Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 6-18-21

June 18, 2021 | 8 Tamuz 5781

Candlelighting 8:35 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 25 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Greenfield neighborhood to host two new mikvahs

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL World Refugee Day

Area congregations offer variety of options for vaccinated, unvaccinated

Decades after fleeing antisemitism, Jews thrive in Pittsburgh

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Page 2

M “There are Jewish people moving here, it’s a growing area,” he said. “In the Chabad circle, this has become a place where people are moving.”

A small mikvah had been planned pre-COVID-19, but was put on hold as the congregation worked to secure funding and hold conversations with the Jewish Women’s League of Pittsburgh, which oversees the women’s mikvah on Denniston Street.

The new mikvah isn’t meant to compete with the other locations; rather it will serve as an option for women who find the 30-plus-minute walk from Greenfield to Squirrel Hill difficult.

“In the winter, it’s a miserable walk,” Friedman pointed out. “In the summer it could be too hot, plus right now, when a woman would go to the mikvah, it would be after 10 o’clock at night. We’re talking about walking after 10 p.m. — not very comfortable.”

For those reasons, plus the importance of family purity laws, the absence of a mikvah in the Greenfield community was seen as a deterrent to some, Friedman said.

asked or unmasked? Vaccination registration or the honors system?

Local congregations, treading new ground in public health requirements, have spent the last several weeks grappling with when and how they would welcome back members for in-person services. The options available to those who want to celebrate Shabbat, in person and with their community, vary depending on the congregation.

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills offers two Shabbat services weekly, each with different requirements.

The congregation’s Friday night services are held outdoors and open to anyone, regardless of vaccination status, according to Chris Benton, Beth El’s executive director.

“Masks, social distancing — it is [designed] for anybody,” she said. “On Saturday morning, there’s an indoor option and that is vaccinated only.”

The Shabbat morning service does not require masks and is currently limited to those old enough to be vaccinated. In order to attend the Saturday service, the congregation requires members to verify their vaccination status one time with office staff. That verification can take place in person, on FaceTime or through Zoom. The congregation does not make copies of the vaccination cards, Benton said; names are simply added to a list.

Congregants who come to the synagogue without first verifying their vaccination status will be asked to do so when they arrive. Due to prohibitions against writing on Shabbat, Benton said, she places a sticker next to the congregant’s name and adds them to the registration list the following day.

Please see Mikvah, page 14

Please see Shuls, page 14

LOCAL Getting to know:

 Greenfield mikvah groundbreaking

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Bobbie Zlotnik Page 4

LOCAL JAA’s Broadway Under the Stars

Catching up with ‘Hamilton’ star Mandy Gonzalez Page 7

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or many, “If you build it, they will come,” the whispered (though slightly paraphrased) saying from “Field of Dreams,” holds value. For Rabbi Elchonon Friedman however, the phrase “built it because they have come” might serve as a better axiom.

Friedman said that two new community mikvahs are being built at Bnai Emunoh Chabad to support the growing number of Jews who have moved into the shul’s Greenfield neighborhood.

A groundbreaking party was held June 8 and included food, live music and a dunk tank, as well as other celebratory events.

The mikvahs will join the existing Pittsburgh-area mikvahs: a women’s mikvah in Squirrel Hill, a men’s mikvah at the Yeshiva Schools and a keilim mikvah for cookware at Congregation Poale Zedeck. There is also a mikvah in White Oak, servicing the Gemilas Chesed Synagogue community.

Friedman said that the Greenfield neighborhood has swelled to include close to 50 Orthodox families and he expects that number to continue to rise.

Photo by Yehuda Welton

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LOCAL New face at JFCS

COMEDY Jon Lovitz on Israel

TELEVISION ‘Seinfeld’ star comes to Pittsburgh

Headlines With help from JFCS, refugees’ American dream became reality — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

E

very year, Alla Puchinsky and Margarit Lemkov circle June 28 on their calendars.

On that summer day 27 years ago, Puchinsky and Lemkov took their families to a Moscow airport to flee the former Soviet Union as Jewish refugees. They found each other when they noticed their bags — a strict rule of just two per person — were stamped with the same sticker: “Pittsburgh.”

This month, they will meet, as they do every June 28, and look back on almost three decades of close bonds and friendship in their adopted homeland.

“We came to the United States because of antisemitism in the former Soviet Union,” Puchinsky told the Chronicle. “And we never regret that we came here. We bought one-way tickets and … of course, came here to make a future for our kids.”

On June 18, individuals like Puchinsky and Lemkov in Pittsburgh’s refugee community will celebrate World Refugee Day by sharing their stories and experiences. A local virtual event and celebration will be shared online on June 18, with the global celebration taking place on June 20. The day honors the strength, courage and perseverance of the more than 90,000 members of Pittsburgh’s immigrant community, as well as the 70 million displaced people worldwide who were forced to leave their homes in fear of conflict or persecution to start a new life with their families, according to Jewish Family and Community Services.

One story to be featured on the June 18 event is that of Rebecca Sakala, who says World Refugee Day holds special meaning.

In addition to photo and video stories, the June 18 event will also feature recipes from around the world, local immigrant artists and children’s activities to help engage the whole family.

Participants will also have opportunities to get involved and take action in supporting their refugee and immigrant neighbors through learning, advocacy and volunteer work.  A dance for resettled Russian Jewish immigrants in All are welcome to join Pittsburgh. Photo by Lou Malkin, Vinard Studios, via Rauh Jewish Archives the celebration online at is ac pitt sburg h.org/w rd, testing recipes on the food blog, purchasing from immigrant and refugee artists and craftsmen, and buying takeout food to be delivered from immigrant- and refugee-owned restaurants.

Participants are encouraged to share photos and experiences on social media using the hashtag #WRDpgh2021.

Puchinsky said antisemitism was systemic in Belarus, from where she emigrated  Russian Jewish immigrants resettled by JFCS in Pittsburgh celebrate Shabbat. Photo courtesy of Rauh Jewish Archives to the U.S. a generation ago. Her husband graduAfter fleeing a violent abusive relation- ated from college and wanted to go into ship, she was welcomed in Pittsburgh and the sciences but was not allowed. Her son, connected to the support she needed. who was sometimes beaten for being Jewish, “Waking up every day, knowing I got a applied for medical school and was the top place to get food, shelter and clothes and be student in his graduating class, but the state able to provide for my children in a foreign would not accept him into the free public place is more than welcoming, and it makes program, instead telling Puchinsky to write me feel at home,” Sakala said. “There is light at to her wealthy Jewish relatives to ask for the the end regardless of where you come from.” tuition money.

In Russia, Lemkov’s youngest son was bullied and separated from others for being Jewish when he was 5, and bystanders frequently told their family to “go home to Israel.”

“We always felt it,” said Lemkov, who worked as a teacher in Russia. “They reminded us of our place. We decided to leave because it got dangerous.”

Since arriving in Pittsburgh in ‘94, Lemkov has worked to take care of the elderly and cleaned houses, touting that she is “not afraid of any work.” Puchinsky said the same is true of her.

In the mid-90s, Jewish Family and Community Services taught Lemkov, Puchinsky and others how to use a computer, draft a resume and become whitecollar workers.

Lemkov retired in 2018 after working at Mellon Bank, Dish Network and UPMC. Her husband was an engineer in Russia but didn’t know English when they arrived in Pittsburgh. For 20 years, he worked at Community Life, a day-care program with a large population of elderly Russians.

Puchinsky taught Russian at the University of Pittsburgh, then went on to JFCS where she worked as a medical case manager for 22 years. She served those who, several years after her own exodus from Belarus in 1994, came to the U.S. from places like Syria, Iraq and the Congo.

“I worked hard for them because I was in their shoes — not knowing anything, being in a new culture,” she said.

Her son was 18 when Puchinsky’s family came to Pittsburgh. He eventually studied at the University of Pittsburgh and then Johns Hopkins, and now he is a doctor in Toronto.

Her daughter went to school at Taylor Please see Refugees, page 15

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Headlines JFCS hires new head of Refugee & Immigrant Services; longtime director steps down — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

F

or the first time in over a decade, Jewish Family and Community Services is welcoming a new director of Refugee & Immigrant Services.

Ivonne Smith-Tapia, a native Colombian and former JFCS intern, is set to take the reins from current director Leslie Aizenman, who is retiring after 19 years with the nonprofit.

JFCS Refugee & Immigrant Services supports refugees and immigrants as part of the country’s refugee resettlement program.

JFCS helps them find homes and work, practice English and learn about their new city, while working closely with HIAS, a national organization previously known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Smith-Tapia, a former cultural anthropologist who worked with the government and international nonprofits in her home country, has lived in Pittsburgh with her husband since 2013, following a stint in Chicago. They have a 17-month-old son.

Smith-Tapia said her own experiences as a new immigrant motivated her to work with JFCS. “Now, I love Pittsburgh, it is my home,”

 Ivonne Smith-Tapia

she said. “But, as an immigrant starting a new life in Pittsburgh, it took me a few years to feel at home. It’s a hard city to move to if you don’t have a car. It’s hard to find jobs as an immigrant.”

Smith-Tapia will oversee a department

 Leslie Aizenman

Photos courtesy of JFCS

that has shifted focus and grown during the leadership of Aizenman, who began working with JFCS in 2003 as a grant writer. In 2008, Aizenman became the Refugee & Immigrant Services director. At that time, the agency was primarily assisting Jews coming to

Pittsburgh from the former Soviet Union.

Now, the department helps immigrants and refugees largely from Southeast Asia and Latin American countries.

Please see JFCS, page 15

Shady Side Academy

Class of 2021

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Headlines Getting to know: Bobbie Zlotnik — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

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ittsburgher Bobbie Zlotnik always wanted to be on Broadway — he just couldn’t quite figure out how to do it.

Then, when getting involved in school musicals at Avonworth High School about 15 years ago, he offered to help the female leads with their hair and makeup — and a path was forged. Today, he designs and consults for shows both on and off the Great White Way, films and TV, and runs a successful wig business out of a midtown Manhattan studio.

“It was kind of a natural progression, doing hair in the theater,” Zlotnik told the Chronicle. “I always had loved all aspects of theater. I made these set models out of the tours that came to town. It was crazy — in a good way.”

Zlotnik grew up in Lincoln Place, a neighborhood in the southeast corner of Pittsburgh, before moving to Sewickley during high school. He became a bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill.

Around the time he graduated from Point Park University in 2009, Zlotnik interned with Pittsburgh CLO and learned the art of applying and caring for wigs — as well as how to properly conceal microphones in them.

Up until the CLO experience, he joked, “I was kind of just making it up as I went along.”

A year later, he was studying at Aveda Institute in New York City — much closer to the Big Apple’s historic theater scene. At first, hair and wigs were a way to get by while Zlotnik pursued acting. It was “an easier way to make money than waiting tables,” he said.

“But I just ended up booking hair job after job,” Zlotnik said. “I was doing regional theater gigs out of town. So, I started focusing on doing hair full time.”

To date, Zlotnik has served as an understudy, or “hair swing,” on 24 Broadway shows, including working for seven years on “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”

During that time, he also was designing hair for several off-Broadway shows.

“I love it so much,” Zlotnik said. “My favorite part of it is creating the character. I love seeing the transformation a

performer can go through with the right hair and makeup.”

But Zlotnik does more than design or maintain wigs for shows. He’s become a staple for providing dramatic wigs to drag queens on the show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and he also runs a side business buying discounted wigs, restyling them then reselling them for profit on eBay and elsewhere.

As an illustration of the scope of his “side job,” during the pandemic, Zlotnik was making three wigs every week from March 2020 until May 2021.

When he’s not busy with theater, Zlotnik works in film and TV on shows like Netflix’s “Halston,” which stars Ewan McGregor, and HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” the much-anticipated historical drama from “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes.

Costume designer and “early career producer” Vanessa Leuck first worked alongside Zlotnik on “Emojiland,” an off-Broadway hit that netted them both Drama Desk Award nominations.

“Bobbie is my go-to for hair,” Leuck, a Wisconsin native who moved to New York City in 2004, told the Chronicle. “I think he’s amazing. He’s wickedly talented and such a wonderful collaborator. I call him for anything I need a wig for.”

“Emojiland,” oddly enough, featured a plot point where a virus starts to infect its characters; the COVID-19 virus shut down its off-Broadway run last March.

Zlotnik has weathered the pandemic well, but its onset was a bit of a shock for him.

“Within a week or two, I lost everything — it was a major setback to me,” Zlotnik said.

“But doing film and TV has taught me how to get a leg up.”

In addition to his wig-making “side job” and his work on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Zlotnik has found other ways to stay busy — and is relieved things are returning to a kind of new normal.

Though his parents haven’t seen one of his shows in a while, they remain very supportive, he said, adding, “I think they’re happy that I’m happy and I’m doing what I love — that I’ve found my niche.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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 Bobbie Zlotnik with sisters Tish (left) and Snooky Bellomo, founders of Manic Panic hair color, who sponsored the off-Broadway hit “Emojiland” with hair color for the production.

Photo courtesy of Bobbie Zlotnik

6/7/21 10:48 AM

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Headlines Craig Robinson and Avi Liberman perform at Federation event June 10 — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

C

raig Robinson and Avi Liberman are showcasing a new act, but the jokes have been brewing for 15 years.

In 2006, Liberman brought Robinson — who had begun his run as Darryl Philbin on NBC’s award-winning sitcom “The Office” the year before — and other comedians on a 12-day tour of Israel. Along with performing multiple sets across the Jewish state, the comedians toured Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Masada and numerous holy sites.

The trip, which supported the Koby Mandell Foundation, was “incredible,” said Robinson, speaking by phone from Chicago.

“There was so much going on,” he said.

“It was one of the most eye-opening, beautiful trips I‘ve ever had.” The Koby Mandell Foundation provides support to family members of loved ones lost to acts of terror.

Robinson, who went on to appear in other television shows, including “Brooklyn NineNine,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “American Dad!” after “The Office” ended in 2013, said his interactions with Israelis gave him perspective.

“They’re a serious people — it’s interesting to see 17-year-old kids, 18-year-old kids, walking around with these gigantic guns in just regular clothes,” he said. “That was one of the most interesting things. I think everybody is packing in Israel.”

Besides providing insight into Israeli culture, the trip also gave the actor and comedian new material.

Riffing on various Israeli cities, Robinson said, “These names sound like Black children — ‘Raanana, get down here. Hashmonaim, I’m not playing with you.’”

Robinson, whose film credits include the “Hot Tub Time Machine” movies, “This is the End,” “Morris from America,” “An Evening

with Beverly Luff Linn” and “Dolemite Is My Name,” credited Liberman with helping craft their June 10 comedy act, which was tailored specifically for Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. The prerecorded performance was screened at a drive-in style event at Station Square, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Liberman was born in Israel and raised in Texas. He spoke with the Chronicle while rehabilitating in Houston, having sustained serious injuries during a recent car accident.

Working with Robinson, he said, was a dream.

“Here’s the beauty — when someone’s funny that’s obviously great, but when they’re funny and also one of the nicest people on the planet, it’s an extra bonus,” said Liberman. “Because he had such a good time in Israel, he’s sort of willing to help out the Jewish community when he can.”

Several months ago, Liberman invited Robinson to join him in taping the performance for the Pittsburgh Jewish community. The challenge during the pandemic, however, was having to do their acts without a live audience. Despite that — and a demanding Hollywood schedule — Robinson agreed immediately.

“He really makes an effort to help, and he’s just such a nice guy,” said Liberman. “He’s so funny and so engaging.”

Robinson contacted The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, California, and he and Liberman recorded a set over the course of an afternoon. Liberman said that even with just a few Laugh Factory employees walking around during the taping, “The beauty of it is that Craig and I had fun together on stage, we could play off each other.”

Robinson said he hoped the community would enjoy the performance as much as he and Liberman enjoyed filming it. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions also will 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 SUNDAYS, JUNE 20, 27; JULY 11, 18

Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q MONDAYS, JUNE 21, 28; JULY 5, 12

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q SUNDAY, JUNE 20

Celebrate the longest day of the year crafting with Moishe House Pittsburgh. They’ll have materials for drawing and sculpting, as well as drinks and snacks. 4 p.m. facebook.com/ moishehouse.pittsburgh q TUESDAY, JUNE 22

and understand what is happening with the cease-fire with Hamas and the potential change of leadership of the Israeli government.

2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ israel-update-2021 q WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh welcomes Professor Laurence Glasco.

Glasco will present The Story and Modern Contextualization of Juneteenth, a discussion on the history of Juneteenth and its relevance and celebration today. The event is moderated

by Josiah Gilliam and is in collaboration with Mission Continues. 7:30 p.m. Free. jewishpgh.org/event/reshaping-american q WEDNESDAYS, JUNE 23, 30; JULY 7

Join Classrooms Without Border’s Summer Book Club double-header read of “Citizen: An American Lyric” and “Just Us: An American Conversation” by Claudia Rankine. Resident Teaching Artist Susan Stein will lead the discussions as we consider microaggressions and the unseen ways racism lives in our society. 4 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ rankine-book-club q THURSDAY, JUNE 24

Given the events in the past three weeks, from the recent conflict with Gaza to the internal political upheaval in Israel, there is a necessity to get an educated Israel Update from the “inside”. Classrooms Without Borders is offering an opportunity to hear from in-house scholar – Avi Ben-Hur – as he helps navigate

Hadassah Chicago-North Shore invites you to a virtual summer concert, “Let Us Find Peace,” presented by Lori Ann Powrozek. 11:30 a.m.

Register by June 22 for this free online event at hadassahmidwest.org/CNSconcert.

In collaboration with the Warsaw JCC, Partnership2Gether Pittsburgh-Karmiel/MisgavWarsaw has invited Barbara KirshenblattGimblett for Cooking2Gether: The Soup That Travelled 1000 Miles. KirshenblattGimblett is an author and curator for the POLIN Museum. She will share her reinterpretation of her mother’s split pea soup. Maria Kos, the educator at the Warsaw JCC, will be cooking while she chats with Barbara. 12 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/cooking2gether-virtualcooking-class-3 Join Classrooms Without Borders for “The House on Wannsee Street: Memoirs of a German Jewish Family,” film and post-film discussion with the filmmaker Poli Martínez Kaplun and her mother Helen Kaplun, in converdation with Avi Ben Hur. 3 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/wannsee-street Join the Jewish Association on Aging for Broadway Under the Stars Drive-In, a live, virtual concert by Mandy Gonzalez, Broadway star of “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.” Safedistance parking. Bring your own lawn chairs.

Drive-in style food, soft drinks and dessert served (dietary laws observed). 21 and older, BYOB (per PLCB). Drive in or view at home.

Proceeds benefit the care and services provided by JAA to our community’s seniors.

Lot opens at 6 p.m.; program begins at 7 p.m. jaapgh.org/events q FRIDAY, JUNE 25-SATURDAY, JUNE 26

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Mayor’s Office, and Pittsburgh

Parks Conservancy, for a two-day service event at Westinghouse Park in honor of the Juneteenth holiday. Registration is required as we will be providing lunch. If you plan to volunteer both days, please sign up for both events. 9 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/juneteenthwestinghouse-park-service-project q TUESDAY, JUNE 29

Join Classrooms Without Borders for their final book discussion of "Light of Days" by Judy Batalion. 4:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit classroomswithoutborders.org. q SUNDAY, JULY 11

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh on Zoom to learn more about the Mega Mission 2022. The mission will take place in Israel June 13-21, 2022. This is your chance to hear the details and ask all your pressing questions. RSVP required to receive Zoom link. 7 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/21mega-mission-2022-general-informationsession-7-11-2021 q MONDAY, JULY 12-FRIDAY, JULY 16

Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for The Arts and Eyewitness Accounts of the Holocaust: A Workshop for Teachers. The fully remote, weeklong teacher training brings best practices of Holocaust education together with art and literature. The sessions are conducted by local and internationally recognized artists and educators. $100. 9 a.m. hcofpgh.org/ events PJC

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Headlines Jewish ‘Hamilton’ star to perform at JAA fundraiser — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Editor

S

ince April 2020, Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez has been singing for audiences from her Maplewood, New Jersey, living room.

It’s a far cry from 46th Street’s Richard Rodgers Theatre, where, since 2016, she had been starring as Angelica Schuyler in the smash-hit musical “Hamilton.”

But if Gonzalez was shaken by COVID’s shuttering of theaters, one can’t tell by chatting with the effervescent Jewish performer, who is flush with optimism.

“During this pandemic, all actors had to pivot because we had to figure out how to make a living during this time,” Gonzalez told the Chronicle in a recent Zoom call. “So I’ve been doing a lot of virtual concerts, and that’s how I’ve been able to connect with people and to perform and to feel creative. And I’ve loved it.”

Gonzalez will be performing virtually in Pittsburgh on June 24 at the Jewish Association on Aging’s annual benefit, this year dubbed “Broadway Under the Stars.” The drive-in style event will feature a live concert projected on a big screen in Heinz Field’s Gold Parking Lot. In addition to her star turn in “Hamilton,” Gonzalez played Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway, and originated the role of Nina in

 Mandy Gonzales

Photo courtesy of LML Music Presents

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.”

She also has been featured on television’s “Madam Secretary” and “Quantico.”

Gonzalez was raised in Santa Clarita, California, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Mexican American father. Her father was a singer during high school in Northern California, performing in a band called The

SAFEGUARDING YOUR PRESENT & FUTURE

Enchantments. At the age of 18, he was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Her mother, who was from Southern California, began writing letters to soldiers during the war — and the two met and fell in love as pen pals.

Gonzalez credits both sides of the family with nurturing her musical chops.

“I feel so lucky because, from my father’s side,

I was introduced to Bolero singers, ranchera singers, just big sounds like Selena,” she said.

“And then on my bubbe’s side, I was introduced to Ethel Merman and Eydie Gormé and Judy Garland and all these people that I love. I think because I was part of two cultures, I really got the best of both worlds as far as music.”

Her bubbe, in fact, was a member the choir at the senior facility where she lived before passing away at the age of 97.

Gonzalez was raised Jewish, had a bat mitzvah when she was 13, and now has a daughter who attends Hebrew school.

“My mother said to my dad, after they got married, ‘We’re Jewish,’” Gonzalez said. “And my dad just said, ‘OK.’ And my dad still goes to synagogue with my mom, he goes to every seder. He is a big part of that community.

And he will be the first one to tell you if the brisket is good or the meatballs are too hard.”

Gonzalez is thrilled, she said, to be “coming back to Pittsburgh,” albeit virtually.

In 2015, she entertained at the Cabaret at Theater Square — to a “packed audience” — but that was not her first appearance here.

She came to Pittsburgh as a backup singer with Bette Midler at the age of 19.

“Pittsburgh, audiences have always just been so wonderful, and so wonderful to me,” she said. “Pittsburgh is just so supportive of the arts. I can’t wait to be back.”

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Headlines — LOCAL —

By Sarah Abrams | Staff Writer

W

hile Jewish mother, author and illustrator Janice Hechter has not yet visited Israel herself, her new children’s picture book, “Adventure Girl: Dabi Digs in Israel” (Alazar Press), transports readers into a world of Israeli culture and archaeological discoveries.

Hechter graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration. She has fond memories, she said, of studying in the College of Fine Arts buildings on campus and dining at new restaurants throughout Pittsburgh. Following graduation, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for various companies.

Hechter, who now lives in Connecticut, has illustrated six previous books, including “The Little Esrog,” “Avi’s Choice,” and “Hooray for Heroes!” Her new book is the first project for which she was both illustrator and writer.

Long fascinated by “the natural intersection” between archaeology and illustration, Hechter attended several archaeology lectures at local colleges and, after realizing there were not many picture books which included archaeology, was inspired to write and illustrate one herself.

The author chose Israel as the setting for the story due to its rich archaeological

p Janice Hechter

Photo by Lester Hechter

history, she said, and hopes “readers come away with a flavor of Israeli culture, while at the same time learning a few Hebrew words.”

“Adventure Girl” follows young Dabi as she visits her grandparents in Israel. Dabi finds a kindred spirit in her aunt Doda Gili and embarks on an adventure to the Beit Guvrin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where children can join an archaeological dig, crawl through caves and explore ancient spaces.

At the site, Dabi makes a surprising discovery.

Beit Guvrin is considered one of the top child-friendly dig sites in Israel, is open to children as young as 5 years old, and “has a vast amount of unexcavated caves, and is filled with artifacts which have yet to be discovered,” Hechter said.

“Before I even had the idea of writing

this book, I had been intrigued when I read about children in Israel who happened upon important artifacts,” she continued. “Once I decided to write this story, I knew I wanted to incorporate this into the book,” letting her readers know that, “even as children, they can make important discoveries.”

In the book, Dabi is initially disappointed when she is unable to keep the archaeological artifact she discovers. But as she begins to understand the reason behind this Israeli law, she has “already realized the value of her adventure with Doda Gili,” said Hechter.

The story also emphasizes the importance of feminism and defying gender roles, according to the author. Instead of following her parents’ requests for her to act “ladylike” on their family visit, Dabi prefers to explore in the mud. Dabi’s aunt then begins to call her an “adventure girl,” a nickname which Dabi much prefers and repeats throughout the course of the story.

“Dabi keeps getting tagged with labels which are meant to dampen her adventurous spirit and conform to others’ vision of ideal femininity,” said Hechter. “Girls Dabi’s age are so often barraged with images of ‘princesses.’ There are so many children’s books about ‘princesses,’ but very few about girls who enjoy adventure and don’t mind a little dirt. I think it’s time to change that narrative.”

The ultimate message of the book, said Hechter, is to “keep creating and exploring nature, and don’t let others discourage you.

Also, if you have only one ally it can make a world of difference.”

Hechter plans to continue writing and illustrating books, she said, and invites readers to keep an eye out for her future work, including more stories with a Jewish theme.

“Adventure Girl: Dabi Digs in Israel” is available in both hardcover and eBook versions, and can be found on amazon.com. PJC Sarah Abrams can be reached at sabrams@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Peduto joins mayors from 12 countries committing to remove antisemitism from their cities

I

n response to the recent rise in the number of antisemitic acts across the world — including physical assaults, verbal harassment and vandalism — Frankfurt am Main (Germany) Mayor Uwe Becker, the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement have launched a joint statement campaign. So far, 28 mayors from cities in 12 countries have signed the

statement, standing united to protect Jewish communities.

Signatories of the statement include Becker, who is also a member of the CAM Advisory Board; Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto; mayor of Porto (Portugal), Rui Moreira; mayor of West Hollywood, Lindsey P. Horvath; mayor of Budapest 7th District (Hungary), Péter Niedermüller; conseiller de Paris, Mairie du Neuf-Paris

Local author publishes children’s book

F

or Josh Sufrin, coming up with an idea of what to write about is the easy part.

“My dad told me a lot of stories when I was younger, childhood stories that stuck with me for a long time,” according to the local author.

Sufrin has used one of those stories as the basis of his new children’s book, “Teachable Tales: Tommy Tells the Truth.” The book is the tale of Tommy, a child who lied about a bad grade and was punished for his actions.

He soon learns the value of telling the truth, even if it seems scary.

“Tommy Tells the Truth” is the first in what the Jewish writer envisions as a

8 JUNE 18, 2021

five-part series.

“The first book is a dedication to my father, but I plan on dedicating each new book to someone in my life,” said Sufrin, adding that some of those people have even become characters in the series.

In fact, Sufrin said the main character in his first book bears more than a passing resemblance to himself, “which is funny enough,” he said. “It adds a personal sense to the story.”

The book is illustrated by Jack and Sydney Ware and is available online at Amazon, Target and Barnes & Noble. PJC

(France); and mayor of Athens (Greece), Kostas Bakoyannis.

“Sadly, antisemitism has become rampant in cities across the world and local leaders — who know firsthand, as Pittsburgh does, the pain and suffering it costs our communities — must stand together to fight it,” Peduto told the Chronicle in an email. “I am honored to join this battle.”

The joint statement acknowledges the civil

duty of municipal leaders to “stand united and committed to the safety of all Jewish residents in our cities,” said Becker in a prepared statement. “As proud civic leaders, we say unequivocally we reject Jew-hatred in our cities now and always.”

The statement and full list of signatories can be viewed at combatantisemitism.org. PJC — Sarah Abrams

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Poetry Contest

O

ur readers are invited to submit poems to the Chronicle’s summer poetry contest. Winning entries will be published in our July 30 issue. The theme is “peace.”

Submissions will be accepted in two categories: teens and adults. Two winners in the adult category, and one winner in the teen category, will each receive a $54 gift card to Pinsker’s Books and Judaica, supplied by an anonymous donor. All submissions must be received no later than July 12.

— David Rullo PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Guidelines:

Poems must be submitted to newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Please type “Poetry Contest” in the subject line. The poem must be in a Microsoft Word file. No pdfs or handwritten entries will be accepted.

• One submission per author • Must include the author’s name, address, phone number and email address • Must designate whether entry is intended for teen or adult category • Poem should reflect the theme of peace • Unpublished poems only PJC

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Courtesy of Alazar Press

CMU alumna digs deep into Israel in new children’s book

Headlines Local bagel shop’s social media post stirs controversy — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

A

recent Instagram story posted

by Pigeon Bagels in Squirrel Hill enflamed the passions of some members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

The story linked to a post by the account @landpalestine, titled “How to help support Palestinians right now: Where to donate, organizations to support, and more.” That post suggested its followers donate to iF Charity, The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Rebuilding Alliance, United Palestinian Appeal and the Museum of the Palestinian People. Three photos in the post were dedicated to the BDS movement, describing it as “inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement,” and repeated the phrase “Free Palestine” four times.

Pigeon Bagels opened in 2019 and is owned by Gab Taube, a Point Breeze resident — Taube is German for “pigeon.” The bakery, certified kosher by the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh and located on Hobart Street near Wightman Street, posted the story to its Instagram feed on Shavuot, and in the midst of the latest conflict between Israel and the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas. The story was automatically deleted from the social media site after 24 hours — all Instagram stories are automatically deleted — but not before some members of the Jewish community captured screenshots.

BDS is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel.

p Pigeon Bagels

Photo by Jim Busis

It is considered antisemitic by many Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League.

Chava Greenberg of Squirrel Hill said she learned about the story from an online post by an acquaintance.

Greenberg said she was concerned, not only that Pigeon Bagels’ Instagram story had an anti-Israeli bias, but that it was antisemitic and would encourage the type of violence and vandalism against Pittsburgh’s Jewish community that has taken place recently in many other cities around the country, including Los Angeles, New York and Tucson. She noted that the perpetrators of some of those attacks screamed “Free Palestine” and other antisemitic tropes, the same phrase seen as part of @landpalestine’s post.

Because Pigeon Bagels is certified kosher, it is popular among Squirrel Hill’s religious Jewish community, Greenberg said.

“Everybody likes it,” she said.

“We patronize the business.

We’re happy to support small businesses in Pittsburgh, especially since COVID-19. And then she posted this.”

Abby Wisse Schachter of p Screenshot from Pigeon Bagel’s Instagram story, Regent Square learned of Pigeon posted last month.

“ If they’re saying they’re for ‘Free Palestine,’ which is what she posted on Instagram, then she is saying she is for the destruction of Israel, the eradication of Israel. That’s

”

what ‘Free Palestine’ means.

— ABBY WISSE SCHACHTER Bagel’s Instagram story from a friend looking for people to sign a letter to Taube about the anti-Israel post.

“If they’re saying they’re for ‘Free Palestine,’ which is what she posted on Instagram, then she is saying she is for the destruction of Israel, the eradication of Israel,” Schachter said. “That’s what ‘Free Palestine’ means.”

Schachter would not reveal the contents of the letter to Taube, saying it was a “private correspondence.”

Reaction to Taube’s anti-Israel stance has begun to shift from private messages to public — albeit anonymous — calls to boycott the bagel shop.

A sign was recently posted on a telephone poll near the restaurant, stating: “Boycott Pigeon Bagels. They support murder of Jews by standing with Hamas terrorists and Marxist racist BLM radicals.”

To Greenberg, Taube’s Instagram story is more than a simple political message.

“For me walking down the street with my kids, people can see that I’m noticeably Jewish,” she said. “I don’t want to be attacked on American soil. I’m happy. I’m a proud American. I’m a proud Jew. I want to live here in Pittsburgh, I want to live in peace with my neighbors. I would love to support a local eatery, especially one that is kosher. But when you are attacking our Jewishness, I wouldn’t want to support you. If you’re hating on my people, why do I want to support you?”

Taube did not provide a comment for this story prior to press time. A representative from the Vaad Harabanim declined to comment. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 18, 2021 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Zionist movement umbrella ousts rabbi at the center of harassment dispute

The World Confederation of United Zionists, one of several groupings within the World Zionist Organization, let go of its secretary-general, American-born Rabbi Dov Lipman, citing his dispute with two women who say he sexually harassed them.

Haaretz, which first broke the story of the harassment allegations, reported that the confederation’s chairman, David Yaari, notified the World Zionist Organization of Lipman’s departure after the allegations were made public.

“Given the grave allegations against former MK Dov Lipman, it was decided to part ways in order to focus on CUZ’s vital work within the global Zionist forum,” Yaari told Haaretz in a statement.

Lipman, who is from the Washington, D.C., area, is a former Knesset member from the Yesh Atid party.

He denied to Haaretz that he had been fired, saying he had left of his own accord to devote more time to helping new immigrants to Israel settle and assimilate, the work he is best known for.

Lipman has denied the harassment allegations, which first arose on a private Facebook page. He has sued the two women making

the accusations, and they have countersued.

The women, like Lipman, are members of the modern Orthodox community in Beit Shemesh, a city near Jerusalem. They said the harassment occurred when they and Lipman were part of a movement to push back against haredi Orthodox harassment of modern Orthodox women and girls in the city over modesty and other perceived religious infractions.

Swastika discovered on ark at Frankfurt airport synagogue

A swastika was found scrawled on the ark at a synagogue at the Frankfurt International Airport in Germany, according to the German publication Bild. It is unclear when the swastika was drawn, as the airport synagogue has been closed for several months due to the pandemic.

A German organization of Orthodox rabbis condemned the vandalism at the airport in a statement.

“It is simply sad. This hatred of Jews must finally stop,” the Orthodox Rabbinical Conference said, according to the Associated Press. “The ugly grimace of antisemitism does not stop even in a highly secured area, at a place of encounter, silence and stopping, where people from all over the world meet briefly while traveling and are in transit.”

The swastika was discovered less than a week after a fire was set outside a synagogue in Ulm, about 70 miles northwest of Munich, in what police suspect was an attempted arson attack. The vandalism comes on the

heels of a wave of antisemitism following the conflict in Israel and Gaza last month and at a time when some European Jews are saying the fight against antisemitism in Europe is one that cannot be won.

Writers remove references to Anne Frank, Israel from novels following social media complaints

Bestselling authors Elin Hilderbrand and Casey McQuiston removed references to Anne Frank and Israel from their novels this week following an outcry on social media from small subsets of readers.

The moves have ignited a storm of controversy in the literary world.

The campaigns against the books have been successful despite appearing to be relatively small in size, and originate from wildly different perspectives on Jews and Israel. One takes the authors to task for a joke perceived as antisemitic, while the other objects to the mere mention of Israel.

In the former case, the first edition of Hilderbrand’s new novel, “Golden Girl,” contains a line of dialogue in which two teenage girls in Nantucket discuss a plan for one of them to hide in her friend’s attic for the summer. One of the girls then jokes that she would be “like Anne Frank.”

Some readers on Instagram said the joke was antisemitic and demanded an apology from Hilderbrand. The author issued one and announced she would be removing the passage from future printings of the book.

McQuiston, a romance novelist, is taken to task for the 2019 novel “Red, White & Royal Blue,” about a romance between the son of the U.S. president and a prince of England.

The president jokes that the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations “said something idiotic about Israel, and now I have to call Netanyahu and personally apologize.”

A handful of Twitter users wrote that even mentioning Israel in fiction “normalizes” the occupation of Palestine. Their complaints were amplified by a fan account of the book, which prompted McQuiston to say the line would be changed for future printings. McQuiston has a new book coming out this year.

The authors’ decisions to remove the passages from future printings have been criticized on Twitter by Slate books columnist Laura Miller and many prominent authors, including Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Mark Harris, who are Jewish. Several compared the incidents to other recent campaigns against young-adult novels for perceived cultural insensitivities, saying that many readers on social media have lost the ability to distinguish between a character’s points of view and the author’s.

“Complaining about other, more successful writers is one of the most popular activities on Twitter, as is devising elaborately exacting standards of correct speech and vigorously, if informally, prosecuting those who violate them,” Miller wrote. “What’s unusual about these two examples is how rapidly both authors caved in the face of what appear to be very small posses of critics.” PJC

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

June 18, 1992 — Painter Mordecai Ardon dies

Painter Mordecai Ardon dies at age 95 in Jerusalem. He studied with the Bauhaus school in Berlin and made aliyah in 1933. He directed the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts from 1940 to 1952.

June 19, 1967 — LBJ outlines 5 principles for peace

moviemaking in 1911 at the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. He shoots documentaries in the Land of Israel.

June 22, 1939 — Nobel Prize winner Ada Yonath is born

Biochemist Ada Yonath is born in Jerusalem.

She shares the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering the three-dimensional structure of two subunits of ribosomes, which make proteins in cells.

June 23, 2011 — Israel promotes 1st female major general

President Lyndon B. Johnson lays out five principles for Mideast peace in a speech at the State Department. He does not demand Israel’s surrender of recently captured land.

June 20, 1948 — Altalena arrives

When: June 20, 2021 6-9PM At: Shaare Torah Congregation-Social Hall, 2319 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh Pa 15217

The Irgun’s Altalena reaches the coast at Kfar Vitkin with 900 immigrants and weapons.

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion demands the surrender of the arms, then orders the ship sunk June 22.

June 21, 1882 — Filmmaker Ya’acov Ben-Dov is born WWW.ALEPHNE.ORG/SYMPOSIUM

10 JUNE 18, 2021

Filmmaker and photographer Ya’acov Ben-Dov is born in Ukraine. He makes aliyah in 1907 and is introduced to PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Orna Barbivai is promoted to major general, the first woman to hold the second-highest rank in the Israel Defense Forces. The 30-year IDF veteran and mother of three heads the Personnel Directorate.

June 24, 2007 — Israel holds 1st pro baseball game

The Israel Baseball League launches with a 9-1 win by the Modi’in Miracle over the Petach Tikvah Pioneers in front of more than 3,000 fans.

The six-team professional league folds after one season. PJC PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Ilhan Omar clarifies remarks on Hamas, U.S. and Israel, but condemns Jewish lawmakers’ demand for clarification

A

— WORLD —

fter a dozen Jewish Democrats in Congress asked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to clarify remarks in which she grouped Hamas and the Taliban with the United States and Israel, she complied — but not before she got something off her chest.

An insinuation in the request that she was covering for terrorists was Islamophobic, Omar said in a tweet, and she exhorted her colleagues to call first next time.

“On Monday, I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about ongoing International Criminal Court investigations,” Omar said last week. “To be clear: the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel. I was in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems.”

She was replying to a request the day before from 12 of the 25 Jewish Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to clarify her earlier statements in which she grouped the United States and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas. That request came out of a meeting earlier of the unofficial

“ We welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between

”

the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban.

— SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, (D-CALIF.) caucus of House Jewish Democrats in which Brad Schneider of Illinois made the case for a statement calling out Omar.

Omar’s original tweet said, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. … We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”

The House leadership team, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.), welcomed the clarification. “Drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all,” said a statement from Pelosi’s office. “We welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there

is no moral equivalency between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban.”

Omar’s tweet sparked immediate outrage from Republicans, Israeli officials and some pro-Israel groups.

Omar’s intent seemed clearer if one watched the video that accompanied her tweet. It showed her question and answer session in Congress the same day, where she pressed Blinken on how the Biden administration proposed that alleged victims of war crimes seek redress, given that it opposed the ICC investigations into the two conflicts she cited.

“Where do we think victims are supposed to go for justice, and what justice mechanisms do you support?” she asked Blinken.

An hour or so after the Jewish Democrats released their formal request, following a long meeting in which the propriety of doing

so was debated, Omar tweeted that threats against her had intensified because of the controversy. She said the request for clarification — which she fulfilled 12 hours later — was itself bigoted. She was also furious that the Jewish Democrats who issued the statement did not first reach out to her.

“It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for ‘clarification’ and not just call,” she said. “The islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable.”

Omar’s Jewish spokesman, Jeremy Slevin, in a separate tweet, said that accusing a Muslim member of Congress of covering for terrorism was Islamophobic.

Also calling out the 12 Jewish members for not dealing with the issue privately first was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who is a leader of the “squad” of progressives that includes Omar.

“Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus,” Ocasio Cortez said on Twitter.

“They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.” PJC

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 18, 2021 11

Opinion Guest Columnist Yossi Klein Halevi

I

srael’s 36th government is a coalition of the courageous. Each leader who has led his or her party into this strange and unwieldy government has taken a risk. The hard left Meretz has empowered the hard right Yamina, and Yamina has enraged much of its base by partnering with Meretz. Yisrael Beitenu, which not long ago accused Arab Israelis of treason, has embraced the Islamist party, Ra’am, as a coalition partner; and Ra’am, whose founding charter calls Zionism racism, has joined a Zionist government.

Among the leaders of this coalition, none has been more self-sacrificing than Yair Lapid. Though Lapid was the senior politician within the anti-Netanyahu coalition and head of its largest party, he deferred to Benny Gantz, who seemed the more likely to defeat Netanyahu. And now he has deferred to Naftali Bennett, leader of one of the coalition’s smallest factions. In so doing, Lapid has embodied the meaning of leadership and love for Israel, restoring to our politics its lost nobility.

Two Israels were on display at the Knesset swearing-in ceremony for the new government. There was the Israel of desecration, MKs shouting, faces contorted with hate, trampling on the dignity of the state as they

Can this coalition last? Given its bare majority and inner contradictions, the odds aren’t brilliant. And yet even if it doesn’t survive its term, it has already won. refused to allow the prime minister-designate to speak at his own inauguration.

And there was the Israel of Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid, speaking with passion and reason and self-control as they presented their coalition of healing.

After years of officially inspired campaigns of hatred and divisiveness, contrived to serve one man’s political needs, we have the most diverse government in the country’s history.

After the worst violence between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews since 1948, we have the nation’s first Jewish-Arab coalition.

If the new coalition achieves nothing more than liberating Israel from those who have tried to unravel the delicate balance between nationalism and democracy, decency and power — dayenu, it is sufficient. If the new coalition achieves nothing more than offering a counter-vision of an Israel that strives to respect and manage its essential differences and place the country above sectarian needs — dayenu.

Can this coalition last? Given its bare majority and inner contradictions, the odds aren’t brilliant. And yet even if it doesn’t survive its term, it has already won.

This government will be in a constant struggle for balance among its radically disparate components. There will be frustration on all sides as cherished agendas are stalemated and thwarted. Critics will accuse it of being a government not of national unity, but of paralysis.

Yet the search for balance needs to be the heart of the Israeli project. Paradox is the inevitable result of the ingathering of the Jews home from a hundred exiles, with all our contradictory visions and fears and notions of the meaning of Jewishness and a Jewish state. And then factor into this mix Israel’s Arab citizens who are not part of our national mythos of ingathering, whose Israeli identity is at best tenuous, and the search for equilibrium becomes nearly impossible.

We are by necessity a coalition system.

Only a coalition can attempt to hold the paradoxes of Israeliness. This government will be our most radical experiment in the restraint and humility that is the heart of coalition-building.

The implicit question driving this coalition is: What holds us together? That question has become increasingly urgent in recent years, as the two foundational elements of our identity — the Jewish and democratic nature of the state — are placed in increasing tension. Once, not so long ago, most Israelis agreed that there could be no Israel that didn’t represent the Jewish people and the continuity of Jewish history and that didn’t, at the same time, aspire to fulfill the promise of our Declaration of Independence for full equality for every citizen.

Today, thanks in no small measure to the previous government, that basic assumption of Israeliness can no longer be taken for granted. The task of this government is, above all, to restore our sense of commonality, by affirming and defending Israel’s Jewish and democratic identities.

The last years of Netanyahu’s reign were a glimpse into the possible unraveling of Israeli society. This government’s contradictions are the source of its hope. PJC Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is co-director, together with Imam Abdullah Antepli of Duke University and Maital Friedman, of the Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), and a member of the Institute’s iEngage Project. This piece first appeared on The Times of Israel.

Nothing is ‘like’ the Holocaust Guest Columnist Dan Frankel

T

he last several weeks were rough in Harrisburg. As an ardent defender of abortion rights and as the Democratic chair of the Pennsylvania House Health Committee, I helped lead the fight against several bills that I believe would dramatically turn back the clock for this commonwealth’s women.

Abortion is a topic that inspires passionate and deeply felt arguments all around — something I always try to remember even as I go to battle for women’s reproductive autonomy. But it also inspires something else, in casual comments from lawmakers, constituent letters, speeches and letters to the editor. Not an abortion debate yet has gone by without a comparison to the Holocaust.

I want to be clear about one thing: The Holocaust has no place in this abortion debate. Questions of reproductive justice should not be compared to the Holocaust.

And neither should anything else.

You can’t use the Holocaust to explain something else, because nothing in history is “like” the Holocaust.

The systematic, state-sponsored scapegoating of millions of people as a justification for torturing, starving and murdering them

12 JUNE 18, 2021

When lawmakers and others make comparisons to the Holocaust, they are attempting to aggrandize their own grievances. And they end up diminishing the power of what we must learn. does not have any comparison.

Just as nothing is “like” the American enslavement of Africans and their descendants, or the Cambodian genocide by the Khmer Rouge, or the slaughter of 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994. There are some worldwide tragedies that are too complex and too devastating to be used to explain something else.

To be fair, anti-abortion advocates are not the only ones who have dabbled in Holocaust analogies. I’ve heard it from both ends of political spectrum and I’ve heard it from fellow Jews. Regardless of the speaker or the topic, I feel strongly that we can all make our impassioned arguments about abortion and immigration policy and whatever else without co-opting the language of the Holocaust.

I don’t call it out every single time. To be honest, that’s a full-time job, and it’s sometimes a detour for which we just don’t have the space. At times, I don’t have the mental space to educate the unwilling about the

harm of using the horrors of the Holocaust as a rhetorical flourish.

But it’s starting to feel dangerous. Because the more the Holocaust gets used to make comparisons, the less potent it’s vital message becomes. When lawmakers and others make comparisons to the Holocaust, they are attempting to aggrandize their own grievances. And they end up diminishing the power of what we must learn. Yom HaShoah. Never Forget.

When I was a child, Holocaust survivors kept their experiences tangible for the rest of us. Their stories had names of playmates never seen again, the head-spinning contrast of before and after, the thousands of impossible choices and the physical scars of suffering. Many had tattoos on forearms, crushing survivor’s guilt and lifelong sorrow to balance against life’s many joys. Some talked about it and others never did, but the survivors’ very existence made it painfully real. Six million Jews, yes — but also a sister, a father, a schoolteacher.

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Few survivors are left now — just the youngest children of the time are still with us. Their stories do live on for those who seek them out. There are many oral history programs that exist for this purpose, including the USC Shoah Foundation, created by Steven Spielberg, to which nearly 1,000 Pennsylvanian Holocaust survivors have contributed their stories.

Maybe that kind of education will help us ensure that the systematic extermination of Jews and other groups deemed unfavorable is not diminished into shorthand for “bad” or “unjust” or even “tragic.” Survivors gifted us these stories, in part to protect future generations from repeating history.

And while nothing is “like” the Holocaust, we can and must learn from its horrors and recognize its precursors. Now, when antisemitism is on the rise and an ugly nationalism has made its way into the mainstream, we absolutely should reflect on the decades of political life that laid the table for state-sponsored genocide. That’s different from comparing a masking order to a Nazi edict or abortion healthcare providers to Hitler’s death camps.

We must never stop talking about the Holocaust, but at the same time protect the power and potency of the words. Both things are possible, and both are necessary. PJC Dan Frankel, a Democrat, represents the 23rd District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

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Photo by Rachelgr713 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27011445

Why this fractious coalition gives me hope

Opinion Father’s Day tributes

W

ith Father’s Day approaching, we asked our readers what made their dads special. They responded with stories of strength, patience, perseverance and generosity. Here are their tributes. Happy Father’s Day!

Earl Barmen, submitted by Barbara Berns

My dad, Earl Barmen, had to be the kindest gentleman who walked upon this Earth. He owned a tavern in East Pittsburgh, and a man named Tarry Bender worked for him. During WWII, Tarry was stationed in Burma. I found a letter from Tarry that indicated my dad apparently had offered him a full partnership in his tavern when the war ended. Tarry diplomatically responded that he would always remember my dad’s generous offer.

Shortly after receipt of Tarry’s letter, we were notified that Tarry was killed in action. My dad attempted to be so stoic when learning of this young man’s death and how Tarry fought for the safety of our nation. Less than a decade later, at age 45, my mother died of breast cancer. My dad was 51, my brother was 13, and I was an 18-year-old college student with zero skills in anything useful to tackle my new family challenges. But I took up the reins and matured quickly, thanks to my dad’s guidance, patience and support.

I feel so guilty to have never thanked my

father for my brother’s and my survival and for his sacrifices to make us independent, responsible, honest adults. This soft-spoken, gentle man is always with me in spirit.

Thank you, Daddy.

Luddy Israel, submitted by Ken Israel

Although my father died 30 years ago, he continues to have a positive influence in my life in so many ways. What made Luddy Israel, of blessed memory, a great father?

Dad did his best to communicate with my three brothers and me and to try to understand us. He taught us how to play baseball, drive a car and — most importantly — be a good person. A gentle man, he was a loving husband and father who saw his primary role as a provider. He was 5 when his family left Romania and 16 when he left home in the Bronx. Equipped with a 10th-grade education, street smarts, and a few dollars, dad eventually joined the Marines and served in the Philippines in World War II. Later he met and married my mom, then for 40 years worked in the scrap metal business with an ironclad work ethic, rarely missing a day. He was an amiable man — everyone liked dad. In his final years, he accepted his health challenges with a quiet dignity and grace. Blessed to have had such an outstanding role model, I strive to pass on these same traits and values to my own children.

— LETTERS — Questioning motives of J Street

I’m motivated to write this letter in response to two Letters to the Editor entitled “Praise for J Street conference, concern for the future” and “J Street remains committed to Israel’s security.” I question the motives of J Street and I struggle to understand how Jews support this organization.

J Street’s endorsement of the McCollum legislation makes me suspicious of its motives.

This legislation is based on falsehoods, relying on suspect sources that have been dismantled by evidence.

The putative motivation of the legislation is the protection of Palestinian children allegedly harmed by Israel in various ways. Should we infer that Israel arrests, imprisons and interrogates Palestinian “children” because they are Palestinian children? This is nothing but a blood libel, plain and simple. The facts do not support these claims — claims that Israel’s enemies are trying to codify into law. Where is the proof that military aid to Israel is used to demolish Palestinian homes and harm innocent “children”?

To illustrate the distorted bases justifying this legislation, the bill partially quotes from the State Department’s 2016 Annual Report on Human Rights Practices that “noted the renewed use of ‘administrative detention’ against Palestinians, including children, a practice in which a detainee may be imprisoned indefinitely, without charge or trial, by the order of a military commander or other government official. ” What is omitted here is that the State Department’s report references that it was NGOs that reported an unverified increase — amid a rise in terrorism by Palestinians during that period. Context is important.

The McCollum bill completely skirts that Israel is operating under the provisions of the Oslo Accords, granting Israel responsibility for the administration of Area C on the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. It is responsible for the approval to construct and demolish illegally built structures. These actions are subject to Israeli court review. Israeli court decisions have sometimes reversed demolition orders.

The McCollum bill is a bad faith effort to smear Israel and the Jewish people through a sham concern for Palestinian “children,” some of whom have been 17-year-olds who stabbed to death Israeli civilians, recruited by Palestinian adults to be “soldiers” in their ongoing war to eliminate the Jewish state.

Much of the unverifiable information substantiating the basis for this legislation comes PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Dr. Alexander Kiderman, submitted by Alec Kiderman

All of us make a difference when we come into the world.

The very fact that we take up physical and spiritual space makes a difference.

However, a huge part of what we contribute to the world depends on each one of us and the choices we make. My father chose to be an adoring and caring husband. He could not have accomplished what he has done so far in his life without the private — but very benevolent and supportive — love of my mother. He also chose to be a generous and loving father. Many of the options he chose were for the benefit of his family. His professional accomplishments to date are quite impressive. Currently, he is a vice president of technology at Neurolign Technology Inc. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia and devoted his engineering and academic career to developing new technology, equipment and software. His initial professional focus was in heavy industries, while for the last 15 years he shifted his interests to developing new diagnostic tools to assess vestibular dysfunction and mild traumatic brain injury. He received more than 50 patents globally and published multiple papers in scientific journals, and presented the results of his research at multiple domestic and international conferences and symposiums. From the Jewish perspective,

he has been involved in Congregation Beth Shalom Men’s Club, president of the same, member of the board of trustees, president of Hebrew Free Loan Association, president of Tri-State Region, and now has been nominated to international vice president of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. On this Father’s Day, I toast my father for his multiple accomplishments in all spheres of his life, and even more importantly, for being the special gift in our lives.

Irving Nadle, submitted by Jonathan Nadle

My parents raised me to the best of their ability. It wasn’t always easy; money was tight when I was a child, but I always had the things I needed (even if not always the things I wanted); their love, support and time.

I had many fun adventures. My dad would take me on hikes in our local parks and take our family to state parks. From them, my enjoyment and respect for nature developed, ultimately defining my career. My dad would read me numerous books as I took my baths and went to bed, leading to my love of literature and reading. I could tell he was tired at times, but he rarely refused my request of “just one more chapter.” When I got older, on hot summer evenings we’d play Frisbee across the bridge from our Oakland home Please see Tributes, page 18

from the Defense for Children International – Palestine, an organization accused of being linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization. Financial Institutions such as Citibank, Arab Bank and Global Giving have closed DCIP’s accounts.

That this legislation is based on discredited sources, unverifiable numbers and claims and disreputable allies should have raised concerns among supporters of J Street enough to withhold support. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

No, the problem is not an “erosion of Jewish values,” as one writer stated in her letter.

As we have seen in the latest battle with Hamas, the problem is that the other side is committed to war.

Annette Kolski-Andreaco Pittsburgh

A wake-up call on antisemitism

Two thumbs up for Rabbi Avram Mlotek’s op-ed, “How a ‘wokestorm’ is misleading a generation about Israel” (June 11). His piece should be a wake-up call to all of us. We must stop being complacent, or antisemitism will only explode. The silence of some of our government officials, such as Charles Schumer and Jerry Nadler, to mention a few, is deafening.

Wake up people, speak up — especially for the many that won’t or, even worse, can’t.

Bernita Barnett Mt. Lebanon We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to:

Letters to the editor via email:

letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Address & Fax: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Fax 412-521-0154

Website address:

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JUNE 18, 2021 13

Headlines Mikvah: Continued from page 1

“For certain people, it’s a hinderance moving to the area,” he said. “For certain people, it’s a reason for them to push off going to the mikvah, which is something we never want to happen.”

As community leaders decided it was time to tackle the delayed mikvah construction, they realized that a men’s mikvah would be needed as well. In fact, Friedman said, they realized a larger, higher capacity mikvah would be needed as the shul planned for the future.

The new mikvah will be able to accommodate both current needs and support the growing Greenfield community. The rabbi pointed out that the Squirrel Hill-adjacent neighborhood is now the choice for Jewish families that have difficulty finding affordable housing in the traditional Jewish center but want to be near existing community infrastructure.

“You have to remember that it is young families that need the mikvah more than anyone,” he said. “So, it’s integral to the infrastructure that we’re building.”

Friedman said that the Yeshiva Schools’ acquiring the former St. Rosalia site illustrates how Greenfield is becoming a central part of the Jewish community. He also pointed to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, the Hebrew Free Loan Association, the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, the Squirrel Hill Wellness Center and even The New Riverview, all of which call the neighborhood home.

The project, originally estimated to cost $300,000, has doubled in price with the added size, additional men’s mikvah and needed security. Friedman said the shul has committed to the construction and has broken ground on the $600,000 project, despite the fact that they have yet to secure all of the funding needed.

 Children help shovel at Greenfield mikvah groundbreaking

Friedman said that the “Greenfield Mikvah Project” received a lead grant from the Charles M. Morris Charitable Trust and a state grant of $100,000 for security needs.

The shul is planning to make up the balance through fundraising.

The rabbi said that a lack of funds won’t stop the project.

“Since the day we took over Bnai Emunoh, we have never borrowed a penny to do anything,” Friedman said. “This is our second building project. We never borrowed money and don’t want to now but are comfortable doing it if that’s what it takes.”

Friedman is confident that the shul will be able to raise the necessary funds without

having to secure a mortgage.

There are still a few details to work out.

For instance, Friedman said that the board is still trying to decide if the shul will oversee and manage the mikvah or if an independent group will do so. He said that there is a mikvah board comprised of both men and women and that the women are leading discussions for their part of the project.

“They’ll make the decisions that are best for them,” he said.

Friedman pointed out that the new mikvah has enabled him to come full circle: As a child, his father oversaw the construction of a mikvah in his hometown of Kansas City.

“If you look at the Torah,” Friedman said,

Shuls: Continued from page 1

Across town, Squirrel Hill’s Congregation Beth Shalom recently updated its attendance policy, according to Robert Gleiberman, the congregation’s new executive director.

Since June 11, Beth Shalom services have been open to everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Members who previously showed their vaccination cards to the congregation’s staff can choose whether or not to wear a mask, Gleiberman said.

“Those that have not been fully vaccinated, which includes children and adults that have decided not to for whatever reason, they are allowed to come, but they’re required to wear a mask,” he said. “We’re still asking everyone to socially distance themselves from others.

We’ve got plenty of room to move around the sanctuary.”

The new guidelines are in place for all of Beth Shalom’s religious services and include daily morning minyans and Saturday morning Shabbat services, which are often held in a tent in the synagogue’s parking lot.

“Our doors are open to everyone,” Gleiberman said, “as long as they follow the requirements we’ve set forth.”

14 JUNE 18, 2021

 Rodef Shalom Congregation

The city’s largest Reform synagogue, Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside, does not require members to disclose their vaccination status before attending services.

“We are asking people to be vaccinated if they can,” said Matthew Falcone, the congregation’s senior vice president. “But we’re not doing any kind of proof of vaccination where you have to have it recorded in some way. We

Photo by Shizzy9989 via Creative Commons

have full faith and confidence that people who say they are vaccinated are.”

Masks are required in all common areas of the building, Falcone explained. That policy extends to all who enter the building, including members attending other congregations that are housed within Rodef Shalom.

One of those congregations, Tree of Life, requires people to register a week before

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Photo by Yehuda Welton

“in many places we find the mikvah to be a real center of Jewish community. Jewish life begins with parents and how they conceive, how they raise their children and their dedication to Judaism and its values.”

All of that is represented in the mikvah, he said.

“This is a project that, even if you’re helping in the smallest of ways,” Friedman said, “you’re helping to build the soul of Greenfield and ultimately the soul of Judaism in Pittsburgh. We invite everyone to participate.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. they attend services, according to its executive director, Barb Feige. On the registration form on the congregation’s website, those interested in attending service are asked if they have been vaccinated.

If someone would like to have an aliyah, they are required to share their vaccination record in advance, Feige said. Unregistered attendees will be asked their vaccination status; if they have not been inoculated, they will be asked to sit further back in the sanctuary and remain masked throughout the service.

Adat Shalom’s executive director, Lisa Rothstein, said that the Cheswick synagogue has been reopening in stages.

“Right now, we are open for in-person services, Friday night, Saturday morning and for Sunday morning minyan services,” she said.

The congregation is not requiring attendees to disclose their vaccination status, but does require preregistration to help with contact tracing, in case it’s needed.

Rothstein said she loved being back in the building for in-person services.

“It was joyous to be back in the sanctuary,” she said. “And I hope people will really feel comfortable to come back and worship.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Refugees: Continued from page 2

Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, earned a full scholarship at Winchester Thurston, and then went on George Washington University and Pitt Law. She lives in New York.

Lemkov said there is no comparison between what her family’s life would be in Russia and what it is now. One of her two

JFCS: Continued from page 3

Aizenman said that with its new focus, the agency’s responsibilities — and its staff — have swelled.

“Initially, I went to the airport, I helped set up the apartments,” Aizenman said.

“Now, we have a staff of 21 and they’re going to be hiring more, plus interns, plus volunteers. It’s big.”

As JFCS’ services grew, it had to build infrastructure where none previously existed.

Aizenman noted that the new refugees had different skill sets and life experiences than the Jewish refugees and required some different services, such as translators.

“We were really advocating,” Aizenman said. “We had some champions in the Department of Human Services.”

Eventually a five-agency partnership — ISAC (Immigrant Services and Connections), headed by JFCS — was created. The coalition

JAA: Continued from page 7

Broadway and classic rock music fans alike will appreciate Gonzalez’s JAA playlist, which includes songs from several musicals she’s been in, a Bruce Springsteen tune and a Barbra Streisand standby.

And yes, she will be singing “Satisfied,”

sons has his bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from Duquesne University, and the other served in the U.S. Army for eight years, then went on to get a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Both still live in Pittsburgh.

Lemkov and Puchinsky often tout how much JFCS helped their respective families.

“In the 1930s, JFCS was founded to help Jews fleeing Europe, and helped individuals and families find a safe life here in

Pittsburgh,” said Leslie Aizenman, director of JFCS Refugee & Immigrant Services.

“When Soviet Jews fled antisemitism and persecution in the ’70s, the entire Jewish community really got involved and stepped up to meet their needs.

“Over the years, there have been waves of refugees from all over the world and our community continues our commitment to helping and supporting refugees,” she continued. “World Refugee Day is a day for

all of us to celebrate and honor the strength, courage, and perseverance of refugees like Alla and Margarit and the over 90,000 members of Pittsburgh’s immigrant community.”

“JFCS, they helped with our first resume and then the [JFCS] Career Development Center helped with finding our first jobs,” Lemkov said. “I will never forget it.” PJC

includes Casa San Jose, Literary Pittsburgh, Family and Immigrant Connections of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM), according to Aizenman, who called the partnership a “game-changer.”

Pre-COVID, JFCS representatives visited clients in their homes, but since the pandemic meetings have shifted to drop-in office hours, Aizenman said. The agency assists with everything, from showing the new immigrants what junk mail is — and letting them know it can be thrown away — to reading letters sent home from school to assisting starting small businesses.

“What I’ve loved about my 13 years in this role is that I’ve seen how difficult and lost they can be when arriving, to where they buy their first car and first home, to kids graduating from medical school, even starting their own businesses,” Aizenman said.

She’s committed to working with SmithTapia for the next month and passing along the knowledge she’s acquired.

“I hold what’s called institutional memory,” Aizenman joked.

Smith-Tapia already has been serving the refugee and immigrant communities in the city through coordinating various community-based projects and developing personal and professional ties. She has worked with the All for All Coalition, an action-oriented collaborative network that aims to advance immigrant inclusion, and she serves on the board of Casa San Jose, a Latino immigrant resource center.

Jordan Golin, JFCS president and CEO, praised Aizenman’s work and dedication to the agency.

“She has been a catalyst in establishing many, many projects for our foreign-born neighbors,” he said, noting that when Aizenman announced she would be stepping down, he knew the agency would miss her.

Smith-Tapia has the exact background and personality to be successful in her new role, Golin said.

“She’s incredibly bright, she’s a true leader,” he said. “She’s an accomplished professional.

She’s passionate about improving the lives of refugee and immigrant families. She strongly believes in the power of the collaborative and multiagency efforts. She’s also someone who takes what she’s learned through her own personal experience of being an immigrant and she applies it to her work with others.”

JFCS will celebrate World Refugee Day virtually on June 20 (the actual date of the holiday is June 18) as part of Immigrant Heritage Month.

Looking back over her tenure, Aizenman said the Pittsburgh Jewish community has provided her with a sense of pride.

“The Jewish community stays involved,” she said. “There are barely any Jews coming, but [resettling immigrants] is a Jewish thing to do. It’s really something I’m passionate about. I went after it with my whole heart and sunk everything into it. It’s so meaningful.

It’s just unbelievable.” PJC

one of her showstoppers from “Hamilton.”

Gonzalez will be rejoining the cast of “Hamilton” when the show reopens on Sept.

14. Rehearsals begin in August, and she is looking forward to performing again before live audiences.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “It’s such a great show, and it’s always, I think, a very timely show. And I just can’t wait. I hope that audiences fill the place. To hear a live audience

again will be incredible.”

In the meantime, she is geared up to perform for Pittsburgh from her living room, with her husband, the artist Douglas Melini, working tech.

“My husband always makes a joke, like today we’re in the living room, tomorrow the bathroom,” she said. “But we’re in the living room. And since I started doing these concerts, every concert I’ve done has been

news

JEWS CAN USE.

15 JUNE 18, 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. just better and better and more perfected in this virtual life. So now I feel like we definitely have it down. It’s just a lot of fun.”

The JAA event opens with strolling entertainment, drive-in fare for each guest, and a pre-concert presentation. Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/AOATickets21. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Every Friday in the

and all the time online @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

For home delivery, call 410.902.2308.

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Life & Culture Jon Lovitz reflects on childhood, faith and Israel — COMEDY —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

T

hese days, Jon Lovitz isn’t laughing.

The Jewish stand-up and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member has been following the rising number of antisemitic attacks worldwide, and the recent Hamas rocket fire into Israel.

Lovitz, an Emmy-nominated actor, singer and comedian, acknowledged he isn’t an expert on Middle Eastern affairs but, at 63, he understands certain things about his fellow Jews and the way Israel is covered by the media.

Speaking by phone from Los Angeles, days before he was to come to Pittsburgh for Steel City Con, Lovitz discussed his Jewish upbringing, his faith, and a pivotal trip to Israel.

Lovitz was born to Dr. Harold and Barbara Lovitz in 1957. The comedian’s paternal grandfather, Feivel Ianculovici, left Romania around 1914 — Ianculovici’s parents and a younger sister remained. After arriving at Ellis Island, Ianculovici’s name was changed several times before becoming the more Americanized Phillip Lovitz.

Jon Lovitz grew up in Tarzana, a suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles. When he was 8, he recalled, Rabbi Morton Bauman, the former leader of Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood, was asked, “What is God?” The rabbi replied, “That little voice in your head.

You know what’s right, what’s wrong. Listen to that. That’s God.” “I didn’t know what it meant at the time,” Lovitz told the Chronicle. “He was saying God is in everyone. It’s an idea, life.

That’s why the Jews always go ‘l’chaim, l’chaim, to life.’”

Lovitz’s introduction to Jewish learning was followed by years of varying formal Jewish engagement. He said he was raised Reform and wasn’t bar mitzvahed, but at 15 he was confirmed at Temple Judea in Tarzana.

He said he didn’t start thinking about religiosity, though, until entering show business decades later when he saw how much lying there was in the industry.

“I didn’t know what was true or not,” Lovitz said. “They would say, ‘It’s just business,’ and I would see best friends screw each other over.”

Reading about Judaism offered a new perspective.

“I really realized what the religion was about,” he said. “And I always felt like I wasn’t very religious but … I realized I am.”

Judaism is about “trying to do the right thing morally in any social situation,” he said. “I try to do that. I’m sure a lot of people do. And a lot of people that aren’t Jewish try to do that. I have friends and that’s how they live. They’re honest and they try to do the right thing, and don’t lie, and respect people.”

Even so, there’s a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to Judaism and Jews, said Lovitz, and much of it has to do with nomenclature, particularly the reference in Deuteronomy to Jews being “chosen.”

16 JUNE 18, 2021

 Jon Lovitz on ‘Saturday Night Live’ with Dana Carvey

 Jon Lovitz

 As Ernie Capadino in ‘A League of their Own’

 Co-starring with Billy Crystal in ‘City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold’ as Glen Robbins Photos are courtesy of Erin Gray and HEROES for HIRE

“‘Chosen’ doesn’t mean that Jewish people are better than everyone else,” Lovitz said.

Rather, he believes, “‘Chosen’ means that “you have to choose to believe,” and, to be “chosen” one must respect all people — regardless of their background — plants, animals and life itself.

“You have to choose to do the right thing in any moral situation,” he continued. “That’s what it means to be the chosen people.”

While a misunderstanding of chosenness has contributed to antisemitism, Lovitz also blames the media’s portrayal of Israel.

“I’m in my 60s now, but a lot of Jews, like 40 and less, they have no clue about the history,” he said. “They don’t know what happened and why. They believe the propaganda, that people just went in and took the land.”

He credits much of his insight to a 1978 trip to the Jewish state he took when he was 20 with his friend David Kudrow (actress Lisa Kudrow’s brother), that they added onto a backtracking trip across Europe.

After landing at Ben Gurion Airport, Lovitz called home. He told his father he was in Israel and wanted to connect with relatives in Tel Aviv — whom neither he nor his father had ever met. When he phoned the relatives, the man on the other end of the

line immediately asked for his location and told Lovitz that he’d pick him up.

The problem, Lovitz said, was that neither knew what the other looked like.

“Cars would stop, and people would get out, and my friend David would go, ‘Is that him?’ and I would go, ‘No.’ Anyway about 20 minutes later a guy gets out of his car looking around, I look at David, and I go, ‘That’s him,’” said Lovitz.

Not only did the driver resemble Lovitz’s father and uncle, he looked like a photograph of Lovitz’s great-grandmother that hung in the hallway of Lovitz’s childhood home. The man, who was Lovitz’s father’s first cousin, then introduced Lovitz to a 75-year-old woman who was waiting to see the young American. Family members explained the connection: When the woman was 4 years old, her brother, Feivel Ianculovici, left Romania for the United States. Now, more than 65 years later, her brother’s grandson was seated before her.

The woman didn’t speak English and Lovitz didn’t speak Hebrew, but at that moment, “she looked at me, and held my face and started crying, and I started crying,” said Lovitz. “It was so emotional.”

The trip was formative, he said.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

“I remember getting off the plane, and of course I’d never been there, and I just felt like I belonged,” he said. “I kissed the ground at the airport. I just did it and then I went and prayed at the Wailing Wall, and I’m not religious, but I did. I got this rush of energy, it was amazing.”

Decades have passed since Lovitz’s trip.

Since then he’s gone on to play “Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar,” “Master Thespian” and “Hanukkah Harry” on SNL and appear in movies, including “A League of Their Own,” “Coneheads,” “The Wedding Singer” and “Rat Race.” His long list of television credits include “Seinfeld,” “The Critic,” “Friends” and “The Simpsons.”

He remains focused on his career but at this moment he is cognizant of his place within Jewish history and his relationship to Israel.

“This whole generation of people that are Jewish and are ‘anti-,’ they don’t know what’s going on and it’s a problem,” Lovitz said.

“Do I really know what’s going on there? No, but neither does anybody in America. You have to go there and find out to see what’s really going on.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Life & Culture ‘Soup Nazi’ credits success to Jerry Seinfeld — and his Jewish mother — TELEVISION —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

E

ver since suiting up in a white chef ’s costume, standing behind a counter and uttering the iconic line, “No soup for you!,” Larry Thomas has been established in pop-culture lore as the Soup Nazi.

Thomas, the Brooklyn-born actor who rose to fame in 1995 after appearing as the glacial character on NBC’s “Seinfeld,” said people often asked him what his Jewish mother thought about his being best known as a character referred to as a kind of “Nazi.”

“She had a banner on her kitchen wall that said, ‘Soup Nazi’s Mom’ for 20 years,” according to Thomas, 64, speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles. “I think she gets the joke.”

Thomas was at the Monroeville Convention Center last weekend, June 11-13, for Steel City Con, one of the largest comic cons in the U.S., featuring dozens of celebrities.

In 2014, Thomas self-published a book, “Confessions of a Soup Nazi: An Adventure in Acting and Cooking,” and in the 25 years since the “Soup Nazi” episode first aired, Thomas has reprised the role several times.

He appeared alongside Jerry Seinfeld in a 2012 Acura commercial, and in 2015 he dressed in character for a Pepsi Max commercial pairing Israeli street food and American pop culture.

When Thomas was offered the Pepsi Max spot, which required a week of filming in Tel Aviv, he agreed — but with one demand: He insisted on bringing along his mother, whose “one-item bucket list,” he said, was to see Israel before she died. Thanks to Thomas, and his commercial for Pepsi Max, his mom, Dorine Thomashoff, celebrated her 86th birthday in the Jewish state.

“I became the best son in the world, for a summer,” he said.

Thomas had spent 18 years trying to make it in as an actor before getting a callback from “Seinfeld” to play the Soup Nazi. At that point, he said, his career “was in an iron lung at best.”

“I think the biggest play I had done I wrote myself just because my friends were complaining that they weren’t getting cast in anything, and I said, ‘Well, if you guys want to do a play, I’ll write one,’” he said.

Fortunately, Thomas said, he had a steady day job as a court investigator and a bail bondsman.

“I spent four days a week roaming around LA and Orange County,” he said. “If I needed to go to an audition for a commercial, or if I needed to attend a play rehearsal during the day, I could do it and still run off and just work extra fast at my job and still get my work done.”

Thomas recently reached out to Seinfeld to thank him again for jump starting his career.

“It’s just amazing to me,” Thomas said. “I didn’t expect my career to go this way.”

Along with Seinfeld, and the many people who worked on the eponymous show, Thomas said he remains grateful to his late mother, who was a single working mom during a challenging time in this PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Larry Thomas and his mother

Photos courtesy of Larry Thomas

p Thomas enjoys his bar mitzvah reception.

country’s history.

Before passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, which made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their gender, race, religion or national origin, it was difficult for women to get credit and personal loans; all throughout the 1960s, whenever Dorine Thomashoff needed a car, she had to purchase one with cash, Thomas said.

“We had a ’49 Plymouth with no back windows in it,” he recalled. “She would throw a blanket over my sister and I when it would be snowing.”

After her divorce from Thomas’ father, having grown tired of New York winters, Dorine and her children moved to Sherman Oaks, a San Fernando Valley neighborhood in Southern California.

“My dad had taken off, and she couldn’t afford any kind of neighborhood that was nice, or expensive, so we lived in the poor neighborhood,” Thomas said. Still, “she made sure that I was on a bus, twice a week, and went to Hebrew school after regular school, which was so odd to all my friends because there

p Thomas dons his talis and iconic all white uniform.

weren’t many Jewish children in the area.”

When Thomas turned 13, he celebrated his bar mitzvah, dressed in a brown suit — the first suit he ever owned — that his mother purchased, and he read a portion of the haftarah during services at Temple Judea, in Tarzana, California. Following the kiddush, a reception was held in an apartment belonging to one of Dorine’s friends.

“Most of the kids that I was friends with on the block and in the alley were not Jewish kids, so they all came to the reception. And it was really funny,” said Thomas. “I have a lot of photographs from it, me and all the non-Jewish kids at my bar mitzvah reception.”

Thomas valued becoming a bar mitzvah, he said, but as time passed, he slowly moved away from formal Jewish life.

“I forgot the alphabet and the part of the language I learned to read my haftarah,” he said. “It was very strange. I didn’t do it intentionally. But life just went on as a teenager, and the important things sort of came up, like girls and work.”

It wasn’t until traveling to Israel, more

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

than 40 years later, that Thomas realized how much he’d forgotten. Listening to people on set shout commands in Hebrew, and then have to repeat them in English for Thomas’ sake, was embarrassing, he said.

“I once spoke the language and didn’t remember it anymore,” said Thomas. “I apologized to all these young people that I was working with, and they said, ‘No, that’s understandable.’”

Although Thomas can no longer recall his earlier Hebrew studies, he still clings to a few words — and a cherished possession. Apart from being able to say, “No soup for you!” in Hebrew, four years ago, he had a safe installed, a place to keep “real valuables,” he said.

Inside the safe is a dark blue velvet bag containing the tallis he wore on his bar mitzvah.

“I just decided that was the first thing that went in there,” he said. “And isn’t that interesting?” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

JUNE 18, 2021 17

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

Miriam’s death: A tragedy in only five words?

By Rabbi James A. Gibson Parshat Chukkat | Numbers 19:1 - 22:1

P

Janice and Allan Gross are delighted to announce the engagement of their son, Eric Ethan, to Arielle Jolie Garti. Arielle is the daughter of Dr. Iris Cohn and Oded Garti of Roslyn Heights, New York, and is the granddaughter of Betty Garti of Tel Aviv, Israel, and the late David Garti and the late Susan and Ladislav Cohn. Eric is the grandson of the late Sarah and Oscar Gross and the late Fran and Willie Newman. Eric graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and is director of U.S. consumer credit at Mastercard in New York. Arielle graduated from the University of Wisconsin and is senior director of sales operations at Vector Media in New York. A February 2022 wedding is planned. PJC

Tributes: Continued from page 13

in Anderson Park. We didn’t have central air conditioning, so afterward we’d sit on the front stoop, cooling off with orange juice popsicles he made for us. To this day, I cherish those fond memories. More recently, my 97-year-old father has shared his WW II experiences as a Seabee. He’s part of the Greatest Generation... and a great father.

Matt Pacal, submitted by Molly Pascal

Matt Pascal (father to Indie, 12, and Otis, 10) is not just “Dad.” He’s friend, teacher, Sherpa, pillow, chef, launderer, repairman, pran kster and master organizer of family fun.

Jacob Pincus, submitted by Audree Pincus Schall

My father, Jacob Pincus, was born in Minsk, Russia, where our family held deep Jewish roots. He traveled on the Susquehanna ocean liner to the United States in 1921 at the age 18 JUNE 18, 2021

of 8. My father was a WWII veteran who served his country with great pride. He taught me about kindness and empathy by his own actions.

When I think of my Jewish roots and the fact I am who I am because of my father, I realize he was the most respected and loved person in my life. It will always be my blessing through the Fifth Commandment to show my father the honor and love I always felt for him. I have never known anyone who was so giving and committed to his family. He always told me how proud and how amazingly wonderful it was for him to be my father. He told me all the years of my life “YOU light up MY life.” My father’s light and his memory always shines so bright in my heart. Father’s Day is my opportunity to thank God for being a special daughter to an incredibly special father.

arshat Chukkat is one of the most wrenching in the entire Torah. After describing the purification rite through the ashes of the Red Heifer, we’re hit with three successive tragedies: Miriam dies; Moses is banned from the Promised Land for disobeying God’s direct order; then, Aaron dies, too. The storytelling is intense, emotional and rich in detail.

Except we are given virtually nothing regarding the death of Miriam. Our tradition says she was a prophet in her own right, that she was the one who ensured Moses’ survival after he was set in a basket in the Nile. The Midrash gives her standing and power as she is the source of the life-giving water that sustains our community in the desert.

But the Torah text dispenses with her in just five words, the last third of the first verse of Numbers, Chapter 20: ‫שם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם‬ ָ ׁ ‫וַ ֤ ּ ָתמׇת‬ ‫שָׁם׃‬ ֽ ‫“ — וַ ּ ִת ּקָבֵ֖ר‬And Miriam died there and was buried there.” Five Hebrew words. No wailing. No mourning. No muss or fuss.

By contrast, the Torah describes Aaron’s death in great detail, from the preparation for it through the 30 days of mourning for him. Later, at the end of Deuteronomy, Moses gets similar treatment. Each man dies al pi HaShem — by the word of God, interpreted by the Rabbis as by God’s kiss (pi = mouth). The Talmud, in tractate Bava Batra 17a, claims that God kissed life from Miriam as well, but the Torah could not state it plainly because she was a woman and it was not fit to do so. A weak explanation at best, in my view.

Didn’t Miriam deserve the kind of public mourning and recognition given to her brothers? Of course she did.

Throughout much of human history, deaths of great men have been marked with public honors. It is simply wrong that, even today, the lives of remarkable women are not recognized with the same level of acclaim.

Women’s achievements, both public and private, are worthy of being hailed, cheered,

Chai

praised and celebrated. Their deaths are worth more note than the five words accorded to Miriam’s passing.

There are plenty of monuments honoring men. We need to build more — many more — for the women who have lead our families and our communities. We need to recognize that heroism comes in many forms, and certainly not all on the field of battle.

During Pride Month, I nominate for public honors the pop singer Lesley Gore, who was famous for her song, “It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To),” released in 1963. But that same year she also sang “You Don’t Own Me.” The true meaning of that song for her was finally revealed in 2005 when she came out.

You might not know, however, that Lesley Gore was born Leslie Sue Goldstein and was part of our tribe, born in Brooklyn.

She lived quietly but with fierce integrity about who she was, and she stood up to a male-dominated industry with a courage I can barely fathom.

The song’s lyrics are: You don’t own me Don’t try to change me in any way You don’t own me Don’t tie me down ‘cause I’d never stay I don’t tell you what to say I don’t tell you what to do So just let me be myself That’s all I ask of you Those words should be on her monument. It’s not a sufficient tribute, but it’s more than five words. And she’s just one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of women who should be venerated in Jewish history and culture.

Let Miriam’s brief death notice provoke us into raising up for honor Jewish women of all ages and places as they certainly deserve.

Then we will see it as fitting for God to kiss Miriam as God kissed her brothers in the Torah. PJC Rabbi James A. Gibson is rabbi emeritus at Temple Sinai. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Obituaries COHEN: Joanne H. Cohen, peacefully on Saturday, June 12, 2021. Beloved wife of the late Norbert M. Cohen. Loving mother of Jeffrey (Phyllis) Cohen and Steven (Erin) Cohen. Beloved “Jo jo” of Aly, A.J., Michael and Rachel Cohen. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Graveside services and interment were held at Ohav Zedeck Cemetery, Shaler Twp. Contributions may be made to Hadassah PGH Chapter, 1824 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com LEFF: Harriette Gold Leff, age 79, on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

Harriette is survived by her loving husband of 59 years and high school sweetheart, Henry (Hank) Leff; two daug hters, Jacqueline (Howard) Shear and Michelle (Eric) Levin; five grandchildren, Margo (Justin) Fischgrund, Bradley Shear, and Marni, Kayla and Jordan Levin; sister-in law, Susan (Edwin) Balis; niece Margie (Paul) Schlesinger; and nephew Kevin (Amy) Segal. She is the granddaughter of the late Minnie and Abe Shapiro; daughter of the late Marcella and Bernard Gold; and sister of the late David Gold. A devoted wife, mother and nana, Harriette was a Pittsburgh resident for all her life, and she adored spending time with family. A proud grandmother of triplets, Harriette moved in with her daughter Michelle for five months after she gave birth in 1999 and devoted all of her energy toward fostering a comfortable, loving home for her grandchildren and the new parents. More recently, in 2019, Harriette beamed as she walked down the aisle during the wedding of her first granddaughter, Margo, at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Her family will sorely miss her sunny, endearing disposition and positive energy. Harriette never failed to keep up with current events and entertainment news, and she found joy in following the latest fashion and beauty trends. Graveside services and interment took place at Homestead Hebrew Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry. Professional Services trusted to D’Allessandro Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd, Lawrenceville.dalessandroltd.com ROSEN: Dorothy Stein Rosen, on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Beloved wife of the late Morris “Moe” Rosen. Beloved mother of Noreen and Edward Levine of Boca Raton, Florida, and James and Tamara Rosen of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Sister of Lois (Milton) Jacobs, Beverly (late David) Davis and Rosalyn (late Robert) Miller. Grandma of Bradley (Rachel) Levine and Andrew Levine. Great “Gaga” of Nathan Levine, Callie Levine and Dyce Bertolacci-Levine. Also survived by cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Graveside service and interment were held on June 11, at 11 a.m. at Beth Shalom Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to a charity of donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

S ON DH E I M E R : Edward A. Sondheimer, 67, of Chippewa Township, died Friday June 4, 2021.

Born March 10, 1954, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of the late Harold D. and Naomi (Soodik) Sondheimer. He was the owner of Tri-State Equipment Company in Beaver Falls. Ed will be remembered as a generous giver to the local community, donating restaurant supplies and money to many organizations including the Beaver County YMCA, McGuire Memorial Home, and many others too numerous to name.

He also was an avid supporter of the Larry Bruno Foundation. Ed was immensely proud of his Beaver Falls roots and was a pillar of the community. One of his proudest moments was when he was highlighted by Larry Bruno, his high school football coach, as a model football player. He was the heart and soul of his family, never missing a family function. He was an incredible brother, uncle and great-uncle, and is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Norman and Emily Sondheimer, Avon, Connecticut; a sister and brother-in-law, Marci and David Landis, Natick, Massachusetts; nieces and nephew, Jessica Sondheimer, Jonathan and Shiri Sondheimer, Haviva Landis, and Bina Landis; great-nephew and great-niece Isidor and Zora Sondheimer; many loving cousins, and wonderful friends. Friends were received Tuesday, June 8, from 9:30 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m. at the Hill & Kunselman Funeral Home, hillandkunselman.com, 3801 4th Avenue, Beaver Falls, PA 15010. Interment followed at Agudath Achim Cemetery, Patterson Township. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Beaver County YMCA, the McGuire Memorial Home, or The Larry Bruno Foundation.

VAN SCOYK: Leona Plotkin Van Scoyk, age 83, died in Los Angeles on March 9, 2021.

She was the loving daughter of Tessie and Benjamin Plotkin. Leona was preceded in death by the love of her life, husband Robert Van Scoyk, and stepson Robbie Van Scoyk.

Born in Pittsburgh, Leona attended Taylor Allderdice High School, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and moved to Los Angeles where she and several wonderful friends started a successful catering and party planning business. She was also active in several charities. Leona is survived by and remembered with much love by son Matt Tyrnauer, stepson Andy Van Scoyk, sister Roslyn Small (Donald), brothers Arthur Plotkin and Leon Plotkin. Leona was adored by her niece and nephews, Jamie Mazzie (Rob), Greg Small (Kim) and Joshua Plotkin (Edna). Her great-niece and great-nephew Rachel Mazzie and Jake Mazzie were recipients of her loving kindness and hospitality. Greatnieces in Los Angeles, toddler Samantha and baby Emma Small, were a joy to Leona. She is greatly missed by her family and many friends. Contributions in Leona’s memory can be made to Planned Parenthood. PJC

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Headlines Tributes: Continued from page 18

Michael Silverman, submitted by Wyatt, Korey, Henry and Blake

Dad, you have always preached the importance of perseverance and resilience. You have displayed courage and conscientiousness throughout your entire life. You personify grit. We have watched your mental fortitude and resolve strengthen as we have grown up, or, more likely, we have been able to better recognize these traits of yours through our own maturation. As you always tell us, “Steel is forged in fire,” and when faced with life’s hottest flames, you have never wavered from your steadfast commitment to your most

intense passions and promises. The love and joy in your heart, as well as your humor and purpose, motivate us every day. We are blessed to have such a kind and courageous father. We are so grateful to you, for you, and we love you so much. You are an inspiration and our hero. Happy Father’s Day.

Oscar Singer, submitted by Lee Fischbach

During the Holocaust, Oscar’s heart is shattered into a million pieces. After the war, he begins each day with a loving and forgiving spirit. We live in a neighborhood of survivors, where he and his friends can speak of their past and cry without shame.

My dad teaches us to look beyond a person’s race or religion and see the humanity that

lives within. He tells us that prejudice and hate are tools of the feeble and that we must teach compassion by example. He works from sunrise to midnight trying to forget his nightmarish youth. He believes that all negative emotions can be appeased by hard work and physical exhaustion. He is not like the other dads. He picks us up from school in his checkered chef pants, grateful that he is able to spend a few moments with us, before he goes to his second job. He teaches us that deeds are more important than words. He embodies kindness and integrity. He is never too tired to make us a meal, run after us with our coats and mittens, buy our favorite candy, and give us the encouragement to make a better life for ourselves in America.

Lou Weiss, submitted by Bari, Casey, Molly and Suzy

Our dad, Lou Weiss, the humble carpet salesman from Pittsburgh (as he signs most

of his opinion pieces) is a mensch above mensches. He dedicates his life to helping others. Nothing makes him happier than spending a few hours, days or even weeks crafting a letter of recommendation for someone, organizing a fundraiser or closing a deal so he can contribute to a worthy cause. He is a great champion of Israel and of the Pittsburgh Jewish community at large. He’s hilarious and can quote, verbatim, any episode of “Seinfeld.” He relishes a good pun. Married for 41 years, he is the lucky husband of our mom. Most recently, he became a sabba two times over. Our best joy is seeing him in that role — especially when it is time to bless the children around the Shabbat table. Happy Father’s Day to the one and only, the best — Lou Weiss PJC

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I have over 25 years of experience and excellent references.

Don’t delay, call Dorothy today: 412-537-0567!

(Please leave a message if I miss you and I will return your call ASAP)

DOMESTIC CLEANING

HOME REMODELING

LANDSCAPING

DOMESTIC CLEANING

HOME REMODELING/ REPAIR

Call me now! Call me later!

I am an industrious worker with over twenty-five years of experience in domestic cleaning. Looking to clean clients homes.

I can be reached at 412-517-2783 for more information.

Pandemic & Senior Discounts • Painting • Drywall • Carpentry • Flooring • Etc. Leave a message for Lonnie at:

412-583-5336

• Shrub & Tree Trimming • Mulching • New Plantings • Retaining Walls • Concrete Work • Better • Faster • Cheaper

412-951-3437

Areas Serviced: Squirrel Hill, Oakland, Point Breeze, Shady Side, All of North Hills

GET THE

news.

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

IT’S amazing WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.



Selling? Buyers are flocking to the ’s Business & Professional Directory To advertise, call 412.687.1047.

20 JUNE 18, 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Real Estate REALTOR SERVICES

FOR SALE

KEEPING IT REAL IN REAL ESTATE!

F O R S A LE

Contact me today to find out how Howard Hanna’s exclusive buyer and seller programs can benefit you!

• Buy Before You Sell • Money Back Guarantee • One Stop Shopping • Hanna Gold Advantage • Homes of Distinction • HSA Home Warranty Protection

Contact Denise today for the REAL facts on why NOW is the best time to buy or sell!

Squirrel Hill Office 6310 Forbes Ave. , Pittsburgh, PA 15217 412-480-6554 mobile/preferred 412-421-9120 office deniseserbin@howardhanna.com

Denise Serbin, Realtor HOWARD HANNA REAL ESTATE

ROSSLYN FARMS • $695,000 • 24 WINTHROP New Listing! A jewel designed by Architect Derek Martin. Owner has renovated most of home.

2 baths and upscale kitchen have heated floors and are truly unique. All of the main living spaces have glass walls facing a magnificent courtyard. Call for directions.

OAKLAND-THE WINCHESTER • $269,000 Reduced! Lovely open 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with hardwood floors. 2 car valet parking, Building amenities include pool, guest suite, exercise area.

SHADYSIDE • $1,100,000 • 5000 FIFTH AVE. CONDO Special! 3 bedroom 3.5 bath condo with 3-car side-by-side garage. This unit has many living spaces including an expansive living dining room, a raised library above a family room, another den for the use of the bedrooms and a great eat in kitchen. This building includes a guest suite, exercise room, fabulous storage rooms, and a 24/7 attendant in the entry.

SHADYSIDE • $1,300,000 Secluded, stunning, refined carriage house has never before been for sale. This totally unique property designed by the architect/owner showcases contemporary design with lightfilled rooms which blend seamlessly to one another. The manicured private setting is minutes to shopping, schools, Oakland, Downtown. Shown by appointment with Etta Golomb. 412-725-6524 WEST SHADYSIDE • $1,100,000 First Time Offered! Coveted StoneG Ranch on Ellsworth with 50 ft. heated outside lap pool on a DIN PEN large lot. Fabulous space throughout!

Two car integral garage. Vaulted ceilings in living room with stone fireplace. Lower level has another entertainment area with fireplace. Location!

Location! Ideal for CMU, Pitt, hospitals, Museum and more.

REALTOR SERVICES

I STAND WITH ISRAEL! “This realtor is A+ Golden! She went above and beyond to help me. She is so very knowledgeable, so very professional, always upbeat and trust worthy.

I will recommend her to all my friends and family members. Outstanding realtor and human!”

LAWRENCEVILLE • $599,000 • MCCLEARY SCHOOL CONDO Spectacular 3 bedroom 2 bath condo. McCleary School Condo. Great for a family. Mile high ceilings, 9.5 ft. island, sleek counter tops stainless appliances. 2 car covered parking. Bldg. amenities include roof top deck, exercise room, dog washing station.

“Jordana was awesome. She came through with all our requests for a house, and helped us navigate buying during the lock down with ease.”

“Jordana was amazing at every step of the way!

Meeting needs that I didn’t even know that I had!”

“Jordana is calling everyone under the sun to make sure you close on time!

What she does is MAGIC. Pure MAGIC!”

JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200 412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

FOR SALE

The real estate market is very strong! If you are wondering what your house would sell for, please give me a call!

Jordana Zober Cutitta, Realtor, Associate Broker, MBA 412-657-3555 | Jordanazc@kw.com SHOWCASE YOUR PROPERTIES EVERY WEEK IN THE PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE Contact Phil Durler to schedule your advertising pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 724-713-8874 advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

FOR RENT 5125 Fifth Ave.

2 & 3 Bedrooms Corner of Fifth and Wilkins Spacious 1500-2250 square feet

”Finest in Shadyside”

412-661-4456

www.kaminrealty.kamin.com

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 18, 2021 21

a o t f f O

T A E R G

! r e m m su Plus:

NEW at our indoor pools: Open Lap Swim

And so much more!

Uplifting Workouts Pop In Group Fitness Squirrel Hill | South Hills

Building Strength with an Expert JCC Personal Trainer

Join us! JCCPGH.org The JCC is committed to everyone’s safety.

Social distance maintained Rigorously cleaned & disinfected • HEPA fan/filtration units Enhanced HVAC systems • Clean air monitoring We thank the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation for their exceptional support this year.

22 JUNE 18, 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Community Oh little perennials

Drive-in and celebrate The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh hosted CELEBRATION! on June 10. The event, which featured pre-recorded entertainment from comedians Craig Robinson and Avi Liberman, thanked donors to the 2021 Community Campaign and was held at a drivein-style venue. With sponsorship from PNC Bank, CELEBRATION! was underwritten by the Ira and Nanette Gordon (z”l) Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh.

p Synagogue-goers planted perennials during Tot Shabbat at Temple David in Monroeville.

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Barbara Symons p Michael Goldstein, left, Ellen Teri Kaplan Goldstein (Community Campaign vice chair and event chair), David Sufrin (Federation board chair) and Diane Samuels

Raise your glass Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh parents and donors enjoyed a summer mixer on June 8. The outdoor event paired trivia and mixology.

p Adam Poznanski, left, and Rabbi Ari Goldberg gather ingredients for a seasonal drink.

Photo courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

Machers and Shakers

p Andy and Stacey Reibach join Jane and Bruce Rollman

Tammy Hepps was selected as a presenter for the 41st Annual IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) International Conference on Jewish Genealogy. Hepps is a Homestead historian and Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle board member. The 2021 conference will occur online between Aug. 1-5, 2021.

p Donielle Morgenstern, left, smiles alongside Rebecca and David Knoll Photos courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Community Day School seventh-grader Gabriella Kunzman helped CDS become one of 1,600 schools nationwide to earn a No Place for Hate designation. Participation in the self-directed program enables schools to create a more equitable and inclusive climate.

Photo courtesy of Community Day School

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 18, 2021 23

KOSHER MEATS

• Variety of deli meats and franks • All-natural poultry — whole chickens, breasts, wings and more • All-natural, corn-fed beef — steaks, roasts, ground beef and more Available at select Giant Eagle stores.

Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Empire Kosher Chicken or Turkey Franks

2

16 oz. pkg.

79 ea.

save with your

Price effective Thursday, June 17 through Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Available at 24 JUNE 18, 2021

and

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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