Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5-17-19 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

May 17, 2019 | 12 Iyar 5779

Candlelighting 8:13 p.m. | Havdalah 9:19 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 20 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Pittsburgh hosts visiting Israeli vets

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Rooted in kindness

Rep. Frankel and elected officials announce expanded hate crime legislation

Allderdice students plant 11 trees to commemorate Tree of Life victims. Page 2

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

LOCAL

Chief of Staff Dan Gilman. “First and foremost, to the Israeli veterans that are here in Pittsburgh, welcome. You’re our friends, and we want to be able to say thank you not only for the work that you’ve done in Israel, but for helping to keep this bond between Israel and the United States strong,” said Peduto. In remarks to the group, Peduto referenced how he first traveled to the Jewish state two months earlier and the incredible welcome he received. “There is a bond between Israel and Pittsburgh that is strong, and it’s a bond that basically was strengthened through tragedy. When you say you’re from Pittsburgh to anyone in Israel, there’s an immediate outreach,” he said. Israelis value Pittsburgh’s singular response to Oct. 27, he added, and moving forward, with “actions that you’re taking tonight, through generosity and compassion, love and understanding,” Pittsburghers can

lected officials held a press conference outside the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha building on May 9 to announce a package of bills regarding hate crimes. Joining state Reps. Dan Frankel of Squirrel Hill and Ed Gainey of Lincoln-Lemington were state Sen. Jay Costa of Forest Hills and Lindsey Williams of the 11th and 12th Wards and Pittsburgh Public Schools Board President Lynda Wrenn. As explained by Frankel, Costa and Gainey, the proposed legislation would revise current statutes by expanding protections for LGBTQ and disabled people, increase civil and criminal penalties for hate crimes, provide education to those who commit hate crimes and update the commonwealth’s current tracking practices for hate crimes and their actors. The proposed bills would also create both a private right of action for civil rights violations and a reporting system for post-secondary institutions. Frankel described current hate crimerelated legislature as ineffective. “It’s inadequate from the standpoint of being comprehensive and inclusive of everybody, and from giving law enforcement the tools to help police hate crimes,” he said. It is additionally deficient, he added, by failing to distinguish between people “who put graffiti on a stop sign” and those who “put a swastika on a synagogue. Obviously, there are different intentions behind those acts, and we need to be able to call out the hate crime for what it is, and penalize people for committing those crimes.” The proposed legislation would match the aims of Pittsburgh Public Schools, noted Wrenn.

Please see Vets, page 24

Please see Legislation, page 24

Carrying the light

Federation head Jeff Finkelstein lit the torch at Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony. Page 6 FOOD Salad days As the weather gets warmer, it’s time to get creative with the greens. Page 22

$1.50

 Dani Ohayon, one of eight visiting Israeli vets, spoke with Mayor Bill Peduto at a May 5 event. Photo by Adam Reinherz By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

s they have done for 40 years, a group of local residents are opening their arms and homes to visiting Israeli disabled veterans. Through May 19, members of 412 Friends of Zahal (formerly known as Israel War Disabled Veterans foundation in Pittsburgh) will serve as hosts, local tour guides and friends to eight visiting veterans. “It’s the least we can do to bring them over and let them have an American experience,” said Sandy Zell, chair of 412 Friends of Zahal. Since arriving in Pittsburgh on May 5, the vets have visited Mt. Washington, Pamela’s, Grove City Premium Outlets, Zone 28, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Community Day School and Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. A casual kickoff to their two-week Pittsburgh stay occurred on May 5 at Congregation Beth Shalom with a dinner attended by community members, program supporters, Mayor Bill Peduto and

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Headlines Allderdice tree planting rooted in memory and action — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

ach fall they will lose their needles and stand skeleton-like on Shady Avenue as passersby pray for warmer weather, but when spring comes the 11 Metasequoia glyptostroboides, whose origins date back to prehistoric days, will yield the shade, protection and memory their planters desired. That hope drew dozens to Pittsburgh Allderdice last week for a dirty and beautiful exercise rooted in memory and action. Before donning gloves and heading to any of the 11 designated stations to dig holes, position trunks and refill the earth, dozens gathered as educators and community members framed Tuesday morning’s tree planting activity with a brief ceremony. Alan Hausman, vice president of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, said that people have asked him whether he was surprised by the response Pittsburgh had to the shooting. “And I kind of said, ‘No, I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life and I know Pittsburghers. We all rally around each other, we support each other.’ Whether it’s violence at our facility, violence in the neighborhoods, violence wherever we see, we’re in solidarity with everyone, and this just is another example of the support that all Pittsburghers give to each other no matter what happens.” Planting 11 trees will continue a school practice of benefiting others, explained principal James McCoy. “Since that tragedy occurred, I’ve seen so much strength in the community and our student body here at Allderdice and our families.” The tree planting, he added, “is not only going to make our campus more beautiful, but strengthen the character of our campus.” Student athletes and activists dressed

high and 25 feet wide represents something special to the students, said Sean Graves, a high school junior and member of the boys basketball team. He added that the community has supported them by coming to their games and “always making sure we’re looking good to travel around,” he said. “We wanted something to signify that our community cares, not just inside the school.” Jackson Blaufeld, a high school senior and captain of the boys basketball team, said, “Ever since the tragedy happened, everyone’s been stepping up, and I’ve been really proud of our school because a lot of my friends like Emily Pressman over here and many other students have really stepped up into leadership roles and gotten other people to take action and p Jackson Blaufeld, Emily Pressman and Sean Graves Photo by Adam Reinherz that’s been special to see,” he said. Moments after Blaufeld said that, a in school colors applauded the speakers’ said Valinsky. “This is the best project I’ve new crop of teenagers arrived. Valinsky and remarks. (The green long-sleeved shirts ever worked on.” Isabella Angelelli, of area nonprofit One Tree decorated with a “Dice Stronger Than With shovel in hand, Pressman explained Per Child Pittsburgh, migrated between the Hate” logo were sold in a fundraiser shortly that the 11 deciduous trees encircling 11 stations and encouraged the young adults after the attack.) Jake Milofsky of Tree Allderdice’s front lawn will serve as both working across Allderdice’s sloped terrain. Pittsburgh provided instructions on how a memory of what happened and a call to Perched atop the hill, admiring the to appropriately shovel, wrap burlap and action for future generations. students’ efforts, were both survivors of the pack the ground. Pittsburgh Allderdice is a mile down the attack and loved ones of those who perished. Emily Pressman, a high school senior, road from the Tree of Life building. Between Alan Mallinger (brother of Andrea Wedner explained that she and boys basket- the neighborhood’s closeness and countless and son of Rose Mallinger) stood within ball coach Buddy Valinsky partnered on activities following October 27, the teenagers the group and held a plaque for future bringing together interested students for the have been impacted in myriad ways. placement among the trees. May 7 event. Working around “time gaps” “A lot of times when there are tragic events, Engraved beneath the names of those Jews was tricky because “we’re still supposed people in the moment are like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ cut down on October 27 were the words, “As to be in school right now,” but they found and then after that everything fizzles out,” long as we live, they too will live; for they are a way to facilitate 30-minute periods for said Marina Godley-Fisher, a high school now a part of us as we remember them.” PJC participants, she said. senior who organized an earlier vigil. “These Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ Doing so was well worth it, noted the coach. are going to stay here so that’s nice.” “I knew seven out of the 11 people killed,” The fact that the trees can grow 90 feet pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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five-week course about Israel and its relationship with the Palestinian people, offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University last winter, has not been renewed for next year. Called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s War and Peace: Past, Present and Future,â&#x20AC;? the course was taught primarily by Michael Vanyukov, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, psychiatry and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh who has had a lifelong interest in Israel. Stuart Pavilack, executive director of the Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh, taught one of the five sessions. The course was created by its instructors as an alternative to another CMU Osher course about the Israel/Palestinian conflict called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Palestinian Story: Hope in the Absence of Hope,â&#x20AC;? taught by Tina Whitehead, who, according to her Osher biography, has been volunteering in Jerusalem and the West Bank since 2006, primarily with Sabeel. Sabeel is a Palestinian Christian group that is deeply critical of Israel. Friends of Sabeel North America appears on an Anti-Defamation League list of the top-10 anti-Israel groups in America, and has advocated for various boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel. The founder of Sabeel, the Rev. Naim Ateek, â&#x20AC;&#x153;has claimed that the notion that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bad theologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and that the establishment of Israel is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;relapse to the most primitive concepts of an exclusive, tribal God,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? according to a report by the ADL. In October 2015, Whitehead helped coordinate a regional Friends of Sabeel conference in Pittsburgh. Osher at CMU offers a diverse range of courses taught by an array of community members. The instructors, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;study leaders,â&#x20AC;? volunteer their time to teach topics of their own choice. Last summer, Pavilack and Vanyukov became aware of Osherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Palestinian Storyâ&#x20AC;? course taught by Whitehead, and were concerned that its participants might be fed information that â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not correct,â&#x20AC;? Pavilack told the Chronicle at the time. They wanted to offer an alternative course â&#x20AC;&#x153;based on facts.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s War and Peaceâ&#x20AC;? covered the â&#x20AC;&#x153;background for the reestablishment of the Jewish state in the historical Land of Israelâ&#x20AC;? as well as the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and â&#x20AC;&#x153;the causes and consequences of hostilities that have accompanied Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existence,â&#x20AC;? according to the Osher catalogue. All 38 seats in the class were filled. Vanyukov was disturbed to learn via an email from Osher leadership that his class would not be renewed for next year. The

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email pointed to negative evaluations by students as the reason for non-renewal. Out of 38 students, only 14 submitted evaluations. Of those, half said they would be interested in attending a follow-up course with these instructors. Comments from four students opined that the instructors were biased toward Israel, while one student said they were hoping for a more â&#x20AC;&#x153;balancedâ&#x20AC;? discussion presenting â&#x20AC;&#x153;both sides of the story.â&#x20AC;? Thirteen out of 14 students either agreed or strongly agreed that the study leader was â&#x20AC;&#x153;very knowledgeable.â&#x20AC;? Attempts by Vanyukov to appeal the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision were declined, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was somewhat of a surprise because nothing really would indicate to me that the course didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t correspond to any criteria,â&#x20AC;? Vanyukov said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The criteria were never given to me, and can be found nowhere.â&#x20AC;? Evaluating a course on a topic on which opinions are strongly polarized is necessarily different than evaluating a course on a non-controversial subject, according to Vanyukov. The negative evaluations â&#x20AC;&#x153;came from people who were unhappy with what they considered bias in the presentation,â&#x20AC;? Vanyukov said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If somebody disagrees with the basic facts that are presented on this politically loaded topic, this individual is prone to give negative reviews. If somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-Zionist, which in many cases coincides with anti-Semitism, anything that sounds like being in favor of Israel is going to be considered negatively and biased.â&#x20AC;? He maintains that the course was taught not from a pro-Israel viewpoint, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;from the perspective of historical facts. They were the facts that were taken from the abundant literature, simply historical facts with no slant to that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not really my fault if they converge into a particular perspective. If there is any perspective here, it can be simply called truth.â&#x20AC;? Lyn Decker, the executive director of Osher at CMU, declined to comment on the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to not renew the course, stating in an email that â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is our practice to not make public comment or to discuss personnel or volunteer matters.â&#x20AC;? Whiteheadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s course, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Palestinian Story: Hope In The Absence Of Hope,â&#x20AC;? will be running for five weeks again this summer at Osher at CMU, beginning on July 2. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The course will deal with the history and current situation in Israel-Palestine from the perspective of the Palestinian people,â&#x20AC;? according to the course catalogue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The four primary components of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;peace processâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will be the main focus: right of return, settlements, boundaries, and Jerusalem. The content of the course will also address the issues that are happening as the course is being taught.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines The age-old voice of youth — HISTORY — By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle

Ask any Jewish nonagenarian in Pittsburgh about the Hill District, and they’ll probably tell you all about the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House. But if you could have asked their parents about the Hill, you might have also heard stories about the Zionist Institute. The two organizations occupied the same block of Center Avenue and offered similar resources. Where they differed was ideology. The settlement house encouraged “Americanization.” The institute fostered Jewish peoplehood. Built into that divide were all the other Jewish divisions you might expect of that time: Reform and Orthodox, German and Eastern European, American-born and immigrant, elite and working class. The Zionist Institute existed for a much shorter time than the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House and left a much slimmer historic record. Reading about the Institute in old issues of the Jewish Criterion is like untying a knot in the dark. You can feel the tangle of people, clubs and initiatives, but you cannot always understand how it all intertwines. Sometimes, a document enters like a flashlight. Carol Goldberg recently donated two issues of the Zionist Bulletin, which appears to be its entire run. Her grandfather, J. B. Bernstein, created the journal in 1915 with

the men are in suits and ties. A few are standing so straight their buttons seem about to pop loose. The Zionist Bulletin reads the same way. It is opinionated, idealistic, sloppy, romantic and energetic — in a word: youthful. “Never before has it been attempted to publish a journal in the Zionist Institute,” the editors boast on the first page of the first issue. “This fact, however, will be rather an incentive for us in the work than a discouragement.” p Although its entire run consists of only two The two issues of the issues, the Zionist Bulletin provides many insights Zionist Bulletin contain into the dynamics of the Jewish community of information not easily Pittsburgh in 1915. Image courtesy Rauh Jewish History Program &Archives found elsewhere in the historic record. They his friends from the Zion Literary Society. report that playwright Sholem Asch delivThe Zion Literary Society was founded ered a eulogy for I. L. Peretz before a crowd in June 1912. Its members were young of 500 people at the Zionist Institute on April Jewish men between 18 and 20, and their 25, 1915. They also report that the Zionist stated mission was to “promote the welfare Institute sponsored a “Zionist congregation” of Zionism among the Jewish youth, espe- called Sharei Zion with a membership of cially among the high school students.” We 40 people. It donated all its tzedakah to the have a photograph in the archive, dated Jewish National Fund. June 20, 1914, of the Zion Literary Society The journal also has a few deliciously and girlfriends visiting the Heinz plant on intriguing mysteries. What were the boys the North Side. They are an exceptionally referring to when they wrote this: “We have earnest-looking bunch of young people. All recently discovered that the ‘famous’ comparthe women are wearing dresses and hats. All ison between the streets of Tel-Aviv and Center

and Wylie Avenues, was rather complimentary to the former. There are already modern street cars running on Center Avenue.” But the biggest revelation is the voice of youth. Anytime the boys write without concern for decorum or caution, the dynamics of the Jewish community shine through with a clarity you rarely find in the more official sources from those days. Here’s one: “Our Reform Rabbis are believers in spiritual Judaism and spiritual Zionism. Knowing how much they possess of the form[er], we can easily understand how much they have of the latter.” Here’s another, referring to local fundraising efforts for European Jews during World War I: “Sh… Sh… The Pittsburgh General Relief Committee is sound asleep.” And here is one of several insults the boys hurled at Dr. J. Leonard Levy, the famed and revered leader of Rodef Shalom Congregation, after he reported on his trip to the Holy Land: “Dr. Levy related that during his visit to Palestine, he discovered that Blindness was prevailing there. No wonder that he spoke with such blindness on the subject.” These quips probably angered a few people at the time. They are thrilling today. We all appreciate candor as soon as it outlives anyone who took offense to it in the moment. PJC Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center. He can be reached at eslidji@ heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.

Israeli photographer and sculptor uses art as ‘common language’ — ART — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

nderstanding Israel and its culture requires more than a conversation about politics or religion. It necessitates familiarity with art, artists and the many museums that line the Jewish state, said Asaf Elkalai, a Tel Aviv-based photographer and sculptor. “To use the language of art, it’s a great way to have an interesting conversation and to fill the link, if you want to have a link,” he added. Elkalai has a bachelor’s in photography and an MFA from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and also completed Bezalel’s combined teaching program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Last year, he received the Ilana Elovic – Bezalel Prize for Excellence in the Arts and a $7,000 prize. His work has been exhibited at Tel Aviv Museum, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Lanserhaus Museum in Eppan, Italy, Galeria Arsenal in Poznan, Poland, and Sotheby’s Gallery in London. Prior to arriving in Pittsburgh, Elkalai participated in an artist’s residency in Buffalo, New York. Elkalai shared thoughts and images of his works during a recent address at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside to members of the World Union for Progressive

Israel,” echoed Heather Spitzer, of Oakland. “We don’t hear enough about the arts or technology.” Disseminating such information is part of what Elkalai hopes to accomplish during his three-week Pittsburgh stay. His other goal is education. Though Elkalai is primarily based at the Children’s Museum of Pitt s bu rg h p Lynn Magid Lazar, Teri Cowan, Asaf Elkalai and — Elkalai is its Marcia Levaur gather at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Photo by Dale Lazar current F.I.N.E. Judaism. His presentation in Rodef ’s Aaron Artist in residence, an opportunity aided by Court juxtaposed videos and stills with slides Classrooms Without Borders — he sees the entire city as an opportunity for learning. listing current galleries and exhibitions. So far he has been able to accomplish such While Elkalai marveled at the fact that Israel possesses more museums per capita aims by walking the streets. A short stroll on than any country in the world, his listeners the North Side brought him into Randyland. Two hours later, after an extended tour appreciated the insights. “I don’t know a lot about the art scene and conversation with its co-creator Randy there. He gave us a glimpse into what’s Gilson, Elkalai remarked, “Oh my God, really going on,” said Lynn Magid Lazar, the I met an angel.” umbrella organization’s vice chair. Speaking with museum patrons has also “We hear of so much negativity about yielded new knowledge. Questions regarding

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Elkalai’s accent, where Israel is located and what life is truly like there have forced him to consider his identity. Simply by virtue of being an Israeli and speaking Hebrew, people reach certain conclusions, he explained. “My accent is political,” he said. But art, that’s “a common language.” Elkalai hopes that his work at the Children’s Museum will facilitate more mutual understanding. So does Tsipy Gur, Classroom Without Borders’ founder and executive director. “Especially now, with the situation in Israel, it is so important to bring Asaf to Pittsburgh and show Pittsburghers a different side of Israel,” Gur said. “The world is more global and having this exchange is really important.” Barbara Trellis, a celebrated needlepointer whose pieces adorn Rodef Shalom Congregation and other area worship spaces, attended Elkalai’s May 9 program and said that his visit offers benefit to local residents. “He is very interesting and informative,” echoed Georgia Davidson, a member of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Considering what the artist has done to date, said Trellis, “There is a lot of youth and vitality in this young fellow.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. MAY 17, 2019 5

Headlines

JCC School of Dance Presents

Classrooms Without Borders calls for anti-hate lesson plans from educators — LOCAL —

The JCC’s

K&M DANCERS PERFORM! Our award-winning company will showcase competition pieces

Sunday, May 19, 4 pm Event is free.

Pre-School & South Hills Dance Recital

“Swinging on A Star” Sunday, May 19, 2 pm Tickets: $5 Main Dance Recital

“Elements/Applause” Thursday, May 30, 6:30 pm Tickets: $8 JCC Katz Theater, Robinson Building 5738 Darlington Road, Squirrel Hill

For information: Kathy Wayne, kwayne@jccpgh.org or call 412-339-5414 6 MAY 17, 2019

lassrooms Without Borders is calling for lesson plans from educators that will aid their communities in the struggle against hate, racism and anti-Semitism. CWB intends to build an online repository of thematic units, complete with model lesson plans, prepared by teachers from middle schools and high schools throughout the country, to help mark the one-year anniversary of the Tree of Life shooting next fall. Any teacher from public, charter, independent or parochial schools may submit a lesson plan and supporting unit. The lesson plans should relate to the Tree of Life shooting.

First-, second- and third-place awards will be granted for both middle and high school lesson plans. The educators who submit the best lesson plan will win a full scholarship for a Classrooms Without Borders travel seminar. Second place educators will win a $1,000 grant toward travel expenses or registration costs for a seminar with a focus on racism, antisemitism, the Holocaust or Israel. Third place educators will win a $200 book stipend. All winning proposals will be presented at the Antisemitism, Hate and Social Responsibility conference in Pittsburgh November 10-11, 2019. For more information, go to: classroomswithoutborders.org. PJC —Toby Tabachnick

Local couple names daughter after Poway victim before Moses and other arbiters of the law and said, “Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, udah and Chaya Cowen had an idea because he had no son?” of what they were going to name their Moses brought their request for inheridaughter, but then, tance before the Lord. plans changed. On April The Torah writes, “And 27 a gunmen opened fire the Lord spoke unto Moses, in the Chabad of Poway saying: The daughters of synagogue in California; Zelophehad speak right: 60-year-old Lori Gilbertthou shalt surely give them Kaye was killed. In response a possession of an inherito the horrific events, the tance among their father’s Cowens elected to name brethren; and thou shalt their daughter after a cause the inheritance of woman they never met. their father to pass unto “From what we read about them. And thou shalt speak her, Lori was an amazing unto the children of Israel, hero who died al kiddush saying: If a man die, and Hashem (sanctifying his have no son, then ye shall name),” said Judah Cowen. cause his inheritance to pass Gilbert-Kaye’s Hebrew unto his daughter.” name was Lea. Media Such actions are inspiring, reports credited her with explained Cowen. jumping in front of the “Noa is one of the first Chabad’s rabbi, Yisroel feminists referred to in the Goldstein, to shield him Torah,” he said. from bullets. GilbertIn the weeks since his Kaye, a wife and mother, daughter’s birth (Noa was also described as a Lea was born on May 3), wonderful friend, a woman Judah Cowen has received of valor and hero. multiple requests for inter“She touched a lot of views and comments. He souls,” added Cowen. said he appreciates the p Noa Lea Cowen Photos courtesy of Judah Cowen attention, but would love Noa Lea Cowen has much to live up to, explained the opportunity to share a her father. Apart from being named after message with his daughter. Gilbert-Kaye, Noa Lea shares her name “I hope she can emulate Lori’s traits,” he with a significant biblical figure. The Torah said. “Any parent would want their daughter recounts how Noa was one of five daugh- to be like Lori, at least I would just from ters born to Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1). reading about her.” PJC After Zelophehad died without male heirs to inherit his property, the daughters came —Adam Reinherz

— LOCAL —

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Headlines Pittsburgh Federation head honored in Israel — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

epresenting Diaspora Jewry as a torch lighter at Israel’s 71st Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony was a “great honor, for a terrible reason,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Finkelstein, who was chosen to light a torch on May 8 at the ceremony on Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem, was among an assembly of esteemed leaders gathered to mark Israel’s independence before a crowd of thousands, while millions more watched the event live on television. He was chosen for the honor because of the role he played in helping the Pittsburgh Jewish community persevere and heal after the Oct. 27 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building. In his remarks at the event, Finkelstein said that he carried the torch in honor of the 11 Jewish Pittsburghers who were murdered that day. “I was asked in other press if I feel the honor of getting to light the torch,” Finkelstein told the Chronicle upon his return to Pittsburgh. “This is a big deal in Israel, and I don’t think I realized it. Someone said there are about 9 million people in Israel now, and about 8 million people watch this ceremony live on TV. What I said was, ‘It is an honor, but I’d rather not be here.’ In other words, the only reason I was asked to be there was because 11 people were killed in Pittsburgh. So it had to be in their honor.” Finkelstein worked with a speechwriter in Israel who transcribed his words into Hebrew, which he then delivered to the crowd. An English translation provided by the Federation reads: “I, Jeff, Jacob Zvi, Ben Nissan Hanoch and Hinda Reizel Finkelstein, carry this torch in honor of the 11 victims who loved the land of Israel and the people of Israel with all their hearts and souls and who died in the sanctification of God’s name. It is in honor of the fate and purpose, which will never be disconnected, between the Israeli society and Jews of the Diaspora from all denominations and all opinions. We are brothers! It is in honor of our Jewish schlichut (mission) against the bad and to increase the good. To the glory of the State of Israel!” To emphasize the importance of respecting

GET THE

p The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh staff watches Jeff Finkelstein live in Israel.

all streams of Judaism, Finkelstein deliberately repeated the phrase, in Hebrew, that translates to “all denominations” or “all streams.” “I was being explicit,” Finkelstein said. “In my speech, it said this is about the relationship between the people of Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora, and I said, ‘from all streams.’ And I actually said that twice, which was going off-script, because I wanted to make the point in Israel that we have a very diverse Jewish community in America and we want to make sure that everyone is treated with respect and accepted.” He also asked that in his introduction the particular denominations of the three congregations that were attacked be mentioned: the Conservative Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, the Conservative New Light and the Reconstructionist Dor Hadash. The Pittsburgher was honored to be among other esteemed torch lighters, “amazing people,” which included Kfir Damari, one of the founders of the Beresheet space project, mental health activist Dr. Hila Hadas and Dr. Salman Zarka, who is Druze and heads a hospital that treats Syrian refugees. “It was incredible,” Finkelstein said of

the experience. “I was standing in front of thousands of people with Prime Minister Netanyahu sitting in the crowd and Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, the speaker of the Knesset, was sitting right in front of me. And there were lots of other major officials. So it was an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience, for sure.” One particularly “powerful” moment was when everyone stood to sing “Hatikvah” while fireworks were launched. “It was really something,” he said. Finkelstein was in Israel for just four days, but they were filled with impactful events. On the evening of May 7, Finkelstein participated in the Yom Hazikaron program hosted by Masa Israel, which provides immersive experiences in Israel for young adults. It is funded, in part, by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America. The ceremony took place at Latrun, “the site of a very bloody battle in the War for Independence, and thousands of young people from around the world were there,” Finkelstein said. “It was an amazing ceremony to be a part of. I was honored to go up onto the stage with Isaac Herzog, the chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel,

Photo courtesy of Adam Hertzman

and we laid a wreath in memory of the 11 who were killed in Pittsburgh.” The following morning, Finkelstein participated in a Yom Hazikaron ceremony at the Jewish Agency for Israel’s headquarters along with Marnie Fienberg, whose mother-in-law, Joyce, was killed in the Tree of Life massacre. It was Fienberg’s first trip to Israel. One of the messages she brought to Israelis at the event was that although American Jews are facing anti-Semitism, “we are proud to be Jewish and are inspired by Israelis because they don’t back down,” she said. Being in Israel for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut just six months after the attack in Pittsburgh was “inspiring,” said Finkelstein. “People really know Pittsburgh now,” he noted. “We are seen in a positive light despite the fact that something terrible happened here. I think people really see what our community did, and how we responded and how we continue to heal, and it is turning heads around the Jewish world.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

news. THEN GET THE FULL STORY. ❀ In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. For home delivery, call 410.902.2308.

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MAY 17, 2019 7

Calendar at Shaare Torah Congregation. Visit AlephNE.org for more information. q TUESDAY, MAY 21 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a lunch for seniors at noon with a presentation on medications, hydration and sun protection by Comfort Keepers. There is a $5 suggested donation. RSVP at 412-278-2658 or barb@ chabadsh.com and visit chabadsh.com for more information.

q THURSDAY, JUNE 6 National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh annual meeting features a women-led panel discussion to raise awareness of systemic efforts to deprive people of the right to vote and curtail their political power and identify opportunities to join the fight to remove barriers to the ballot before Election Day. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a dessert and wine reception in the Palm Court at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh prior to the start of the meeting at 7 p.m. There is a $10 charge in advance, $15 at the door. Visit ncjwpgh.org/votingrights for more information and to register. >> 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 DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS

MAY 30

Nominations are open for the 2020 ShoreWhitehill Award. The Shore-Whitehill Award, created in 1996, is named for Robert Whitehill and the late Barbara Shore and celebrates volunteers who promote inclusion of people with disabilities in the fabric of Jewish life through advocacy or direct service to individuals and families. Organizations that nominate awardees receive a grant of $1,000 to help underwrite the costs of a recognition event and/or inclusion activities. Awardees receive an original sculpture by the late Sylvia Plutchok, a Pittsburgh-based artist. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Jewish Residential Services give the award annually. The 2020 nomination form is available electronically at jrspgh.org/shorewhitehill. Contact Jewish Residential Services at shorewhitehill@jrspgh.org or 412-3250039 for more information. q TUESDAYS, THROUGH JUNE 11 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh is offering a program for adults, Better Choices, Better Health, for six consecutive Tuesdays from 12:30 to 3 p.m. in Room 2002. The workshops are informative, fun and interactive. All workshop participants get the companion book, “Living a Healthy Life with a Chronic Condition.” Light refreshments are provided throughout, with a graduation celebration at the end. Contact Amy Gold at 412-697-3528 for more information and to sign up. q WEDNESDAYS, THROUGH MAY 29 Trauma Resiliency Group: An Integrative Approach to Healing will be offered will be offered through JFCS led by Amy Lohr, LCSW, integrative psychotherapist from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Room 307. This is a drop-in open group supporting personal

8 MAY 17, 2019

growth via skills development, self-awareness and education about recovering from trauma from an integrative approach that values mind, body and spirit. Mindfulness practice, meditation, Reiki energy work, spirituality, and other complementary healing techniques blended with traditional psychotherapy will be used to empower you to be well. There is no charge. q FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 17-MAY 26 Front Porch Theatricals will present the first show of its 2019 “Family … Secrets” season with the Pittsburgh professional premiere of “Bright Star,” the Broadway bluegrass musical. Visit frontporchpgh.org for more information. q SUNDAY, MAY 19 Temple David Indoor Spring Yard Sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville. Contact jessicar@ templedavid.org for more information. Temple Emanuel’s bereavement support group will meet at 9:30 a.m. at 1250 Bower Hill Road. This group is open to the public. There is no charge. Contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 with questions. Chabad of Squirrel Hill will hold a Kids’ Mega Challah Event from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. The afternoon of challah baking will also include storytelling and Jewish unity and is open to children from preschool through grade five, with a special Bat Mitzvah Club table for girls in grades six to seven. Registration required by May 13 at kidsmegachallah.com. There is a $10 charge. Singers from 19 chapters of HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir will travel to Pittsburgh from across the United States to present a free concert in solidarity with the city of Pittsburgh at Temple Sinai at 3 p.m. The community is invited. For information about HaZamir Pittsburgh, contact Molly May at hazamirpittsburgh@gmail.com. There will be a livestream of the concert at templesinaipgh.org. The Aleph Institute will hold its 10th annual symposium from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Social Hall

Friendship Circle will present a program on the parent-child relationship and communication from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at The Friendship Circle, 1922 Murray Ave. In this discussion forum we will discuss strategies for communication, how to engage when they don’t want to interact or have you involved in their life, building better relationships with them, when to think about and how to suggest getting outside help and other topics. There is no charge. Contact amottpgh@gmail.com for more information. Empowered, Educated and Engaged, E3 – Mix and Mingle Part 2 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Join the ladies of E3 for an evening of cocktail-making and mingling. Steven Kowalczuk, The Cocktail Chef from SteelCity Mixology, will lead a mixology class to make three summer-themed cocktails. Space is limited. Heavy appetizers will be provided. Dietary laws observed. The cost is $35. Contact Rachel Lipkin Gleitman at rgleitman@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5227 for more information. RSVP by Tuesday, May 14 at jewishpgh.org/women. The Robinson Short Film Competition Awards Gala will hold a celebration of short filmmaking from around the globe and recognition of the best films and winning filmmakers of the 2019 Robinson Competition. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at SouthSide Works Cinema and includes screenings of seven short films and the awards ceremony where three filmmakers will receive $18,000 in cash prizes and a reception. The competition is in memory of Sanford N. Robinson Sr. Visit https:// filmpittsburgh.org/pages/robinson-shorts for more information and tickets. q WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 Celebrate the 33rd day of the Omer at the Lag B’Omer bonfire with the Moishe crew from 7 to 9 p.m. Come learn about what this holiday means, and hang out with some s’mores, singing and beer. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32. q THURSDAY, MAY 23 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will present Yom Ha’atzmaut: A celebration of Israel’s 71st Independence Day with international multiplatinum Israeli musician David Broza beginning at 4:30 p.m. with an Israeli food court, community fair and Israeli dancing followed by the concert at 6 p.m. This concert is being held on Lag B’Omer for the full inclusion of community members who are observing the laws of the Omer. In case of rain, the free concert will be at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Visit jewishpgh.org/ event/david-broza for more information and to register. Young Adult Happy Hour will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Porch. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/yad-broza-happy-hour for more information.

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Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will present Michael Pollan and the Science of Psychedelics, at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. Pollan’s best-selling “How to Change Your Mind” was named one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2018. Pollan is also the author of seven additional books, all of which were The New York Times best sellers. A longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine, he is also a professor at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. The $23 charge includes a paperback copy of “How to Change Your Mind.” Visit pittsburghlectures.org/lectures/michaelpollan for more information. q SUNDAY, MAY 26 The Prayer Practice and Learning Committee of Rodef Shalom Congregation invites the community on a bus tour of the Troy Hill and West View cemeteries from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gain a historical perspective on Rodef Shalom in the Pittsburgh Jewish community. Everyone will have a chance to discuss or visit familial gravesites. Bring your own lunch. The cost is $30. Visit rodefshalom.org/rsvp for more information and to RSVP. q THURSDAY, MAY 30 Pittsburgh-based author Adam Ehrlich Sachs will present his new novel “The Organs of Sense” at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. in the South Wing Reading Room on the second floor. He was named a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow. He has a degree in the history of science from Harvard, where he was a member of The Harvard Lampoon. Visit pittsburghlectures. org/lectures/adam-ehrlich-sachs for more information and to register. There is no charge. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will hold a donor celebration event in appreciation of contributions to the Federation at 6:30 p.m. at The Pennsylvanian, 1100 Liberty Ave. Eat, drink and enjoy a jazz cabaret. RSVP by May 18 at jfedpgh.org/celebration. Contact Julia Blake at jblake@jfedpgh.org or 412-9925222 for more information. q FRIDAY, MAY 31 Pittsburgh native, Barbara Morris Stock, will discuss her novel, “Anything is Possible: A Child’s Journey to America and Hope,” at 1 p.m. at the New Riverview Towers, 52 Garetta St. Told through the eyes of a 10-year-old child, this historical fiction is based on the story of the author’s family who immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. The book weaves together insights into the Jewish immigrant experience, American history, and a child’s personal journey of growing up. There is no charge. The Butterfly Storytelling: Wandering and Wondering, based on the style of the The Moth, the popular themed storytelling event. LGBTQ+ Jews and Allies will share stories about their lives at 8:30 p.m. All are welcome. Contact Kate Passarelli at klpassarelli@ verizon.net for more information or visit templesinaipgh.org/butterfly-storytellingwandering-and-wondering.

Please see Calendar, page 9

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 8 q SATURDAY, JUNE 1 The Pride Tribe and Women of Temple Sinai are partnering to present the annual Pride seder from 7 to 9 p.m., which will take a form reminiscent of the traditional Passover seder, but will share stories and hardships of LGBTQ life, celebrate the freedoms that have been achieved, and explore freedoms not yet gained. LGBTQ individuals beyond the Jewish community and Allies of the LGBTQ community are welcome. The cost is $22/$12 for students with ID. Contact Susan Blackman at susan. blackman@verizon.net for more information or visit templesinaipgh.org/PrideSeder. q SUNDAY, JUNE 2 Community Day School will hold its annual Walk to Remember from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Meet Holocaust survivors and walk the perimeter around CDS six times to memorialize the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and honor the lives forever changed by and lost to anti-Semitism in Pittsburgh, Poway and worldwide. All proceeds will fund Holocaust education at CDS and youthfocused outreach across the Pittsburgh area. This is a family-friendly event. Visit comday. org/walktoremember for more information.

Shalom Pittsburgh, PJ Library and JCC Camp 365 invite you to the free Shavuot Holiday Family Camp at the Frick Environmental Center from 10 a.m. to noon. Explore the outdoors and the holiday of Shavuot with a PJ Library story hike to Mt. Sinai, bug hunt with Frick Environmental Center Staff, yoga and crafts. Then finish the morning with a special Shavuot snack. The camp is most appropriate for children ages 3-8 years old. Contact Danielle West at Dwest@jccpgh.org or 412-339-5403 for more information.

q TUESDAY, JUNE 4

q SUNDAY, JUNE 9

Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award Dinner honoring Laura Shapira Karet, president and CEO of Giant Eagle, Inc. and featuring guests Bari Weiss, staff editor and writer, The New York Times, and her dad, Lou Weiss, will begin at 6 p.m. at the Omni William Penn Hotel. RSVP by May 24 jnf.org/ Pittsburgh. Contact Amy Cohen, director, Pittsburgh, at acohen@jnf.org or 412-521-3200.

After the Community Tikkun Leil ends at 1 a.m., the learning will continue at the Jewish Community Center for young adults and anyone who wants to join. Hosted by the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation, the Shavuot fun will continue with study lead by rabbis, Jewish educators and young adult community members. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/young-adult-tikkun-leilshavuot for more information.

Pittsburgh native, Barbara Morris Stock, will discuss her novel, “Anything is Possible: A Child’s Journey to America and Hope” at 1:30 p.m. at the Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library. Told through the eyes of a 10-yearold child, this historical fiction is based on the story of the author’s family who immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. The book weaves together insights into the Jewish immigrant experience, American history, and a child’s personal journey of growing up. There is no charge. The talk is appropriate for pre-teens and teens.

The Beth Shalom Sisterhood Book Club will discuss “Gateway to the Moon” by Mary Morris at 7:30 p.m. Contact Beth Shalom at 412-421-2288 for the location in a private home. Visit bethshalompgh.org/eventsupcoming for more information.

q WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

q MONDAY, JUNE 17 Yeshiva Schools annual dinner will be held at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. Visit yeshivaschools.com for more information. q THURSDAY, JUNE 20

q SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 8-9 Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a night of Jewish Learning, is free and open to the community from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. Contact Jan Barkley at jbarkley@jfedpgh.org or 412697-6656 or visit foundation.jewishpgh.org/ organizer/jan-barkley for more information.

The Beth Shalom Academic Book Club on the book “Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom” will be held at a location in Squirrel Hill. The book reintroduces readers to Solomon’s story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture, and also examines what Solomon’s life, wisdom and writings have come to mean for Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the past 2,000 years. A copy is available to borrow from Beth Shalom, at the front desk. Visit bethshalompgh.org/eventsupcoming for more information. PJC

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media seeks a Director of Finance, Administration and Operations. This newly created position will be directly responsible for all finance, administration, facilities including HR and IT. The Director of FA&O will oversee accounting compliance as related to audit, and all regulations, overseeing the annual audit, and all financial activity including banking, invoicing, expense reports, budgeting. The position will also be responsible for all purchasing and vendor management, reviewing contracts for compliance with the organization’s policies and budget. The Director of FA&O oversees facilities repairs and maintenance of the buildings, equipment and infrastructure in coordination with vendors, contractors and staff including IT, safety equipment, and utilities. Coordination of the HR employee benefits program as well as the vendors and partners related to the HR function. This key position will work with the Executive Director and other senior staff on policy, procedure and planning related to strategic goals and fulfillment of the organization’s mission. Candidates should have a degree in finance and or business administration and a minimum of 5 years of experience; non profit experience preferred but not necessary. Applicants should send resume to dsankey@pfpca.org by or before June 10th. No phone calls.

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Israeli drug manufacturer Teva at center of anti-trust lawsuit brought by 44 states The Israeli company Teva is a key target in a lawsuit brought by 44 states claiming that 20 drugmakers colluded to divide up the market in an effort to avoid competition and raise prices. Teva’s U.S. branch was named in the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut. Prosecutors allege that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. was able to raise prices by more than 1,000 percent and stifle competition for generic drugs, Reuters reported. Over 19 months from 2013 to 2015, Teva significantly raised prices on 112 generic drugs and colluded with its competitors on at least 86 medicines, the lawsuit claims. “Teva is a consistent participant in the conspiracies identified in this complaint, but the conduct is pervasive and industry-wide,” according to the lawsuit. “Through its seniormost executives and account managers, Teva participated in a wide-ranging series of restraints with more than a dozen generic drug manufacturers, all of whom knowingly and willingly participated.” Teva’s chief financial officer, Mike McClellan, said at a news conference Sunday JCIsrael Opn Sthat Sound 5/14/19 12:29 AM in theBar_Eartique company “has not engaged

in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability.” “We take these accusations seriously and we are going to defend ourselves,” he said. Teva is the world’s No. 1 generic drugmaker. In the last couple of years, the company has undergone a global restructuring after being hurt by the expiration of its patents on Copaxone, its drug for multiple sclerosis, and struggling under a $35 billion debt from its acquisition of Allergan’s Anda generic drug division. Houston bakery loses kosher certification after staying open for Passover A bakery in Houston that dates back to Poland in the early 19th century lost its kosher certification after deciding to stay open on Passover. The Three Brothers Bakery was certified by the Houston Kashruth Association but no longer appears on the organization’s website. Owners Bobby and Janice Jucker told the local media that the decision to stay open was difficult but necessary in order to pay off a $750,000 disaster loan taken in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The bakery took on three feet of water during Harvey in August 2017. Other natural disasters — Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricane Ike and the 2015 Memorial Day floods — also caused damage to the bakery. The Juckers said they needed to stay Page 1during Passover or close permanently. open

Bobby Jucker is the fifth generation of bakers in his family. The bakery formerly closed for all eight days of Passover. The bakery opened in Chrzanow, Poland, around 1825 and was last known as Morris Jucker’s Bakery. The family was sent to concentration camps in 1941, survived the Holocaust and opened the original Three Brothers Bakery in Houston in 1949. The bakery now has three locations in Houston. “We have to survive, and we want to survive,” Bobby Jucker told the Houston television station KHOU11. The couple say that some customers have stopped shopping at the bakery, but others have made it a point to keep shopping there. Rashida Tlaib says her Palestinian ancestors made a ‘safe haven’ for Jews after Holocaust Rep. Rashida Tlaib said in an interview that she “loves the fact” that her “Palestinian ancestors” were part an attempt “to create a safe haven for Jews” after the Holocaust. The freshman Michigan Democrat made the comments in an interview Saturday on the Yahoo News Skullduggery podcast. Critics noted her remarks were at odds with the historical record, and Republicans complained that she had indulged in historical revisionism and worse. On the podcast, interviewer Dan

Please see Briefs, page 11

This week in Israeli history

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after attending the 1935 Zionist Congress. He was a leader in the forerunner of the National Religious Party and spent 50 years in England before returning to Israel in 2006.

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

May 21, 1963— Shazar elected

May 17, 1977— Likud wins first election

The Likud coalition claims an upset victory in the Knesset election, putting Menachem Begin in a position to become prime minister and end three decades of leadership by Mapai and its allies on the left.

May 18, 1973— Shlonsky dies

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Avraham Shlonsky, a renowned Israeli poet and translator, dies in Tel Aviv at 73. Born in what is now Ukraine, Shlonsky makes aliyah in 1922. He featured colloquial Hebrew in his writing and developed phrases for translations from Russian and English, helping Hebrew develop as a modern language.

May 19, 1950— Iraqi airlift begins

Two planes carrying 175 Jews leave Iraq for Israel via Cyprus, marking the start of the airlift aliyah of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. The operation brings nearly 120,000 of Iraq’s 135,000 Jews to Israel by its end in January 1952.

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Klaidman asked Tlaib, whose parents immigrated from Jerusalem and the West Bank, for her “vision for a one-state solution that meets both Palestinian and Israeli-Jewish national aspirations.” In her response, Tlaib referred to the recent commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. “There’s always kind of a calming feeling when I think of the tragedy of the Holocaust, that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence, in many ways, has been wiped out … in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-Holocaust, post-tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time,” Tlaib said. “And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that in many ways.” Tlaib reiterated her point later in the interview, in defending her idea of single, bi-national state of Jews and Arabs: “I want a safe haven of Jews. Who doesn’t want to be safe? I’m humbled by the fact that it was [my] ancestors that had to suffer for that to happen.” Her remarks were quickly refuted by commentators, including Israeli historian Benny Morris. Morris told Ha’aretz that the Arabs of British Mandatory Palestine “did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Jews at Nazi hands.” In prestate Palestine, Muhammad Amin

Arieh Handler dies in Jerusalem at 95 Born in Bohemia, Handler moved to Berlin to become the director of religious aliyah

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Zalman Shazar, a former Knesset member, is elected Israel’s third president. Shazar, born Shneor Zalman Rubashov into a family of Chabad rabbis in Belarus in 1889, made aliyah in 1924. He was one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence and served as Israel’s first education minister.

May 22, 1975— Ford urged to stand with Israel

Responding to President Gerald Ford’s decision to suspend economic assistance and reduce arms shipments to Israel, 76 U.S. senators sign a letter stressing the need for support. Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson then adds an amendment favorable to Israel to a defense appropriations bill.

May 23, 1420— Decree ordered against Jews

Archduke Albert V issues the Viennese Decree, ordering all Austrian Jews to be imprisoned and their possessions to be confiscated. Poor Jews are sent down the Danube on boats. Children are taken from their parents and forcibly converted. Many Jews commit suicide. On March 12, 1421, 200 to 300 Jews remaining in Austria are burned at the stake. PJC

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Headlines Briefs: Continued from page 10

al-Husayni, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, opposed all immigration of Jews into Palestine, and during World War II campaigned against the transfer of Jewish refugees to Palestine. He also reportedly worked with the Nazis to prevent the establishment of a Jewish homeland. In addition, the Palestinian-Arab residents revolted against the British, which led to restrictions on Jewish immigration to British Mandate Palestine, depriving

Jews of a “safe haven.” At least two of Tlaib’s Republican colleagues took her remarks out of context, saying she had said that the Holocaust — and not the refuge that Jews found in Palestine — gave her a “calming feeling.” “Rashida Tlaib says thinking of the Holocaust provides her a ‘calming feeling,’” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the thirdranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Twitter. Tlaib in a statement slammed Cheney “for using the tragedy of the Holocaust in a transparent attempt to score political points.” The statement said Tlaib “did not in

any way praise the Holocaust, nor did she say the Holocaust itself brought a calming feeling to her.” President Donald Trump also took aim at Tlaib on Twitter. “Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust,” Trump said. “She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?” Last week Tlaib, the first Palestinian American to be elected to Congress, announced the dates for her congressional

visit to the West Bank, which she organized to compete with Israel trips organized by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In her interview with Yahoo News, Tlaib also condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not seeing her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank, as an equal. “We can smell it from far away that, no, you don’t want to look at my grandmother in the eye, Netanyahu, and say ‘You are equal to me. You are as human as I am to you,’” she said. PJC

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MAY 17, 2019 11

Opinion Tlaib rewrites history — EDITORIAL —

here is nothing wrong with a member of Congress empathizing with the plight of Palestinians in Israel, or using her political voice to advocate for a just and fair solution to the conflict. But we waded into dangerous waters last week when Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib distorted history, claiming in a Skullduggery podcast that it was her Palestinian ancestors who created a “safe haven” for Jews after the Holocaust. The statement is outrageous. Not only does it disregard Jewish presence in the land of Israel for centuries prior to the Holocaust, but it also ignores aggressive attempts by Arabs to crush Jewish return. Tlaib’s statement overlooks the fact that the British proposal to partition Palestine prior to the war was rejected part and parcel by the Arabs living there and in surrounding countries. It ignores the fact that Palestinian leader, Grand Mufti Haj Amin el Husseini, met with Adolph Hitler in 1941, proposing an Arab revolt across the Middle East to fight the Jews, and that he also asked Hitler to publicly announce that Germany backed “the elimination of the Jewish national home” in Palestine. It was hardly a warm welcome. As Liel Leibovitz wrote in Tablet Magazine, there were more than 433 “Holocaust

p Rep. Rashida Tlaib, right, with Rep. Gwen Moore, leaves a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus in the Capitol in January. Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

survivors killed by Palestinians and Jordanians violently opposing the creation of a safe haven for Jews in what had historically and spiritually been their homeland.” Yet, as shameful and as offensive as was the congresswoman’s revision of history, her critics — including top Republicans and the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations — homed in on another statement that she

made during that podcast: “There’s kind of a calming feeling I always tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people’s passports.”

Many of Tlaib’s detractors, including Wyoming Rep. Lynn Cheney, focused on the phrase “calming feeling,” suggesting that thinking about Holocaust, and the death of 6 million Jews, brings Tlaib comfort. We aren’t buying it. While any sentence that includes both “the Holocaust” and the phrase “a calming feeling” is bizarre at best, we do not believe that the congresswoman publicly announced that she felt soothed by the idea of the mass murder of Jews. Other statements Tlaib made in that same podcast branded the Holocaust a “tragedy.” The distortion of the meaning behind some of her words for dramatic effect detracts from the reprehensible comments that she did make, rewriting history to misinform the public about Jewish ties to Israel and how the Arabs reacted to their return. And that distortion in turn caused a backlash from her Democratic defenders, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who rushed to condemn Republicans for twisting words and taking them out of context, but failed to criticize her. More appropriate and useful criticism would have been to call out Tlaib for her revisionist history, and to explain to the public what really happened. The things Tlaib actually said, and meant, were bad enough. PJC

Why Israelis have left the left behind Guest Columnists Abby W. Schachter Anat Talmy

here has been an unprecedented shift of the Israeli public toward the centerright that was perfectly exemplified by the recent elections: The Labor Party, the founding party of the state of Israel and the party that controlled the government for the country’s first 30 years, won a grand total of six seats in April’s vote. Altogether, the Zionist-left bloc received 10 out of a total 120-seat Knesset. For comparison, in 1992 the same bloc received 56 seats, a high-water mark. So why this near complete collapse? The political divide in Israel has, since 1967, centered mainly on the conflict with the Arabs and Palestinians and about security issues. All left-wing parties support the land-for-peace formula with the goal of establishing a Palestinian state on some or all of the territories gained by Israel after the Six Day War. As well, the three main working assumptions of the Israeli left were: 1. “Land for peace,” meaning territorial concessions and evacuation of settlements, would bring peace. 2. Even unilateral withdrawals will help Israel in the international arena. 3. Palestinians will give up the right of return to Israel, and will be willing to settle on a newly formed Palestinian state.

12 MAY 17, 2019

Over the past 25 year, left-wing ideas were tried and failed disastrously to deliver the expected results. The decline of the Israeli left tracks almost exactly with the 25-year period of the Oslo accords (signed in 1993 by then-Labor-led government), which was meant to be the political implementation of the land-for-peace theory and the first step in ending the Israeli Palestinian conflict. However, in the four years following the Oslo accords, 256 Israelis were killed in terror attacks compared with 97 in the four prior years. In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the head of the Labor party, offered the Palestinians 94 percent of the disputed territories and the dismantling of 63 settlements. Yasser Arafat, leader of Palestinian Authority and the man who signed the Oslo accords, refused. Two months later, Arafat initiated the second intifada, which cost the lives of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. The political left in Israel suffered further collapse with the failure of the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, which was undertaken by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the Likud. Sharon was no leftist, but his move was universally applauded by the left and condemned by many on the right, including Benjamin Netanyahu. Since

left-wingers believed the Palestinians were after territory to build their country and stop the bloodshed with Israel, unilateral withdrawal therefore had the best chance of success. Israel evacuated 8,600 people from their homes, farms and businesses. Instead of quiet, almost immediately, missiles from Gaza were fired into cities that were never bombarded before — including Jerusalem. Small towns close to Gaza were attacked with sniper-fire and mortar shells. In the years following the evacuation of Gaza, Israel was forced to initiate four military operations and the territory was taken over by Hamas. The aftermath has resulted in a complete shift in Israeli public opinion: If before the Gaza withdrawal 60 percent of Israelis supported it, two years after most of the population thought it was a mistake. There have been other subsequent events in the greater Middle East that reinforced for most Israelis the importance of a more sober outlook. The failed Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, the war in Yemen, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Hezbollah takeover of Lebanon, the ISIS caliphate

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and the aggression of Iran come to mind. Israelis realize how dangerous it could be if a future Palestinian State were to be formed or be taken over by extremists like Hamas or Islamic Jihad, who are most responsible for the recent barrage of hundreds of missiles from Gaza that killed four Israelis. There is a perfect Israeli expression that epitomizes this political shift: ha-metziut tafha al paneinu. In English we would say that the Israeli left was mugged by reality. In the past 25 years, left-wing ideas were tried and failed disastrously to deliver the expected results. Most Israelis therefore, have decided to ditch the failing left since its traditional parties have been unable to adjust in any meaningful way to these realities. This is why newer parties like Yesh Atid were formed — to reflect the move to the center, especially on security issues. The one original assumption that has remained is that Israelis wish to live peacefully with their neighbors. The way to achieve it, however, voters in Israel have declared, is not with old and disproven ideas. Liberal and progressive American Jews, meanwhile, are stuck in the past believing in the same old peace formula, and that they know best what will bring an end to the conflict with the Palestinians. Except, few if any have had to pay the price for Israeli sacrifices in the name of peace. Those sacrifices have been paid and paid and paid by Israelis and the result is a public’s reasonable turning away from failed ideas. PJC Abby W. Schachter, a writer and editor, and Anat Talmy, a software engineer, are both citizens of the United States and Israel.

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Opinion The innocuous question we all hate to answer Guest Columnist Mark Goodman

“S

o, where are you from?” It is really the most innocuous of questions. At least, it was for me until a few months ago. “Pittsburgh.” “Ohhhhhhhhh. I’m sorry. That must be hard.” This is what it is like to be a rabbi from Pittsburgh in the wake of the Oct. 27th shooting. At a convention in Denver; at a retreat in Allentown; at a family bat mitzvah in San Diego; when I visit Erie to lead a small congregation there; the conversation with strangers often comes back to this. People see my kippah and they know I’m a Jew. And when people hear that I’m a Jew from Pittsburgh, well, the responses are almost uniformly cringeworthy. “Oh, that’s terrible.” “Wow, were you close?” “Did you know any of the victims?” “You must be afraid.” What do I say to these seemingly wellmeaning individuals? Do they want to engage on this topic? Do I? Is this going to be a polite conversation, like that time at the bar with the three strangers, before they turned back to their drinks and searched for a segue to another, less intense topic? Or is it going to be excruciating and awkward, like the bar mitzvah guest who proclaimed the need for every congregant to come to shul armed to the teeth? Will I be shown eyes of compassion from a woman at a suburban JCC? Or will my new address be used by a total stranger as a pivot to his own opinion, based in misinformation, telling me I should thank God the president is keeping us all safe from all those terrorists trying to infiltrate from Mexico? Most Jewish Pittsburghers have been here for a few years, or decades, or even generations, and have fond memories of Pittsburgh through the years. They swap stories at kiddush about delis they used to love or that time they saw Willie Stargell on Penn Ave. in a Cadillac. Me? My family and I arrived here in late August; we bought a house and moved in on Oct. 21st. Six days later, a white supremacist who was radicalized over the internet shot up the synagogue three blocks from my own. I’m probably like you: Being Jewish in Pittsburgh is about a lot of things, and almost all of them are great. I love seeing chalk drawings of the Shabbat times on Murray Avenue or being told to look for somebody’s grandfather in the 1954 Confirmation photo at the shul in Erie. I’ve been here less than a year, and I already have four favorite restaurants. And there’s nothing more majestic to me than a big, yellow bridge. But for the rest of the country, when they see my kippah and hear where I’m from, it means a whole different thing. I’ve learned to accept it — to steel myself for it, even. I hope that when I tell a person where I’m from,

they can engage me with a level of compassion and an attempt to gain understanding. But that isn’t always the case. We are all transformed by the shooting here in Pittsburgh, in big ways and small. In one simple way, though, we are emissaries of a reality that others do not comprehend. We have obtained a kind of intimate knowledge of communal tragedy that others do not have. That status conveys upon us a sacred responsibility to represent Pittsburgh as a real place with history, diversity, complexity and community. But it also requires us to be able to frame the shooting for the person we’re speaking with from somewhere else. Whenever we speak to somebody else about Pittsburgh, that person projects their own feelings and emotions onto us and expects that we’ll reflect their own opinion back to them. It doesn’t have to be that way. Each of us can control our own narrative of what Pittsburgh is and what the shooting means to us. Pittsburgh is ours to transmit. We need to be able to explain what a wonderful and warm community it

— LETTERS — Thank you Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Thank you and writer Adam Reinherz for your article about my endeavors running in the Pittsburgh Marathon. Your extensive coverage has gone far to raise awareness of the sacrifice of first responders and military guardians and perpetuate the memory of the Tree of Life Martyrs, may their memory be for blessing. The overwhelming favorable response will be a constant inspiration for my continued recovery and furthering the Run-Respect-Remember message. Thank you very much again from the bottom of my heart. Blessings, Zev Rosenberg

… I will tell them how wonderful Pittsburgh is and how it is so much more than one horrific moment. is. We also each need to choose an aspect of the tragedy to impart to others, as our sacred duty to educate and lift up. Maybe it’s the sadness we felt at a funeral or a shiva of one of the victims, or how we knew one of them and the way they inspired us. Maybe we are frustrated by our newfound feelings of vulnerability in synagogue. Maybe we are angry that our political leaders do nothing about mass shootings and hate-speech. Whatever it is, we own it. It is our narrative. Next week, I’m off to Portland. I expect many people will ask me “the question.” I will do my best to thoughtfully absorb the way they react. And then I will tell them how wonderful Pittsburgh is and how it is so much more than one horrific moment. And then I will try to invite them into a conversation about what they think the shooting means. And I will tell them what I think the shooting meant, and continues to mean. We Jewish Pittsburghers may be stuck answering uncomfortable questions in regards to our hometown for the foreseeable future. But we should always remember that we are the ones who get to choose how we answer, and we are the ones who write the narrative of who we choose to be. PJC Mark Asher Goodman is a rabbi and writer in Pittsburgh.

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MAY 17, 2019 13

Headlines Swedish-Israeli NASA astronaut Jessica Meir gets ready for her first trip into space — WORLD — By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

ASA astronaut Jessica Meir gets ready for her first trip into space Jessica Meir has been preparing to go into space since the age of 5. She attended her first space camp after finishing middle school and a training program at the Kennedy Space Center following her sophomore year at Brown University. It took Meir three tries to be chosen for NASA’s highly selective astronaut training program, which she started in 2013 and from which she graduated two years later. Last month, NASA announced that Meir will be participating in her first mission. It still feels surreal, she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a phone interview from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “[When] I’m sitting on that rocket about to launch, it’s really going to be then that it finally sets in,” the 41-year-old astronaut said. On Sept. 25, Meir will co-pilot a Russian Soyuz spacecraft launching from Kazakhstan with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. They will be joined by Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first astronaut from the

United Arab Emirates. Meir, the daughter of a mother from Sweden and an Iraqi-Israeli father, holds Swedish and American citizenship. She will be the first Swedish woman, the fourth Jewish woman and the 15th Jew overall to be part of a space mission. The mission will go to the International Space Station, where Meir will perform a range of physiological, medical and chemistry experiments to better understand the ways in which being in space affects humans. Meir also hopes to do some exploring outside the space station. “I’m very excited to participate in the science. And also the other big thing personally, my dream has always been to go for a spacewalk,” she said. “There’s never a guarantee — things can always change with the mission when we get up there — but right now per the current plan I will be doing spacewalks as well.” Meir has spent the last year preparing for the mission. That includes learning Russian and training trips to Russia. She has run on an anti-gravity treadmill used to prevent muscle loss in space. She’s had to analyze her food intake and there’s been a range of medical tests. She documents it all on her Instagram page. The youngest of five children, Meir spent her childhood in Caribou, Maine, though her

parents grew up far from there. Her late father was born in Iraq but immigrated with his family to prestate Israel as a young child, later fighting in the country’s War of Independence in 1948. He went on to become a doctor and take a job in Sweden, where he met Meir’s mother, a nurse who was raised in a Christian Swedish family. The couple moved to Maine when Meir’s father was offered a job there. Though Meir’s mother did not convert, the family identified as Jewish and attended synagogue in the nearby town of Presque Isle. Living in a mostly Christian town, Meir felt different at times but did not experience anti-Semitism. She says being Jewish is an important part of her identity. “Personally I’m not really a religious person,” she said, Please see Astronaut, page 29

p Jessica Meir is seen in her official NASA portrait. Photo courtesy of NASA/Robert Markowitz

Vote Pam Harbin May 21st! Pam Harbin is the only candidate who has demonstrated:

✓ Experience as both a parent and long-time advocate in Pittsburgh Public Schools ✓ Knowledge of how to make schools safe and welcoming ✓ Ability to collaborate when creating student-centered solutions ✓ Expertise in PPS policies and budgets, with a degree in finance

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No Guns in Schools New Student Code of Conduct Ban on non-violent suspensions in K-2 District-wide restorative practices Our Community Schools Policy Protecting rights of students with disabilities

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Headlines Is the Trump administration sending mixed signals on the Iran deal? — NATIONAL — By Ron Kampeas | JTA

ran announced last week that it is changing a key term of the Iran nuclear deal — and plans to make an even more dramatic change in 60 days if partners don’t ease conditions. The partners — Europe chief among them — complained, loudly. But so did an ex-partner: the United States. The Trump administration immediately retaliated, expanding sanctions on Iran after Tehran said it would fiddle with a deal that the Trump administration thinks should be null and void. “Hey, this is binary. You’re either in compliance or you’re not,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Baghdad, a day before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced the change, and at the same time that the Trump administration was celebrating the one-year anniversary of pulling out of the deal. (Reports of Rouhani’s planned announcement had already emerged.) Pompeo’s statements sound a little confusing to observers who have followed the Trump Please see Iran, page 29

p President Donald Trump speaks in a Roosevelt Room event at the White House last week.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Feel the drama, act it out, at JCC’s Performing Arts Camp At JCC Performing Arts Camp, kids entering grades 4 to 10 learn the fundamentals of theater, music and dance as they put on a show. This year we are lucky to have Delilah Picart, who will direct both Addams Family Jr in Squirrel Hill (June 17-July 12) and Annie Jr in the South Hills (July 15-August 9). Betsy Lawrence will serve as musical director for Addams Family Jr and I will choreograph. I have witnessed many changes in my over 20 years of experience leading performing arts at the JCC. Everything has evolved, from the shows we produce to the performance space, costumes, lighting and sound. Back in the day, we wrote our own show, wore our camp T-shirts and had no lighting or sets. Today we create a fully staged musical with professional staff, lighting, sound, costumes, sets, and in the case of Squirrel Hill, theater seating. Campers still engage in some traditional camp activities such as swimming, gym games and arts & crafts. We also provide a hot kosher lunch and snacks daily. But the show-stopper is the all-round experience of putting on a performance. This summer’s musicals are guaranteed to offer our campers various ways to shine and show their talents on the big stage. Curtain Up! Kathy Wayne Director of the JCC’s Phillip Chosky Performing Arts Program

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Headlines Germany issues an ‘early warning’ report about rise of Islamist anti-Semitism — WORLD — By Toby Axelrod | JTA

he top intelligence agency in Germany has written what is being called its most comprehensive analysis of rising anti-Semitism by Islamist extremists. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, described its 40-page brochure as a tool for educators, social workers, police and others who work closely with recent Muslim immigrants or refugees. Titled “Anti-Semitism in Islamism,” the recently published report represents a leap forward in terms of the agency’s focus on the topic, spokeswoman Angela Pley told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a telephone interview. She said the agency has never published such a comprehensive analysis of the subject based on empirical data. “We are an early warning system,” Pley said. “Recommendations on what can be

million, or 4.1 percent. The vast majority of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have a right-wing extremist background: In 2018, a total of 755 anti-Semitic crimes were reported, and 670 were attributed to the far right and 25 to “foreigners.” Of the 707 cases the previous year, 651 were attributed to the far right and 15 to foreigners. But the new report, which identifies Islamist organizations and movements and their propaganda, warns that radicalization and incitement to anti-Semitic hate “form the breeding ground for violent escalations.” It mentions a few sensational cases from recent years: • In April 2016, a woman in Berlin was approached by two men of Arab descent who asked about the Israel-shaped pendant she was wearing. The men responded: “You f***ing Jews! You are the scum of the earth.” • In December 2017, a Jewish high school student in Berlin was attacked by an Arab classmate who said “You are child murderers, you should have your heads cut off.”

Anti-Semitic beliefs promoted by Islamist groups and individuals “already represent a considerable challenge for peaceful and tolerant coexistence in Germany,” the report says. done must come from society and the political establishment.” Pley said there had been no public response to the report by Muslim associations in Germany, but that it had been downloaded 1,439 times since its release. It is one of a few recent government measures born of increased concern about anti-Semitism in Germany. In 2018, the government appointed a commissioner, Felix Klein, to focus specifically on the topic. In 2012, a Bundestag commission was established to report on anti-Semitism nationwide and in all categories. “Anti-Semitism in Islamism” homes in on the Islamist extremist component, which represents a looming threat, the agency said, though relatively few anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have been attributed to Islamist extremism. The report distinguishes between “Islam” the religion and “Islamism,” which it describes as a form of political extremism that “aims at the partial or complete abolition of the liberal democratic constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.” Between 2010 and 2016, the Pew Research Center reported, the number of Muslims living in Germany rose to nearly 5 million, or 6 percent of the population, from 3.3 20 MAY 17, 2019

• That same month, two unknown perpetrators attacked a synagogue in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and berated the staff, saying “Al-Quds belongs to us! Get out of here, you sons of bitches!” Al-Quds is the Arabic name for the city of Jerusalem. Anti-Semitic beliefs promoted by Islamist groups and individuals “already represent a considerable challenge for peaceful and tolerant coexistence in Germany,” the report says. It is not the first time the agency has examined anti-Semitism in this context: Past annual reports on extremist crime have covered Islamism and its anti-Semitic components. A symposium was held on the subject in the early 2000s, Pley told JTA. Juliane Wetzel, a senior staff member at the Center for Research on Antisemitism at the Technical University in Berlin, called the report an “excellent contribution on the theme.” “The conclusion is important: Islamist anti-Semitism is spreading in Germany,” said Wetzel, a member of the Bundestag’s commission of experts on anti-Semitism. The new report is important, though the topic of anti-Semitism in Islamism has hardly been taboo in Germany as some critics have claimed, said political scientist Clemens Heni, director of the Berlin International

p The “wear a kippah” protest against anti-Semitism seen in Berlin last year. The Jewish community made a public appeal for Jews and non-Jews to attend the event and wear a kippah as a show of solidarity after a Syrian Palestinian man berated and struck with his belt a man wearing a kippah.

Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images

Center for the Study of Antisemitism. Among other organizations, “the intelligence agency has reported on it for decades,” Heni told JTA. In its definition of anti-Semitism, the brochure includes anti-Zionism, since it “aims at the complete elimination of the State of Israel” and falsely defines the Mideast conflict “as a Jewish ‘war of annihilation’ against the Palestinians.” The brochure says that anti-Zionists in Germany often argue that they are against Israel, not against Jews. But given that “Israel is the only Jewish state in the world and that its annihilation would inevitably result in the death and expulsion of millions of Jews, this argumentation turns out to be a trick to conceal the actual thrust of anti-Zionism,” the report concludes.

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Among other points, the brochure covers anti-Semitic stereotypes in Islamism and the rejection of the State of Israel by Islamist organizations. Its list of Islamic extremist groups and movements in Germany includes the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hizb Allah, among others. Though there has been no public response from Muslim organizations in Germany, the Liberal Islamic Association recently published its own 178-page report on the results of its three-year program, Extreme Out: Empowerment, Not Antisemitism. The project was designed to “shed light on and work [against] anti-Semitic attitudes among young people of Muslim faith” and to help youth see themselves as part of German society. PJC

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TEMPLE EMANUEL OF SOUTH HILLS AND THE DISKIN MUSIC FUND PRESENT

An Evening of Chamber Music In honor of Jacob Naveh

MUSIC BY JOACHIM STUTSCHEWSKY & FELIX MENDELSSOHN FEATURING MUSICIANS FROM THE PITTSBURGH JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL

woodstock 50th anniversary Gallery Receptions Friday, May 17 • 6 – 9pm Saturday, May 18 • 5 – 8pm Sunday, May 19 • 1– 3pm

5126 Butler Street Pittsburgh RSVP required:

724.766.0104 NURIT PACHT, VIOLIN

ARON ZELKOWICZ, CELLO

RODRIGO OJEDA, PIANO

June 20, 2019 I 7:30 pm

Temple Emanuel of South Hills 1250 BOWER HILL ROAD, 15243

Preview Party, Friday, May 10 • 6 – 8pm Art Previews begin May 11. Recent works available for acquisition. Presented by Road Show Company

RSVP:

templeemanuelpgh.org/event/concert

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Collectors who purchase over $3000 in Max art during this show will receive a free Max ‘Heart’ mixed media on paper piece, valued at $2475. Collectors who purchase over $8000 in Max art during this show will receive a complimentary trip to visit the Peter Max Studio in New York City with round trip transportation for two, one night stay at an elegant NYC hotel and a delicious dinner in the city.

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Tickets: $10 per person

MAY 17, 2019 21

Life & Culture Salads for dinner — FOOD — By Keri White

Photos courtesy of iStockphoto.com

s the weather becomes warmer and our thoughts turn to summer, we often lighten up our diets. This may be a result of smaller appetites as the weather heats up and we are not in “hibernation mode,” or it may be out of concern for summer wardrobes, swimsuits and undoing winter weight gains. Either way, we have been consuming more salad-based meals, reducing my beloved carbs and, admittedly, it does work. But we don’t have to suffer — salads can be filling, flavorful, varied and delicious. Last week, we had salad with a protein four nights running, and it never felt monotonous due to the use of different dressings, varied ingredients and some creative rearranging of the same chicken. In the end, effort for the cook was pretty minimal, so that’s a bonus. Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Serves 2 with extra chicken

This salad offers a delicious sweet and tangy flavor while delivering a healthy blast of protein, fiber and a variety of textures and tastes. Best of all, I doubled the chicken and the surplus made a wonderful chicken salad for a meal later in the week. For the chicken: 1 pound thinly sliced boneless chicken breasts 2 cloves garlic 1 lemon ½ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon soy sauce

In a large Ziploc bag or Tupperware, mix the garlic, lemon (juice plus rind) olive oil, salt, pepper and soy sauce. Place the chicken in the marinade and mix it to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking. Broil or grill the chicken until done, about 4 minutes per side. Let it rest for 5 minutes and, when ready to serve, cut it into bite-sized pieces. For the salad: 6 cups mixed greens, rinsed, spun and torn into bite-sized pieces 1 apple, cut into small chunks ¼ cup salted almonds 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon mustard 1 tablespoon honey Pinch of salt, sprinkle of pepper 1 clove garlic 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

In a blender or mini Cuisinart, mix the oil, mustard, honey, salt, garlic, vinegar and 22 MAY 17, 2019

pepper until creamy and smooth. Place the greens, apple and almonds in a large, shallow bowl. Toss the dressing over the salad and mix well until all the ingredients are lightly coated with dressing. Arrange the chicken pieces over the top of the salad. Serve immediately. Smoked Pastrami Salmon “Niçoise” Salad Serves 2

This salad, a riff on niçoise salad, delivers a briny, salty deliciousness; the savory ingredients offer a sophisticated mix of tastes and textures. If you can’t find pastrami-smoked salmon, any well-flavored smoked fish will do; just don’t use lox. 8 ounces smoked pastrami salmon or the smoked fish of your choice, cut in two pieces 6 cups mixed greens 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes 1 large or 2 medium potatoes, cut in chunks 1 cup green beans, stemmed ½ cup pitted oil-cured black olives 3 tablespoons olive oil Pinch of salt and pepper 1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon mustard 2 teaspoons white vinegar

In a blender or mini Cuisinart, make the dressing: Puree the garlic, oil, salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Set aside. In a saucepan, place the potatoes in salted water and boil until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain and chill.

In a saucepan, place the beans in salted water and boil until just cooked, about 1 minute. Drain and chill. Place the greens, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and olives in a large, shallow bowl. Toss with dressing until it’s thoroughly distributed. Place the salmon pieces on top of the salad and serve. Traditional Chicken Salad Serves 2

This beauty came to be as a result of the extra chicken I had prepared earlier in the week. By chopping it up and blending it with traditional chicken salad ingredients (parsley, mayonnaise, celery), I created a lovely new dish from leftovers, and no one was the wiser. I set the scoop of chicken salad on a simple bed of baby arugula, and it hit the spot. 1½ cups chopped cooked chicken (about 3 pieces) 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 2 stalks celery, chopped ¼ cup parsley, chopped Juice of one lemon Generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, plus more for dressing 6 cups arugula 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Generous sprinkle of salt, pepper and garlic powder

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the chicken, mayonnaise, celery, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside. In a salad bowl, place the arugula and sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic powder vinegar and oil. Toss well.

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Plate the salad: In shallow serving bowls, place equal parts greens, and then place a scoop of chicken salad on each. Tofu Soy Ginger Salad Serves 2

This vegan salad pulled the flavors of Asia to my table. If you are not a fan of tofu, you could create this with chicken; just cook the chicken cubes longer to ensure they are fully done. The marinade/sauté liquid forms a dressing, and the hot/cold temperatures work well. 1 ¼ 1 2 1 6 1 1 ¼

block tofu, cut in cubes cup soy sauce inch piece of ginger, grated cloves garlic, minced tablespoon sesame oil cups mixed greens carrot, grated cucumber, sliced cup cilantro, chopped, if desired

In a shallow dish, mix the soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. Place the tofu cubes in the dish and mix. Allow it to marinate for an hour. Heat a skillet on medium, and pour the tofu mixture into pan. Stir the mixture until the tofu is cooked on all sides and is beginning to brown on the edges. While the tofu cooks, place the greens in a large, shallow bowl. Add the carrots and cucumbers. When the tofu is done, pour it and the cooking liquid over the salad. Toss well, garnish with cilantro, if using, and serve immediately. PJC This article originally appeared in the Jewish Exponent, a Chronicle-affiliated publication.

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Mayor Peduto and his District 4 neighbors are voting for Anna Batista for PPS School Board. Join them and VOTE for ANNA BATISTA on TUESDAY, MAY 21st! Eli & Leslie Aizenman • Marcia & Phillip Baumfeld • Bev & Zack Block • Fran & Harvey Borovetz Mimi & Alex Botkin • Joshua Breslau • Meredith Brown • Sandy Budd & Ray Engel • Elisha Rosen Cinque Susan & William Cohen • Rachel & Greg Colker • Tamara Dubowitz & Jay Aronson • Nancy Dubuar & Richard Rubin Judy & David Ehrenwerth • Abbie & Michael Evans • Ruthann & Bob Fagan • Annie & Mark Faigen Susanna & Michael Finke • Debby Firestone • Rachel Firestone & Jason Binder • Anna Fisher Cathy & Rich Fitzgerald • Joan & Ben Foreman • Sarah Galusha & Matt Chinman • Wayne Gerhold Amanda & Dan Gilman • Sylvia & Hal Glick • Audrey Glickman • Amanda Godley & Ken Fisher • Karen Goldman Anita Gordon • Jeff Gordon & Roger Levine • Sara Gorley • Richard Greenberg • Susie & Don Gross • Tsipy Gur Pam & Dave Haber • Jamie Harris • Susan & David Hauptman • Mardi & Bill Isler • Emily Jaffe & Adam Leibovitch Judy Kaplan & Marc Epstein • Marcia & Jim Kaplan • Diane & John Katz • Patricia & Richard Katz • Ellen & Bob Katzen Terry & Granville Kennedy • Sarah Kennedy • Alicia & Michael Klein • Rebecca Kentor Knoll & David Knoll Diane & David Lassman • Zack Lassman • Rosanne & Cliff Levine • Becca Levine • Dory & David Levine • Eric Levine Michele Levine & Jim Rosenberg • Helane Linzer • Herb Mandel • Paulee Manich • Kathy McGrath Susan & Barry Merenstein • Rita & David Pollock • Ashley Priore • Mayor Bill Peduto • Rosy & Bennett Reed Laurel & David Rosenberg • Rachel Rosenfeld & Benjamin Rosenthal • Ron Schmeiser • Patty & Neal Scoratow Lynn Snyderman • Jake Stockman • Alex Stockman • Ann Truxell & Bob Nelkin Rhonda Wasserman & Howard A. Stern • Dr. Cyril & Sigrid Wecht • Dr. Matthew Weiss Dr. Kimberle Monda Weiss & Richard Weiss • Roberta Weiss • Amy & Greg Winokur Lynda & Ed Wrenn • Michelle Zuckerman

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Headlines Vets: Continued from page 1

continue demonstrating that bond so that other cities will follow. Attending last week’s meetup was important to the mayor “for a couple of reasons.” “Number one is I was asked, so when somebody reaches out and and asks if you can stop up the street to welcome a group of veterans who are visiting from Israel, it’s pretty much just a reasonable request. But the second reason is Pittsburgh’s still in mourning and we have to get back to normal. This has been something that’s been a part of this community for 41 years, and it needs to

be enhanced. You got to find positive to take away negative and so I had to be here.” 412 Friends of Zahal has a tradition dating back from Ronna Harris to Sandy Kushner to Sylvia Robinson of welcoming veterans, explained Zell. The group’s hope is to be “bigger, better and stronger” than ever before. Shalom Katar, a visiting vet who served in the Six Day War, said he was greatly impressed with Pittsburgh and its residents. “I think we will have a really nice time here,” he said. Ira Frank, of Squirrel Hill, hopes so. Being able to develop a “personal connection and to thank them,” is what this experience is about, he said. “We want to show them how strong, resilient and wonderful our community is,”

echoed Brad Orsini, a 412 Friends of Zahal committee member. On May 7, the vets spoke with seventhand eighth-grade students at Community Day School and shared stories relating to military service, what life is like in Israel and connections with the United States. Following the conversation, a group of eighth-grade docents guided the vets through the school’s iconic memorial, the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs: A Holocaust Sculpture. Two days later, the vets celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) by helping break out color war at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. During an elementary and middle school assembly, school principal Rabbi

Sam Weinberg announced that Israel’s birthday would be marked by a comprehensive lecture on the history of its wars from those who served. The vets played along and two minutes into what seemed to be an unending oration, their address was interrupted by a video announcing the start of a school-wide celebration (complete with a schnitzel lunch). Being able to welcome the vets and show them Pittsburgh was personally meaningful, explained Zell. “Israel is our home,” he said, “and no matter what happens in the world, Israel will always accept you as a Jew.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Legislation: Continued from page 1

“We’re trying to educate our students about people from different backgrounds and how we should embrace and support each other, and have an environment that welcomes everyone, regardless of who they are and where they came from or who they love,” she said. Among the attendees at the May 9 gathering were those immediately impacted by the acts of Oct. 27. “I hope for the day where we don’t need these kinds of laws, where they’re not necessary,” said Tree of Life*Or L’ Simcha spiritual advisor Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers. “While I’m appreciative that Representative Frankel and our legislature want to take action on this, it’s also for me a sad moment that we have to create laws because people just can’t work, live and play together.” Barry Werber, a member of New Light Congregation and a survivor of the attack, echoed Myers’ lament and recalled the racism, xenophobia and hatred he observed during his military service 50 years ago. “I was stationed in the South in the 1960s, and I never thought I’d see it in Pittsburgh in the 21st century,” said Werber. “I got thrown out of the house because I was dating a woman of a different faith and her father didn’t like the fact that I was Jewish. But I never thought I’d see it here.” Between announcing the proposed legislation outside the Tree of Life building, and having those “who were here that day or had family members here that day” attend the public event, the experience was both “incredibly moving” and humbling, explained Frankel. “It’s been a heart-wrenching experience for everybody in my community, and I’m certainly no exception to this. It’s hard to talk about,” he said. “I’m moved by the fact that these folks who were here today and those that came up to Harrisburg in April view it as kind of an important mission for them to be engaged in this process to help our community heal, to help themselves heal, but also to look to elected leaders to help us through the healing process, which includes trying to address the issues of hate and violence in our communities through legislation.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. 24 MAY 17, 2019

p Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers, left, joined elected officials at the press conference.

p Barry Werber was among those to attend the press conference.

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Photos by Adam Reinherz

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Headlines School Board: Continued from page 3

As for the use of metal detectors at Colfax,“I wouldn’t say I’m firmly on one side or the other. My emotional feeling is I hate that we have them as a parent,” said Batista. “But I also want to be real and I want to look at, Are there things that happen in the schools? Are there instances where kids are bringing weapons to schools? And if so, is this going to help us guard against that? And if the answer is yes, then we have to talk about the world we live in. But if it’s just something to make us feel better and it’s not actually effective, then we can talk about whether we need them.” When it comes to school safety, there is a disconnect between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, said Harbin. “The way school safety is being talked about in Harrisburg is interesting because they talk about hardening our schools,” said Harbin. “I understand the reaction to the things that have been happening, but I don’t believe we need to harden our schools, and if

you go from metal detectors to armed police to armed teachers to the militia standing in front of the school, I mean, I don’t know where they’re going to go next,” she said. Harbin pointed to the paucity of guidance counselors and social workers for students within Pittsburgh Public Schools. Ensuring “the right support staff ” and dealing with students who are experiencing anxiety or trauma is critical, she explained. “Instead of focusing on the reactive policing of our kids, I would rather focus on the proactive support and the wellness of our students and their families,” she said. Pittsburgh Public Schools has a current enrollment of approximately 24,000 students. Along with representing those students and their families, school board members are responsible for managing a budget of nearly $643 million. “Let’s make sure that we’re spending our money wisely, and anywhere where we’re spending money that’s not having an impact in kids’ outcome and experience, we need to rethink it so that we can shift it,” said Batista. “Is it more teachers, more support staff, more guidance counselors? I think that’s

where everyone would like to see more. I think that’s what school board members have to think about, and ask the questions, and discuss, look into, get expert opinion and hear from people on the ground.” As a school board member, fiscal knowledge is essential, said Harbin. “I have a degree in finance. I was a negotiation specialist in the aerospace industry negotiating million-dollar government contracts, so I had that experience. And I know what’s in the [Pittsburgh Public Schools] budget. I read every budget for 12 years. I testify at the special budget hearing every year,” said Harbin. “I believe somebody who has all that deep knowledge is going to be cost-effective.” Batista and Harbin are both cross-listed as Democrats and Republicans in next week’s primary, meaning voters could theoretically see these candidates again in the November election. In the immediate future, each candidate encouraged readers to check out their websites (annabatista.com and pamharbin. com) to learn more about their policies and biographies. Additional information can be found at voteschoolboardfirst.org.

As a final bid before next week’s vote, both Batista and Harbin shared messages with readers of the Chronicle. “I want to do what’s best for our community. I really do,” said Batista. “I want to keep an open line for solutions because we all want schools that just work. We all want a public sector that works and that’s what I want to help build. It takes work. It takes diligence to make that happen. And I am here, ready to ask questions, talk about hard issues and put in that work and effort to see our community thrive.” “I strongly believe in public education. I believe that it should work for every family and every student,” said Harbin. “It shouldn’t be so hard for parents to have to fight for a full education for their kids, where they get the art and the music and the world languages. I think most people believe in a strong public education, and maybe don’t know the ins and outs of it, but they believe in it. And I want people to know that I believe in it, and I will fight for it every day, because that’s what I’ve done for 12 years and I’m not stopping.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Celebrations

Torah

B’nai Mitzvah

True time management Alexa Karet, daughter of Laura and Thomas Karet, will become a bat mitzvah at Adat Shalom during Shabbat morning services on Saturday, May 18. Grandparents are David Shapira and step-grandmother, Cindy Shapira, the late Karen Shapira, Evelyn Karet and the late James Karet.

Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum Parshat Emor | Leviticus 21:1-24:23

“I do not know why God spared my life in my Poway synagogue. All I can do is make this borrowed time matter.” —Rabbi Israel Goldstein

ith those heartfelt words, Rabbi Israel Goldstein touched upon a theme that it is woven throughout the Torah — the importance of time. The first mitzvah given to the Nation of Israel is, “This month shall be to you as the first of all the months of the year.” Abraham, the first Jew, is described as “growing old and full of days,” meaning his life was fulfilled in quantity and quality. The theme is further emphasized in this week’s Torah portion, Emor, with the commandment

same theme. It’s called “Hayom Yom,” which loosely means “today is the day” or “the time is now!” The book presents daily messages of inspiration and contemplation and has been republished hundreds of times since it was first printed in 1942. The “Hayom Yom” entry for Rosh Chodesh Iyar which occurred last Monday reads, “My father (the Rebbe Rashab) was present at a Chasidic gathering between the years 18911893. The gathering occurred during the days of Counting the Omer, and someone remarked, ‘The Alter Rebbe’s Chasidim were always counting.’ The saying found favor in my father’s eyes. He commented, ‘This holds true with regard to Divine service. One’s hours must be counted. In this way, the days will also be counted. When a day passes, we must know what we have accomplished and what we have yet to accomplish. ... All in all, we must make sure that tomorrow will be far better than today!’”

… The purpose of counting days is to help make every day count. Leah Esther Levine, daughter of Stephen and Kara Levine of Upper St. Clair, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, May 18, at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. Leah is the sister of Samuel and granddaughter of Rosalind and Farrel Levine of Upper St. Clair, Michael and Pam Levinson of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Carl and Suzanne Zittrer of Mt. Lebanon.

Samuel Matthew Levine, son of Stephen and Kara Levine of Upper St. Clair, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, May 18, at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. Samuel is the brother of Leah and grandson of Rosalind and Farrel Levine of Upper St. Clair, Michael and Pam Levinson of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Carl and Suzanne Zittrer of Mt. Lebanon. Ian Orsag, son of Ellen Simon and Greg Orsag, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, May 18, at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Grandmothers are Harriet Simon and Ann Orsag of Pittsburgh. PJC

to count the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuos “and from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering — the day after the sabbath (Pesach) — you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week — fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the LORD” (Leviticus 23, Verses 15-16). Yet of what value is time in general, and counting the days specifically? After all, time marches on inexorably, whether we like it or not. According to the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi M.M. Schneerson, the purpose of counting days is to help make every day count. The reason is that time expresses the concept of a path and, therefore, a purpose created by G-d to be fulfilled by man. Stunningly, the Rebbe’s first book encapsulates that very

Fifty years later, the Rebbe expressed the same thought in very simple yet compelling terms. “The world says, ‘Time is money’ and I say ‘Time is life.’ Every minute that passes cannot be restored. Therefore, we need to be quick and alert in order to utilize the time available for the best possible purpose.” The tragedy that occurred in Rabbi Goldstein’s shul underscores the importance of his message. Let us all take it to heart by improving the world one day and one good deed at a time. In this way, may we soon merit the revelation of Moshiach, speedily in our days. PJC Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum is the educational director of Yeshiva Schools and the rabbi of Congregation Kesser Torah. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Obituaries BERKUN: Flora Marcus Berkun, 76, formerly of Pittsburgh, passed away on May 13, 2019, in Aventura, Florida. Born on the Lower East Side of New York to the late Sylvia and Jeremy Marcus, Flora was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, and graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in child studies. Flora was always teaching both in and out of the classroom, first in the elementary schools of Norwalk, New Haven and San Francisco, and then as a mother and grandmother. She was passionate about the art of the English language and was a creative writer, a voracious reader and an impeccable editor. Later in life, she attended and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and practiced family law with Wilder & Mahood. Flora was a loving soulmate, life partner and wife of 54 years to Rabbi Alvin K. Berkun, Rabbi Emeritus of the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. After spending their honeymoon summer at Camp Ramah in Canada, Flora moved to San Francisco, California, where her new husband Rabbi Alvin served as U.S. Navy Chaplain. She then returned to Connecticut for 15 years where she was the energetic and hospitable

rebbitzen of Congregation Beth Shalom in Hamden. She eventually made her home and many lifelong friends in the close-knit community of Pittsburgh where she raised, guided and always encouraged her children: Elizabeth (Dr. Eric) Friedman of Princeton, New Jersey; Rabbi Jonathan (Rabbi Lauren) Berkun of Aventura, Florida; Rebecca Hillyer of Philadelphia. Flora will be forever remembered and deeply missed by her treasured grandchildren, Teddy, Caroline and Drew Friedman, Jeremy, Jonah and Eliana Berkun, Max and Sadie Hillyer; devoted cousin Faith (Rabbi Larry) Heimer and Howard; loving brother Walter (Mary) Marcus; nieces Megan and Zoe Marcus; cousins and dear friends who were like family to her. Funeral services will take place on Thursday, May 16 at 2 PM at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, 20400 NE 30th Avenue, Aventura, FL, followed by internment at Beth David Memorial Gardens, 3201 Northwest 72nd Avenue, Hollywood, FL. Contributions may be sent to the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh or the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura. Arrangements by Levitt Weinstein Blasberg Rubin Zilbert 305-932-2700. BYER: Marion (Solomon) Byer, On Saturday, May 11, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Samuel Byer. Beloved mother of Elyse

(Ben) Marsh. Much loved grandmother of Sara and Jonathan Marsh. Sister of the late Bernice (Sidney) Klein. Sister-in-law of the late Harold (Sylvia) Byer. Also survived by nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, cousins and dear friends. Everyone who knew Marion felt fortunate to have had her in their lives. She will live on in the hearts of many. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. schugar.com JACKSON: Lauren Jackson passed away at her home in Del Mar, Calif., on December 17, 2018. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Leonard and Lois Jackson and raised by her mother in Squirrel Hill. After living in New York, N.Y., and in San Rafael, Calif., Lauren settled in Del Mar. She shared her life for the last 25 years with Michael Chiappetta. Lauren was an active member of the San Diego art and fashion communities. Her piece, Soft Sculpture Carrot, was displayed in the first display of the San Diego Urban Trees series, and she was chosen as a designer in the 2017 Salk

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JACOBS: Marlene Jacobs, age 82, of McKeesport, died Tuesday, May 7, 2019. She was born in McKeesport on April 11, 1937, and is the daughter of the late Max and Jeanette Berger Neiman. She was an office manager for many years at the office of Dr. James Auslander. She is survived by her loving husband, Dr. David Jacobs; sons, Jeffrey Joel (Marilyn) Jacobs of McKeesport and Benjamin Douglas (Jennifer) Jacobs of Tempe, Arizona; grandson, Max Isaac Jacobs; sister, Sheila (Dr. Paul) Spivak of Carnegie; sister-in-law, Lavon Jacobs of McKeesport; also nieces and nephews. Services were held at Strifflers of White Oak Cremation and Mortuary Services with Rabbi Moshe Russell. Interment Agudath Achim Cemetery in Forest Hills.

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Institute Design and Discovery Fashion Showcase. Lauren is preceded in death by her mother, Lois, and her father, Leonard. She is survived by her life partner, Michael Chiappetta, brother Paul (Amy) and nieces Sarah and Alex. Donations in Lauren’s memory may be made to the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation (chenvenfoundation.org), which has created a dedicated memorial fund to support artists in the San Diego, California, area.

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday May 19: Joseph Harry Berger, Jacob Brody, Greta Glasser, Lewis E. Hainick, Frances Shiner Miller, Nathan Neiman, Abraham Pincus, James Henry Podolny, Bella Ratowsky, Philip Rogers, Manuel Wilner Monday May 20: Anna Blitz, Ruth Pearlman Browarsky, Ruth Coltin, Jean K. Gefsky, Jacob Gould, Martha Stern Green, Samuel C. Levy, Isadore Irwin Schaffer, Ruth Solomon, Shirley Solomon, Louis Wilder Tuesday May 21: Bernhardt Blumenfeld, Edward Harry Frankel, George Jaskol, Henry Kamin, Ida Lazier, Sophia Mallinger, Minnie Margolis, Samuel Novak, Israel Rosenberg, Jack E. Ryave, Max Snider, Charles Ben Stewart, Max Unikel Wednesday May 22: Sonia Cohen, Abe Finegold, Dr. Charles M. Friedland, Sara Fay Sachs Goodman, Pearl Greenberg, Goldie Lerner, Gusta Dickler Linett, Goldie Love, Abe Picovsky, Sam Portnoy, Goldie Prashker, William B. Roth, Gertrude Routman, Rose M. Rudov, Fannie Ann Samuels, Sherman Howard Schenk, Julius Stahl, Samuel E. Swartz Thursday May 23: Cora G. Barnett, Benjamin B. Chotiner, Lois Ruth Cohen, Leonard Frank, Shane Rose Gelman, Herman Greenstein, Paul E. Gusky, Allan L. Janowitz, P. Fred Kamens, Anna T. Kirkell, Ruth Klein, Morris Krasik, Sol S. Kurtz, Minnie Latterman, Abe Leventon, Paul Mainzer, Evelyn Meyer, Max Rice, Rebecca Wesoky Robins, Dorothy Rosenthal, Sherman Howard Schenk, Isadore Sheffler, Sophia Silverman, Rubin Solomon, Max Weiss, Frieda W. Wolff Friday May 24: Hyman Louis Abrams, Rose Seiger Allen, David Busis, Allan Calman, Harry Faberman, Anna K. Farbstein, Anna Feivelson, Philip Grossman, Sanford C. Kramer, William Samuel Landau, Pearl Recht, Beatrice (Bibe) Schlesinger, Mayme Skirboll, Charles Teper, Yetta H. Wheeler Saturday May 25: Alexander Bardin, Anna Bourd, Abraham Mitchell Caplan, Bernard Carlton, Jerome Gelman, Leah M. Greenberg, Bessie N. Harris, Betty York Joseph, Benjamin Kellman, Rose Levin, Marian Liff, Joseph J. Martin, Samuel Saul Morris, Sylvia Rosenberg, Abraham Saville, Amelia K. Silver

28 MAY 17, 2019

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 28

KUSHNER: Dr. Boris Kushner passed away on May 7, 2019. Boris was a mathematician, a teacher, a poet, a memoirist and literary critic and an inspiring human being. Born in the Soviet Union during the World War II, Boris lost his father at the age of 1. Raised by his mother and two older siblings, he grew up to be a gifted young man and studied under mathematic greats such as A.A. Markov and A.N. Kolmogorov. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Moscow State University in 1966 and worked at the Computing Center of the Russian Academy of Science for 23 years. His book “Lectures on Constructive Mathematical Analysis” was published in Russia and the U.S. by the American Mathematical Society. Boris immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1989. He taught mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown for 27 years before retiring as a professor

Astronaut: Continued from page 14

“but I think that my Jewish cultural background is obviously a big part of my culture and especially traditions.” Astronauts are allowed to bring a number of personal items to the International Space Station. Two among my Meir’s choices: an Israeli flag and a pair of socks with menorahs. (She is a big fan of novelty socks and will include several pair among her possessions headed for the station.) Her piccolo, too. Meir, a music lover who also plays the piano, flute and saxophone, settled on bringing the instrument because of its small size.

Iran: Continued from page 19

administration’s stance on the deal. Trump has called the agreement the “worst” deal ever. So what’s going on? The answer is that the Trump administration sees Iran’s behavior as another instance of why it pulled the U.S. out of the deal in the first place: The Iranian regime is not trustworthy. “Cheating just a little bit is still cheating. And in the context of Iran’s nuclear commitments, it will not be tolerated,” Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative for Iran, said Wednesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If the clerics in Tehran choose, as the Iranian people are demanding, to play by the rules, respect the sovereignty of their neighbors, and abide by international obligations and commitments, the United States will be ready and willing to engage.” What Iran is planning: Under the 2015 deal, Iran was permitted to enrich uranium

emeritus in 2017. Outside his mathematics career, Boris was a prolific Russian poetry writer, publishing several books of poems and receiving international acclaim. A lover of classical music, he enjoyed collecting rare recordings and was fascinated by music history, always eager to share various anecdotes from biographies of great composers and performers. Boris is survived by his wife Dr. Marina Kameneva, son Alexander, daughter Yulia, granddaughter Susanna and grandson-in-law Patrick. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, one of his favorite places where he spent great many days feeding his insatiable mind. schugar.com LEVINE: Lee Levine was a graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School, a petty officer first class in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. A lifelong appreciator and patron of the arts, Lee had a particular love for jazz and classical music. He was lucky enough to turn this passion into a career in the music industry. He was

also a talented writer and photographer. He was a devoted husband to his beloved Shirley for 57 years. His family always came first and he always loved visits from his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Survived by his daughter, Susan (David) Brown, son, Richard (Elaine) Levine, grandchildren, Rivka (Dovid), Daniel, Sarah, and Anne; great-grandchildren, Moshe, Baruch, Sari, Yocheved, Shraga, Chaim and Esti. Arrangements were entrusted tot he Gesher Hachaim Jewish Burial Society. Donations may be sent to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Security Fund, 2000 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or jfedpgh.org/donate. SKIRBOLL: Alan Barry Skirboll, born on July 14, 1933, died on May 10, 2019. He was a devoted son of the late Jack and Anne Skirboll, loving husband of almost 59 years to Jackie Loikrec Skirboll. Amazing father to Eve Skirboll, Robin Skirboll (Mark Blecher), Jim Skirboll, and Dory Skirboll Levine (David Levine). Zaydie to Jake Dater, Nina Dater, Zoe Skirboll, Haley Levine, Thomas Levine, Milo Blecher, and Ari Blecher. Phenomenal brother to Linda Zwang and the late Stanley Skirboll.

Meir isn’t sure what triggered her interest in space travel. As a child, she didn’t know anyone who worked for NASA. “Growing up, if you asked any of my childhood friends, or any of my college friends, or anywhere all the way through, people always talked about that with me, they always knew that was my thing, that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. As part of her postdoctoral work at the University of British Columbia, Meir spent some time in the Antarctic studying a different type of flight — that of the bar-headed goose. She had previously researched oxygen depletion in diving emperor penguins in the Antarctic, so the topic wasn’t entirely off course. One thing that stands out to Meir about

her mission is the international cooperation that made it possible, including at the International Space Station, a joint project of the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. “To have that opportunity to be living and working in Russia, and training alongside the cosmonauts and launching with the Russians,” she said, “that to me, it’s really pretty amazing, especially given the climate today.” PJC

for peaceful medical research purposes but was required to sell its surplus. Iran is now immediately keeping its surplus low-enriched uranium, which it had sold overseas. Low enriched uranium may be repurposed to make nuclear weapons. In 60 days, unless its partners take steps to ease its economic isolation, Iran has threatened to remove caps on uranium enrichment levels and resume work on its Arak plutonium nuclear facility. How the Trump administration reacted: It added new sanctions on Iran’s metals sector, on top of sanctions already on Iran’s financial and energy sectors. How partners to the deal reacted: The European Union and three signatories to the deal, Britain, France and Germany, demanded Iran to stick to the deal and urged the United States to butt out. “We regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the United States following their withdrawal from the JCPOA,” a joint statement said, using the acronym for the deal’s name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “We call on countries not party to the JCPOA to refrain from taking any actions

that impede the remaining parties’ ability to fully perform their commitments.” Russia and China, the other parties to the deal, are equally as committed to making it work. What the Trump administration wants: They want the deal to collapse and for Iran to acquiesce to its demands that it end all nuclear activity; that Iran stop producing ballistic missiles; that it stop interfering in the region and elsewhere (the United States sees Iran’s malign hand in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, and as far afield as Venezuela); and that it improve human rights for its citizens. Is the pressure working? The Trump administration thinks so. “For the first time in a very long time, we are raising the costs of Iran’s expansionism and making clear that this kind of blackmail will no longer work,” Hook said. “We are making it unsustainable for Iran to support terrorist proxies and militias that for decades have defied the basic standards of behavior observed by normal countries.” He listed, among other consequences, the effective expulsion of Iran from the SWIFT

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Compassionate uncle to his nieces and nephews. Alan was an entrepreneur small business owner of: Diamond’s 5 &10, Franklin 5 &10, Franklin Fabrics, Penn Variety, The Salad Company, The Second Plate, Dorian’s Catering, The Coffee Shoppe at Montefiore Hospital, and U-Parc. He was a member of the Tree of Life congregation and men’s club and volunteered at the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry. He was an avid squash and pool player at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. Alan had an amazing characteristic of making everyone feel special when meeting them. He made the world a better place and he was truly one of a kind. Big Al will be deeply missed. Funeral services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Donations can be made to the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation at 5898 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15217 and the JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry at 5743 Bartlett Street, Pittsburgh PA 15217. schugar.com PJC

u Jessica Meir prepares to be submerged in NASA’s 6.2 million gallon Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory for spacewalk training.

Photo courtesy of NASA/Josh Valcarcel

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international financial messaging system and the admission by Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, that it is starved for cash. The other partners to the deal are committed to resisting the pressure, and the Europeans are pressing ahead with plans to set up a complex barter system, INSTEX, that would work around the U.S. sanctions. What happens next? Someone blinks. John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, last week announced the deployment of extra forces to the region to counter what the United States says is Iran’s heightened menace. He cited, but did not define, “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran. Trump, reportedly wary of Bolton’s overseas interventionism, might want to replicate his direct overtures to North Korea by talking directly with Iran. (No predecessor ever did: The Obama administration stuck to multilateral talks.) “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like Iran to call me,” he said Thursday at a White House briefing with reporters on planned reforms to medical billing. PJC MAY 17, 2019 29

Community Breakfast for Israel with JNF More than 200 Israel supporters joined Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) at its Breakfast for Israel event at Rodef Shalom Congregation. The event was co-chaired by Julie Paris and Debbie Resnick and featured Ethan Zohn, “Survivor: Africa” winner and two-time cancer survivor, who enthralled attendees during his keynote address about his personal experiences in meeting challenges, overcoming obstacles and building his dream and how his Jewish identity played a significant role in his

achievements. JNF is in the midst of its One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade campaign and is “greening” the desert with millions of trees, building thousands of parks across Israel, creating new communities and cities for generations of Israelis to call home, bolstering Israel’s water supply and helping develop innovative arid agriculture techniques. Contact Amy Cohen, director, at acohen@jnf.org for more information about JNF.

p Hillel Academy and Community Day School students with Ethan Zohn

p From left: Event co-chair Debbie Resnick, speaker Ethan Zohn and event co-chair Julie Paris

p From left: Kara Bernstein, Liz Greenfield and Ella Greenfield

Machers & Shakers Simone Rothstein, The Ellis School class of 2020, was selected for an academic program in Israel for five weeks this summer. After a rigorous application process, she was selected for an interview in New York City and was one of 13 Jewish students selected. The program focuses on studying Jewish texts in an immersive environment. The program is run by the Bronfman Foundation to help cultivate the next generation of Jewish leaders. The Bronfman Fellowship is a network of 1,200+ pluralistic young Jews from Israel and North America.

p From left: Naomi Kitchen, Benji Himmel and Dana Himmel

Photo courtesy of The Ellis School

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will honor Jewish day school educator Sara London with one of the North American Grinspoon Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education. London will receive the award at a ceremony at the Jewish Federation offices on June 5. London teaches middle school and high school language arts at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. School administrators nominated London for her teaching excellence and for her use of literature to help her students establish a stronger Jewish identity. She integrates Judaic ideas into both Jewish and non-Jewish lessons, giving her students a more complex view of Judaism that is transferable to all aspects of their lives. The Pittsburgh Jewish community has been participating in and supporting this national award since its inception, in 2000. The Harold Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education recognizes skilled, innovative educators in Jewish day schools, religious schools and Jewish early childhood centers. Honorees are nominated by the organizations they serve. In Pittsburgh, the award is supported by the Barbara and Lester Parker Fund for a Jewish Future Endowment. This endowment is part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation. Contact Cheryl Johnson at cjohnson@jfedpgh.org or visit jfedpgh.org/grinspoon to register for the event. Photo courtesy of Sara London 30 MAY 17, 2019

p From left: Vicki Holthaus, Charlene Tissenbaum and Sharon Perelman

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Photos courtesy of JNF-USA

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Community Yeshiva School awards The Waldman International Arts and Writing Competition awards ceremony was held on May 1 for students in grades six to 12 to submit original art and compete for academic scholarships. Participants came from across Allegheny County and Pittsburgh’s partner region in Israel, Karmiel-Misgav. This year’s Pittsburgh competition also featured an extra category, an essay.

 From left, front row: Leibel Hoexter, Mendel Hoexter and Schneur Weinstein; back row: Akiva Nadoff, who won a first place award for the Tree of Life Response category

 From Yeshiva Boys School, eighth-grader Akiva Nadoff won the first place in this year’s additional category, Tree of Life Response. Akiva read his essay at the ceremony.

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 Yeshiva Girls School ninth-grader Chaya Rosenfeld won third place in the creative writing category for her essay on the theme of Women in the Holocaust. Photos courtesy of Yeshiva Schools

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MAY 17, 2019 31

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