy of Barry Werber and Hilda Goldhamer

At Temple Sinai p Young Peoples Synagogue held a joyous Purim party on March 20.

Following a Megillah reading delivered by members, and a costume parade, participants had a kosher Purim feast. Patty Anouchi, left, and Eleanor Hershberg

t Temple Sinai’s Next DOR students are singing Purim songs on Sunday, March 17. From left: Isaac McHenry, Rebecca Coblenz, Kinsey Halfhill, Sydney Mestre and Sadie Handler-Marchal

At CDS

p Community Day School seventh-grader Akiva Weinkle and Rabbi Mark Goodman read the Megillah on Purim morning. Goodman is a CDS parent and the spiritual leader for the Brith Sholom congregation in Erie. He worked with a group of CDS middle-schoolers to teach them how to read the Megillah in preparation for Purim.

Photo courtesy of Community Day School

Photo by Marilee Glick

p Temple Sinai’s Adult Purim Carnival was held on Saturday, March 16. From left: Judy Rulin Mahan, Laura Fehl and Mara Kaplan Photo by Rebekah Malkin

At Rodef Shalom

t Free games, costumes, food and fun were had by all who attended the Rodef Shalom Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 17, shared with Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha and Dor Hadash congregations.

Photos courtesy of Rodef Shalom Congregation

p The Rodef Shalom Preschool and Family Center Bake Sale was a success during the shared Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 17 at Rodef Shalom with Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha and Dor Hadash congregations.

22 MARCH 29, 2019

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23 color COMMUNITY

Community Hadassah — A Persian Musical The revival of Hadassah — A Persian Musical brought together a diverse group of 64 participants ages 7 to 81, including members from Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform congregations; members of independent minyans; unaffiliated Jews; and a number of clergy, cantors and spiritual leaders. Some 1,100 community members saw performances, which raised more than $5,500 in ticket sales that will be divided equally among the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash congregations and the JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry.

t Some of the participants in the Hadassah Revival Community Purim Shpiel

Photo by Barb Feige

Community together

A Federation Purim

After a gunman murdered 50 people in an anti-Muslim massacre at two mosques in New Zealand, the Pittsburgh Sikh Gurdwara Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh held a joint prayer service on March 17. Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David gave a sermon, and Bob Silverman, chair of the Federation’s Community Relations Council, spoke.

The service, attended by members of the Jewish community, was followed by a community meal.

p Women from both communities spent time together.

p Members of the Jewish community join in the program.

Photos courtesy of Pittsburgh Sikh Gurdwara

p Masks and other props in the Passport to Purim photo booth helped event attendees create memorable images in a passport frame. From left, top row: Raphael Segal, Laura Weiss, Reena Seigel-Richman, Shaun Yudin; bottom: Robbie Gruener, Ariel Noorparver and Rebecca Tanzer Photo courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

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MARCH 29, 2019 23

KOSHER MEATS

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Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

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24 MARCH 29, 2019

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