The Jewish Chronicle, January 13, 2011

Style Singing this Shabbat The Maccabeats Jewish a capella group comes to Pittsburgh Page 12

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE thejewishchronicle.net JANUARY 13, 2011 shevat 8, 5771

Vol. 53, No. 37

Pittsburgh, PA

Tucson Jewish Community anguished over Giffords shooting

‘Mi Shebeirach’ Debbie Friedman’s music offered healing to thousands

BY SHEILA WILENSKY Arizona Jewish Post

BY TOBY TABACHNICK Staff Writer

Debbie Friedman was perhaps best known for her musical composition “Mi Shebeirach,” the prayer for healing, which is sung in synagogues all over America every Shabbat.

So it was altogether appropriate that when Friedman, a self-taught musician who is widely credited with transforming synagogue worship, was hospitalized last week in critical condition, her legion of fans, including many in Pittsburgh, responded by singing the prayer with which she will forever be synonymous, in synagogues, chavuras or simply by themselves.

Friedman died Sunday, Jan. 9, at a hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif. She was 59. The cause of her death was complications from pneumonia. Friedman had suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years.

While her compositions are mostly heard in Reform and Conservative synagogues, some Orthodox groups have embraced Friedman’s music, and they have even been performed in Christian churches.

Since the 1970s, she recorded more than 20 albums of songs, and even had one composition, the “Alef Bet Song,” performed by Barney the purple dinosaur, a television favorite of children.

Although not trained as a cantor, she was appointed in 2007 to the faculty of the Reform movement’s cantorial school, an acknowledgment of her significant contributions to the American Jewish songbook.

Cantor Shira Adler, who served as a cantor at both Temple Sinai and Tree of Life Congregation when she lived in Pittsburgh several years ago, organized

$1.50

Debbi Friedman (DebbieFriedman.com)

Debbie Friedman, Jewish songwriter and performer, dies

an online effort to have Friedman’s fans worldwide sing “Mi Shebeirach” (a song of healing) simultaneously last Saturday night, at 6:12 p.m. West Coast time, immediately following Shabbat, to pray for Friedman’s recovery. Adler posted a YouTube video asking people to participate, and circulated it through Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Within a short time, the call to pray for Friedman went viral.

Although Friedman did not recover,

Adler believes that bringing so many people together in prayer was itself a blessing.

“Debbie’s work represents the transcendent power of music and connection,” Adler told the Chronicle, speaking from her home in Westchester County, N.Y. “There aren’t that many people that can come onto earth and can change so many from such a pure place. She really was an earth angel. And in a weird way, Please see Friedman, page 23.

PHOENIX — Following the shooting Saturday that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and left six dead, the Tucson Jewish community has come together to pray for Giffords and the other victims and offer their support.

Giffords, who is Jewish, was among 14 wounded in the shooting rampage in front of a Tucson supermarket Saturday morning. Jared Lee Loughner was arrested for the shooting and appeared in a Phoenix courtroom Monday.

Among those killed were U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, 63, and a Pittsburgh native; Christina-Taylor Green, 9; Giffords’ constituent services director Gabriel Zimmerman, 30; Phyllis Schenk, 79; Dorothy Morris, 76; and Dorwan Stoddard, 76.

Zimmerman, a native Tucsonan, was widely reported as being Jewish, although he was not.

“It’s shocking something like this would happen in our town,” Rodney Glassman, a former U.S. Democratic Senate candidate, said. “Gabby and I shared a really strong enjoyment of being out with constituents. This hits really close to home.”

An analysis of Internet musings by Loughner dismisses speculation that the accused Arizona gunman may have targeted Giffords because she is Jewish.

“In the end, the writings so far revealed seem to indicate no particular leanings about race, and it is difficult to come away from the postings with such a conclusion,” according to the analysis published Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL analysis also said that the writings do not “point to a particular ideology or belief system.”

At candlelight vigils outside of Giffords’ congressional office, at the Please see Giffords, page 23.

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Times To Remember

KINDLE SABBATH CANDLES: 4:58 p.m. EST. SABBATH ENDS: 6:01 p.m. EST.

2 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

Metro Homestead to Hollywood

L.A. Reform seminary renamed for Homestead–born rabbi

BY LEE CHOTTINER Executive Editor

The Jewish community in Homestead is long gone, but it’s not forgotten.

At least, not some of them.

At least, not in Los Angeles.

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has announced that it will soon rename its Los Angeles campus in memory of Jack H. Skirball —rabbi, filmmaker, developer and philanthropist — whose drive led to the establishment of the campus.

The ceremony will take place Feb. 6, 1 p.m. at the school, 3077 University Ave., Los Angeles.

“It is truly fitting that this campus be named after Jack Skirball, whose vision and philanthropy guided the creation of this campus and played a central role in acquiring its location,” HUC-JIR President Rabbi David Ellenson said in a prepared statement. “The Jack H. Skirball Campus pays tribute to his devotion and commitment to Jewish life and American society as a whole, and we are honored that his name will add to the prominence of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Los Angeles community and the larger world.”

The decision comes as the Skirball

Foundation is giving the seminary a $10 million gift to sustain the campus.

According to those who knew him, Skirball pushed for the L.A. campus at a time when the establishment within the Re- Jack H. Skirball form movement seriously doubted the need for it.

“I think it was his forceful negotiations with Dr. Nelson Glueck, then president of Hebrew Union College, which, made it possible for L.A. to have a campus,” said Uri Herscher, president of the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, a longtime friend of Skirball’s. “I think at the time the people who served on the board of governors of Hebrew Union College felt there was no Jewish life west of the Mississippi.

“Jack lived on the West coast and he saw the immense growth of Jewish life [there],” Herscher continued, “and, being extremely persuasive and close to Glueck, raised the awareness that the campus was necessary to serve the growing Jewish population.”

Skirball was not your average pulpit rabbi.

Born in Homestead in 1896, the youngest of 10 children, Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland before entering HUC. While there he befriended another area native and future giant in Reform Judaism, Jacob Rader Marcus of Wheeling, W.Va. After his rabbinic ordination in 1921, and graduate work in philosophy and sociology at the University of Chicago, Skirball took a position as an assistant rabbi in Cleveland for two years before getting his own pulpit in Evansville, Ind. He would stay there for seven years before his life took new directions.

“His brother Bill was in [the film] business,” Herscher said. “Bill was very much into educational films and saw his brother’s talent and enticed him to make the transition.”

Skirball’s first film, “Birth of a Baby” (1938), became controversial for showing actual film footage of a baby being born. The film was shown to segregatedby-sex audiences in some cities After that his career took off. According to the New York Times, Skirball became a vice president in charge of production at Grand National Pictures, president of Arcadia Pictures and a

producer at several major studios.

As an independent film producer, he sponsored Alfred Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt” in 1943. He co-produced “Jacobowsky and the Colonel” on Broadway in 1944, and several other motion pictures.

But he never forgot his Reform Jewish roots. Skirball served as a regional president for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, he assisted in the creation of new congregations, he spearheaded the development of HUC-JIR’s Los Angeles campus and he established the Skirball Museum at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, the Skirball Museum at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, and the Skirball Museum and Center for Biblical and Archaeological Research at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem.

Skirball died in 1985.

Despite all the many institutions that today bear his name, Skirball may have been proudest of having the L.A. campus named for him.

“I think he would have appreciated the honor,” Herscher said. “He really loved rabbis and cantors and educators. This dimension in honoring his memory was very appropriate. He would have said, ‘Yes, thank you. I feel privileged.’ ” (Lee Chottiner can be reached at leec@thejewishchronicle.net.)

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 6, 2011 — 3

METRO Briefly One of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz, who rose to become arguably the highest-ranking American jurist in the world, is slated to speak in Wheeling, W.Va., in March.

Thomas Buergenthal, who recently retired as the American judge to the International Thomas Buergenthal Court of Justice in the Hague, will give a talk at the Ohio County Public Library Friday, March 4, but that evening, he will speak at Temple Shalom following Shabbat services.

He is coming to West Virginia to attend a Founders Day program at Bethany College, where he is an alumnus.

Buergenthal, who served on the International Court from 2000 to 2010, recently published his memoir entitled, “A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy.” Services that evening will start at 7 p.m. The program itself will begin at 8:15. Rabbi Beth Jacowitz Chottiner will act as moderator.

Author Rabbi Shais Taub will give a lecture on The 7 Species in your Life, presenting the seven special foods of Israel as a model for personal growth Thursday, Jan. 20, 8 p.m. at

Chabad of Pittsburgh, 6401 Forbes Ave. Taub and his wife Brocha were the founding co-directors of the Jewish recovery community in Milwaukee, where they served as emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for six years. He currently resides in Pittsburgh with his wife and children.

On Saturday, Jan. 22, Chabad of Pittsburgh will hold Havdala Kids Hands-on Program for families. The program includes activities, storytelling and pizza dinner; there is a charge.

Contact Chabad of Pittsburgh at (412) 421-3561, info@chabadpgh.com or visit chabadpgh.com for more information on both programs.

J Street Pittsburgh will hold the next session of its bimonthly Current Events Discussion Series, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill branch, at the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues.

The topic for the evening, “Obama in Cairo: What Did He Say? Obama in Jerusalem: What Should He Say?” will focus on President Obama’s famous speech in Cairo and his potential visit to Jerusalem.

Speaking in Cairo, Egypt, last summer, Obama called for improved mutual understanding and relations between the Islamic world and the West, emphasizing that both sides should do more to confront violent extremism. While confirming Israel’s desire for a Jewish homeland, he also gave legitimacy to Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

There are tentative plans for him to visit Israel in 2011.

The series, which is free and open to Please see Briefly, page 5.

4 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

METRO

P2K Bike Trail winds together communities

BY JUSTIN JACOBS Associate Editor

(Last in a series on the 15th anniversary of the Pittsburgh-Karmiel-Misgav relationship through the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Partnership 2000.)

On a windy December day, high in the Galilee in northern Israel, Jesse Rosenthal sat on a mountain bike, shook his head and stared downhill.

“I am going to fall,” he said, halflaughing. “It’s a good thing I bought that travel life insurance, because if we go down these hills… it’s going to be bad.”

As part of the inaugural J’Burgh trip that brought 15 young Jewish professionals from Pittsburgh to Karmiel, its sister city, Rosenthal was preparing to trek across the P2K Trail, a network of bike trails that launched to the public in May 2009.

But the group wasn’t biking just to challenge their outdoor sports confidence; they were biking to see, in action, the fruits of the Pittsburgh-Karmiel Misgav relationship — the P2K Trail began with a seed money grant from the Pittsburgh’s P2K branch.

The idea for the trail started about three years ago, and came from Partnership 2000 itself, said Boaz Gershon, the tourism director of Misgav, the region of 35 residential communities surrounding Karmiel. With the Pittsburgh grant, P2K and municipal staff in Misgav and Karmiel were able to gather support for the trail, a project that to date has cost about $60,000, according to Gershon.

Chronicle photo by Justin Jacobs

Sophia Berman and Hara Lampert (center, left to right) prepare to bike a portion of the P2K Trail, the bike trail built with help from Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

“The trail passes through six land-owning authorities,” said Gershon, citing both Karmiel and Misgav, as well as JNF and several smaller villages, including Arab village Sha’ab. “Each one of them had their own ego. We had to speak six languages.”

But as the project “didn’t threaten anyone,” said Gershon, “we succeeded.

We did this all by the book — we surveyed the risk, managed the results and went to biking planners to make the trail bikeable for anyone.”

The project required time and pa-

tience, however; “In Israel, without pressing, nothing moves,” said Gershon.

“We had to be loud and clear about what we wanted to do.”

Important for the success of the trail, said Gershon, was its inclusion on Israeli biking maps.

“There are about 10,000 kilometers (6,250 miles) of marked trails in Israel, and we are now on official maps,” said Gershon. “That means we are spreading the news.”

As are the 500 to 1,000 bikers who ride the trail each week. Initially meant to

bring more outdoor tourism to the rocky, hilly region, the P2K trail draws bikers from all over Israel (“Misgav is famous in the country for its biking culture,” said Gershon) and the world — American and European cyclists fly in over the winter, when their own countries are too frigid to bike.

Experienced biker or not, it’s easy to see the appeal of the trail: it cuts through some of Israel’s most beautiful terrain.

“The trail is one of those places in nature that makes you stop and think about the incredible natural beauties in the world and make you put a lot of things into perspective,” said Hara Lampert, one of the J’Burgh trip participants.

“There was an incredible mix of rocks, plants, hills and trails. I felt so at peace.”

The trail veers from advanced mountain trails to paved, flat paths, with smaller trails jutting from the main one into the woods, allowing experienced bikers some exploratory freedom. Campsites appear every few hundred yards — a fire pit here, remnants of a weekend party there — giving the trail a balance of untouched nature and a playground for outdoor-loving adults. Every turn provides a different breathtaking view of another rolling hill or deep, tree-covered valley.

To Gershon, though, the trail’s importance runs deeper than beauty. He sees it as a chance connect communities, and seas — when the project is completed around 2012, said Gershon, it will run from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee.

Please see P2K, page 23.

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 5

METRO Briefly Continued from page 3. the public, aims to create a forum for open and respectful discussion and debate about current events related to Israeli-Palestinian issues.

Visit jstreet.org/Pittsburgh for more information.

The PJ Library, a program of The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is offering grants of up to $1,000 for first time campers this summer The program, called PJ Goes to Camp, is offering the grants in partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s One Happy Camper program.

Grants for up to 500 children on a first-come, first-served basis will be available.

An estimated 73,000 children currently attend nonprofit Jewish overnight summer camp, according to the Grinspoon Foundation.

Program administrator Kirstin Gadiel, in a prepared statement, advised families to apply soon “Since the announcement in late November, we’ve received close to 200 applications and inquiries,” she said.

To apply, parents must first register children at an eligible camp for a minimum three-week session. Grants of $700 are available for children in 13 Western states who are registered to attend a two-week camp session.

The complete list of camps as well as further information about the program is at jewishcamp.org. Eligibility requirements can be found at

onehappycamper.org. Contact Gadiel at Kirstin@hgf.org for more information.

Squirrel Hill Food Pantry started a new program at the end of 2010.

The pantry is now participating in the Animal Friends’ Chow Wagon.

Animal Friends volunteer and Squirrel Hill resident Morry Cohen now delivers Chow Wagon pet food and treats on a monthly basis to the pantry, which is distributed to clients with pets.

Squirrel Hill AARP Chapter 3354 will hold their meeting Wednesday, Jan. 19, 1 p.m. at New Light, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. at Forbes Ave. Following the business meeting, Bob Patash will entertain in a musical program. Refreshments will be served afterward. Contact Frieda Safyan at (412) 521-2804 for more information.

The Jewish Women’s Center of Pittsburgh will hold its annual Tu B’Shevat seder Sunday, Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m. at the Labor Zionist Center, 6328 Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

Rooted in the Kabbalistic tradition, the JWC seder focuses on women, celebrating and comparing their lives to the changing seasons. Included in the seder will be four cups of wine/grape juice, various fruits and nuts, and a chocolate fountain.

There is no charge; however guests are asked to bring a bottle of red or white wine/grape juice. E-mail debbey_altman_diamant@hotmail.co m by Jan. 17 for reservations.

Introducing our newest doctors UPMC is pleased to welcome the physicians and staff at Squirrel Hill Family Practice–UPMC. New patients are welcome to their office in Squirrel Hill.

Roberta Bashore, MD Family Medicine Dr. Bashore received her medical degree from Michigan State University, East Lansing.

She completed her residency and fellowship in family practice at UPMC St. Margaret.

Dr. Bashore is board-certified in family medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Maria Dugan, DO Family Medicine Dr. Dugan received her medical degree from and completed her family practice residency at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Dugan is board-certified in family practice and is a member of the American Medical Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners.

Nancy Levine, MD Family Practice Dr. Levine received her medical degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook, N.Y., where she also completed her residency in family medicine. She is board-certified in family medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

To schedule an appointment at Squirrel Hill Family Practice–UPMC, or for more information, call 412-421-2060.

Forbes-Shady Commons Building Suite 220 5889 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217

UPMC.com

6 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

Opinion

The Jewish Chronicle

Good and bad news for Birthright

Barbara Befferman, CEO EDITORIAL STAFF Lee Chottiner, Executive Editor Justin Jacobs, Associate Editor Angela Leibowicz, Community Editor Toby Tabachnick, Staff Writer SALES STAFF Susie Mangel, Senior Sales Associate Roberta Letwin, Sales Associate PRODUCTION STAFF Dawn Wanninger, Production Manager Nancy Bishop Production Artist BUSINESS STAFF Jennifer Barill, Comptroller Donna Mink, Classified & Subscriptions Marcy Kronzek, Receptionist BOARD OF TRUSTEES Davida Fromm, President Richard Kitay, Vice President Cindy Goodman-Leib, Secretary Lou Weiss, Treasurer Lynn Cullen, Past President Carolyn Hess Abraham Brian Balk Daniel Berkowitz Stephen Fienberg Malke Steinfeld Frank Stanley Greenfield David Grubman Thomas Hollander Larry Honig Evan Indianer David Levine Alex Moser Judy Palkovitz Jane Rollman Benjamin Rosenthal Dodie Roskies Charles Saul Andrew Schaer Ilana Schwarcz Jonathan Wander Published every Thursday by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Foundation 5600 Baum Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Phone: 412-687-1000 FAX: 412-687-5119 E-Mail: newsdesk@thejewishchronicle.net SUBSCRIPTION: $44 in Pennsylvania $46 East of the Mississippi $48 West of the Mississippi and FL NEWSSTAND PRICE $1.50 PER COPY POSTMASTER: Send address change to THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, 5600 Baum Blvd., Pgh., PA 15206 (PERIODICAL RATE POSTAGE PAID AT PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY AND FEATURE SERVICE) USPS 582-740 Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Jewish Chronicle become the property of this publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such items.

The Chronicle does not endorse the goods or services advertised in its pages and makes no representation to the kashrut of food products and services in said advertising. The publisher is not liable for damages if, for any reason whatsoever, he fails to publish an advertisement or for any error in an advertisement. Acceptance of advertisers and of ad copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. The Chronicle is not responsible if ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser will indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Chronicle from all claims made by governmental agencies and consumers for any reason based on ads appearing in the Chronicle.

irst, the good news: Israel is more than doubling its financial commitment to Birthright Israel, the popular, free 10-day trips for young Diaspora Jews to the Jewish state.

The goal is to bring 51,000 participants to Israel by 2013.

In other words, “It’s going to bring, for the first time ever, the majority of young Jews to Israel,” said TaglitBirthright CEO Gidi Mark.

But that will happen only if Diaspora philanthropists can increase their share to $222 million, according to the Birthright Foundation.

That’s the bad news.

Not that the Diaspora givers haven’t supported the program; they have. In fact, they currently fund about half the Birthright budget.

But if they can’t increase their share, expect Israel to reduce its commitment. And if that occurs, what hap-

F

pens to the 10-year-old program is anyone’s guess.

From the start Birthright Israel was envisioned as a more or less equal partnership between the Israeli government, the Jewish federation system and private philanthropists, with each providing about a third of the budget.

But JTA reports the federation share of funding has remained low. In 2010, federations provided only about $6 million of Birthright’s $76 million budget, according to Birthright officials.

That has increased pressure on the Israeli government and donors to make up the difference.

The Birthright Israel Foundation raised $49 million for Birthright in 2010. Its projected budget for 2011 is $87 million. By 2013, it will be $126 million.

We don’t doubt the will of the foundation and federation system throughout North America to support this pro-

gram. But we’re realists, the economy is recovering slowly, the domestic needs of Jewish charities remain high and our individual donors, who are already pressed to help more, will be forced to make hard decisions.

A major U.S. fundraising push targeting Birthright is under way, as well as their parents and grandparents, in an effort to expand the foundation’s financial base.

That’s a good idea; new funding sources must be identified for this program to grow.

Perhaps the congregations of the participants will be asked to shoulder more of the cost, but they are already struggling to cover their own operational expenses.

There are no easy answers. Birthright is a worthwhile program, and, ideally, it should be expanded. Does Diaspora Jewry have the capacity to keep up its end of the task? Let’s hope so.

Learning from Israel, post-Tucson joel rubin

WASHINGTON — The last time I felt like I did when I heard about the attempt on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ life was when I heard about the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The feeling was one of intimate personal pain, as if a member of my extended family had been gunned down for no reason, leaving emptiness in its wake.

And then there were the feelings of rage.

Like Rabin and Giffords, I am Jewish.

Rabin was a crusader for peace; I heard of his murder when I was serving overseas in the Peace Corps. Giffords works on Capitol Hill and is 40; I worked in Congress for several years and am just about the same age.

Rabin and Giffords both represented a progressive centrism politically. Both were seeking to change their countries through policies that were reasonable and moderate. Both had friends on all political sides, including their biggest political rivals.

I now work on national security issues from a liberal perspective, am married to a Republican, and served as a civil servant in the George W. Bush State Department. I count many Republicans and Democrats alike as my friends in Washington.

That Rabin and Giffords had the personalities to create consensus and achieve great change was what brought the haters out. Because of their vision and ability to succeed, they were in the gun sights of their political opponents.

Which brings me to the part about rage.

When Rabin was killed, he was brought down by more than just a gunman’s bullet. For several years, he was also the target of vitriolic language used by his political opponents. While that language was not used by the leaders of the opposition, but by their followers, the leaders never shut it down. Who can forget the infamous rally in Jerusalem where then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu spoke while pictures of Rabin in Nazi garb were on full display? Bibi did not shut that rhetoric down.

Similarly, Giffords was under vitriolic attack for her support for health care reform, a policy whose opponents often liken to a usurpation of their liberty.

This policy has caused significant anger amongst a segment of the population, and has been manipulated by its leaders.

Who can forget the pictures of President Obama with a Hitler-like moustache being held up during rallies against his health care policy?

Gabby Giffords herself was a target of these attacks as well. During last year’s election season, Sarah Palin irresponsibly posted a picture of a rifle target aimed at Giffords’ district in a campaign advertisement. How could a political leader like her promote such violent imagery?

So there is now a lot of rage out there, both from what has been used and now from the political allies of Rabin and Giffords. But this must stop. Now. Israel’s failed political experience since the Rabin assassination shows us why.

In the aftermath of the Rabin assassination, Israel’s security forces did what they typically do, and went on a heavy-handed witch hunt of anyone who could potentially have been a sympathizer of the assassin’s political views. Police aggressively questioned right-wing politicians and rabbis as if they were themselves guilty of the murder. They weren’t.

And not only did Israeli political culture become more polarized as a result

of the assassination, but so did Israeli society. I remember this viscerally, as I travelled to Israel the year after the Rabin assassination to be there for the vote of the new prime minister. I argued with my Israeli friends and cousins to not reject Rabin’s peace policies, despite his not being on the ballot. But they didn’t want to hear this argument. They had become hardened to a new level, a level which did not enable them to do what Rabin himself had done, which was to overcome his hatreds and to make peace in order to secure Israel’s future.

Worse, it’s clear that now, 15 years later, Israel’s political culture has learned nothing from that attack and is much more fractured and polarized than it has ever been, unable to solve its myriad problems.

Now the right wing, in power through democratic processes, is using its bully pulpit to harass leftist leaders, specifically through the creation of a new Knesset commission that will investigate Israeli human rights organizations.

This is not a model that we should repeat in the United States.

My hope is that we don’t take this path, and that, in quintessential American style, we step back from the brink and return to our common civility. Gabby Giffords certainly wouldn’t have it any other way. There should be no witch hunts, and there should instead be thoughtfulness, open political dialogue, and vibrant discussion.

Those who choose to not play by these standards should be ostracized from our political dialogue before we too, like in Israel, become hardened to the point of no return and see a further fracturing of our public life.

(Joel Rubin, deputy director and chief operating officer of the National Security Network in Washington, D.C., and a Pittsburgh native, can be reached at joelr@thejewishchronicle.net. His views are his own and not necessarily those of the National Security Network.)

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 7

OPINION

Letters to the editor 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 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or e-mail letters to: Letters to the Editor via e-mail The Jewish Chronicle newsdesk@thejewishchronicle.net 5600 Baum Boulevard via fax Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 687-5119 Web site address thejewishchronicle.net

Support Health Care Act On behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis,

which includes more than 1,800 Reform rabbis, we write to reiterate our support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and to strongly urge you to vote against any legislation to repeal this vital law.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has already provided significant benefits to Americans of all ages and, in particular, to many of the most vulnerable members of our population — including seniors, low-income individuals and children with pre-existing conditions. But the proposed Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act would overturn the entire law and rePlease see Letters,page 9.

8 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

OPINION

Jewish community stresses feelings at its peril Guest Columnist JOEL ALPERSON OMAHA, Neb. — We shouldn’t be the least bit surprised that American Jewry is in trouble. We have been overemphasizing what feels good at the expense of what does good for the Jewish people for quite some time.

Allow me to explain.

Many Jewish organizations have taken to pursuing political agendas that at best are distantly, and usually not at all, connected to Jewish concerns. For example, B’nai B’rith International has taken positions on immigration reform and Latin American free trade. The National Council of Jewish Women has spoken out on the earned income tax credit and the line item veto. The ADL has taken stances on same-sex marriage, immigration and reproductive rights. And the Reform movement’s URJ biennial advocated for “righteous, healthy eating,” health care

reform and statehood for Washington, D.C. While I certainly understand the desire to repair the world, spending time and energy on these issues doesn’t help us to create more committed Jews. If a group of law school students devoted years to charitable endeavors, their efforts, while highly laudable, would in no way advance their study of jurisprudence. To be effective attorneys, they must still concentrate on law. To be effective Jews and effective Jewish organizations, we have to concentrate on specifically Jewish matters.

Some might argue that we can both advocate for political positions and inspire Jews to be more committed. That’s just not happening. A multitude of studies demonstrates how non-Orthodox Jews are becoming less and less involved in Jewish life. Very simply, too many Jews are becoming citizens of the world at the expense of being committed citizens of their Jewish community.

We also hurt ourselves in the pursuit of equality in the Jewish community. How could equality be a bad thing? When it gets in the way of placing the brightest, most talented individuals on our boards and in our organizations. It should not

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matter whether an organization or a board is populated by a majority of female, male, Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, gay or straight Jews. Our organizations deserve to be filled with the very best individuals we can find. The Jewish world shorts itself every time it places equality ahead of quality.

Most of us don’t make business decisions in this way, so why do we think such an approach makes sense in our Jewish work? It might feel good to seek balance, but the greater Jewish good suffers as a result.

It is painful to note that an increasing number of American Jews favor Palestinian causes over support of the Jewish state. Here is yet another example of feelings winning out over common sense.

Many of us understandably but sometimes wrongly tend to sympathize with the weaker of two opposing parties. After all, why would the stronger group appear to need our support? Presumably it is able to easily protect itself.

Yet strength and weakness have no relationship to right and wrong. How we instinctively feel about two parties tells us nothing about their moral quality. A weaker group that intentionally targets civilians is morally inferior to a far more

powerful nation that institutionally attempts to target terrorists.

Of course there are faults to be found with Israel’s conduct. But Israel’s enemies are nowhere near Israel morally with regard to freedom of speech and religious practice, treatment of women and of gays, or waging war with moral constraints.

As it relates to the programs we create, our support for the State of Israel, those we choose to guide our organizations and myriad other matters, our Jewish communities must start acting more on the basis of what does good rather than what feels good. We must get more into the Jew-building business and not spend as much time in the feel-good business.

The irony is that as we do, at least as it relates to the vitality of our Jewish communities, we ultimately will have more to feel good about.

(Joel Alperson is a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities — now known as the Jewish Federations of North America. He lives in Omaha, Neb. His views do not necessarily represent those of the organization.)

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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 9

OPINION

U.S. must enforce pledge on campus harassment Guest Columnist KENNETH L. MARCUS NEW YORK — Buried in the recent policy statement on bullying in the public schools, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced a major policy on anti-Semitism: For only the second time in its history, OCR pledged that it would use its civil rights enforcement powers to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment.

The landmark ruling bolsters the 2004 policy that I issued while heading OCR during the first George W. Bush administration but which had been abandoned or ignored in the intervening years. The new policy is a big deal for students on many college campuses, where anti-Semitism has made a startling return. However, it is hardly clear whether OCR will enforce it fully.

The new policy is certainly timely. Some say this is a “golden age” for American Jewish college students, pointing to the proliferation of Hillel houses, Jewish studies departments, Israel studies classes, and Jewish college presidents and faculty.

There is some truth to this opinion.

But if it is the best of times, it is also the worst of times. The long steady progress

Letters to the Editor: Continued from page 7. vert the health care system to its status quo, characterized by increasing numbers of uninsured Americans and exponentially rising health care costs.

Jewish tradition is emphatic about the importance of the community providing health care for its most vulnerable residents. When members of a society at large are ill, our responsibility expands to ensure that medical resources are available at an affordable cost. Inspired by our tradition, the Reform Movement was a leading voice in the faith community advocating for passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We continue to fulfill our responsibility to lift up the moral voice for health insurance reform by urging you to op-

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against anti-Semitism since the end of the World War II halted nearly a decade ago at the start of the second intifada. Since then many campuses, especially on the West Coast, have seen a resurgence of anti-Jewish animosity. In many cases we see old school European-style stereotypes of greedy, conspiratorial Jews.

Quite frequently, though, this hate spills over from anti-Israeli protests into brazenly anti-Jewish harassment. In 2006, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said that antiSemitism had become a “serious problem” on many campuses across the country.

OCR’s new policy means that Jewish students again will receive the same legal protections as black, Arab, Asian and female students. This has been a tough issue for the bureaucracy because Congress banned discrimination in federally funded education programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability — but not religion.

Bureaucrats have been reluctant to protect Jewish students because Judaism is a religion, and Congress has not authorized probes of religious bias.

Moreover, officials do not want to be seen as saying that American Jews are a separate “race” or “nation.” The new policy wisely steers clear of these problems, anchoring protections in ethnic bias.

Whether the policy succeeds will depend on three factors.

First, OCR must address anti-Semitic incidents that masquerade as anti-Israelism.

On college campuses — and especially in protests brought by the anti-Israel boycotts, divestment and sanctions movement — it is now widely understood that attacking “Jews” by name is impolitic, but one can smear “Zionists” with impunity.

Natan Sharansky famously supplied a “3D” test to address this ruse: If anti-Israel protesters Demonize Israel, use Double standards or try to Deligitimize the Jewish state, something other than mere political argumentation is generally involved.

The U.S. State Department and the European Union’s human rights agency have developed important definitions that distinguish between the permissible and the impermissible. OCR thus far has ignored the issue, and its past history provides little comfort that it will get it right.

Second, OCR needs to demonstrate that it can protect Jewish students from hate and bias while guarding the First Amendment and academic freedom. On many campuses, anti-Israel activists suppress pro-Israel advocacy by heckling Jewish-sponsored speakers, vandalizing Jewish posters and fliers, and intimidating students who wear clothing or jewelry that connects them with the Jewish state. University leaders must condemn these attacks on free speech and academic freedom.

At the same time, OCR must explain that nothing in its new policy requires any encroachment on constitutionally protected expression by either advocates or critics of Israel. Even where anti-Israel groups are

engaged in deeply offensive protests, the best university response often is to condemn the hate or bigotry rather than censor or punish the speaker. Universities that fail to do so deserve to get a call from the federal agency that funds them.

Third, the current OCR policy is still informal policy guidance and it may not endure. Worse, since the policy does not cover religious discrimination, it contains a loophole wide enough that some perpetrators may evade enforcement.

Ultimately, Congress must act to protect all religious minorities — not just Jews but also Sikhs, Muslims and others — from discrimination at federally funded secular institutions of higher learning. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Rep. Brad Sherman (DCalif.) recently introduced legislation, advocated by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research and the Zionist Organization of America, to accomplish this result.

There is little chance that the legislation will pass during a lame-duck legislative session following November’s elections, and Specter will not return for the next Congress. The bill, however, deserves serious consideration by the new Congress, when Sherman hopefully will reintroduce it and identify a Senate co-sponsor.

pose efforts to rescind this law.

It would be irresponsible and immoral for Congress to repeal the health care reform law and deprive Americans of the inclusive, affordable, accessible and accountable health care they deserve and from which many are currently benefitting through the provisions that are already being implemented.

ican was targeted in some respect, it is reasonable to ask what the nation’s response will be and what can be done to minimize the potential for such a horror from occurring in the future.

I believe that the answers and our prospects for relative safety are grim.

As occurred following the attack on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001, we will come together in sorrow — for a short period of time — after which we and our elected officials will degenerate into partisan warfare once again.

Someone will again tell the president in a public forum, “You lie!” an opponent’s legislation will be described by a partisan hater as “chicken crap;” political opponents will be referred to as Nazis; and bulls eyes will again be placed over the names or photographs of legislators with whom one vehemently disagrees.

The nation will discuss the potential to no longer allow any individual unbridled access to an arsenal of high-powered weapons designed to mow down one person after another, but that parley will be brief. As always, the National Rifle Association will win the argument, convincing a sufficient number of individuals that there is no limit on Second Amendment rights, and that the instances in which guns serve to kill “the bad guys” outnumber those in which innocent people are slaughtered.

There shall be a cessation in violence after the latest bloodbath only until the next deranged man with a perceived grievance determines that he will use his gun(s) to address it by attempting to kill everyone in sight.

Rabbi David Saperstein Washington (The author is director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The letter was also sent to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives.)

Nothing will change In the aftermath of the massacre atrocity that occurred at a Tucson Safeway grocery store, in which every Amer-

(Kenneth L. Marcus is the director of The Anti-Semitism Initiative at the Institute for Jewish & Community Research.

He also teaches at Baruch College of the City University of New York.)

Oren M. Spiegler Upper St. Clair

10 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2010

Globe Blacks and Jews together

A half-century later, rabbis recall marching with Martin Luther King

BY SUE FISHKOFF JTA

SAN FRANCISCO — Rabbi Israel Dresner, 81, says he’s the most arrested rabbi in America.

At least that was the case in the 1960s, he says, when Dresner was one of dozens of rabbis who answered the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for clergy from the North to join the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South.

From the Freedom Rides of 1961 to the famous march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965, when Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked in the front row with King, Jews were prominent participants in the battle for civil rights that dominated the first half of the ‘60s.

Of the thousands of white activists who headed South, nearly half were Jewish, according to “Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice,” a 1998 publication of the Reform movement.

“This was living out what Judaism itself has been teaching all along, that you have to help the oppressed, the underprivileged, not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” said Rabbi David Teitelbaum, 84, of Redwood City, Calif.

As the United States gets set to mark Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 17, some rabbis who traveled South to join the man who would go on to win a Nobel Peace Prize talked to JTA about the civil rights struggle.

Teitelbaum went to Alabama with four other rabbis from northern California in March 1965 for the voter registration drive of African Americans and the Selma march.

The rabbis who joined these efforts were arrested, jailed and sometimes beaten, protected by the color of their skin from the worst physical dangers, but nonetheless threatened on a daily basis.

Matthew Simon photo

The late Rabbi Ralph Simon, then the president of the Rabbinical Assembly and father of Rabbi Matthew Simon of Rockville, Md., accompanying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who addressed the RA convention at the Concord Hotel in New York’s Catskill Mountains, March 25, 1968.

Dresner’s first arrest was in June 1961, when he and the late Rabbi Martin Freedman of Paterson, N.J., along with eight Protestant ministers, formed the first interfaith clergy Freedom Ride.

Their bus was part of a summerlong campaign of white and black activists, many of them clergy, who traveled together throughout the South to draw attention to the evils of segregation.

The young Dresner went to jail each summer for the next three years as he brought ever larger groups of rabbis and ministers to join the struggle in the South.

“I was a Reform rabbi, but I always wore a yarmulke,” said Dresner, now rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth

Tikvah in Wayne, N.J. “I wanted people to know I was Jewish.”

The president of the NAACP at the time was Kivie Kaplan, a prominent member of the Reform movement’s social action commission. Kaplan bought the Washington building that became the headquarters for the movement’s new Religious Action Center and also housed the fledgling Leadership Council on Civil Rights.

Black and Jewish lawyers on a table in that office drafted what became the major civil rights laws of the mid-‘60s, recounted Al Vorspan, who directed the Reform commission for 50 years.

It was a time when Jews and blacks often found common cause in the struggle

for justice in a country where both had been oppressed.

Rabbi Matthew Simon, 79, now the emeritus rabbi of B’nai Israel in Rockville, Md., was working at a Conservative congregation in Los Angeles when he joined the 1965 Selma march.

“I had very good relationships with the black clergy in the San Fernando Valley,” he recalled. “We worked together on social action issues, on voting rights and housing rights, not just in Los Angeles but all over the country.”

Jews who took part in these efforts took considerable push back from fellow Jews who felt that Jewish activism was better directed at issues of Jewish, not general, concern.

Most of the rabbis who marched with King, or joined the Freedom Riders, were Reform, said Vorspan, now senior vice president emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism, formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

UAHC came out “strongly and unequivocally” in favor of civil rights activism, he said, but the rabbis who went South risked more than physical danger.

“Many of their congregations were on the verge of firing them for it,” Vorspan said. “I personally went to several congregations threatening to fire their rabbis and told them it would be a ‘chilul Hashem,’ ” a desecration of God’s name.

Three of the largest Reform temples in the country, including Temple Emanuel in New York, temporarily withdrew from the Reform movement, he recalled, because of the movement’s support for the civil rights struggle and later opposition to the war in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, leading black activists were borrowing heavily from Jewish sources, particularly the Bible, in their sermons and speeches. King himself ofPlease see King, next page.

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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 11

GLOBE King: Continued from previous page. ten used biblical motifs, especially the Exodus, to dramatize the African-American journey from slavery to freedom.

One night in Georgia in the summer of 1962, Dresner and King were trapped with other activists in a house surrounded by hundreds of members of the local White Citizens Council.

While they were waiting for help, King told Dresner about the Passover seder he’d attended that spring at a Reform synagogue in Atlanta. He particularly recalled reading the Haggadah and hearing the phrase “We were slaves in Egypt.”

“Dr. King said to me, ‘I was enormously impressed that 3,000 years later, these people remember their ancestors were slaves, and they’re not ashamed,” Dresner said. “He told me, ‘We Negroes have to learn that, not to be ashamed of our slave heritage.’”

Negro was the accepted term for African American in the 1960s, Dresner noted.

In March 1965, Rabbi Saul Berman, then the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel in Berkeley, Calif., traveled to Alabama with the rabbinic delegation from northern California.

Black leaders in Selma called, asking the rabbis to bring a box of kipot, or yarmulkes, with them.

“At that time, black people in the South were wearing kipot as a freedom cap,” explained Berman, now a prominent Orthodox scholar who teaches at Stern College and Columbia University School of Law in New York. “It was an extraordinary indication of the extreme penetration of the Jewish community.”

At the same time, Berman said, a “disturbing undercurrent” began to surface in the movement. As his group of 150 activists was arrested for the second time on its way to Selma, debate broke out as to whether they should disband, with a promise not to return, as local police were urging.

“They didn’t want to book us — half the group was clergy,” Berman said.

As the white ministers pondered the best move, the black participants became angry.

“The question arose, whose movement is this?” Berman said. “It was a precursor of much more intense feelings of that sort that emerged in the late ‘60s as black leaders began to resent white leaders who felt the civil rights movement was ‘theirs.’ I didn’t recognize the significance of that scene until much later.”

Many of the rabbis who were active in the civil rights struggle went on to support freedom for Soviet Jewry, motivated by the same sense of prophetic justice that drew them to the South, and by the desire to protect their fellow Jews in trouble, a more particularist concern that grew as the decades passed.

Today, relations between the black and Jewish communities are rarely as strong as they were in the heyday of the civil rights struggle.

“The issues of concern today are those of American society as a whole, not of blacks being able to enter American society,” said Simon, who notes that even after 30 years in suburban Washington, he still does not know his local black clergy. “I interact with them from time to time, but they’ve never come to us for a common action.”

Still, vestiges of commonality remain.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center, is the only non-African American on the board of the NAACP. Many synagogues and Jewish community centers run Freedom Seders at Passover with local AfricanAmerican and Latino leaders, or interfaith Shabbat services to honor Martin Luther King Day. And rabbis who marched with King say they’d do it again.

“Because I’m Jewish,” Dresner said.

“I didn’t see any alternative.”

(Amanda Pazornik of the j weekly contributed to this report from San Francisco.)

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12 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

Style Jewish a capella group’s hit burns bright

BY JUSTIN JACOBS Associate Editor

Julian Horowitz works in the finance sector in New York City. When he sits at his desk, he’s not much different from his co-workers.

There are a few key differences, though: Julian is a religious Jew, and Julian recently helped create a YouTube video with his a cappella group, The Maccabeats, that to date has amassed over 4,190,000 views since hitting the Internet just seven weeks ago.

His co-workers probably don’t have that going for them.

On Nov. 26, just before Chanuka last year, Yeshiva University’s all-boys a capella group The Maccabeats, released “Candlelight,” a festival-of-lightsthemed parody of Taio Cruz’ hit R&B song “Dynamite.” (The video itself was a parody of another a capella “Dynamite” parody.) By the time Chanuka started, the 14-member group had created a certified holiday hit, and the group was being written up in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. It also appeared on the Today Show and CBS television.

To top it off, this weekend, the group will come to Congregation Poale Zedeck in Squirrel Hill to lead services and a congregational dinner, followed by a concert at the Jewish Community Center on Saturday night.

Not bad for a “group of guys who got together and started singing in a back room at Yeshiva University,” said Horowitz. The 23-year-old Brooklyn native was among the founders of The Maccabeats in 2007; he became the director the following year.

It all started with “a simple question,” said Horowitz. “We asked, ‘Why is it that most prominent Jewish university in the country doesn’t have its own a capella group?’ ” A reasonable answer could be “Why would they?” But in recent years, Jewish a capella has become a trend, not an outlier. Groups pop up all over the country, most often on college campuses; the Univeristy of Pittsburgh, of course, has its own: The Vokols. So for YU to be without, to Horowitz and his friends, just didn’t add up.

From there, “It all fell in place,” said Horowitz.

What’s more, as Orthodox Jews, “there’s one day a week where a capella music is the only music we can do — we can’t play instruments on Shabbat,” said Horowitz. “Jews have always been a musical people, from the temple to the shtetl to the modern State of Israel.

[With The Maccabeats] we’re in our element. This just made sense to us.”

The group found a musical director, began arranging songs and sang at school and religious community functions. Each year, auditions were held for

The Maccabeats, Yeshiva University’s all-male a capella group, will perform in Pittsburgh this weekend.

new members; this year, 50 YU students tried out. The Maccabeats launched as a school club, but within a year were autonomous, with no faculty involvement.

“We’re in charge of our own check book,” said Horowitz,” and it gives us a mutually beneficial relationship [with YU]. It’s symbiosis.”

This year, that checkbook started to carry some weight. In March 2010, The Maccabeats recorded “Voices from the Heights,” the group’s first CD, with a grant from the university. The initial pressing sold out within two days.

But then this fall, an idea clicked. The words to Cruz’ hit: “I throw my hands up in the air sometimes” became “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes” and The Maccabeats shot the now-viral video in a matter of days.

“Like any sort of great idea, it wasn’t really something we spent weeks and weeks working on,” said Horowitz. “It was a very clever whim that we took and people just liked it.”

That’s an understatement. “Candlelight” has been viewed over 4 million times. There are about 6 million Jews in

the entire United States. The Maccabeats have found fans in Jews and non-Jews alike, tapping into a key market: the severely underserved Chanuka song niche.

Poale Zedeck’s Rabbi Daniel Yolkut, a YU alumnus, began working to book The Maccabeats long before “Candlelight” sparked on the Internet. “I just knew about the quality of the music and the guys,” he said.

“You have these guys who are talented and clearly not uptight, not the rigid stereotype that people sometimes have about the devout — they’re able to do something that engages people about Judaism and reflect a real sense of commitment,” said Yolkut. “When was the last time there was a Chanuka song that talked about the return to Torah study?

There’s a playfulness, but it’s expressing a real depth.”

For Horowitz and The Maccabeats, life has been crazier than usual since “Candlelight” dropped. But now, with a new year starting and Chanuka a memory, “we’re approaching normalcy,” said Horowitz.

Still, the lights on The Maccabeats are bright: they’re booked every weekend through July.

(Justin Jacobs can be reached at justinj@thejewishchronicle.net.)

Want to go?

The Maccabeats JCC Pittsburgh 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 15 (412) 421-9768 (contact Poale Zedeck for details and tickets) Can’t get enough? Here’s more Jewish a capella in Pittsburgh: Ani V’Ata, the Jewish a capella group of New York University, with The Vokols, a local group, will perform at Adat Shalom.

7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 18 (412) 421-8000 Ani V’Ata, which has been performing in the New York area since 1996, sings modern Israeli, traditional Jewish and rock and roll music. One of its singers, Rachel Austin Shapiro, is from Squirrel Hill.

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 13

STYLE

‘To the End of the Land’ not author’s best effort Book R eview

BY JEFFREY COHAN For the Chronicle

It is hard enough to review, or critique, the work of a highly accomplished author without thinking, “Who am I to opine?”

Harder still when the book in question receives an ecstatic review from the New York Times and when the author in question is the subject of a guffawing profile in The New Yorker.

And it is exponentially harder when the book in question closely reflects a tragic loss in the author’s personal life.

So it pains me to write these words: I cannot recommend David Grossman’s epic Israeli novel, “To the End of the Land.”

The book is his sincere effort to describe the corrosive effect that Israel’s perpetual state of conflict has on one family.

Grossman focuses on two very welldrawn characters: Ora, a middle-aged mother whose son is in the midst of a dangerous IDF operation, and Avram, an old flame and former prisoner of war.

Ora and Avram walk and talk, talk and walk, on an extended backpacking trip along the northern half of the Israel Trail. The trail is curvy and the narrative even curvier as the novel unfolds in a seemingly endless series of randomly ordered flashbacks.

For the reader, the problem is not the flashbacks’ chronology, or the utter lack thereof. It is the flashbacks’ content.

Many of Ora’s extended reminiscences dwell on marital and parental episodes that are universal in nature — and unrelated to Israel’s security situation. While Grossman evinces a

Book Review “To the End of the Land,” by David Grossman, Alfred A. Knopf. 576 pages.

remarkable sensitivity to the nuances of family relationships, some of Ora’s recollections are downright tedious, such as an exhaustive account of her infant son’s first steps.

But what is bothersome about the book is the aberrant, bizarre, stretchmy-credulity-beyond-the-breakingpoint behavior of the two main characters. Ora, at one point, attempts to bury her head in the sand. Quite literally.

Avram, not to be outdone, stands frozen in the middle of a busy highway, pondering a relationship issue. Perhaps Grossman was aiming for symbolic effect. But was it really necessary to resort to such implausibility?

Almost 500 pages into the novel, the meandering narrative finally arrives at a section of taut, page-turning tension, as Grossman paints a

harrowing scene of combat in the Yom Kippur War. The unfolding battle is eerily, and perhaps deliberately, similar to the circumstances in which Grossman’s own son died in Lebanon in 2006. But just as the scene is nearing its dramatic climax, he allows Avram to clog the flow with a long, digressive monologue.

The story then returns to its zigzag course on the way to an unsatisfying conclusion, as even the best of authors can struggle with endings.

Anything Grossman writes will have considerable merit. In this case, his masterful use of language shines through, even in English translation.

Reading it in the original Hebrew probably offers the reader a more rewarding experience.

But, the buzz over this book and its author aside, I have my doubts that “Land” will go down as Grossman’s greatest novel.

(Jeffrey Cohan, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writer, is currently the Director of Community and Public Affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.)

14 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

STYLE JCC uses defense to beat Hillel in cross-shtetl rivalry

JCC vs Hillel

BY ZACHARY WEISS Chronicle Correspondent

Seeing their first game action since Dec. 21, the Jewish Community Center defeated rival Hillel Academy 53-19 Monday in Greater Pittsburgh Independent Basketball League play.

Jacob Kander led the scoring for JCC with 13 points, while teammates Jesse Goleman, Ben Katz and Adam Hoffman each notched eight points. Yoni Ross was the high scorer for Hillel Academy with eight points.

Despite the lopsided final score, JCC Head Coach Andy Pakler was not happy with his team’s play.

“This was not a pretty game,” Pakler said. “Hillel is a difficult team for us to play against and they always are. We don’t play our best basketball against them. We might win, but we don’t play well.”

The first quarter went back and forth, as both teams played stingy defense, guarding each other tightly and forcing turnovers. But Goleman took advantage of a Hillel turnover to scored the first two points of the game. JCC led Hillel 13-4 by the end of the quarter, and widened its margin to 25-6 by the half.

JCC broke the game open mid-way through the third quarter, though Hillel’s Kander went on a six-point run

close to the end of the period.

JCC still led Hillel 39-11.

Hillel played tight defense in the fourth quarter, but was still outscored 12-8.

JCC improved its record to 8-1 in GPIBL play. The team played games on Monday, Jan. 10, against Pittsburgh Project and Tuesday, Jan. 11, against Career Connections. Its next game is Thursday Jan. 13 against Auberle.

(Zachary Weiss can be reached at yngzc@yahoo.com.)

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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011— 15

Simchas Births

B’nai Mitzva

Pope: Leslie and Ryan Pope of Upper St. Clair, announce the birth of their daughter, Addison Morgan, Nov. 29, 2010.

Grandparents are Wendy and Steve Denenberg of Upper St. Clair and Kim and Bill Pope of North Strabane. Greatgrandparents are Claire Denenberg of Boca Raton, Fla., the late Benjamin Denenberg, the late Milton Golanty and the late Evelyn Golanty Klein. Addison is the sister of Mackenzie Elizabeth.

Addison is named in loving memory of her maternal great-great-grandmother, Fannie Friedman.

Daniel Robert Garfinkel, son of Kate and Sandy Garfinkel, will become a bar mitzva Saturday, Jan. 15, at 10:30 a.m. at Temple Sinai. Grandparents are Esther and Harold Garfinkel of Pittsburgh, Robert Burns of South Chicora and the late Ruth Burns.

Sechler: Robyn (Federbusch) and Tim Sechler announce the birth of their son, Jack Owen, Dec. 24, 2010. Grandparents are Connie Federbusch of Mercer and the late Oscar Federbusch and Sherry and Ken Sechler of Shepherdstown, W.Va. Great-grandparents are Peggy and Rex Smyth of Gibsonia and Nora Sechler of Somerset.

Jack Owen is named in loving memory of his maternal grandfather, Oscar; and his paternal great-grandfather, John.

Reinherz: Ariella and Adam Reinherz announce the birth of Bella(Yehudit) Maayan Reinherz. Grandparents are Lee and Liora Weinberg of Pittsburgh and Rick and Sharon Reinherz of Buffalo Grove, Ill. Great-grandparents are Ruth and Morris Kimmel of West Bloomfield, Mich., and Menucha Nestelbaum of Worcester, Mass. Big sisters are Tahara Dana and Sima Faye. Bella is also the great-granddaughter of the late Eli Nestelbaum, the late Jake and Belle Weinberg and the late Howard and Faye Reinherz.

Rose Gerber, daughter of Larry Gerber and Sharon Rechter, will become a bat mitzva Saturday, Jan. 15, at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

Grandparents are Irwin and Ione Gerber and Marvin Rechter and Linda Pevar.

Sari Jewel Oppenheim, daughter of Alisa and Robbie Oppenheim of Coral Gables, Fla., became a bat mitzva Dec. 11 at Temple Beth Am in Miami.

Grandparents are Shirley Oppenheim of Pittsburgh and the late David Oppenheim and Rosalyn and Joseph Wein of Pittsburgh.

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16 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

Community A C L O S E R L O O K

Friendly competition Community Day School photo

On Sunday, Jan. 2, 28 Community Day School alumni took to the hard court for some friendly recreation and competition in floor hockey and basketball. Pictured from left are Daniel Ginsberg, Shane Fischbach and Jacob Geskin.

Awards Night diners Hillel Academy photo

Reb Danny Shaw and Jackie Sax were among the nearly 250 attendees to the Hillel Academy Awards Night Dinner. Guests enjoyed remarks from current Hillel Academy students and staff as well as a dinner, silent auction and raffle. Winners of the raffle received four round-trip tickets to Israel, a flat screen television and $500 in Giant Eagle gift cards.

The Chronicle Cooks PEPPER SOUP It’s hectic here in the office this week with packing up and moving to Beth Shalom, so I went to one of my reliable sources — Toby — for this recipe. I know we did soup last week, but hey, it’s winter, and Toby said this soup is great.

✄

2 tablespoons oil or butter 8 large red or yellow peppers, seeded and coarsely cut up 3 carrots, peeled and diced to 1/4 inch 3 shallots or 3/4 C chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 1 ripe pear or apple, peeled and cut up 1 quart chicken-flavored broth or water 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 cup orange juice (optional) In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add peppers, carrots, shallots or onions, garlic and pear or apple. Cover and cook until soft, not brown. Keep lid ajar. Add broth or water and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes or until very soft. Remove from stove and cool. Puree in food processor, blender or use an immersion blender. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Orange juice may be added if soup is too thick. Garnish with sour cream, chives, parsley or cilantro. May be served either hot or cold.

COMPILED BY ANGELA LEIBOWICZ angelal@thejewishchronicle.net

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 17

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18 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

GLOBE Briefly JTA

The executive committee of the Society of Professional Journalists has recommended that the organization retire a lifetime achievement award named for Helen Thomas.

The recommendation issued Jan. 8 by the national journalists’ group, based on anti-Zionist remarks made Helen Thomas

by Thomas, will be sent to its board of directors within 10 days.

“While we support Helen Thomas’ right to speak her opinion, we condemn her statements in December as offensive and inappropriate,” the executive committee said in making its recommendation.

On Dec. 2, in a speech to an ArabAmerican group in Dearborn, Mich., Thomas, 90, said that Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street “are owned by the Zionists.” The remarks raised fresh concerns about the sincerity of an apology for her remarks last summer to a video blogger that Jews “should get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home” to Poland, Germany and the United States.

The Society of Professional Journalists decided not to change the name of its Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award after those remarks by the 67year-veteran of Washington reporting, who resigned shortly after from her job

as a columnist at Hearst.

“This is a complex issue, and the executive committee considered comments and letters from both sides,” the society’s president, Hagit Limor, said following the Jan. 8 vote. “Because of the importance of this decision, it is appropriate to put this before the full board.”

The Society for Professional Journalists, established in 1909, granted Thomas its first lifetime achievement honor in 2000, and pledged to name subsequent awards for her. It has been awarded nine times since its debut. The award has no cash value.

Thomas told the Washington Jewish Week on Sunday that the journalists’ group “dishonored and disgraced the First Amendment” by its board’s decision.

“How can you take away anyone’s lifetime achievement award?” she told

the newspaper. “ What right do they have to do that?”

Limor pointed out that the society wasn’t revoking Thomas’ award in 2000; rather, the committee was recommending that Thomas’ name be dropped from future lifetime achievement awards.

“Helen Thomas brought shame to the journalism profession; the Society of Professional Journalists restored its honor,” Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a statement released Sunday.

Wayne State University, Thomas’ alma mater, immediately withdrew its Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media Award, following her resignation.

Thomas, born to Lebanese immigrants, for decades was the White House correspondent for the United Press International wire service. She Please see Briefly, next page.

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 19

GLOBE Briefly JTA

Continued from previous page. recently began writing a column for a free Virginia weekly newspaper, the Falls Church News-Press.

A New Hampshire state legislator is under fire for suggesting that Jews were vulnerable during the Holocaust because they were different.

Rep. Jordan Ulery, a Republican, introduced a law that would require any shop featuring signs in any language other than English to also include all the official U.N. languages: French, English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic.

“When you establish a ghetto, you’re leaving yourself open to what happened to the Jews in Eastern Europe because you’re setting yourself up to be different,” Ulery told Sunday’s edition of the Union-Leader newspaper.

The Concord Monitor quoted him as telling Fox News, “When you do not participate in your society around you, and when you become different, you become subject to what the Nazis did to the Jews.”

New Hampshire Democrats called the comments anti-Semitic.

The Jewish Chronicle

Saying the Holocaust “was the fault of Jews who were forced into ghettos is repulsive,” a state party release said.

“Rep. Ulery’s abhorrent anti-Semitic comments have no place in New Hampshire and must be immediately denounced.”

In an interview with local TV station WMUR, Ulery, who is running for a spot on the Republican National Committee, would not apologize, but acknowledged that he could have chosen a better metaphor.

“The comment was misunderstood and misplaced, and it was not as well enunciated in the interview as it could have been,” he said. Referring to the Holocaust “was a bad idea, it should have dealt with Balkanization, which is a less inflammatory word.”

Adolf Eichmann could have been caught sooner if Germany’s intelligence agency had assisted, new information has revealed.

The German Information Agency knew as early as 1952 that Eichmann, a chief organizer of the Nazi genocide against the Jews, was hiding in Argentina under a false name, the German tabloid Bild reported. The information was revealed after the newspaper sued the agency to force the release of all remaining documents on Eichmann, who

was captured by Israeli agents in 1960.

After a trial in Israel, he was executed in 1962 — the only person ever executed by the Jewish state.

“The revelations are very troubling because they clearly show the Germans never had any interest in bringing people like that to justice,” Efraim Zuroff, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Israel office, told JTA Monday. “Today they are making the effort, but with criminals who played a far lesser role than Eichmann.”

According to the documents viewed

by Bild reporters, the German secret service received information in 1952 that Eichmann “is not in Egypt but is living under the name CLEMENS in Argentina. The editor in chief of the German newspaper ‘Der Weg’ in Argentina knows E.’s address.”

In fact, Eichmann’s fake name was Klement. Not until 1958 did the German secret service inform the CIA about Eichmann having fled to Argentina. The newspaper reported that virtually all of several thousand microfilmed pages about Eichmann were destroyed. Bild sued for the right to see all the remaining documents.

Historian Bettina Stangneth, whose book about Eichmann is due to be published in April, told Bild that she considered the file card “sensational. No one

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Brigitte Bardot, former French actress and national sex symbol, is leading an animal rights campaign against ritual kosher and halal methods of slaughtering animals.

More othan 2,000 posters have been plastered throughout France since Jan. 4 to “inform” people of the “Middle Age” methods used to “slit the throats of animals without anesthesia in order to please God,” according to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which fights for animal rights.

Bardot, 77, said in a statement that her foundation, along with other activists, had to battle with authorities to gain the right to criticize the religious practices through their posters.

The posters, picturing the head of a cow, say the animal’s throat will be slit “without anesthesia and with great suffering” as part of “religious ritual” rather than using the terms “kosher” and “halal,” which authorities have forbidden, according to Bardot.

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knew until today that the West German secret service knew of Eichmann’s whereabouts eight years before his arrest.”

Zuroff said he planned to appeal to the German government to release all the secret service documents that may contain information about accused war criminals who have escaped justice.

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20 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

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DRIVER I DRIVE USA your car or truck, to or from. Senior Citizen, local resident with excellent references. 412213-0541.

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MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT THE HOT MATZOHS, Pittsburgh's #1 Klezmer Band, is available for your Wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Corporate or other special event! The dynamic band, featuring violinist Barbara Lowenstein (founder), offers many styles of music in addition to Klezmer, e,g, classical, jazz, swing and folk. Call 412-344-3338 or 412-303-0746. Or e-mail: barbsviolin@gmail.com.

PERSONAL LOTS OF LOVE to give to a special attractive (mid 30's to late 50's)Jewish lady.

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PESACH APARTMENT SEEKING PESACH Apt. in Sq. Hill during Pesach, April 17-27,2011. We have our own Pesachdik pots, pans, dishes & silverware. We will come in & Kasher your kitchen & use it for Sedarim and other meals. Rent open for discussion. Call Rabbi & Mrs Perlman 412-904-3601.

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TORAH First steps toward freedom: Portion of the Week RABBI AMY B. HERTZ, RODEF SHALOM CONGREGATION Beshalach, Exodus 13:17-17:16

The crossing of the Sea of Reeds, which we read about in this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, marked a pivotal moment for the Israelites. It transformed an enslaved group of individuals into a free people, a nation on a lifechanging journey, an emerging holy community on the road to Sinai.

Trapped between the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptian army, the Israelites stood terrified on the shores of the sea.

They cried out in fear to their leader Moses, who in turn, prayed to God for help. But, while Moses’ attention was turned toward God, a special man named Nachson ben Aminadav took matters into his own hands.

The rabbis teach in their stories that while the other tribes stood on the shore and argued about who would go into the water first, Nachson, a prince from the tribe of Judah, jumped in the raging waters of the sea. Fearless, Nachson kept marching forward, even as the water made its way up to his chest, his neck, his mouth, and finally to his nostrils before the sea split wide open and enabled the Israelites to march to freedom on dry land.

Nachson’s actions not only helped the sea to part, but his courage and bravery inspired an entire people. The rest of the Israelites followed Nachson, walked across with him, and soon everyone stood on the opposite shore of history, poised to embrace their new found freedom and make their way to the promised land. Nachson took the first step, but he brought a whole people along with him.

This week, the world lost another trailblazer with the untimely death of

beloved Jewish singer, songwriter and liturgist Debbie Friedman. She was our guide on a Jewish musical journey, revolutionizing the way many of us sing and pray. As Rabbi Jeff Salkin wrote in his eulogy, “[Debbie] caused us to imagine our liberation from both the minor key melodies of Eastern Europe and the large organ sound of central Europe.

She took Reform Jewish music out of the choir lofts and gave it back to the people where it rightly belonged.”

But Friedman’s reach went far beyond the Reform movement or Jewish summer camp, where her music had its roots. Friedman touched people across the denominations, inspiring all of us to lift up our voices together in song. More than that, Friedman inspired an entire generation of new Jewish singers, songwriters, and prayerful Jews who found their voice in her melodies and message.

Her impact is so vast that it is hard to comprehend it fully.

Friedman was Nachson for an entire generation of Jews moving from a narrow understanding of Jewish music and worship to a varied and expansive one.

She led us through the waters so bravely to the other side, to a new sense of freedom, possibility and meaning. Like Nachson, Friedman forged forward first, guitar held high, water rising up around her. And then, the greatest miracle, her voice — and the hand of God — drove the water back, creating safe passage for all of us to journey ahead with her. And when we reached the others, we sang as Israel did with Miriam and Moses.

Debbie, you will be missed. You paved the way. We are all beneficiaries of your bravery, your leadership, your love and your spirit. Thank you for helping us to reach the other side. We have traveled a journey with you and we will keep going on this journey in your memory, listening to your music every step of the way.

(This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.)

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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 21

ENVIRONMENT

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The gigantic $45 billion Leviathan gas find tosses out Israel’s previous relationship with the world. The biggest deep-water gas find in a decade has enough reserves to supply Israel’s gas needs for 100 years.

Israel’s Leviathan gas find has repercussions for world power

BY SUSAN KRAEMER

Oil and gas exploration that might benefit Israel has long been stymied by political fears. Because of worries about antagonizing current relationships with Arab partners, Big Oil had till now avoided the possibility of any political blow-back from finding any potential oil and gas in Israel.

So it took a relatively minor company, Noble Energy, to make the Leviathan gas discovery off the shores of Israel.

For years, only small Israeli oil and gas explorers like Riato and an Israeli energy firm, Delek Group, had persisted in trying to find fossil energy for Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal. Delek Group finally succeeded in enticing Houston-based Noble Energy to start exploring off the coast of Israel after the small independent company pioneered off-shore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of the urgency of gaining energy independence, situated as it is in the midst of unfriendly neighbors, Israel had passed a very easygoing oil and gas deal back in 1952, with some of the world’s best perks for energy companies, including low royalties and corporate taxes on exploration. But this summer, the Israeli government started considering changing the law, to boost the government’s take of any gas find.

As it became clearer this year that the Tamar, and then the Leviathan gas finds could wind up being very large, Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz proposed changing the terms, not just for future finds, but even retroactively, on these previously granted exploration leases. These would abolish tax breaks for energy firms and impose steep tax increases of 20 percent to 60 percent on windfall profits.

This would completely change the financial picture for energy companies who are operating on the previous basis. Noble Energy and Israeli oil executives fought back, even enlisting the U.S. State Department and then former President Bill Clinton to lobby hard to keep the law the same.

“Your country can’t just tax a U.S.

business retroactively because they feel like it,” Clinton told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, after Noble Energy announced its first tentative findings, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

With the prospect of actual energy independence looming now for Israel, with the Leviathan gas find just confirmed, how Israel handles the relationship between its government and its gas bonanza — will change its history. We have both extremes, from Nigeria, with no laws impeding the oil industry, to Norway, which is the only comparable democracy that has virtually nationalized its oil from the North Sea to benefit its people rather than oil tycoons.

But whatever the government does, the Leviathan gas find has already changed Israel’s relationships with other regions, and not just the great oil and gas powers of the Arab world.

Obviously its own natural gas fired electricity is a natural to power the electric vehicles being developed by local entrepreneur Shah Agassi, to replace the gasoline-powered vehicles that enrich its Arab neighbors.

But currently, electricity fueled by imported Russian coal supplies 71 percent of Israel’s electricity.

Not only could the nation now substitute for these risky foreign coal supplies by switching to natural gas, (since coal plants are fairly easily converted to burn natural gas, as U.S. utilities have found) but by doing so, Israel can now easily and economically swap almost three quarters of its current electricity portfolio to one with less than half the carbon cost.

So this changes Israel’s relationship with a northern nation, which has been unafraid to bully Europe — when it was in dire need of Russian energy supplies — using its energy hegemony. Now Israel no longer needs Russian coal. With this find, it is not just energy independent, itself.

But customers from throughout Asia are now wooing the formerly friendless nation, desperate for the last drops of fossil fuels.

(Stories from The Green Prophet appear here by agreement with its editor, Karin Kloosterman. For more Green news from the Middle East, visit The Green Prophet at greenprophet.com.

Contact the Green Prophet at

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16: BENJAMIN AMDUR, SAMUEL ATRAN, JOSEPH BAKER, SOPHIE BARNBLATT, REBECCA BELKIN, ANNA BERNSTEIN, HANNAH BLEIER, HELEN CITRON, BESSIE COWAN, PESSIE DEAKTER, GOLDIE EDELSTEIN, MAX ELINOFF, ELI EPSTEIN, JOSEPH E. ERBSTEIN, RACHEL FINN, SIMON B FISCHER, PEARL FOSTER, IDA GOLDFIELD, HARRY GOODMAN, LOUIS GOODSTEIN, JENNIE GREENBERGER, RACHEL GRINBERG, BERNARD L. GROSSMAN, ROSE HORVITZ, MAURICE J. IVES, ALBERT JABLONSKY, FANNIE JACOBWITZ, MARIANA KAHN, CLARA M. KAMINSKY, BERTHA E. KANN, MINNIE S. KOPMAN, DAVID LEVY, SARAH R. MAGLIN, SAMUEL MALAMUD, SYLVAN A. MENDLOVITZ, CIRIL PERER, MILTON PERIL, MANUEL REGENSTIEN, JACOB ROSENBERG, JACOB ROSENZWEIG, LIBBIE ELKAH SAVILLE`, PEARL SHECKTER, MORRIS SINGER, JACOB SLONE, HERMAN SMITH, MAX SPIEGEL, DAVID H (JUDGE) WEINER, RACHEL WOLK, ESTHER WORMSER. MONDAY, JANUARY 17: BENJAMIN AMDUR, ETHEL GRAFF BRAUN, MOSES BROWN, ROSE CHUSSETT, ANNIE COOPER, ELISE CORN, AARON DAVID DAVIS, ANNA DIAMOND, JULIUS EIGES, ANNA C. FEIGUS, RUBIN FEINBERG, MINNIE FELDMAN, JULIUS FELLMAN, IDA FLEISHMAN, KATHERINE DANIELS FRIEDLANDER, BESSIE GINDLER, SAMUEL G GORDON, MAX GREEN, HENRY GREENBERGER, ABRAHAM GREENSTONE, MEYER GROSSMAN, WILLIAM GUSKY, EVA HINKES, JESSE L. KANN, SAMUEL KARP, IDA A. LEFF, FANNIE LONDON, MINNIE B MANDELSTEIN, ANNA MELET, FANNIE MENDELBAUM, FANNIE ODLE, MOLLY OPTER, SAMUEL ROBINS, BANI ROGALSKY, ETHEL RUBEN, BENJAMIN SADOWSKY, LOUIS SAMUELS, OSCAR SHECHTER, JENNIE SILBERMAN, IDA SNYDERMAN, BELLE SOKOLOW, LOUIS B. STEIN, JULIUS STERNFIELD, IRVIN H. TAPPER, PHYLLIS WEINER UNGER, BERTHA F. WALKOW, HENRY WEINSTEIN, IDA WINER, MORRIS WOLK. TUESDAY, JANUARY 18: JACOB BAHM, ESTHER BIER, ABRAHAM M. COHEN, LEWIS C. DANIELS, ESTHER RIVA EISENSTADT, SARAH LEWIS FEATHERMAN, ROBERT FINDLING, HARRY FINGERETT, SAM FREEDMAN, EVA FRIEDMAN, GERALD GLICK, GERALD GLICK, GOLDIE GLICK, FLORENCE HAFNER, JACK HART, JACK HART, HELEN BETTY K ISRAEL, EDWARD JOSEPHS, LENA JUDKOVITZ, PEARL KARP, DAVID KART, DIANE L. KATZ, ETI KUPENBERG, ERNEST S. LAMPL, DEBORAH LANDAU, ANNA LAZIER, MARIAN LEVINE, BELLE WISE LEVY, JOSEPH G. LUPTAK, PAUL MARIANS, LOUIS MARKOWITZ, SADIE MARKOWITZ, LOU F. MARKS, ERNA METZGER, ALEXANDER NEWMAN, LOUIS ORTENBERG, KATIE RAND, LOUIS ROBIN, SAMUEL ROSENBERG, ESTHER D. ROTH, MORRIS ROTH, HARRY SEDER, HENRY SEGAL, MYER SHULAN, ETHEL BRODIE SIMON, MOLLIE SIMON, SAMUEL SLOAN, MORRIS C. SOLOF, LENA ECKERT SPEEVACK, MAX SPODEK, HERMAN SPOLAN, IDA JANE WEIN, SAMUEL A. WEISS, HANNAH WORMSER. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19: MAX AZEN, ESTHER BERKMAN, REBECCA BLISS, HERMAN A. BLOOM, ESTHER CAPLAN, MARTIN CLEBAN, HARRY ERENSTEIN, FANNY FARBSTEIN, JOSEPH J. FINKEL, CLARA FRIEDMAN, IRVING GLICKEN, MINNIE GOLDMAN, MARY GOODMAN, MORRIS GOODMAN, MAX GORDON, MOLLIE GREENFIELD, HARRY GRUSKIN, MORRIS HALPERN, CLARA IDA HARRIS, HELENE HEPPENHEIMER, FANNIE HERSKOVITZ, ROSE HYTOWITZ, EDWARD ILKUVITZ, ROLAND C. JACOBS, CHIA AGA KANTOR, SARAH PEPPER KRAUS, JULIUS LEBOWITZ, JACOB E. LEFTON, SAMUEL LIEBER, ESTHER MANKOVITZ, ANNA ROFEY, MARTHA ROGAL, NATHAN ROSENBERG, JOSEPH RUBENSTEIN, MOLLIE PERILMAN RUBIN, FLORA HIRSCH SACHS, HARRY B. SALZ, EDGAR SCHAFFEL, FANNIE SCHLOSSER, JOSEPH SCHWEBEL, SARAH STAMAN, ANNA R. STUCKELMAN, FANNY THOMPSON, HARRY D. WALD, LENA WEILL, FANNIE WIMMER, LILLIAN B. ZIFF. THURSDAY, JANUARY 20: DORA ABRAMOVITZ, CHANINE BALFER, HARRY H. BARACH, FRED BAROVSKY, ROBERT BARRISH, SADIE SUGAR BELZER, HENRY BLUESTONE, S.S. BROUDE, NATHAN W. CALLET, BESSIE CHERSKY, HERMAN COFFEY, HARRY A. COHAN, MORRIS COOPER, MORRIS COPPER, JAMES H. DARLING, REUBEN DOBKIN, FREDA FILNER, ANNA GLICK, IDA S. GOLDBERG, JACOB J. GORDON, MARY GREENBERG, LOUIS GROSSMAN, SARAH GUNNER, MOLLIE HELFER, SIDNEY HYDE, JOSEPH ISAACSON, WALTER E. KATZ, ALFRED J. KOBACKER, CARL LABOVITZ, LUDWIG LANDMAN, MARY LAPIDUS, ANNA LEVENSON, JACOB LEVY, ELLIS LICHTENSTEIN, SHELDON G. LINDNER, FANNIE MARKOWITZ, SOLOMON NEUGASS, MOLLIE PLOTKIN, PHILIP ROSENTHAL, JENNIE RUDNER, NETTIE SAMUELS, HARRY SHAPIRO, ISAAC SHORR, JENNIE SHRAGER, DAVID SILVERBLATT, MINNIE RHEA SILVERBLATT, JENNIE SOBEL, ABRAM SOCKEL, SADIE SPIEGEL, SADYE SPIEGEL, DOROTHY SPOLAN, ANNIE STEARNS, EMANUEL STEIN, MENDEL WATKINS, JULIUS WOLF. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21: JACOB ADLER, IDA ALPERT, SAMUEL APPEL, AARON HARRY BERNSTEIN, GUSSYE BERNSTEIN, SIMON BOSTOCKY, BELLA BRAVER, FROOMIE BROWN, DOROTHY TAUBER BURDMAN, MAURICE CHAITKIN, EVA COHEN, FLORA COHEN, JACOB FINEBERG, MELVIN FRANK, LENA GORDON, LILLIAN GOULD, SARAH TWILA GREENBERG, EDITH M. GUSKY, SOPHIE HEILBRONER, MOLLIE HILSENRATH, MICHAEL HOFFRICHTER, SAUL I. HYDE, ROSE KATZ, ROSE KLINE, GRACE M. LEVINE, DANIEL LEVINSON, ABRAHAM M. LEWINE, REBECCA LUICK, GOLDIE W. MARCUS, RAE MARCUS, WILLIAM MARK, SANDOR MARKUS, REBECCA MILLER, HENDEL MUNTER, MYER MYERS, CLARA M. NEIMAN, LOUIS H. NEVINS, BELLA PITTLER, DOROTHY POLLOCK, LEON PRINZ, LOIS ELLEN RABINOWITZ, ISRAEL C. RAMBACH, LOUIS ROSEN, ISAAC ROTHBERG, MOLLIE RYAVE, DAVID SAMUELS, SYBIL R. SCHERMER, MORRIS SCHLEIFER, MAX SCHOENBERGER, FRANCES SHELL, NORMAN SPEER, BENJAMIN W. STEINER, SAMUEL STONE, DAVID STRAUSS, SAMUEL WALDMAN, SAMUEL WALDMAN, BRUCHA WEISSMAN. SATURDAY, JANUARY 22: SARAH ABRAMS, CHIA SORA BRODY, HYMAN BROWARSKY, MAURICE I. BROWN, ANNA L. CAPLAN, BELLA ESTHER ESMAN, ABRAHAM FALEDER, DANIEL JOSEPH FEINBERG, HANNAH GLUECK, HARRY G. GOFF, ETHEL GOLANTY, ABRAHAM GOLDFARB, CHARLES GORDON, EDWARD P. GORDON, JACK GOULD, FANNIE GREENBERGER, MORRIS D. HERWITT, BENNIE HIRSCH, LILLIE HUTTNER, JACOB KELSEY, HYMAN KLAHR, NAOMI LEVENSON, REBECCA LEWIS, DAVID LUNDY, ISADORE LUPOVITZ, NATHAN MAGIDSON, JOSEPH MARKOVITZ, LEW J. MILLER, ISADORE PACHTMAN, MILTON RIPP, ROBERT J. ROSENTHAL, EUNICE ROTH, ISADORE SCOTT, JUDITH SHUPAK, LENA G. SKIRBLE, SAUL SPIEGEL, GEORGE J STEIN, SARA STEINER, EVA TRACHTENBERG, A. LEONARD WINER, IVAN LEE WOLINSKY, GARBIEL RABBI ZAKUTO.

Buy, Sell, Trade in the Classifieds, Call Donna 412-687-1000

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 21

ENVIRONMENT Big choices await

MORNING SERVICES - 9:30 A.M.

The gigantic $45 billion Leviathan gas find tosses out Israel’s previous relationship with the world. The biggest deep-water gas find in a decade has enough reserves to supply Israel’s gas needs for 100 years.

Israel’s Leviathan gas find has repercussions for world power

BY SUSAN KRAEMER

Oil and gas exploration that might benefit Israel has long been stymied by political fears. Because of worries about antagonizing current relationships with Arab partners, Big Oil had till now avoided the possibility of any political blow-back from finding any potential oil and gas in Israel.

So it took a relatively minor company, Noble Energy, to make the Leviathan gas discovery off the shores of Israel.

For years, only small Israeli oil and gas explorers like Riato and an Israeli energy firm, Delek Group, had persisted in trying to find fossil energy for Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal. Delek Group finally succeeded in enticing Houston-based Noble Energy to start exploring off the coast of Israel after the small independent company pioneered off-shore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of the urgency of gaining energy independence, situated as it is in the midst of unfriendly neighbors, Israel had passed a very easygoing oil and gas deal back in 1952, with some of the world’s best perks for energy companies, including low royalties and corporate taxes on exploration. But this summer, the Israeli government started considering changing the law, to boost the government’s take of any gas find.

As it became clearer this year that the Tamar, and then the Leviathan gas finds could wind up being very large, Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz proposed changing the terms, not just for future finds, but even retroactively, on these previously granted exploration leases. These would abolish tax breaks for energy firms and impose steep tax increases of 20 percent to 60 percent on windfall profits.

This would completely change the financial picture for energy companies who are operating on the previous basis. Noble Energy and Israeli oil executives fought back, even enlisting the U.S. State Department and then former President Bill Clinton to lobby hard to keep the law the same.

“Your country can’t just tax a U.S.

business retroactively because they feel like it,” Clinton told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, after Noble Energy announced its first tentative findings, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

With the prospect of actual energy independence looming now for Israel, with the Leviathan gas find just confirmed, how Israel handles the relationship between its government and its gas bonanza — will change its history. We have both extremes, from Nigeria, with no laws impeding the oil industry, to Norway, which is the only comparable democracy that has virtually nationalized its oil from the North Sea to benefit its people rather than oil tycoons.

But whatever the government does, the Leviathan gas find has already changed Israel’s relationships with other regions, and not just the great oil and gas powers of the Arab world.

Obviously its own natural gas fired electricity is a natural to power the electric vehicles being developed by local entrepreneur Shah Agassi, to replace the gasoline-powered vehicles that enrich its Arab neighbors.

But currently, electricity fueled by imported Russian coal supplies 71 percent of Israel’s electricity.

Not only could the nation now substitute for these risky foreign coal supplies by switching to natural gas, (since coal plants are fairly easily converted to burn natural gas, as U.S. utilities have found) but by doing so, Israel can now easily and economically swap almost three quarters of its current electricity portfolio to one with less than half the carbon cost.

So this changes Israel’s relationship with a northern nation, which has been unafraid to bully Europe — when it was in dire need of Russian energy supplies — using its energy hegemony. Now Israel no longer needs Russian coal. With this find, it is not just energy independent, itself.

But customers from throughout Asia are now wooing the formerly friendless nation, desperate for the last drops of fossil fuels.

(Stories from The Green Prophet appear here by agreement with its editor, Karin Kloosterman. For more Green news from the Middle East, visit The Green Prophet at greenprophet.com.

Contact the Green Prophet at karin.kloosterman@gmail.com.)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16: BENJAMIN AMDUR, SAMUEL ATRAN, JOSEPH BAKER, SOPHIE BARNBLATT, REBECCA BELKIN, ANNA BERNSTEIN, HANNAH BLEIER, HELEN CITRON, BESSIE COWAN, PESSIE DEAKTER, GOLDIE EDELSTEIN, MAX ELINOFF, ELI EPSTEIN, JOSEPH E. ERBSTEIN, RACHEL FINN, SIMON B FISCHER, PEARL FOSTER, IDA GOLDFIELD, HARRY GOODMAN, LOUIS GOODSTEIN, JENNIE GREENBERGER, RACHEL GRINBERG, BERNARD L. GROSSMAN, ROSE HORVITZ, MAURICE J. IVES, ALBERT JABLONSKY, FANNIE JACOBWITZ, MARIANA KAHN, CLARA M. KAMINSKY, BERTHA E. KANN, MINNIE S. KOPMAN, DAVID LEVY, SARAH R. MAGLIN, SAMUEL MALAMUD, SYLVAN A. MENDLOVITZ, CIRIL PERER, MILTON PERIL, MANUEL REGENSTIEN, JACOB ROSENBERG, JACOB ROSENZWEIG, LIBBIE ELKAH SAVILLE`, PEARL SHECKTER, MORRIS SINGER, JACOB SLONE, HERMAN SMITH, MAX SPIEGEL, DAVID H (JUDGE) WEINER, RACHEL WOLK, ESTHER WORMSER. MONDAY, JANUARY 17: BENJAMIN AMDUR, ETHEL GRAFF BRAUN, MOSES BROWN, ROSE CHUSSETT, ANNIE COOPER, ELISE CORN, AARON DAVID DAVIS, ANNA DIAMOND, JULIUS EIGES, ANNA C. FEIGUS, RUBIN FEINBERG, MINNIE FELDMAN, JULIUS FELLMAN, IDA FLEISHMAN, KATHERINE DANIELS FRIEDLANDER, BESSIE GINDLER, SAMUEL G GORDON, MAX GREEN, HENRY GREENBERGER, ABRAHAM GREENSTONE, MEYER GROSSMAN, WILLIAM GUSKY, EVA HINKES, JESSE L. KANN, SAMUEL KARP, IDA A. LEFF, FANNIE LONDON, MINNIE B MANDELSTEIN, ANNA MELET, FANNIE MENDELBAUM, FANNIE ODLE, MOLLY OPTER, SAMUEL ROBINS, BANI ROGALSKY, ETHEL RUBEN, BENJAMIN SADOWSKY, LOUIS SAMUELS, OSCAR SHECHTER, JENNIE SILBERMAN, IDA SNYDERMAN, BELLE SOKOLOW, LOUIS B. STEIN, JULIUS STERNFIELD, IRVIN H. TAPPER, PHYLLIS WEINER UNGER, BERTHA F. WALKOW, HENRY WEINSTEIN, IDA WINER, MORRIS WOLK. TUESDAY, JANUARY 18: JACOB BAHM, ESTHER BIER, ABRAHAM M. COHEN, LEWIS C. DANIELS, ESTHER RIVA EISENSTADT, SARAH LEWIS FEATHERMAN, ROBERT FINDLING, HARRY FINGERETT, SAM FREEDMAN, EVA FRIEDMAN, GERALD GLICK, GERALD GLICK, GOLDIE GLICK, FLORENCE HAFNER, JACK HART, JACK HART, HELEN BETTY K ISRAEL, EDWARD JOSEPHS, LENA JUDKOVITZ, PEARL KARP, DAVID KART, DIANE L. KATZ, ETI KUPENBERG, ERNEST S. LAMPL, DEBORAH LANDAU, ANNA LAZIER, MARIAN LEVINE, BELLE WISE LEVY, JOSEPH G. LUPTAK, PAUL MARIANS, LOUIS MARKOWITZ, SADIE MARKOWITZ, LOU F. MARKS, ERNA METZGER, ALEXANDER NEWMAN, LOUIS ORTENBERG, KATIE RAND, LOUIS ROBIN, SAMUEL ROSENBERG, ESTHER D. ROTH, MORRIS ROTH, HARRY SEDER, HENRY SEGAL, MYER SHULAN, ETHEL BRODIE SIMON, MOLLIE SIMON, SAMUEL SLOAN, MORRIS C. SOLOF, LENA ECKERT SPEEVACK, MAX SPODEK, HERMAN SPOLAN, IDA JANE WEIN, SAMUEL A. WEISS, HANNAH WORMSER. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19: MAX AZEN, ESTHER BERKMAN, REBECCA BLISS, HERMAN A. BLOOM, ESTHER CAPLAN, MARTIN CLEBAN, HARRY ERENSTEIN, FANNY FARBSTEIN, JOSEPH J. FINKEL, CLARA FRIEDMAN, IRVING GLICKEN, MINNIE GOLDMAN, MARY GOODMAN, MORRIS GOODMAN, MAX GORDON, MOLLIE GREENFIELD, HARRY GRUSKIN, MORRIS HALPERN, CLARA IDA HARRIS, HELENE HEPPENHEIMER, FANNIE HERSKOVITZ, ROSE HYTOWITZ, EDWARD ILKUVITZ, ROLAND C. JACOBS, CHIA AGA KANTOR, SARAH PEPPER KRAUS, JULIUS LEBOWITZ, JACOB E. LEFTON, SAMUEL LIEBER, ESTHER MANKOVITZ, ANNA ROFEY, MARTHA ROGAL, NATHAN ROSENBERG, JOSEPH RUBENSTEIN, MOLLIE PERILMAN RUBIN, FLORA HIRSCH SACHS, HARRY B. SALZ, EDGAR SCHAFFEL, FANNIE SCHLOSSER, JOSEPH SCHWEBEL, SARAH STAMAN, ANNA R. STUCKELMAN, FANNY THOMPSON, HARRY D. WALD, LENA WEILL, FANNIE WIMMER, LILLIAN B. ZIFF. THURSDAY, JANUARY 20: DORA ABRAMOVITZ, CHANINE BALFER, HARRY H. BARACH, FRED BAROVSKY, ROBERT BARRISH, SADIE SUGAR BELZER, HENRY BLUESTONE, S.S. BROUDE, NATHAN W. CALLET, BESSIE CHERSKY, HERMAN COFFEY, HARRY A. COHAN, MORRIS COOPER, MORRIS COPPER, JAMES H. DARLING, REUBEN DOBKIN, FREDA FILNER, ANNA GLICK, IDA S. GOLDBERG, JACOB J. GORDON, MARY GREENBERG, LOUIS GROSSMAN, SARAH GUNNER, MOLLIE HELFER, SIDNEY HYDE, JOSEPH ISAACSON, WALTER E. KATZ, ALFRED J. KOBACKER, CARL LABOVITZ, LUDWIG LANDMAN, MARY LAPIDUS, ANNA LEVENSON, JACOB LEVY, ELLIS LICHTENSTEIN, SHELDON G. LINDNER, FANNIE MARKOWITZ, SOLOMON NEUGASS, MOLLIE PLOTKIN, PHILIP ROSENTHAL, JENNIE RUDNER, NETTIE SAMUELS, HARRY SHAPIRO, ISAAC SHORR, JENNIE SHRAGER, DAVID SILVERBLATT, MINNIE RHEA SILVERBLATT, JENNIE SOBEL, ABRAM SOCKEL, SADIE SPIEGEL, SADYE SPIEGEL, DOROTHY SPOLAN, ANNIE STEARNS, EMANUEL STEIN, MENDEL WATKINS, JULIUS WOLF. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21: JACOB ADLER, IDA ALPERT, SAMUEL APPEL, AARON HARRY BERNSTEIN, GUSSYE BERNSTEIN, SIMON BOSTOCKY, BELLA BRAVER, FROOMIE BROWN, DOROTHY TAUBER BURDMAN, MAURICE CHAITKIN, EVA COHEN, FLORA COHEN, JACOB FINEBERG, MELVIN FRANK, LENA GORDON, LILLIAN GOULD, SARAH TWILA GREENBERG, EDITH M. GUSKY, SOPHIE HEILBRONER, MOLLIE HILSENRATH, MICHAEL HOFFRICHTER, SAUL I. HYDE, ROSE KATZ, ROSE KLINE, GRACE M. LEVINE, DANIEL LEVINSON, ABRAHAM M. LEWINE, REBECCA LUICK, GOLDIE W. MARCUS, RAE MARCUS, WILLIAM MARK, SANDOR MARKUS, REBECCA MILLER, HENDEL MUNTER, MYER MYERS, CLARA M. NEIMAN, LOUIS H. NEVINS, BELLA PITTLER, DOROTHY POLLOCK, LEON PRINZ, LOIS ELLEN RABINOWITZ, ISRAEL C. RAMBACH, LOUIS ROSEN, ISAAC ROTHBERG, MOLLIE RYAVE, DAVID SAMUELS, SYBIL R. SCHERMER, MORRIS SCHLEIFER, MAX SCHOENBERGER, FRANCES SHELL, NORMAN SPEER, BENJAMIN W. STEINER, SAMUEL STONE, DAVID STRAUSS, SAMUEL WALDMAN, SAMUEL WALDMAN, BRUCHA WEISSMAN. SATURDAY, JANUARY 22: SARAH ABRAMS, CHIA SORA BRODY, HYMAN BROWARSKY, MAURICE I. BROWN, ANNA L. CAPLAN, BELLA ESTHER ESMAN, ABRAHAM FALEDER, DANIEL JOSEPH FEINBERG, HANNAH GLUECK, HARRY G. GOFF, ETHEL GOLANTY, ABRAHAM GOLDFARB, CHARLES GORDON, EDWARD P. GORDON, JACK GOULD, FANNIE GREENBERGER, MORRIS D. HERWITT, BENNIE HIRSCH, LILLIE HUTTNER, JACOB KELSEY, HYMAN KLAHR, NAOMI LEVENSON, REBECCA LEWIS, DAVID LUNDY, ISADORE LUPOVITZ, NATHAN MAGIDSON, JOSEPH MARKOVITZ, LEW J. MILLER, ISADORE PACHTMAN, MILTON RIPP, ROBERT J. ROSENTHAL, EUNICE ROTH, ISADORE SCOTT, JUDITH SHUPAK, LENA G. SKIRBLE, SAUL SPIEGEL, GEORGE J STEIN, SARA STEINER, EVA TRACHTENBERG, A. LEONARD WINER, IVAN LEE WOLINSKY, GARBIEL RABBI ZAKUTO.

Buy, Sell, Trade in the Classifieds, Call Donna 412-687-1000

22 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011

OBITUARIES CHOSKY: On Tuesday, January 4, 2011, Philip Chosky, beloved son of the late Nathan and Eva Chosky; brother of Sara and Samuel Chosky. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside. Interment Machsikei Hadas Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Philip Chosky Charitable Education Foundation, 310 Grant Street, Suite 1500, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

LEVENSON: On Tuesday, January 4, 2011, Edgar Leo Levenson, beloved son of the late David J. and Eva Mae Levenson; brother of the late Robert L. Levenson and Donald W. Levenson; uncle of Elaine L. Savage, Elizabeth J. Blum, Robert L. (Patricia V.) Levenson, Jr., Rosalinda (Dr. Stuart) Kramer, Dr. Marc Levenson and Dr. Jon Levenson; great-uncle of Dr. David H. Savage, Catherine S. Hicks, Elizabeth S. Nelson, Esq., Michael Evan Blum, Joshua D. Levenson, Benjamin L. Levenson, Isaac N. Levenson, Andrew Kramer, Dr. Douglas Kramer, Matthew Kramer, Esq., J. Jacob Levenson, Daniel W. Levenson and Noah Levenson; also survived by cousin Hysora Cowan. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Temple. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 777 Penn Center Blvd., Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 or the American Macular Degeneration

Foundation, P.O. Box 515, Northampton, MA 10061-0515. Arrangements by Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. LEVINE: On Wednesday, January 5, 2011, Harry I. Levine, beloved husband of the late Bertha Levine; devoted father of Evelyn Levine, Judith Murray and Howard Levine; grandfather of Eric and Brittany Levine and Barbara and Debra Murray. Services and Interment were private. Contributions may be made to Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements by Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. RECHT: On Tuesday, January 4, 2011, Dolores (Dolly) Recht of Sarasota, FL, devoted wife of the late Edward Recht; loving mother of Alan Recht of Los Angeles, CA, Barbara Pavone Kristin and Janis Harris, both of Athens, GA and Wendy Steiner of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Beloved grandmother of Sean Pavone, Mauri Harris, Michael Steiner, Jonathan and Alison Steiner; also survived by nieces and nephews. Graveside services were held at Temple Beth Sholom Cemetery, Sarasota, FL. REZNIK: On Wednesday, January 5, 2011, Annetta "Hunny" Reznik, daughter of the late Abram "Abe" and Ray Brenner Reznik; beloved sister of

Please refer to www.thejewishchronicle.net for regularly updated obituary information.

Elayne Reznik Gusky and the late Sylvia Reznik; loving aunt of Ray (Judy) Gusky and Jeffrey (Leanne) Gusky; great-aunt of Adam (Christina) Gusky, Kristopher Gusky and Matthew Gusky; great-great-aunt of Allison Gusky and Breanna Gusky.

Graveside services and interment were held at Tiphereth Israel Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Tiphereth Israel Cemetery, c/o 1100 Penn Center Boulevard, #1113, Pittsburgh. PA 15235. Arrangements by Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. ROTHBART: On Saturday, January 8, 2011, David Rothbart, 94, beloved husband of Dr. Dorothy (Perlis) Rothbart; loving father of Betty Rothbart of Brooklyn, NY, Judith (Martin) Kline of Pittsburgh, PA and Eleanor (Dr. Jonathan) Goldman of West Hartford, CT; brother of Roselie Brenner of Los Angeles, CA, the late Saul Rothbart and Deborah Blaukopf; loving "Zeide" of Lila and Jacob M. Smith, Dr. Andrea (Dr. Zach) Goldsmith, Amy, Michelle and Samuel Kline, Richard, Alex and Ari Goldman; also survived by loving nieces and nephews. Services were held at

Staff Writer

FALEDER MONUMENTS For directions and appointments call 412.682.5500

TENOR: On Saturday, January 8, 2011, Ida N. Tenor, Beloved wife of the late Theodore A. Tenor, Esq.; beloved mother of Joy T. (late Rabbi Judah) Fish of Elkins Park, PA and Randall B. (Susan Beth) Tenor of Mechanicsburg, PA.; sister of the late Julia Korenberg, Minnie Harris, Ben Browarsky and Barry Browar; grandmother of Daniel J. Fish of New York City, Rabbi Joseph Ron (Leah) Fish of Norwalk, CT and Gregory Allan Tenor of Mechanicsburg, PA; great-grandmother of Hana Fish-Bieler, Dore Fish-Bieler, Nili Fish-Bieler and Lavi Fish-Bieler. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside. Interment Shaare Torah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hadassah-Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 1824 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 and American Heart Assoc., 7320 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231.

Philip Chosky spent a lifetime giving to Pittsburgh, Jewish causes

BY TOBY TABACHNICK

FALEDER • New Location • New LocationMONUMENTS • New Location • New Location •

Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Hebrew Free Loan Association, 4315 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

Philip Chosky, a philanthropist who favored the theater, science, and Jewish organizations, died in his sleep on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at his Shadyside home. He had suffered from dementia for several years, and was also battling heart problems. He was 85.

Throughout his lifetime, Chosky donated millions of dollars to fund a variety of projects, from those of the Carnegie Science Center, to the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, to the Emma Kaufmann Camp in Morgantown, W.Va. Raised in the Hill District, Chosky graduated from Carnegie Tech in 1948 with a degree in electrical engineering.

He went on to found the Rosedale Technical Institute in Pittsburgh, and the Electronic Institutes in both Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

He was a lifelong contributor to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, both to its annual campaign and to its emergency campaigns, such as Katrina and the Israel Emergency Appeal, said Meryl Ainsman, executive director of the Philip Chosky Charitable Educational Foundation. He also gave several significant gifts to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, including funding for housing for counselors-in-training at EKC. That structure is known as Beit Chosky.

Chosky purchased and donated the land on which the Carnegie Science Center’s Highmark Sportsworks now sits, and gave the Science Center an additional contribution to help support the miniature railroad, the submarine and roboworld.

“He was very influential in theater,” said Ainsman. “He was very supportive of new and innovative theater in Pittsburgh.”

In 2000, after a large donation to its drama school, CMU named its theater The Philip Chosky Theater. A modest man, Chosky resisted the honor.

“He was a very humble person,” said Donna Drudy, his companion of 33 years. “When he built the theater at CMU, he didn’t want it named after him.

He was very reluctant about it.”

“He really set a standard for philanthropy,” said his cousin David Gelber.

“He was incredibly generous with his resources.

“My friendship with Phil grew when I was a student at Swarthmore back in the ’60s,” Gelber recalled. “He had business in the Philadelphia area and he’d come to visit me. I remember how proud he was to take me for a tour through every nook and cranny of the Chosky Theater at CMU. He loved that place — and the school. Phil was a witty, unpretentious, straight-talking guy, but he wasn’t someone who craved to be on the stage.

And yet, the theater and the idea of the theater possessed him.

“Phil was a giver,” he added. “So many people — especially in the Pittsburgh community — benefited hugely from his friendship, his work and his philanthropy.”

Chosky also contributed generously to the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, the City Theatre, the Quantum Theatre and the CLO, as well as the Pittsburgh Promise, the Warhol Museum, Yeshiva Schools, Cleveland Clinic, and many other organizations.

Chosky never married and had no children.

“But he really did have thousands of children,” said Ainsman. “There are so many kids out there today both in theater and the Jewish community benefiting from his largesse.”

Chosky is survived by siblings Sarah and Samuel.

Donations may be made to the Philip Chosky Charitable Educational Foundation, 310 Grant St., Suite 1500, Pittsburgh 15219.

(Toby Tabachnick can be reached at tobyt@thejewishchronicle.net.)

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011 — 23

METRO Giffords: Continued from page 1. hospital in which she is recovering, and at local synagogues and other houses of worship, the community expressed agony over Saturday’s violence.

Congregation Chaverim, where Giffords is a member, held a healing service Sunday morning with more than 150 people attending. Some six Tucson Police Department cars were on the scene, with officers providing security.

Chaverim’s Rabbi Stephanie Aaron officiated at the congresswoman’s marriage to Capt. Mark Kelly in 2007.

“Envision Gabby in her fullness with her radiant smile,” Aaron told those at the service on Sunday.

Cantorial soloist Lori Sumberg led the congregation in a song of healing, saying, “When we have no more words we let music take us to a different place.”

Congregants also stood and recited the names of shooting victims or family members in a prayer for healing.

As part of the service, Melanie Nelson of the Pima County Interfaith Council spoke, noting Giffords’ support of the organization. “We must heal the divisiveness in this country,” she said.

“Gabby’s always been a fighter and it’s up to us to continue fighting for a different level of conversation.”

“As Gabby always has, may we listen,” Aaron said at the end of the onehour service. “May we see each one as a shining human being who has a purpose in the universe. May these prayers reach our Tucson, our country, our world. It’s time to see what we hold together and find our common ground.”

On Saturday evening, Temple EmanuEl held a prayer service led by Rabbis Jason Holtz and Richard Safran and cantorial soloist Marjorie Hochberg.

More than 100 people attended.

“We are taught in Jewish tradition that each human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God,” said a statement by Senior Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, which was read to the congregation because the rabbi was out of town. “Today those images were shattered,” Cohon wrote. “It is up to us to pick up the pieces, and to make of those broken lives some holiness in our damaged community.”

On Sunday morning, after Congregation Chaverim’s healing service, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Women’s Philanthropy “13 Extraordinary Women Tell Their Secrets” event took place at the University Marriot.

Introducing the event, Jeff Katz, chairman of the JFSA, said, “We come together to grieve, to connect and to share the values that bind us together.

P2K: Continued from page 4.

“Then bikers can pass through the mosaic of communities in the Galilee – Christians, Muslims, Jews and Druze; cities, villages, moshavim and kibbutzim,” he said. “This is a very good way to show off Israel.”

“What the bikers have in common is the desire to be outside, to enjoy nature and to experience the thrills that come with being active, both physically and mentally,” said Sophia Berman, another J’Burgh participant, and one of the group’s best bikers. “Being active isn’t something that is limited to your cul-

Noting that the long-scheduled event was planned as a lighthearted morning, he said, “While it may seem hollow to laugh and celebrate,” celebrating the strength of our community would help move participants forward and heal.

He added that during her first campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004, Giffords said, “If you want something done, your best bet is to ask a Jewish woman to do it,” and so it was appropriate to celebrate the 13 women “doers” honored at the brunch.

Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash gave an opening prayer, also referring to Saturday’s shooting. Aaron offered a healing prayer at the close of the event.

The federation issued a statement Monday “joining the greater Tucson area in mourning the loss of life and praying for the speedy recovery of those wounded in the senseless acts of violence.” The statement noted that Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona could provide counseling for individuals and families struggling with the aftermath of Saturday’s rampage.

“Just as Gabby and her congressional staff worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life, this tragic event reawakens our spirit to work harder and embrace our mission to improve the quality of life here, in Israel, and around the world,” said Stuart Mellan, JFSA president and CEO. “Specifically through our Jewish Community Relations Council and other program arms of the Federation, we intend to redouble our efforts to encourage civil discourse in our community leaders and all those active in community life.”

On a personal note, Mellan told the Arizona Jewish Post that his wife, “Nancy, worked for Gabby, adored her and her staff, including Gabe Zimmerman, who was a truly wonderful young man. Nancy told me at that time of the belligerent behavior that emerged during the Tea Party protests outside Gabby’s office, and how that spilled into intimidating behaviors toward the staff regardless of how diligently they attempted to make constituents feel heard. This makes me even more certain that those who think that there is no connection between the vitriol and this act should reconsider.”

The shock of Giffords being targeted brought forth remembrances of her first campaign in 2004. Heather Alberts said she hadn’t known Giffords but agreed to hold a Meet and Greet on her patio that spring.

“After hearing her magnificent passion, engaging with her warmth, and recognizing her intellect, I just fell in love with her,” Alberts said.

Friedman: Continued from page 1. maybe this was her swan song. Our prayer circle crossed time zones and language barriers, and reminded us of the importance of being connected.

Pulling together to pray for her reminded us that we are still connected to each other and to the divine.”

In Pittsburgh, Rabbi Amy Hertz, assistant rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation, and Beth Goldstein, director of teen education at the Agency for Jewish Learning, responded to Adler’s call to prayer by organizing a vigil at Rodef Shalom Saturday night.

“At 9:12 (corresponding to 6:12 p.m. on the West Coast) we opened the ark at Rodef Shalom and sang the ‘Mi Shebeirach’ song,” Hertz said. “We sang Debbie Friedman songs from 8:30 to 9:12. It was a beautiful opportunity to be together.”

“She was my hero,” Hertz said of Friedman. “She was a hero of my generation of young Jews. She brought joy into Judaism by singing. She had a profound effect on my friends and colleagues. She raised up an entire generation of song leaders. There is now a whole generation of Jews who are connected to Judaism through music. She touched our hearts, and opened them up to possibilities in a way that other Jewish leaders — people with Ph.D.s — couldn’t do.”

While her music is not complicated, it opened paths to prayer and feeling, said Rabbi Donni Aaron, Jewish Community Center Jewish educator, who sang with Friedman on several occasions.

“Her music is so simple. She wasn’t into complex thoughts,” Aaron said.

“But it was a doorway. It was all about access, and sharing with other people.

She knew ‘Mi Shebeirach’ was something first-graders loved, but it was also something 90-year-olds loved. She knew her music was reaching people of all ages.”

Rabbi Amy Greenbaum, spiritual

leader of Beth Israel Center in Pleasant Hills, met Friedman last October at a conference called Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of song) in Wisconsin, and recounted an experience she believes reflected her ability to connect to others.

“During the Shabbat morning service, she sang her ‘Mi Shebeirach’ song, but she sang it continuously as she walked around the room and made eye contact with every single person there,” Greenbaum recalled. “You could feel her willing healing for each person, whether it was physical or spiritual or emotional healing. It was very powerful. And I think it speaks to the fact that her music has the ability to touch people individually, and why she was so effective and influential.

“She was really the first of her kind,” Greenbaum continued, “and I think she started a whole new generation of musicians. She did such incredible things for Judaism and for prayer, and I think her legacy will live on forever.”

Born in Utica, N.Y., Friedman started as a group song leader in the Reform movement’s Olin-Sang-Ruby Union summer camp in Wisconsin the early 1970s, where she set Jewish liturgy to her own contemporary melodies.

Her first album, “Sing Unto God,” was released in 1972, followed by 19 more over the next three decades.

But “Mi Shebeirach” remains her best-known composition.

“The issue is whether we’re reaching people and helping them pray.”

Area congregations are planning tributes to Friedman’s music during their Shabbat services Friday night. Temple Ohav Shalom is one of them.

Ohav Shalom Rabbi Art Donsky and music coordinator Amanda Russell will interweave Friedman’s songs throughout this week’s kabbalat Shabbat service in tribute to the singer.

“There is a poetic irony of sadness of her passing when she did,” Donsky said.

“This coming Shabbat is Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of song.”

(Toby Tabachnick can be reached at tobyt@thejewishchronicle.net.)

(Arizona Jewish Post Executive Editor Phyllis Braun contributed to this report.)

ture, language or religion. The bike trail can be seen as a link between the many different peoples of the Galilee.”

Back on his mountain bike, Rosenthal was beginning to get a feel for the terrain, as were the rest of the J’Burghers.

After three hours biking down hills and around rocky turns (and yes, a few falls), the group was tired but proud.

“Here we are thousands of miles away using something tangible that came from where we are from,” said Rosenthal, a Pittsburgh native. “Plus, I didn’t fall.”

(Justin Jacobs can be reached at justinj@thejewshchronicle.net.)

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IN MEMORY OF

JACOB BAHM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HELEN BAHM CELIA BERMAN . . . . . . . . . . . .BETTY BERGER PATSY & CHARLES BLUESTONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BEN UNGER DAVID SILVERBLATT . . . . . . . . .LOIS S. CRONE ANNA SILVERBLATT . . . . . . . . .LOIS S. CRONE YETTA R. CRONE . . . . . . . . . . .LOIS S. CRONE ETHEL GOLANTY . . . . . . .RUTH K. GOLDMAN RUTH GUSKY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ELLIS GUSKY MAURICE SMITH . . . . . . . . . . . . .STEVEN KATZ BENJAMIN HORVITZ . . . . . .EDITH Z. KRAMER RICHARD L. LINDER . . . .BARBARA C. LINDER ERNEST & ERNA METZGER JEAN METZGER WILLIAM D. ORR . . . . . . . . . . . . .JANICE MILES WILLIAM D. ORR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ROSE ORR MORRIS MOIDEL . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL FANNIE MOIDEL . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL

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ISADORE MOIDEL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL GEORGE MOIDEL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL JENNY MOIDEL . . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL ESTHER MOIDEL . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL ALBERT MOIDEL . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL HYMAN PASCOLL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL FANNIE PASCOLL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL MELVIN PASCOLL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL MOLLIE MOIDEL PASCOLL . . . . . . . . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL SIDNEY PASCOLL . . . . .HOWARD L. PASCOLL WILLIAM RATOWSKY . . . . .BELLA RATOWSKY IRVIN H. TAPPER . . . . . . . . . . . .NANCY SMITH ALBERT J. SUPOWITZ . . . . . . . . . . .MARTIN L. SUPOWITZ ELI RUDICK . . . . . . . .IRENE RUDICK WANDER

24 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JANUARY 13, 2011