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November 30, 2018 | 22 Kislev 5779
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL At college admissions time, experts say try not to sweat it
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Candlelighting 4:36 p.m. | Havdalah 6:39 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 5 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Community ‘shloshim’ encourages path forward
‘Menorahgate’ is Tree of Life fundraising mash-up of Steelers, Chanukah
Area teens — and their parents — are knee-deep in applications.
By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, in a recorded message. The shloshim traditionally marks the cessation of certain mourning practices less severe than those observed during the shiva period, but more severe than those observed for the rest of the first year following a person’s passing. Adam Hertzman, Federation’s director of marketing, said that approximately 300 people attended the community event commemorating that moment in time at the Marriott City Center on Washington Place. Members of the Clarion Quartet performed in between speeches, which participants said added to the event’s powerful dynamic. In his message, Sacks noted that zachor, the Hebrew word for “remember” is found 169 times in the Tanach. “In every other culture remembering is about the past,” he said. “In Judaism, all remembering is about the future and about life. We cannot change the past, but by remembering we can change the future.” What the 11 victims “died for, we must now live for,” he added. Certainly, everyone will remember where they were when they first heard of the attack, said
n oversize menorah will not be the only thing lit outside Heinz Field on Dec. 16, prior to the Steelers taking on the New England Patriots. In fact, if things go as planned, hundreds of folks will turn out to join nine homegrown millennials for their fourthannual Menorahgate, a tailgate party to celebrate friendship, football and the holiday of Chanukah. Friends since they were kids, the group of 27- and 28-year old guys — most have known each other since they were students at Community Day School or campers at Emma Kaufmann Camp — have turned this year’s event into a fundraiser for the victims of the Tree of Life massacre. Their original goal was to raise $1,000 by Dec. 16 through a fundraising link on Facebook. That goal was met within five hours. By Nov. 26, more than $20,000 had been pledged. While Menorahgate 2018 will occur about a week after the conclusion of Chanukah due to the Steelers schedule, the event’s organizers are still planning to mark the holiday as they have done together since 2015. “This came about because we were going to a Steelers night game [in 2015] and we wanted to tailgate,” said Andrew Exler, one of Menorahgate’s original seven founders. “Since it was also a night of Chanukah, we decided to bring a menorah to the tailgate and we lit the menorah before going into the game. Our entire group is Jewish and from Pittsburgh.” That tailgate party with its lit menorah attracted a lot of attention from other fans who “loved what we were doing,” so the
Please see Shloshim, page 20
Please see Menorahgate, page 20
LOCAL Embracing gratitude the most
Members of the Clarion Quartet perform at the community shloshim.
Photo by Adam Hertzman
Thanksgiving programs offer chance to feed responders Page 3 LIFESTYLE Chanukah, southern-style
Who says coconut loaf doesn’t pair with latkes? Try out these different holiday recipes. Page 14
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By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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inding light amid the darkness was a recurrent theme at the community event marking the shloshim, or 30 days, since the tragic murders of 11 congregants at the Tree of Life synagogue building. At the Nov. 26 ceremony, local and international speakers alike encouraged attendees to find inspiration from the countless acts of kindness shown by and for each other over the previous month, seek comfort from the upcoming holiday of Chanukah and continue to remember those lost by loving life itself. “It’s been 30 days since Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life lost 11 members in the most horrible way possible,” said Jeffrey Finkelstein, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh president and CEO. But since the Oct. 27 attack, there’s been “tens of thousands of acts of goodwill. … The one simple truth [is] we are stronger together.” Illustrating that concept, Israel Nitzan, Israel’s deputy consul general for the region that includes Pennsylvania, pointed out the myriad Jews and non-Jews who flooded synagogues throughout New York, where he is based, in recent weeks. “Virtually every community around the world mourned with you,” echoed Rabbi
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Headlines Experts offer tips on surviving the college admissions process — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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s autumn transitions to winter, many families with high school seniors are finding themselves knee-deep in the college application process, a period that usually comes with loads of stress. “Jewish families historically value education,” observed Helane Linzer, a Pittsburgh-based psychologist and college admissions consultant. That value can sometimes unwittingly morph into added pressure on Jewish children. But, with the proper tools — and perspective — parents and students can successfully navigate the college application process in a way that minimizes the accompanying tension and anxiety, according to several local experts. One of the first things that parents of would-be college students should do, advised Linzer, is to separate their own experiences and aspirations from those of their children. “It is important for parents to examine their own motives, because it is really easy for us to assume that what was true when we went to college is still true today, and the college admission landscape has changed unbelievably,” she pointed out. “I think what’s important for parents to recognize is, what are their own dreams — or unmet dreams — and make sure that whatever happens during their teen’s admission process is about the teens and what they want.” It is also essential, Linzer emphasized, to tune out all the unsolicited advice flooding in through social media and from friends and acquaintances. “There is a lot of noise out there and I think it is important to recognize that it is just noise, and the best way to go about the
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college admissions process is to keep your head down, ignore all the noise to the left and the right and just move forward,” she said. “Just go about your own task and don’t be swayed by people saying, ‘You need to be doing this, or you shouldn’t be doing this.’” Sometimes, a third party can help by offering constructive suggestions and techniques, she added. That person, whether he or she is a school guidance counselor or a private consultant, can also serve as a mediator if things get too tense between the child and a parent. “Your [school] counselor is a great resource to be a go-between for the parents and the students,” noted Lauren Lieberman, a college counselor at Shady Side Academy. “I realize not everyone has a counselor they could do that with, but that is an important role that we play, certainly.” Other people, including another family member, could also serve as an unbiased intermediary, Lieberman suggested. From the outset of the process, parents should set out any hard and fast boundaries they may have in terms of the schools to be considered, Lieberman said. If, for example, parents require that a college be within driving distance from Pittsburgh, they need to define what that distance is. Likewise, any cost restrictions or expectations also need to be stated from the get-go. If families want their children only to apply to schools with campuses “where there will be Shabbat dinner every week,” or that offer High Holiday services, that needs to be conveyed as well. Experts agree that organization and good communication are key to maintaining a healthy level of sanity throughout the process. “One of the things that I talk to families a lot about is to consider making a check-in time each week to talk about the college process — but it can’t be every day,”
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Lieberman said. “Set the time aside. A parent can say, ‘You have to tell me everything you’ve done this week at a set-aside time, and in return, I’m not going to ask you anything about it the six other days of the week.’” For some families, it can be helpful if parents assist their children in organizing lists of schools, suggested Connie Pollack, a private Pittsburgh-based college admissions consultant. “Some parents create spreadsheets or calendars, or charts of the colleges they have discussed,” Pollack said. The spreadsheets can include information about the schools’ “plusses or minuses, or where they are located, and admissions criteria in terms of GPA or test scores. That can be really helpful for some students.” While it can be anxiety-producing and daunting to be rejected from highly competitive colleges, Pollack does not dissuade her clients from applying to “reach schools.” “I think it is good for students to have a few reach schools on their college lists as long as they have a well-balanced list that includes several target schools that are a good academic and social fit,” she said. “If a reach school is a great fit, then they should go for it, with a clear understanding of what their chances for acceptance may be, because you never know what admission counselors are looking for, and students just might have something in their background or experiences that are enticing to that school.” Linzer also does not discourage her clients from applying to reach schools, but she suggests that those schools not be the first ones that families visit. “I wish I had a nickel for every family that comes in to see me the first time and said, ‘We’ve already seen Harvard and Penn and Princeton, and we loved them,’” Linzer explained. “There are so many great schools
out there. Don’t start at the top of your list. Start with schools that have the general student culture and academics that you think you are aiming for but that numberswise you think you can probably get in.” Linzer also suggests students apply early to schools to which they are likely to be accepted, and which having rolling admissions. “When you start applying, it can be very stress-reducing for students to pick the rolling admissions school or two that they know they can get into, and apply early in the process so that by the time school begins in the fall senior year, they already know they are in somewhere they would be OK going to, even if it’s not their first choice,” she said. Schools with rolling admissions that are popular for Jewish teens from Pittsburgh include the University of Pittsburgh and Indiana University in Bloomington, according to Linzer. It is imperative for college-bound teens to set aside time each week for activities they find “calming and relaxing, and remind them who they are, separate from the admissions process,” stressed Linzer. Those activities are dependent on the individual, but could include yoga, meditation, reading, shooting baskets or just chatting with a friend who is not going through the admissions process. Most of all, Linzer advises that everybody involved keeps things in perspective. “Allow this to be just what it is, and don’t magnify it as whatever school the kid gets into or attends be a statement about the worth of the child,” she said. “It’s not at all. Rather, see it as one piece of teen development. An important piece, but not the only piece. And if you let it take over as the only piece I think it is short-sighted.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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Headlines Gratitude is among the mixed emotions experienced this Thanksgiving — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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hanksgiving in the Steel City took on new meaning for many members of the Jewish community; though the American holiday is thematically embedded with notions of gratitude, such sentiments were heightened in light of the Oct. 27 attack that left 11 Jews dead. The first responders who arrived on scene in the early moments of the tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue building, for instance — and provided constant support for Pittsburgh’s Jewish community in the weeks following — were the subject of gifts and well wishes throughout the holiday weekend. On Tuesday evening, Nov. 20, Leslie Itskowitz joined several volunteers at Congregation Poale Zedeck to make pumpkin and pecan pies for delivery to the Zone 4 Police Station on Northumberland Street. “I want the police and firemen to know that we deeply, deeply appreciate that they risked their lives for Jews,” said Itskowitz, whose backyard is adjacent to the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha property. These first responders “put their own lives in jeopardy and we don’t take that for granted.” The Nov. 20 activity was a continuation of Itskowitz’s prior work, baking and
delivering goods (sometimes as early as 5 a.m.) to the first responders stationed outside of the building since the Oct. 27 attack. “I don’t know what else to do. My only skill is baking and that’s why I had to do it, I had to show them my appreciation and my eternal gratitude,” she said. Students and staff at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh expressed similar appreciation on Wednesday, Nov. 21, at a special schoolwide luncheon attended by Mayor Bill Peduto and members of the Pittsburgh Police Department. “We’ve done this the past few years — invite police officers, firefighters, community helpers to come join us in our festivities. This year it felt very different,” said Rabbi Sam Weinberg, Hillel Academy’s principal. “Over the past month or so we have never felt more embraced and more protected and more loved by the greater Pittsburgh community. That’s truly an incredible feeling. In the history of our people it has never occurred that the government and the people who are here to protect us care so passionately about the Jewish community.” “We went through a pretty rough couple of weeks,” Peduto told those gathered at the luncheon. “These officers are here today to make sure that you understand that you don’t have to be scared, that it’s good to have questions but also to understand that this entire city is here with you.” On Thursday, Nov. 22, representatives of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center
GIFTS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY...
delivered dinner to the first responders at the Zone 4 building. The decision stemmed from “a deep sense of gratitude for the bravery, courage and selflessness that the police department showed for the Jewish community and entire Squirrel Hill community both on the day of the Tree of Life shooting and for the entire period since the tragedy, and for what the police and Fire Department do every day of the year,” said Rabbi Daniel Schon, the Kollel’s associate dean. “It was an opportunity for us to say thank you with action and deed.” Apart from giving thanks, members of the community spent the holiday weekend with family. Paul Kentor, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and lives in New York City, said that returning to Pittsburgh this year presented a mix of emotions. While the first week following the attack was “probably a lot harder than I would have anticipated — you want to be with friends and family in the city — the second week was a bit easier. But being back in Pittsburgh there were constant reminders, like the ‘stronger than hate’ signs and other shows of solidarity, like what people in their shops put up and what the mayor has been saying,” said Kentor. Though it was “heartwarming” to see signs in shop windows, or Jewish stars placed around town, it was difficult to see that they are “fading and look weathered.”
In a post to Jewish Family and Community Services’ website, Dana Gold, the organization’s COO, encouraged families to anticipate a variety of reactions from those returning home for the first time since the Oct. 27 attack. “Try to listen with as little advice or judgment as possible as your young adult processes their feelings. There is no right or wrong way to experience grief and loss. Accept what they say and reassure them that you are there for them through whatever they are experiencing,” wrote Gold. “Whatever you experience with your young adults’ homecoming in the next week, remember that the strength found in family and loved ones is a source of real healing for all of us. Patience, as well as grace and forgiveness for ourselves and one another, will definitely be important ingredients in all our Thanksgiving and holiday preparations.” Stefanie Small, JFCS’ director of Counseling Services and Senior Services, traveled with her family to New York for the holiday weekend. “It was both an escape and a little bit surreal, because I had been so immersed in it for so long. Stepping out of it seemed strange but it was important and necessary,” she said. While those around her were “respectful” and avoided invasive conversation, an event on Shabbat morning at her mother-in-law’s synagogue reminded her of the realities of the Please see Thanksgiving, page 21
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Protecting Our Communities: Environmental Challenges from Fossil Fuel Extraction in SWPA Thursday, December 6 • 7-9 PM Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh • 5738 Forbes Avenue • Pittsburgh PA 15217 Levinson Hall • ENTER ON FORBES AVENUE
TABLING ORGANIZATIONS— GET INVOLVED AT THE EVENT! 350.org ACCAN (Allegheny County Clean Air Now) BCMAC (Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community) Breathe Project Clean Air Council Communities First Food and Water Watch GASP (Group Against Smog and Pollution) League of Women Voters Mom’s Clean Air Force Bend The Arc No Petro PA North Braddock Residents for Our Future Our Children Our Earth Sierra Club Southwest PA Environmental Health Project Sustainable Monroeville Penn Future Marcellus Outreach Butler Re-Imagine Butler County
4 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
• Find out from our elected representatives what’s going on in city, county, state and federal government to combat climate change and promote alternative sustainable energy and other environmental initiatives • Hear about local creative sustainability projects • Learn from experts about the threats from fossil fuels • Hear activists’ stories • Learn more about and get involved in the local environmental movement
Featuring Doug Shields, Food and Water Watch Matt Mehalik, PhD, The Breathe Project Joanne Martin, Re-Imagine Beaver County
Elected Leaders Committed to Speaking PA State Senator Jay Costa PA State Representative Dan Frankel PA State Representative-Elect Summer Lee Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald Allegheny County Councilman Paul Klein Representation from the Office of Mayor William Peduto, City of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger Forest Hills Borough Councilwoman Patty De Marco RSVP: jccpgh.formstack.com/forms/environment For more information: Rabbi Ron Symons rsymons@jccpgh.org 412-339-5395.
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Headlines Squirrel Hill friends celebrate 50 years of kicking off Thanksgiving at Mellon Park — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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ifty years ago, when a group of 13-year-old Jewish boys from Squirrel Hill got together on Thanksgiving Day at Mellon Park, it was for a game of tackle football dubbed the “Turkey Bowl.” Over the years, the game has morphed from tackle to flag to touch, but what has remained constant is the 14 original players who make it a point to gather each year for fun, fellowship and, of course, football. “Now, we are all 62 or 63,” said Gary Sablowsky. “We started when we were bar mitzvah age.” The teams are always the same, with people playing the same position year in and year out, according to Eric Kruman. “We are a bunch on nonathletes, but this is our one day in the sun,” Kruman said. “In the old days, everyone wanted to play every down. Now, people are happy to sit down and take a breather.” The original players have known each other since they were third-grade Cub Scouts, he said. They are all Jewish, and all attended Taylor Allderdice High School. While some still live in Pittsburgh, others
make it a point to come in each year from California, Seattle, Florida, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Players have been added throughout the decades to include children, nieces, nephews and in-laws. “Most of our kids are out of college now,” Kruman said, but many of those kids have been playing in the Mellon Park Turkey Bowl since they were 13 years old as well. “Now, there is a whole new generation of kids who are friends,” he said. “This is all about family and friends and keeping relationships going.” PJC
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
u Friends participate in the 50-year-old “Turkey Bowl” at Mellon Park.
Photo provided by Gary Sablowsky
ik sq`i `l jgxie jyny cer `eai°`l WHEN MOSES DIED, THE :jla` ini enlye mler xe`l jl°didi ‡d JEWS WEPT FOR 30 DAYS. As we near the end of Shloshim and look for a path through darkness, the Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh remembers our beloved friends and neighbors who died at the Tree of Life Synagogue Complex in an unthinkable act of hatred.
Your sun will not go down again, your moon will not depart; for Adonai will be your light for ever, and your days of mourning ended. —Isaiah 60:20
ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA PITTSBURGH
ZOA fights anti-Semitism in the media and on college campuses. We also teach Pittsburgh Public School students to be understanding of others of different races, religions, and ethnic groups through Holocaust education with visits to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Jeffrey L. Pollock, Esq. President
Stuart V. Pavilack Executive Director 412-665-4630 • Pittsburgh@ZOA.org
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Headlines Journalist calls for solidarity during ‘Israel at the Crossroads’ lecture experience and American Jewish experience. People really enjoyed his talk,” Rosenblum said. In the South Hills, Hoffman spoke about Israel’s current political and economic situation to a group of about 25 people. He also highlighted Israeli views of American politics. His magnetic, witty sense of humor was on display throughout the evening. Prior to the lecture, Rosenblum said he expected Hoffman’s speech to be particularly relevant, given the events in Gaza earlier that week. In keeping with Rosenblum’s prediction, Hoffman opened by discussing Israel’s political system, which has been in relative turmoil since the recent Gaza ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies have since called for an early election, following the resignation of Avigdor Lieberman as defense minister. “When I come back, I will be covering this election, which will be very exciting, and in which really anything can happen. Our political system is a bit more complicated than yours in America,” Hoffman said. He went on to point out that 30 political parties exist in Israel, a sharp contrast to the
— LOCAL — By Sam Bojarski | Special to the Chronicle
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il Hoffman, chief political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, didn’t let freezing rain stop him from delivering a lecture at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South hotel. Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum said he even asked Hoffman if he wanted to cancel, as the inclement weather progressed on the evening of Nov. 15. Hoffman declined, choosing to drive six-and-a-half hours from BaltimoreWashington International Airport to deliver his “Israel at the Crossroads” lecture. “I’ve been hydroplaning straight here, but it’s all worth it, because I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to go to Pittsburgh and show the people of Pittsburgh love.’ You have been through so much over here,” Hoffman said as he opened his lecture. Rosenblum, who organized the event on behalf of Chabad of the South Hills and South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh, said he got in touch with Hoffman about coming to Pittsburgh after seeing the journalist speak in Israel this past March. “He related very well to the American
p Gil Hoffman delivers his “Israel at the Crossroads” lecture in Pittsburgh to a group of about 25 people. Photo by Sam Bojarski
Please see Journalist, page 21
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Calendar will be appreciated at chabadsh.com, 412-244-2424 or mussie@chabadsh.com. For easy parking, enjoy a complimentary shuttle from the Dormont Pool parking lot to the festival. See website for more parking options. Project of Chabad of the South Hills and cosponsored by South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh.
q MONDAY, DEC. 3 An evening celebrating the work of Chabad of Squirrel Hill will feature Chassidic rapper Nissim Black who will share his incredible story, The Religious Rapper: A Miraculous Journey Out of the Darkness. Rabbi Yanky and Devorah Leah Davidson will be receiving the Community Lamplighter Award. Wine and cheese reception at 7 p.m., presentation at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Visit chabadpgh. com for cost and tickets.
q SATURDAY, DEC. 1 Music Director Caleb Glickman, Director Rachel Pospisil, the CMU Singers, CMU Chamber Orchestra and soloists will perform a staged oratorio of the opera Judas Maccabeus, by George Frederich Handel from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. There is no charge. Visit facebook.com/events/2169787413236332 for more information. q SUNDAY, DEC. 2 The Senior Social Group will meet from 10 a.m. to noon at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Room 202 for “Let’s talk. What’s on your mind?” Socialize in a friendly environment. There is no charge. Temple Sinai’s Brotherhood brunch from 10 to 11:30 a.m. will feature guest speaker Barbara Burstin on “Historic Battles Royale, with a Pittsburgh Twist”: Reform vs. Zionist; Zionist vs. Zionist; FDR: Love Him or Leave Him; the Jewish Community & Sophie Masloff; and German Jews vs. Eastern European Jews. Throughout the 20th century, those struggles played out locally and nationally. Burstin is on the faculties of the history departments at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, teaching courses on the American Jewish Experience, the U.S. and the Holocaust and the History of Pittsburgh. She has also taught courses within the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and has spoken extensively in the community. There is a charge. Contact Todd Miller at toddprmktg@gmail.com or 412848-1082 for more information and to RSVP or visit templesinaipgh.org/brotherhoodbrunch-guest-speaker-barbara-burstin. Copies of Burstin’s books will be available for purchase by check or cash. The Jewish Women’s Center of Pittsburgh and the Muslim Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Monroeville are co-sponsoring a joint program from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Entitled “Jewish/Muslim Women’s Writings,” the
Chabad of the South Hills will hold a Chanukah lunch for seniors at noon that will include a holiday program, kosher lunch with hot latkes and a presentation by Gallagher Home Health on home health and home care for helping seniors in their homes to stay home safely. Preregistration is suggested at 412-278-2658 or barb@chabadsh.com; there is a $5 suggested donation. The building is wheelchair accessible.
event will celebrate the voices of Muslim and Jewish women. The program will be held at the Muslim Community Center, 233 Seaman Lane in Monroeville. Giant Menorah Lighting in the heart of Squirrel Hill will kick off Chanukah with live music and refreshments at 4:30 p.m. at the corner of Murray Avenue and Beacon Street. The event is sponsored by Chabad of Squirrel Hill. Light the Giant Menorah at Heinz Field before going into the game at 7:30 p.m. outside Gate A, sponsored by Chabad of Pittsburgh. q MONDAY, DEC. 3 Beth El Congregation hosts its First Mondays monthly lunch program with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., featuring guest Bill Greenspan discussing the history of Jewish life in Shanghai and its three distinctive immigration groups. Visit bethelcong.org for more information. Call 412-561-1168 to make a reservation. There is a $6 charge. The annual South Hills Lights Community Chanukah Festival will be held at 5:30 p.m. for the Giant Menorah Lighting & Mega Gelt on the corner of Potomac and Belrose avenues followed at 6 p.m. by a Chanukah Musical Laser Light Show and festivities at the Hollywood Theater, 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont. There will be live music, latkes, doughnuts, prizes and festivities for all ages. There is no charge. RSVPs
The annual Menorah Car and Bike Parade will leave from the parking lot of Rodef Shalom Congregation at 5 p.m., winding through the streets of Shadyside and Squirrel Hill and ending at the Chanukah Festival and Concert at the Waterfront. The festival will include food and activities inside the old Macy’s building. Jewish rapper Nissim Black will perform. Waterfront festivities will begin at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. Visit ChabadPGH.com for the parade route and more information. q THURSDAY, DEC. 6 Mayor Bill Peduto will light the giant menorah at 5 p.m. on the City-County Building Portico, followed by live music, donuts and chocolate gelt. q SATURDAY, DEC. 8 South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh will hold the South Hills 7th Night Chanukah Celebration and Menorah Lighting from 5:45 to 9 p.m. at the South Hills Jewish Community Center, 345 Kane Blvd. The evening will include dinner and activities for the family. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/chanukah18 for more information. Shalom Pittsburgh, a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, will hold the 13th annual Vodka Latke from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at HIP at the Flashlight Factory, 831 West North Ave., for young adults (22-45). Contact Meryl Franzos at mfranzos@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5204 for more information or visit jfedpgh.org/vodka-latke for registration and pricing information.
Chabad of the South Hills at 1701 McFarland Road will offer Kids in the Kitchen: International Kosher Cooking from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for ages 3-11; 3-year-olds must be accompanied by a parent, grandparent or caregiver. Each class includes the cooking segment, fun and hands-on learning on various Jewish topics and one-on-one Hebrew AlefBet and reading, catered to each child’s level. Register before Nov. 30 at chabadsh.com/jkc. Contact mussie@chabadsh.com or412-3442424 for more information. There is a charge. q SUNDAY, DEC. 16 Temple Emanuel welcomes Phil Terman for its Bagel Bites & Brunch at 10:30 a.m. Terman is a Jewish poet and professor at Clarion University. His latest poetry collection is “Our Portion: New and Selected Poems.” His works, including two of his popular collections, “The Torah Garden” and “Rabbis of the Air,” are filled with Jewish themes. Most recently, his work “Leaves from Aleppo” was produced onstage at the City of Asylum on the North Shore. The event is free, but RSVPs are requested at templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org. Call 412-279-7600 for more information. The Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh will welcome local genealogist and historian Tammy Hepps of HomesteadHebrews.com to the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center. She will present her talk “Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch,” which reviews the possibilities of internet-based genealogical research. The presentation will begin at 10:30 a.m. to noon with a brief introduction by a member of the JGS leadership team with time at the end for questions and JGS business. Refreshments will be served. q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19 Squirrel Hill AARP invites all to come and join in for an afternoon of companionship and fun at 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon St., at the corner of Shady Avenue. Following the business meeting, entertainment will be provided by Julie Harris, singer/guitarist of Pittsburgh. Julie will entertain with a mixture of show tunes and pop standards. The chapter is requesting all to bring a new, unwrapped toy, which will be donated to patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Latkes and punch will be served; there will be several door prizes. Contact Marcia Kramer, president, at 412-731-3338 for more information. PJC
q SUNDAY, DEC. 2 The Young Adults (22-45) will hold an I-Volunteer event to make welcome baskets for Ronald McDonald House while watching the Steelers game at Jewish Residential Services Goldberg House from 1 to 4 p.m. I-Volunteer is a collaboration organized by the Jewish Federation’s Volunteer Center. The Friendship Circle partners with Shalom Pittsburgh, Repair the World and Moishe House to encourage young adults of all abilities to combine entertainment with community service in a comfortable social setting. Together, they perform meaningful work within the Pittsburgh community. Contact David Chudnow at dchudnow@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5209 for more information.
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>> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.
q TUESDAY, DEC. 4
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Headlines What Airbnb’s decision to delete West Bank listings will mean for Israel’s settlements — WORLD — By Ben Sales | JTA
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he guesthouse, advertised as “Tranquility of the Valley,” boasts a hot tub, a patio that faces west toward the setting sun and picturesque views of farmland and hills. It’s available at $134 per night on Airbnb. For now. That will change soon as this rental listing, along with some 200 others, will be removed from Airbnb, the short-term apartment rental website. After two years of protests from pro-Palestinian activists, the company announced last week that it will be taking down all of its listings in Israeli West Bank settlements. But Moriya Shapira, who owns the northern West Bank guesthouse in the settlement of Shiloh, isn’t too worried about money. While she knows she will lose business, Shapira hopes to make it up by advertising on other websites and networks popular with Israeli tourists looking for a getaway. What concerns her is the ideological blow that she says settlers like her have suffered at the hands of a tech company with lofty ideals. “When we registered to Airbnb, they
wrote ‘it’s a community of all the world, everyone hosts each other, everyone loves each other,’” Shapira said. “And suddenly they’re saying ‘no, you cannot host, you are not part of it.’” Airbnb’s decision will impact the modest business of settlement tourism, but stakeholders across the ideological spectrum cast the debate Nati Rom, founder of the anti-Israel boycott mostly in ideological p organization Lev Haolam, walks next to an Airbnb terms. For the movement apartment located in an outpost near the West Bank seeking to end Israel’s Jewish settlement of Shiloh. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) occupation of the West Bank, and for those who want to boycott settlements or Israel as a contributing to serious human rights abuse.” When protests against Airbnb’s settlement whole, the decision is a significant victory. For the Israeli government and other listings began in 2016, the company did not supporters of settlements, it’s a call to arms. take action against the rentals. Along with “We found that the settlement enterprise Human Rights Watch, a campaign under involves severe violations of human rights,” the name Airbnb: Say No to Stolen Homes said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine pushed Airbnb to remove the settlement listdirector for Human Rights Watch, which ings through public protests and a petition has been asking Airbnb to remove the settle- delivered to its offices in San Francisco. ment listings since 2016. “There’s no way a But leaders of the Stolen Homes business can operate in a settlement without campaign, which included a coalition of pro-
We want to acknowledge our community’s continual process of healing after the tragedy on October 27. May the goodness and kindness of our work shine as a tribute to our community’s strength and caring.
Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist groups, did not meet with managers of Airbnb. Shakir said that Human Rights Watch did speak with Airbnb, but not since a videoconference in late August. Human Rights Watch did communicate with Airbnb after the company put out its statement. “We would come out, and we have video of them very graciously taking the petition in San Francisco, and we did try to contact them and talk to them directly,” said Granate Kim, communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that backs the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel, and part of the Stolen Homes coalition. “But that isn’t something they were interested in doing at a higher-up level with us.” The statement Airbnb released acknowledges that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a contentious issue and says the company consulted with experts on the conflict. The statement names a couple of concerns with the listings in settlements, including that critics say “companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced” and that listings in settlements may be “contributing to existing human suffering.” Please see Airbnb, page 21
HAPPY CHANUKAH! Wishing you eight days of love and warmth.
We continue our work in memory of the lives we l�t. May their memories be a blessing. Joyce Fienberg • Richard Gottfried • Rose Mallinger Jerry Rabinowitz • Cecil Rosenthal • David Rosenthal Bernice Simon • Sylvan Simon • Daniel Stein Melvin Wax • Irving Younger
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Headlines The co-founder of the Women’s March wants Linda Sarsour, other leaders to step down — NATIONAL — By Ben Sales | JTA
T
eresa Shook says she likes to work “behind the scenes.” But last week, the woman who co-founded the Women’s March thrust herself front and center by calling for its leadership to step down. Shook, a grandmother from the Hawaiian town of Hana, posted the Facebook event that became the January 2017 Women’s March mass protest. But after controversy resurfaced about ties between Tamika Mallory, a Women’s March p The Women’s March leaders, from left, Carmen Perez, Tamika Mallory, Bob co-chair, and Louis Farrakhan, the virulent Bland and Linda Sarsour on stage at the BET’s Social Awards at Tyler Perry Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET anti-Semite who leads the Nation of Islam, Studio in Atlanta in February. Shook called on the progressive movement’s leadership to step down. Another co-chair groups that espouse these racist, hateful beliefs.” touch with Bland, but did not reach out privately “They’ve lost the trust of the commu- to the co-chairs before posting her message. of the Women’s March is Linda Sarsour, the “I have had enough communication nity, ” Shook, a retired attorney, said. “People Palestinian-American liberal activist who with them on other matters,” Shook said. don’t feel safe to speak their minds without has become a divisive figure in the Jewish “Basically, the statement is, ‘We’re working on being attacked. ” community due to her anti-Israel activism. it, we’ll change it and make it better,’ and the Since 2017, Shook has receded from the Shook wrote on Facebook that Mallory and action doesn’t change. I didn’t feel the need to leadership of the movement, staying involved Sarsour, along with co-chairs Carmen Perez and Bob Bland, “have allowed anti-Semitism, locally in Hawaii. She plans to attend the talk to them. I felt I had hit a dead end.” Controversy over Mallory and Farrakhan anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist 2019 Women’s March in January but does first flared in March, and Shook said she rhetoric to become a part of the platform not expect to speak from the podium. JCtheir ReSound Rechargeable 9:42 AM said Pageshe 1 has stayed in intermittent Shook has been worried about anti-Semitism in by refusal to separateFIN_Eartique themselves 11/12/18 from
the movement for a while. But she said she did not want to fracture the movement. She decided to speak out after actress Alyssa Milano said she would not speak at the march due to concerns over anti-Semitism. “They’ve done great work, but we have to be inclusive and we have to get rid of the hate speech,” Shook said. Sarsour has responded with a mix of apologetic and defiant messages. Last week, she dismissed Shook’s criticism and demeaned her role in the movement. “You put thousands and thousands of hours in fundraising, organizing, envisioning, building and strategizing for a movement that inspires the entire world and you are still at it two years later — and the person who makes the demands and wants credit is the one who made the Facebook event,” Sarsour wrote. Then, Sarsour posted an apology for not taking concerns of anti-Semitism more seriously. “We should have been faster and clearer in helping people understand our values and our commitment to fighting anti-semitism. We regret that,” the statement said. “Every member of our movement matters to us — including our incredible Jewish and LGBTQ members. We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused, but we see you, we love you, and we are fighting with you.” PJC
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Headlines Austria, where far right is part of government, takes a leading role in Europe’s fight against anti-Semitism — WORLD — By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA
L
ess than one year after the election of Sebastian Kurz as Austria’s leader, he has taken his government to the forefront of the fight against Europe’s spiraling anti-Semitism problem. Frequently criticized for failing to own up to Nazi persecution, Austria with Kurz as chancellor has become an international hub for top-level conferences and symposia on the issue. It began with February’s five-day “An End to Anti-Semitism� conference at the University of Vienna. In October, the National Student Union held a conference on anti-Semitism. This month, Kurz invited survivors to parliament for a commemoration of Kristallnacht’s 80th anniversary. And this week the effort is culminating with two high-level events held in the framework of Austria’s rotating presidency of the European Union. The European Jewish Congress and American Jewish Committee will be attending at least one of the two events. “There have been a lot of conferences on anti-Semitism in Vienna recently,� said Benjamin Hess, president of the
Jewish Austrian Student Association, who welcomed the government’s interest in the subject. “For many, many years it wasn’t something that we spoke about.� But if Jews and others are grateful for Kurz’s war on anti-Semitism, they are also wary of his ruling party’s governing alliance with the far-right Freedom Party, which a former SS soldier founded in 1949. Critics suggest that the conferences and statements are a fig leaf over the growing normalization of xenophobic and anti-Semitic politics in Austria and Europe at large. This criticism, coinciding with a steady stream of scandals over xenophobia and Nazi glorification by Freedom Party leaders, is creating challenges for Israel and Jewish organizations. They want to keep Kurz as an important ally without legitimizing his coalition partners. If Kurz “wants to fight anti-Semitism, the best thing for the chancellor to do is to break the alliance he has with the Freedom Party,� said Benjamin Abtan, the France-born president of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement, who is Jewish. “You cannot fight anti-Semitism and make an alliance with the Freedom Party.� Abtan said it would be a “serious mistake� for Jewish groups to attend the events opposing anti-Semitism unless they take the opportunity to call on Kurz to jettison the Freedom Party.
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Last week’s events, Abtan said, underline how Jewish groups, Israel and the European Union all reacted far more “firmly� in 2000, when the Freedom Party first joined the coalition in Austria, than the second time around. “It shows a moral collapse in Europe before the far-right,� he said. The American Jewish Committee and the European Jewish Congress have not replied to a question on whether their top leaders intend to call on Kurz to drop the Freedom Party when they attend events with him this week. David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, and Moshe Kantor, president of the European group, would join Kurz at an event Nov. 20 in Vienna. Both organizations said they did not attend any event featuring a Freedom Party representative. They were scheduled to be on hand for a conference with the chancellor titled “Europe beyond anti-Semitism and antiZionism — securing Jewish life in Europe.� According to a European Jewish Congress document, the Nov. 20 event, titled “European values, rule of law, security,� was organized by the Austrian Interior Ministry, which is headed by Herbert Kickl, the Freedom Party’s previous secretary general. The second one is organized by the Austrian
Please see Austria, page 11
This week in Israeli history was a member of the underground Lehi (the Stern Gang) in the 1940s and served as the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office under Menachem Begin in the late 1970s, dies at age 75 one day after collapsing during a chess game in Tel Aviv.
— WORLD — Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Nov. 30, 1947 — Jews attacked in Arab cities
The U.N. partition vote the previous day not only sparks violence between Jews and Arabs in the British Mandate of Palestine — the first phase of Israel’s War of Independence — but also leads to riots against Jewish communities in such cities as Damascus, Aleppo, Cairo, Beirut and Aden.
Dec. 1, 1973 — David Ben-Gurion dies
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Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, dies at the Tel HaShomerSheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv at age 87 a few weeks after suffering a stroke. Born David Gruen, he made aliyah from Poland in 1906 and rose to lead the Jewish Agency and the birth of the modern state of Israel.
Dec. 2, 2010 — Carmel fire breaks out
Israel’s deadliest forest fire begins in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa when a teenager discards a piece of charcoal from a water pipe outside the Druze village of Usfiyye. The fire consumes more than 8,000 acres and 5 million trees in four days and kills 44 people.
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Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2018 and features an Interior Ministry official, though she belongs to Kurz’s People’s Party and not the Freedom Party. Kurz “has laudably made it a priority of his country, and of its current EU presidency, to fight anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, strengthen Jewish life in Europe and deepen ties with Israel,� Harris said. He called the Freedom Party “problematic,� adding that AJC has not met with its officials. “During this memorial year, we are particularly aware of our historic responsibility,� Kurz told reporters in July. “We strongly condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, as well as any form of downplaying or denial of the Holocaust.� He also said, during a joint appearance with Iran’s president, that it is “absolutely unacceptable� to question Israel’s right to exist or call for its destruction. The Jewish community in Vienna has pursued a policy of embracing Kurz and his People’s Party while refusing to engage in direct ties with the Freedom Party. The European Jewish Congress supports this position, a spokesperson for the group said. “When the leadership of any nation, let alone that holding the European Council
Dec. 3, 1995 — Begin adviser dies
Matityahu Shmulevitz, who
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Dec. 4, 2004 — Shinui leaves government Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismisses five Shinui lawmakers from his Cabinet because of the secular party’s opposition to his proposed national budget. Shinui, whose name means “change,� was led by TV personality Tommy Lapid and was the third-largest party in the Knesset with 15 seats after the 2003 elections.
Dec. 5, 1897 — Gershom Scholem is born
Gershom (Gerhard) Scholem is born in Berlin to an assimilated Jewish family. A Zionist from a young age, he makes aliyah in 1923, teaches at Hebrew University and becomes the pre-eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism.
Dec. 6, 1867 — Leo Motzkin is born
Leo Motzkin, the chairman of the Zionist Executive from 1925 to 1933, is born to a traditional Jewish family in what is now Brovary, Ukraine. Motzkin attends the First Zionist Congress in 1897 and advocates the Basel Program for a Jewish state.  PJC
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Headlines Austria: Continued from page 10
presidency, wants to hold a genuine and holistic attempt to assist the fight against anti-Semitism, it should be supported and applauded by all,” the spokesperson said. Hans Breuer, an Austrian-Jewish activist helping immigrants from the Middle East, is critical of the leaders of major Jewish organizations who work with Kurz. “These Jews are the most important camouflage of Austria’s proto-fascists,” he said. “They deliver to the far-right coalition of Kurz and the Freedom Party a seal of approval.” Kurz is “trying to appease Jewish people and to make a strong move to kosherize the Freedom Party,” said Marta Halpert, editor in chief of the Das Jüdische Echo Jewish paper. The conferences on anti-Semitism, she said, “is one of those moves.” If the Freedom Party weren’t in government, “I’m not sure how many of these conferences we would have had,” said Hess, the student leader. In February, activists from the Jewish Austrian Student Association unfurled a banner reading “Mr. Kurz! Your government is not kosher!” during an address by Education Minister Heinz Fassmann at the European Jewish Congress’ “An End to Anti-Semitism” conference in Vienna. The activists were kicked out of the room. The association represents 2,500 young Jews in a country with 8,000 to 17,000 Jews,
depending on how the number is counted. Freedom Party leaders have rejected accusations of anti-Semitism. The party’s leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, said last year that anti-Semites are “not welcome” in its ranks. Jews are, though. One of them, David Lasar, is currently a Freedom Party lawmaker. Another, Peter Sichrovsky, served as the party’s general secretary in 2000-02. “There is a serious anti-Semitic problem from the right wing,” Sichrovsky said earlier this month on a talk show on the Puls4 television station. “Unfortunately, the day-to-day threat comes from the radicals in your religious community,” he told a Muslim panelist. Several scandals involving prominent members of the Freedom Party, however, have not helped shake off its xenophobic image. Earlier this year, the Austrian media exposed the prevalence of anti-Semitic limericks and Holocaust jokes in university fraternities affiliated with the Freedom Party, forcing a former fraternity and Freedom Party official, Udo Landbauer, to resign his government post. In July, a regional Freedom Party politician in Austria defended a plan by party members to limit access to kosher meat, conditioning its sale on permits that would be issued individually to observant Jews. Strache, who is not known for his animal rights activism, later that month called for a ban on Muslim and Jewish ritual slaughter for meat. Last year, Freedom Party lawmakers declined to stand in parliament during a moment of silence for Holocaust victims.
p Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz speaks to an Israeli Holocaust survivor from Austria in Jerusalem in June.
Photo by Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images
These incidents are occurring amid an increase in anti-Semitic violence toward Jews in Austria, much of it by Muslims. In parallel, Freedom Party officials have made controversial statements about immigrants and Muslims. Kickl, the interior minister, said this year that he would “concentrate” asylum seekers, in what his critics said featured echoes of Nazi terminology. Other Freedom Party leaders have been caught sharing Nazi imagery and visiting Nazi pilgrimage sites. These phenomena have long been a trademark of the Freedom Party despite Strache’s attempts to soften the party’s reputation as a hate group, which hardened under the firebrand and former party leader Jorg Haider. Under Strache, the party has shifted its focus from anti-Semitism to criticism of Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Despite the controversy they generate and the problems they pose for the government’s relations with Jews and other groups, the Freedom Party and the far-right in general
have been accepted increasingly in recent years, according to Abtan. He noted the “firm” reaction by the European Union, Jewish groups and Israel in 2000, when the Freedom Party briefly entered the governing coalition for the first time. The EU imposed sanctions on Austria because of this in 2000, but not this year. It’s an understandable abstention for the beleaguered bloc, whose own growing unpopularity is fueling far-right revivals from east to west. EU officials worry that action on Austria could backfire and trigger a showdown with Italy, whose government also has a far-right party, and rightist stalwarts like Hungary, Poland and Romania. Israel, for its part, recalled its ambassador from Austria in 2000, but not this year. In September, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu praised Kurz’s pro-Israel and anti-racist actions in a statement that did not mention the Freedom Party. In 2000, the Conference of European Rabbis protested the Freedom Party’s entering the government by boycotting Austria, moving its scheduled conference to Slovakia at the last minute. But major Jewish groups are now attending events hosted by a ministry controlled by that party. Asked whether Jewish groups should boycott Austria’s government, Breuer, the Jewish activist working with immigrants, said: “No, it’s no use.” With nationalists in power in the United States, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Israel and Russia, he said, “you’ll end up boycotting most of the world.” PJC
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Headlines — WORLD — US not delaying peace plan, ambassador says The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, denied reports that the Trump administration is delaying the rollout of its peace plan due to the recent upheaval in Israel’s government. Friedman also called reports about a high-level meeting last week that included President Donald Trump to discuss the timing of the peace plan “wildly inaccurate” in a statement released Monday that was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Israel’s website. Those in attendance at last week’s Oval Office meeting with Trump included Friedman, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt — the administration’s team assembling the peace plan — as well as Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to the statement. Friedman called it a “very productive meeting.” “I would like to reaffirm that the United States remains committed to sharing its vision for peace with Israel, the Palestinians and other regional and international stakeholders at the appropriate time,” Friedman said in the statement. “Our timing, our strategy and our messaging is and will be entirely our own. We intend to release the President’s vision when the Administration concludes that we
have maximized its potential for acceptance, execution and implementation.” U.S. officials are said to be concerned about releasing a peace plan during an election season in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government coalition currently has a narrow one-seat majority following the defection of the Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Liberman, who stepped down as defense minister over a cease-fire with Palestinian terrorist groups firing rockets into southern Israel. Friedman said he, Kushner and Greenblatt “are of one mind in terms of how best to proceed.” The Trump administration has never given a hard date for the announcement of the peace plan, though Trump said earlier this year that he hoped to release it early next year. The Palestinians have already said they would reject the plan, though no details about it have been made publicly available. Man tries to run down Jews leaving Los Angeles synagogue Los Angeles police arrested a man who allegedly attempted to run over two people outside of an area synagogue. Police are investigating last weekend’s incident as a possible hate crime, the NBC Los Angeles affiliate reported. A security camera video shows the driver trying to run down the two men leaving the Bais Yehuda Shul, and then reversing and trying to hit them again, CBS LA reported. The victims wore clothing typically worn by
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Orthodox Jews on Shabbat. The driver also reportedly shouted anti-Semitic epithets at them. He was stopped when his car ran a stop sign and slammed into another vehicle. “Why he chose us? Probably because of the yarmulkes on our heads,” one of the victims told CBS. The alleged attacker has been identified as Mohammed Mohammed, 32. He was held on $55,000 bail and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle. El Al to compensate passengers aboard flight diverted for Shabbat El Al will compensate the 400 passengers on the Tel Aviv-bound flight that was forced to divert in order to allow Sabbath-observant passengers to get off the plane. Each passenger will receive a free roundtrip ticket to the European destination of their choice, the airline announced Monday. The airline also issued a clarification of a previous statement about violence toward the flight crew on the plane in order to stave off a threatened boycott of the airline by the haredi Orthodox community. The flight, which left New York more than five hours late on Nov. 15, was diverted midflight to Athens, where the Shabbat observers disembarked and spent Saturday in a hotel near the airport. The rest of the passengers boarded an Israir plane several hours later and returned to Tel Aviv, since El Al does not fly on Shabbat. The flight had been delayed due to bad
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weather. Dozens of passengers had demanded that the plane return to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport so they could disembark, but instead the plane took off. Several accounts on social media and in blog posts have offered differing accounts of what occurred on the flight. It is unclear whether passengers, both religious and non-Sabbath observant, were violent toward the crew. The new statement said that “similar to the clarification on Nov. 19, the company did not place blame on the secular, religious or haredi Orthodox communities for the reported events.” “El Al does not distinguish between its customers on the basis of sector, gender or nationality,” the statement said. On Monday, shortly after the release of the statement, Rabbi Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, who had been on the flight and threatened El Al CEO Gonen Ussishkin with the boycott if he did not apologize to the haredi community for saying they were violent on the flight, reportedly was seen boarding an El Al flight. Sorotzkin, the head of the Beit Shemeshbased Ateres Shlomo yeshiva network, had publicly cut up his El Al frequent flier card at Ben Gurion Airport. Meanwhile, a security official for El Al, a former Shin Bet official, and two others were arrested Monday on suspicion of smuggling large amounts of cocaine into Israel on El Al planes as part of an international drug-smuggling network. It was described during a court hearing as a “large and wide-ranging affair,” The Times of Israel reported. PJC
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 13
Life & Culture Chanukah with a Southern accent — FOOD — By Keri White | Special to the Chronicle
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have written in other places about my husband’s heritage as a Southern Jew, raised in Arkansas. This menu reflects his family background and also makes things pretty simple for the Chanukah hosts. Before you recoil at the idea of turkey so soon after Thanksgiving, let me assure you that this is as far from the roast bird as you can possibly imagine. I served this at a recent gathering, and one guest thought it was pork. I will presume that most of us have a “go-to” latke recipe, so this menu rounds out the rest of the Chanukah meal and keeps the stovetop free for the sizzling potato pancakes. Photo by LarisaBlinova/iStockphoto.com
Pulled Turkey You can figure about a half-pound per person for portions; I roasted a 10-pound breast because I was feeding a crowd of 20, but you can select any size bird you wish. The cooking time will still be at least 5 hours. And rejoice if you have leftovers — they are wonderful tossed in salads or tacos, and make a fabulous base for a turkey pot pie or shepherd’s pie. Serve this with sandwich rolls and barbecue Please see Food, page 15
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Life & Culture Food: Continued from page 14
sauce; it’s a simple, casual crowd pleaser. Slow roasting the turkey upside down ensures a juicy result with no drying. 1 ¼ 1 1 2 1 1
turkey breast cup vegetable oil tablespoon garlic powder tablespoon salt tablespoons crushed garlic cup white wine cup chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
Heat your oven to 275 degrees. In a large roasting pan with a cover, place the turkey upside down. Rub oil and seasonings evenly over the meat, and pour wine and water into the bottom of the pan. Cover the turkey, and place it in the oven for about 6 hours, checking periodically and basting it with juices. When the turkey is fork tender (when it falls apart when poked with a fork), it’s done. Remove it from the heat, let rest for about 15 minutes, and pull it apart with two forks. Be sure to remove any bones and skin, just leaving the meat in the pan. Classic Cole Slaw Serves eight to 10
This is a typical version of Southern slaw. It looks pretty with a mixture of red and green cabbage, but you can use whatever you have on hand. It keeps well for several days, so get a head start on the holiday and do this ahead of time.
Coconut Loaf Cake This pareve cake is a riff on my classic pound cake. Coconut cake is a Southern baker’s mainstay, but it generally is a triple-layer extravaganza with icing and flaked coconut on top. The version here is simpler, but you can jazz it up with drizzled dark chocolate, Nutella, toasted coconut, sorbet, fruit compote or pureed berries. It is also lovely with tea or coffee as an afternoon snack. ½ cup coconut manna (also called “coconut butter”) ½ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled 1 1/3 cups sugar 2½ cups flour ½ teaspoon baking powder Pinch salt 3 eggs ½ cup coconut milk or coconut water 1/3 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut 1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a standard loaf pan. Mix the coconut manna with the melted coconut oil. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat on low until the wet and dry ingredients are just blended. Increase the speed to medium until the batter is a uniform texture. It will be rather thick and dough-like. Scrape the batter into a prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes until done (when the top is golden brown, the cake springs back when poked and the toothpick comes out of the center clean). If the top is browning too quickly, cover it with foil for the bulk of the baking time and, if necessary, lower the heat to 325 degrees and leave the cake in the oven 10 minutes longer. Cool and serve as desired. PJC Keri White is the food columnist for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
Photo by La_vanda/iStockphoto.com
½ head green cabbage ½ head red cabbage 1 small onion 5 carrots 1 bunch parsley 2/3 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons pickle juice A few generous pinches salt (to taste) Lots of fresh ground pepper
Shred the vegetables using a Cuisinart or a grater or slice them with a sharp knife. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate overnight if possible.
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NOVEMBER 30, 2018 15
Opinion Pittsburgh and Mumbai — MY TAKE — By Jim Busis
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his week marks both the one-month anniversary of the anti-Semitic terrorist attack on the worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue building and the 10-year anniversary of the anti-Semitic terrorist attack on Jews in Mumbai, India. Mumbai has been on my mind ever since that awful Saturday morning one month ago. For me, the two events are inextricably tied together in the unhealthy mélange of irrational hatred of Jews and of Israel that comingle so easily in the far-right and the far-left.
For those who dimly remember the events that took place in Mumbai 10 years ago here is a brief recap. In August 1947, as the British were preparing to leave their mandate of Palestine and partition it into a Jewish and an Arab state, the British left their colony of India and partitioned it into two states, secular India and Muslim Pakistan. In the communal violence and war between India and Pakistan which followed, more than 1 million people were killed and 15 million became refugees. Most importantly for the current state of affairs, the two states of Jammu and Kashmir were effectively partitioned between India and Pakistan during the war and have remained an unresolved issue ever since. In the years since, India and Pakistan have fought three more wars; and in between these
p An AJC delegation lights yahrzeit candles at Mumbai’s Chabad House in 2010, two years after the terror attack.
Photo by Jim Busis.
wars the Pakistani government and military have continued the conflict by either actively supporting or turning a blind eye to terrorist
organizations that have conducted attacks not only in Jammu and Kashmir but in other parts of India as well. On Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, 10 highly trained men from the Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkare-Taiba landed in Mumbai by sea and split into teams to attack a variety of pre-selected targets. It wasn’t until three days later that the last terrorist was killed or captured, leaving behind at least 165 dead and 300 wounded. All the terrorists’ targets were well known and crowded locales in Mumbai, with one exception: the Chabad House. Intercepted radio transmissions from the terrorists’ handlers in Pakistan revealed that they believed the lives of Jews were Please see Mumbai, page 22
Reflections on Tragedy
Submissions offer glimpse of grieving community
Editor’s Note: In the days and weeks following the Oct. 27 murder of 11 congregants of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Congregation Dor Hadash and New Light Congregation, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle received dozens of reflections from readers right here in the Steel City and around the world. Some of the submissions took the form of poetry, some were more in the style of op-eds and others were deeply personal dialogues, capturing writers’ emotions in the moment as they processed the enormity of the tragedy. With the passage of 30 days, marking the conclusion of the traditional shloshim period that follows the burial of loved ones, the Chronicle is offering a selection of the responses that poured in. May the memories of the lost be for a blessing. PJC
Rising from the ashes — countering anti-Semitism and hatred with community, love By Jessica Daninhirsch
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or those of you that don’t know me, my name is Jessica Daninhirsch. I am a freshman at North Allegheny. For those of you that do know me, you probably know how often I talk about my Jewish identity. On Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11:16 a.m., I received a text from my youth organization’s chapter president. She wanted to make sure our families were staying safe because there was an active shooter in a Squirrel Hill synagogue. At first I took this information with a grain of salt. It was awful what was happening. But I didn’t realize how awful just yet. Throughout the entire day, I received texts from my friends, Jewish and non-Jewish, asking if I was OK. I texted my friends who live in Squirrel Hill as well to make sure they were OK. I have so many friends in Squirrel Hill. My best friend lives on the same street as the synagogue. Thankfully she and her family were home and safe at the time. Word traveled extremely fast. Our friends in Israel even contacted us. The day began to unravel more and more. I could not believe this was happening. I was physically shaking all day. Squirrel Hill is my second home. I’m there all the time. If you have ever been to Squirrel Hill, you probably know that everyone who lives there is like one big family. It’s such a tight-knit community, and everyone loves and cares for their neighbors, no matter their race, religion, political stance or anything else. It’s peaceful and quiet, but vibrant. Often you may see signs
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that say “No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor” in three different languages. I have been to many events at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagogue. I was there only a few weeks ago for some family friends’ 50th wedding anniversary, in the basement/sanctuary where some of the fatalities occurred. My parents even got married at that synagogue. It’s right down the street from my camp, Chatham University and many of my friends’ and family friends’ homes. I’m going to introduce a term called “Jewish geography.” This is when Jews in a certain area know many other Jews in the area. They have many connections to almost everyone. They say there are only six degrees of separation, but for Jews, it’s more like two degrees. My family had connections to several of the victims. One of the victims was the father of my mother’s childhood best friend. That is how close to home this tragedy hit. You hear about these things all the time in the news, and you always feel sympathetic for the people affected or nearby. But you never truly understand just how horrible it is until it happens in your own backyard. Especially when targeted at your own religious community. This tragedy was clearly a blatant act of anti-Semitism. Jews have always been hated; just look at World War II. But we are just like you. We believe in what we believe in, and you believe in what you believe in. When will enough be enough? It has been about 80 years since the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism is supposed to be a thing of the past, right? Well why isn’t it?
Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in our society today. As I said before, I love to talk about my Jewish identity. It’s what makes me unique. However on that Saturday, I actually was afraid to express my Judaism. This was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in American history. I have never felt afraid to express my identity in my entire life, and I pray that I will never have to again. Then there is the topic of gun control. Pittsburgh is in general one of the safest cities in the country. I have seen a lot of people post things where they scratch out “thoughts and prayers,” and replace it with policy and change. Well, guess what? Just simply posting that and doing nothing else is basically the same as just thoughts and prayers. It does not do much help unless people actually vote. If you want your post to come true, that is the only way. However, in my view, gun control during the Squirrel Hill shooting was not talked about enough. On the news, our very own president had the audacity to blame the synagogue. He said that if the synagogue had armed security guards, this tragedy would not have happened. None of that is true. You cannot blame the victim. He said nothing else about gun control or anti-Semitism. A synagogue is a place of worship and community, not violence and fear. Guns do not have a place there. Congregants often feel safe in a synagogue; they never expected any of this to happen. Currently, many people are taking precautions. If you don’t listen to me today, I just ask you to listen to what former President Barack Obama said: “All of us have to fight the rise of anti-Semitism and hateful rhetoric against those who look, love or pray differently. And we have to stop making it so easy for those who want to harm the innocent to get their hands on a gun.” On Sunday, Oct. 28, my family and I attended a vigil at our synagogue, Temple Ohav Shalom. We had two armed guards, one of whom is a member of the Jewish community. I was not afraid to go to my temple though. My family has been a member there for almost 18 years. It’s my home. I was pleased to see almost the entire sanctuary filled with people. Later that day, my family and I attended
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the interfaith vigil at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. We got there an hour early and already the hall was filling fast with thousands of people. Many had to stand along the sides or in the lobby. People even had to stand outside on the lawn in the rain. It was heartwarming to see the literal overflow of support from our community and city for their neighbors. Many city officials and members of the clergy (including my rabbi) were there, and some gave inspiring messages of hope and love. The president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, sent in a video showing his support. They even projected a flag of Israel next to the flag of America, along with the message, “We support you — Pittsburgh!” on the Western Wall, the holiest spot in Jerusalem. We cannot and will not forget these names: Joyce Fienberg, 75. Richard Gottfried, 65. Rose Mallinger, 97. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66. Brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, 59 and 54. Husband and wife Bernice and Sylvan Simon, 84 and 86. Daniel Stein, 71. Melvin Wax, 88. Irving Younger, 69. Eleven people. One more than a minyan. A minyan is a group of 10 men or women above b’nai mitzvah age required to complete a worship service or Torah study. These innocent congregants were shot and killed in a senseless act of violence simply because they were Jewish. It’s not like they were doing any harm. They were doing what they always do. Going to shul on Shabbat. Shabbat. The holy day. Although this event was a terrible and tragic act of pure hatred, it has brought our community closer together. We are stronger now. We are the Steel City. You can’t break a city made of steel. Melvin Wax was the father of my mother’s childhood best friend. Their families were always close, and they still are to this day. Mr. Wax went to shul at Tree of Life every single week. When news of the shootings began, his daughter (my mom’s best friend) could not get in touch with him. She was terrified. They could not find him at any of the hospitals to which the victims were taken. The press withheld portions of the news for so long. Please see Rising, page 24
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Reflections on Tragedy Tree of Life massacre a call to unity By Michael Laitman
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t is time to unite above our differences and bow our heads, not only for the 11 Tree of Life victims, their families and friends, but to contemplate on why such a heinous anti-Semitic hate crime took place, and what we can do to prevent future attacks. While the ADL called the shooting “likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States,” hate crimes in general were recorded as being the highest in more than a decade in 2017, with a 12 percent increase in the United States. Moreover, Jews accounted for around 54 percent of those hate crimes, despite being just 2 percent of the U.S. population. Therefore, while we unite and pray for the victims’ families and friends, we need to understand that we are reacting to a symptom of an intensifying problem. In order to solve the problem at its root and not wait for mass shootings and other crises to temporarily unite us, we need to recognize the unity of the Jewish people as a force capable of solving anti-Semitism. When the Jewish people unite above their differences, love covers hatred, peace covers conflict, happiness covers all the emptiness in the world, and as if miraculously, from within people feel a new kind of fulfillment in their
lives. And when people are fulfilled, thoughts to eliminate an entire race stop popping into their minds. How does this all work? How is the unity of the Jewish people a solution to anti-Semitism? Historically, Jews are a living testament of resilience. Throughout history we have been persecuted by Romans, the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian Empire of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and of course, Hitler, and yet we have survived. Modern-day challenges will also not destroy us unless we sit passively by and fail to use this event in Pittsburgh as a wake-up call. To answer the call and make sure that such slaughter of Jews never happens again, we first need to understand who we are, why we are here, and what is our role and purpose on this planet. Only then will we be able to comprehend why we go through so many tribulations and struggles, and only then can we discover how to change to a positive course. The originators of our nation came from different tribes all over Babylon and the near east. The only thing that held them together was their belief that Abraham’s tenet of mercy and love of others was the right way to live. It transcended all other values and considerations, and so, they followed him.
We were established as a Jewish nation at the foot of Mount Sinai when all our members committed to unite “as one man with one heart.” Immediately afterward, we were commanded to be “a light unto nations,” namely to spread the light of unity throughout the world. That is what makes us unique. Since we once experienced brotherly love, we have the ability to once again unite above differences and set an example to others who so desperately need such guidance. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook summed up the role of the Jewish people as follows: “The purpose of Israel is to unite the world into a single family.” As long as we maintain our unity, we thrive and remain safe. When we abandon it, the world regards us as a negative influence and anti-Semitic manifestations resurface with a vengeance, as evidenced in the Tree of Life attack. When our enemies strike, they do not ask what denomination we belong to or what our origin is, or whether we are right wing or left wing. They simply strike out against us, convinced that the world’s problems will be solved by erasing Jews off the face of the planet. These overriding forces of anti-Semitism constantly resurface in different ways to compel us to unite as we become increasingly distant from implementing our role of being “a light unto nations.”
Instead of exemplifying unity, we radiate divisiveness to the rest of the world. In such a state, the world will always find reasons to hate us and feel justified in trying to destroy us. The point upon which our prosperity depends was succinctly expressed by Samuel David Luzzatto: “The success of our nation depends only on our brotherly love, on connecting to one another as members of a single family.” It is my hope that we will use the choice we have in our hands to lead the world from darkness to light, chaos to unity, by rising above our differences. We don’t need to agree on everything, but we do have to connect our hearts above all that separates us. It is said in Shem MiShmuel, “When Israel are ‘as one man with one heart,’ they are as a fortified wall against the forces of evil.” By uniting, we will be empowered to firmly take root as a nation, realizing among each other and spreading to others the happiness, pleasantness and peace contained in the words: “It is a tree of life for those who hold fast to it, and all its supporters are happy. Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:18). PJC
has no place in our neighborhood is not merely an event that deserves to be witnessed by this paper, but is one which should be echoed and amplified on its editorial page. Instead, the silence has the effect both of diminishing the power of the moment and of denigrating the organizers who worked so hard — and so successfully — to produce an event in the service of peace and mutual respect. We have, together, as one diverse community, experienced a hell that no one should ever have to go through, and we have shown unity, love and compassion at the hardest moment. It didn’t matter what shul we went to, it didn’t matter whether we went to a shul at all, and
it certainly didn’t matter what political party we belonged to. Let us please continue to speak with each other, to ask respectful questions of each other, to try and learn why someone thinks something or did something, and above all, continue to see each other as fully human, and not as some caricature of the “liberal-left” or “conservative-right.” We have much to gain if we learn to listen to each other, and so very, very much to lose if we cover our ears and fail to listen. PJC
Michael Laitman, Ph.D., is the founder and president of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute.
A view of rally from two of its participants By Brian Cohen and Ilyssa Manspeizer
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n the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 30, like the previous two mornings, we awoke — as did so many others in our city — laden with grief and despair for the loss of 11 innocent neighbors, for the crushing burden to their families and for the profound damage done to our community. These emotions were punctuated with a sense of frustration at the hateful discourse that has been enveloping our nation. It is a discourse intent on dehumanizing other people, be they Democrats or Republicans, African-Americans, migrants from Central America (documented or not), gay, transgender, rural or urban, Muslim or Jewish. Scientists who study this kind of hate speech observe that by dehumanizing the other, we create an environment where it is acceptable for people to perpetrate violence against each other. As Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha stated so eloquently at the vigil at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, hate, wherever it is found, begins with speech. This point was reinforced by the editors of the Jewish Chronicle, who noted that the words the president regularly uses against the press and his political opponents “can lead to no good.” But this is at least as true for the many other groups of people President Donald Trump chooses to diminish, including Central American migrants, Muslims and transgender people, to name only a few. The president’s denunciation of anti-Semitism is a good first step, but it is not enough, because we are all fully human and deserve to be treated as such. That is why we found ourselves so disheartened to learn that the president would come to Pittsburgh. Not because we may disagree with his policies, but because the language he chooses to use has real and serious consequences, for us and for others. When we learned of the “Pittsburgh Loves
All Our Neighbors” event that afternoon, we decided that it might help us express the fears we have about our nation and how we all speak about each other. The event was set upon Jewish values of peace, love and respect, and was one of the most remarkable events either of us have ever attended — surrounded by at least 1,100 (according to Pittsburgh Police) neighbors, grieving, despondent and looking to counter the narrative of hate that has enveloped us. As we all gathered, with barely any notice, to walk peacefully through our streets, we sang gently together, as if we were cleansing our neighborhood of hate, tipping the balance back to love and respect. That we did this as the president of the United States was only blocks away, provided a moving counterpoint to the cynical, hateful speech that so often accompanies him. Towards the end, as we passed the police station on Northumberland, we showered the first responders with a rolling wave of applause and appreciation, 1,100 people deep. This feeling of love, of home, of peace, of appreciation, and of a coming together of friends and neighbors from the beautiful diversity of people that is Squirrel Hill buoys us. We will always remember the lives of those who were so brutally murdered, the first responders who rushed to the scene and our extraordinary leaders who came together so purposefully, with grace and strength, in this moment of unimaginable horror. We will also remember with deepest gratitude the organizers of “Pittsburgh Loves All Our Neighbors” for knowing how to replace our anger and frustration with a dignified display of Myers’ call for respectful speech, with a willingness to stand up for love, decency, and civil discourse. Hence this article. We find ourselves compelled to correct the inaccurate portrayal of “Pittsburgh Loves All Our Neighbors.” That at a moment of true crisis this community should rise up peacefully to declare that hate
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Brian Cohen and Ilyssa Manspeizer live in Squirrel Hill.
A native son mourns shattered memories of Squirrel Hill By Peter G. Chronis
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n idyllic childhood memory was shattered Oct. 27 when the news broke that a gunman spewing anti-Semitic invective had slaughtered defenseless worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill. My family had lived at 3080 Beechwood Blvd. in Squirrel Hill until I was 5. Our home was about a half-hour walk from where the synagogue is now located. Those murders in a house of God also affected me because the Columbine High School massacre of April 1999, which I helped cover for The Denver Post, will remain an indelible memory until the day I die. My memories of Squirrel Hill are happy ones — the 1940s were a good time to be a little boy in a place where neighbor ladies and my grandmother, Sara Papparodis, got together at 3:30 p.m. sharp for coffee and conversation. (Yes, I know, they’re “women” in the stylebook, but in the 1940s, you called them “ladies.”) They could be counted on to produce a cookie or two, accompanied by a pinch on the cheek. Yiayia (Greek for “grandmother”) knew
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lots of the neighbors, and when she took my older brother, Nick, and me for walks to a nearby park, she would often stop to chat. It was a beautiful neighborhood, with treelined streets and immaculately kept yards. Somehow, Yiayia and the neighbor ladies managed to communicate: You’d hear Greek, English and Yiddish (which she didn’t speak). I never felt anything but happy and safe when we lived in Squirrel Hill. Even after moving to Brookline and, years later, to New Mexico and Colorado, I had a special fondness for Squirrel Hill, so much so that when I returned to Pittsburgh after graduating from the University of New Mexico to work for the old Pittsburgh Press, I frequently went to movies or dinner in Squirrel Hill, despite living in the South Hills. My earliest memories are of the huge old three-story house on Beechwood Boulevard, where my family had moved shortly after my birth in 1943. I recall the wartime blackouts, when our grandmother told us we had all the lights out the better to see our mother, Cecelia Chronis, when she came home from work at Please see Native, page 18
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Reflections on Tragedy Pursuit of ‘social justice’ gives strength to anti-Semitism By Channa Newman
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s all decent people mourn those in the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill who lost their lives in an act of brutality that has become quite common in the “civilized” world, let us not be distracted from the fact that attacks on any groups, in this case Jews (and I am dealing here specifically with anti-Semitism) come in many forms. One could even claim that the less brutal anti-Semitic projects — frequently disguised as “justice” — are responsible, to some degree at least, for the more murderous attacks on Jews. At least they act in concert with them. Where is hate actually being covertly promoted? As someone with 45 years of experience in teaching, I can attest that there are some programs — fashionable in American academic institutions today — where pretty rhetoric is being used to mask the undemocratic aims and obsessions of the directing professors. What these programs — chief among them, “Social Justice Studies” — do is to establish an absolute binary structure based on the irrational worldview that all can be understood in terms of good and evil. The faux liberals promoting this sort of vigilante justice already have the structure nailed down in two fields of social identity: gender and race. In the race category, the accepted victims are blacks (oppressors are white); in the gender category, the victims are female and
the predators are male. It is all very clear and simple: guilt assigned a priori on the basis of essences. Students are taught to “identify” predetermined victims and victimizers and to spring into action — with passion or whatever it takes — to defeat the enemies. Considering complexities is not part of the agenda. Nuance and doubts are not allowed. The binary structure of us and them is a built-in formula for intolerance. Yet in Social Justice Studies, it is this formula that lays claim to justice and is embraced without thought by many academic institutions. Students, guided by the charged language, also accept that only one side of the equation is just and progressive. They are convinced that they have come upon and chosen the right cause. Let me note that many identified as blacks have recognized that this patronizing frame of interpretation serves the purpose of perpetuating their collective identity as “victims” — whether they wish it or not. (It is possible that bigotry-based programs like these will be undone by the very reactionary and racialist ideologies they promote. Blacks will refuse to submit yet again to the dictates of white, patronizing privilege, and more women will become more class conscious than some of their stepsisters in the throes of #MeToo.) So what about anti-Semitism? Unlike in the above examples of race and gender, social justice programs manage to camouflage the prejudice and hate against Jews through the tactic of
splitting Jews into the binary categories of good Jews and bad Jews, with some Jews embodying the evil pole and others placed at the opposite end of the scale. Allowing some Jews to be “good” makes the social justice practitioners look like they are treating Jews fairly. But the only Jews allowed to be good Jews are those who are willing to recognize that there are bad Jews. The reality is that rather than supporting fairness, this formula works not only to solidify pre-existing anti-Semitic biases, but to enable the expression of full-blown anti-Semitism. Before I return to this fundamental requirement for perpetuating anti-Semitism, I will review some of the reasons why anti-Semitism is easier to disguise. One, Jews are not as easily identified as other ethnic groups and, despite their long history (the group most consistently discriminated against globally after women), Jews do not possess the status of victims. The obverse is true. Despite their relatively small number in comparison to other ethnic groups and despite the Holocaust, Jews have persistently been stereotyped as privileged and evil. Even the Holocaust is often seen as overblown in significance. Two, with confirmation bias and disproportionate emphasis on Jews, Jews are made a natural justified target for condemnation and hate. As noted above, a tactic applied to Jews (and soon no doubt to be applied also to African-Americans) is dividing them into good and bad Jews. Those with whom we
disagree are the bad ones. And the split may not necessarily be articulated. But this binary vision — simplistic, deceptive and dependent on subjective moralizing judgments and on emotion — obscures what must be recognized as racist. Labeling groups, or dividing them into opposing camps of good and evil amounts to essentializing them. Whether one side is in focus or the other, the group itself remains, even if implicitly, foregrounded and stereotyped: the Jews. In my opinion, no Jew should be flattered by it. Such simplistic but effective manifestations of total anti-Semitism do not promote analyses, debates and progress. However willing those of us who identify as Jews are to engage in auto-criticism, we should refrain from joining those who attack others of us, for in fact they are implicitly attacking all of us. The haters/judges of half the Jews or a portion of them are high on emotion and subjective judgment, and short on facts and history. Social justice ideologues are not interested in issues, resolution or fairness. They mean to win at any cost, even if it means, as in the case of anti-Semitism, promoting the us/them binary code which always and inevitably divides people and prevents them from considering their common humanity. PJC
their emotions bounce up and down from day to day — and even from hour to hour. And there are those of us whose shock and sadness haven’t really felt very intense at all. The important thing is that we are all taking care of ourselves. Recognize that your emotional reactions are normal. Even if your feelings are different from those of your friends and loved ones. There is no right way to respond to trauma just as there is no right way to grieve. Do what feels right to you. If you need to talk, seek companionship. If you are tired, get some rest and sleep. If you feel that you are dragging, you might find that exercise — like taking walks — will help to boost your energy and clear your mind. Engage yourself in activities that soothe or empower you. Be kind to others. Listen without judgment to the experiences of your loved ones, and share your own thoughts and feelings. Make time for friends and family, but also allow
them the time and space that they need. Be there for your children. Younger children need to be reassured that they are safe and protected. Teenagers may be interested in talking about the societal and political ramifications of this attack. Be prepared to spend time engaged with your children in these conversations at seemingly random moments. Moderate your news intake. News reports tend to focus on sad events and can be anxiety-provoking. Be sure to get your fill of uplifting and pleasant distractions. Do something. Helping out other people can help you heal. Try volunteering, attending synagogue services or donating to a cause that you believe in. Reach out for help when you need it. If you are feeling overwhelmed, or you believe that you’re not getting better, ask for help. Our community has many qualified mental health professionals that JFCS can connect you with. And JFCS is offering a variety of support
groups to help people move through the recovery process together. You are not alone. Recovery from grief and trauma is not a linear process. We will all experience many peaks and valleys in our emotions over the coming months and years, and that is normal. Some of these will happen in response to triggering events, like holidays or other mass shootings. Other emotional changes will seem to happen for no apparent reason. And again, this is normal. Jewish Family and Community Services stands ready to help you, just as we have done for the past 81 years. Visit our community support website (jfcspgh.org/communitysupport), which we will keep updated with opportunities and services in the months ahead. JFCS has grown strong because of your support, and we now offer our shoulders for you to lean on. PJC
of the Old Country, and to long poems about kings, princesses and warriors. Almost everybody we knew then was either Greek or Jewish. Our neighbors had names like Schwadron or Jacobson, with the exception of an older boy named Peter D’Imperio, the son of a high school coach. We didn’t know about anti-Semites and their fanatical hatred. We didn’t know about the Greeks who perished by the hundreds of thousands during the Nazi occupation of Greece. Or that our paternal grandmother, Panayiota, had died of starvation because the Nazis had commandeered all the crops to feed their legions. Or about our cousin, Lt.
Peter Mandros, who was summarily executed by an SA Standertenfuhrer after his B-17 was shot down on a mission over Germany in July 1944. Or about the Holocaust, in which millions of people who were just like our wonderful neighbors were murdered because of a hateful madman and his evil minions. The real Nazis were nothing like the clumsy buffoons in “Hogan’s Heroes.” They were stone killers. And although the genuine articles are mostly dead now, every so often, just when we think we’ve seen the last of this scourge, somebody like Robert Bowers pops up to commit a new outrage. To kill people he doesn’t know just because they happen to be Jewish, several of
whom were Pitt graduates like my late mother. A while back I had my DNA analyzed and learned I’m not 100 percent Greek and have Eastern European, some Western European, and Jewish DNA. It angers me to think that just because of the blood in my veins, an ignorant misfit like Bowers would want to kill me and others like me. No way can I forgive this monster for murdering 11 innocent human beings, and, in the process, demolishing a cherished memory. PJC
Channa Newman, Ph.D., is the chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Point Park University. She lives in Squirrel Hill.
Helping our community heal By Jordan Golin
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ou are not alone. We lost loved ones and friends, and our community lost its wonderful sense of safety. We are broken. We survived the initial shock. Now it’s time to look to the future and think about what each of us needs to move successfully through the long and painful process of healing. It will not be easy, we do not know how long it will take, but we will support one another for as long as is needed. Everyone responds to trauma differently. Trauma is caused by exposure to an event that is perceived as intensely threatening to mind, body, or spirit, accompanied by feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and horror. Every response is normal. Some of us have been struggling intensely since those first shots were fired on Oct. 27th. Others feel significantly better as time goes on or feel like
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the Eon Grill, which she and my father owned on East Eighth Avenue in Homestead. What Yiayia didn’t explain was why the house was still dark after Mother came home. There was lots of room to play in the ample backyard, and, when the weather was bad, there was a huge, open room on the third floor where you could ride a tricycle in a pinch. But we also spent a lot of time in the house’s large entry hall, which our mother called the reception room, listening to Yiayia’s stories 18 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
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Jordan Golin, Psy.D., is president and CEO of Jewish Family and Community Services.
A native of Pittsburgh, Peter G. Chronis is a veteran journalist.
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Reflections on Tragedy Addressing anti-Semitism directly moments after shooting By Deborah Shamilov
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ear anti-Semitism, I have heard and read about you so many times in my life, and especially today. I have seen you. I have felt you. I have experienced you. You have been paving the course of my life even before I was able to understand what you are. My grandparents and parents fled from you, which led to my becoming an American. If not for you, perhaps I would be living in Russia. No, wait, I would be living in Iran — where my ancestors fled from you as well. Or, no — I would be living in Israel, where our people first established themselves as a nation … only to be expelled time and time again (because of you). To this day, people are still trying to get rid of us altogether. While a supporter of yours murdered people praying in Pittsburgh simply because they were Jewish, 34 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at communities in southern Israel. This is nothing new, of course. You have so many followers, anti-Semitism. All over the world. My fingers can’t type fast enough to finish sharing one of your stories, before you strike again. Sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up with you, though I am trying. A prominent synagogue located just two minutes from where I am living here in Israel had the exact same situation occur just a couple of years ago. I just want to let you know that you and your supporters have not scared me off from coming here. You have not scared off the families who were affected and who are still happily living here. I still walk by that synagogue from time to time and the cracks from the bullets are still there in those windows, which I always turn to look at while also noticing that there are so many people still learning and praying in that very synagogue. I have met those
families that you have broken, and even celebrated a bar mitzvah in the walls you tried to break down. I cried when you murdered Ezra Schwartz, a young, vibrant 18-year-old who was supposed to join me at Rutgers University two years ago. While watching his parents eulogize him on the live recording, I was crying so hard that I feared my dorm mates would hear me. So I cried as quietly as I could. I couldn’t tell what hurt more, watching the funeral or crying so hard. I finally forced myself to shut off the video and convinced myself it was fair for me not to have to watch since I had class and needed to calm myself down before walking out onto the college campus that Ezra would never get to see or experience because of you. When my best friend met him before he left for Israel, she asked him if he was afraid to come here. He said if he were afraid, then that would be letting you (anti-Semitism) win. He understood this more than most people. Now the rest of us must understand this in his place. We must continue to live with this. I cried when you murdered Eyal, Gilad and Naftali. I was so upset, I felt I had to do something, so I started an Israel group that now has over 600 supporters from all over the world. Yup, other people who hate you just as much as I do. I felt powerless, so I did the only thing I could do. Over four years later and I am still sharing such somber news again and again. It’s emotionally draining. Every story, person, name … the funerals, eulogies, images. When I heard about this attack, this time I cried without fear of who might see me. For you cannot be afraid when you live in a world like this. In a sense, that would be writing my own death sentence and letting you win. I’m not planning on letting you do that. Ezra didn’t and I remember that always.
But it is exactly everything that you hate — the Torah, our Jewish values and beliefs — that have kept us going through the pain. I met one of the women who became a widow after your attack at that synagogue. She is as lovely as ever — inviting all the students here at my school to come to her office for some tea at any time. Her husband, the man you murdered, was a good man. You should be ashamed, yet you are so proud. The list of terror that occurs here, goes on and on. Stabbings, bombings, shootings, car-ramming attacks — all in your name. You always have a reason to hate us. Anti-Semitism, I’m tired of you. I’m frustrated, angry and sour. I work for an organization that monitors anti-Israel activity and you (because really at the end of the day you are behind it all), and every single day I see how widespread you are. Every single day you are out here spreading hate and violence. I have also seen how you live within the people I never thought that you would. Right before I came to Israel, I mentioned to my Iranian neighbor that I was coming here. This man has been living next door to us for 20 years. Just after I told him I was coming here, he completely stopped talking to my family. He doesn’t wave back to my parents in the morning anymore. He doesn’t say hello when we walk or drive by anymore. Actually, the last time I saw him at the gym two months ago and said hello to him, he made it very clear to me that I might as well not. I have never had someone give me a look filled with so much anger and hate. He made his point very clear. It was actually scary. And this is despite the fact that he is from Iran, visits Iran and has family living in Iran — the place from which my family fled and the country that calls for the death of all Jews (and America, too, but too many Americans for some reason still think it’s a good idea
to give them nuclear weapons). We never judged him or were cold towards him. There is a lot that I do not understand right now, a lot that I don’t even want to understand. It’s all one and the same. Being here in Israel, being an active participant in the pro-Israel community, being a proud Zionist … being a Jew … it’s all one and the same. Our people have been through so much because of you, yet we have surpassed and outlived all those who have tried to bring an end to our existence. Those who tried to exterminate us have been long gone. Now we have policemen guarding synagogues in New York, where I was born! Anti-Semitism, you aren’t going anywhere. You are going everywhere! But you know what’s crazy, anti-Semitism? The place from which you had us kicked out in the beginning is exactly where you are causing us to return now. Thousands of European Jews have already made their way back to Israel over the past several years because of you. Many American Jews have done the same or are planning on it. Your followers in Iran and the rest of the Middle East use this as part of their plan to exterminate us once and for all. All the Jews in one place so that we can kill them all off, they say. You’re very good at what you do. So this is Iran, Russia, America and Israel. Every country where my family has lived or that has been dear to us. You and yours don’t want us in Israel, in America or in Europe. Wherever we go, we are a problem for you. Clearly, we haven’t given up. We are still here and are proud. No amount of intimidation or terror is going to change that. Anti-Semitism, you aren’t going anywhere. But neither are we. Yours truly, A proud Jew PJC After growing up and attending university on the East Coast, the writer lives in Israel.
Reporter’s notebook — last burial is communal testament By Adam Reinherz
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n the quiet cold of a snow-covered cemetery, the final burial after the Tree of Life murders occurred on Nov. 16. Held in the same settings as those of weeks past, the circumstances were altogether different: The uncharacteristic fanfare marking recent communal life was absent; the midday interment was not preceded by the impassioned remarks of international guests or speakers decrying hate; the steady stream of photographers and telecasters camped beside religious venues seeking to capture grieving glances and stances best typifying the tragedy was gone, as were the abundant crowds who in that first week after the massacre filled pews in sanctuaries and spaces beyond hold. Twenty days after the Oct. 27 attack, the few who attended the two Friday burials were those whose shoveling and smoothing served as the final acts in a weeks-long process of unspoken kindness. After arriving at the first site, the bundled volunteers — standing side by side, representing both of Pittsburgh’s
chevra kadisha (Gesher HaChaim Jewish Burial Society, which is Orthodox, and New Community Chevra Kadisha of Greater Pittsburgh, which is non-Orthodox) — silently passed materials from hand to hand. Stretched between a parked vehicle and an open grave, the helpers silently transferred items along the path of palms. Into the pit went deposited carpets — despite multiple attempts at washing, the extracted pieces were still stained by blood — and cleaning supplies: wipes, sponges, soiled gloves and Tyvek suits, which the volunteers had worn throughout the approximate 35 continuous hours of scrubbing, scraping and removing of matter from the floors, pews, walls and ceilings inside the Tree of Life synagogue building. The need to deposit items in such fashion stems from a centuries-old Jewish tradition that the deceased and (to the best extent possible) any portion of his or her remains must be treated with dignity in death as in life. Interrupting such silence at the cemetery was the engine ignition and subsequent hum
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of “The Logan,” a wheeled, green colored, vault handler used to lower a concrete cover above the bedded contents. The volunteers who had stepped aside in making way for the manned machine resumed their position around the rectangular cavity and ladled dirt onto the concrete lid. The Kel Maleh Rachamim (prayer for the departed) was then said before participants returned to vehicles and headed east to a second cemetery where a similar burial process was performed, though this time without motorized equipment. Instead, shovels were driven into soil — at points a pickax was used when the earth would not give — until a suitable sized hole was made, and again items were dropped deep beneath their eventual snow-topped surface. Once the cavity was covered, another Kel Maleh Rachamim was recited. Those who encircled the small space stood in sight of an oblong headstone bearing the words “In memory of our Jewish brothers and sisters who perished in the Shoah 1933-1945.” Little talk was offered as to what monument
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would eventually mark the freshly prepared plot, rather, the volunteers largely stood still, some supporting themselves with shovels. With nothing left to tomb, the chevra kadisha’s work was complete. Back in Squirrel Hill, inside the Tree of Life building there are prayer spaces missing pews, tiles and other trappings which will need to be addressed, as will certainly those remaining congregants who once frequented the synagogue’s sacred spots. For a community committed to healing, the work will be laborious and perhaps unending, but for those members of Pittsburgh’s two chevra kadisha, who refused to allow denominational divides to disrupt a respectful treatment of the dead, their job finished on Friday, Nov. 16. Before returning to their cars and heading home, a common comment was expressed. Said one volunteer to another, “Shabbat Shalom.” PJC Adam Reinherz is a staff writer for the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
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Headlines Shloshim: Continued from page 1
Rabbi Danny Schiff, Federation’s Foundation scholar. The task is to “couple it” with a memory of “one specific event, one act, one instance of human decency. … That’s the Jewish way.” Following Schiff, Erica Brown, associate professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development and the director of its Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership, echoed the rabbi’s comments on communal responsibilities going forward. “The wise organizers of this commemoration understood that a month later is precisely when the hardest emotional work begins,” she said. “We are here to strengthen broken hearts that they may beat again. We are here to acknowledge and to honor the incredible unity that’s been created in the wake of this tragedy. We are here to hold each other’s hands without the platitude that it will be alright, because it won’t. We cannot bring back the 11 precious souls who are no longer with us. We must name evil and dedicate ourselves to fight it. “We are a week away from Chanukah,” Brown continued. “In the wake of this tragedy, let it be the most powerful, meaningful Chanukah of our lives. If you have never lit a menorah, I encourage you to do so this year — to move from the shiva candle to the Chanukah candles. With each night, with each candle, with each act of light, we tell the world that darkness has a cure. Be the light.” Following the program, Mayor Bill Peduto reflected on the event. “I am so proud and continue to be moved
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group decided to keep the momentum going, “since there is always a Steelers game that falls around Chanukah,” Exler explained. Each year since then, the event has grown, with Menorahgate 2017 attracting more than 75 revelers. Last year, the men talked about making 2018’s Menorahgate a fundraiser. The focus of the fundraiser became clear after the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building, where many of them had deep connections. It “felt right to give back to Tree of Life,” said Ben Haber, a lifetime member of the congregation, whose great-grandparents were charter members. Through friends, Haber knew some of the victims of the Oct. 27 attack, he said, and he “would see [victim] Cecil [Rosenthal] all the time.” “I’m still in shock,” Haber said. “It’s unbelievable. And it’s definitely a big wake-up call that there is still hatred out there.” Exler also grew up at Tree of Life. “I had my bar mitzvah there,” he said, “and my parents were married there.” Adam Danenberg, a pilot for Republic Airline and one of the original Menorahgaters, is also a “member of the Tree of Life family,” he said. He celebrated 20 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
p Jeff Finkelstein speaks to the hundreds who attended the memorial event.
by Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, by the way they have responded to the worst anti-Semitic crime in American history,” he said. “By responding with love and compassion, it has shown people around the world the true image of Pittsburgh, and I was glad that I was able to be here to be able to see it done once again.” Frederick Sims of Pittsburgh called the program “moving,” but said he was disappointed by the fact that the motivations of the alleged shooter were not addressed. “They spoke about things you would
Photo by Adam Reinherz
expect,” said Sims, but the “anti-Semitism, that’s not the triggering event.” It was the attacker’s “rabid hatred of immigrants, and that was not mentioned once.” Tricia Chirumbole, of Pittsburgh, however, said that she “felt very privileged to be here.” Chirumbole, who is not Jewish, added she was “honored to be welcomed into the community. It’s been moving to be with people during this time.” Brian Schreiber, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater
Pittsburgh, where so much of the initial response to the tragedy took place, said that “shloshim marks the beginning of a new reality.” Brown agreed. “You can’t really ever close mourning, but you can actually give people permission to go on with their lives,” she said. “And sometimes we underestimate the importance of that permission.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
“This happened in our back yard,” said Silverman, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and now lives in Lawrenceville. “It awoke me to try to figure out something to help. This is my small contribution. And this made me realize how close my group of friends is.” Several businesses have stepped up to donate food, a U-Haul truck and lots of tables, according to Danenberg, and six people are providing parking passes for the Red Lot 7C, the location of the tailgate. While the Menorahgate men still grapple with all that has been lost in the community where they grew up, their hearts are warmed by the support they have seen coming in from near and far. “It’s nice to have the money being poured into our community, and to see the support from around the world, but it is sad to see our synagogue now known for [the attack],” Danenberg said. “There is money coming from people we don’t even know, and that shows there are a lot of people out there that care,” added Haber. p Menorahgate 2018 will occur about a week after the conclusion of Chanukah All are welcome to join in the festivities, due to the Steelers schedule, but the event’s organizers are still planning to mark the holiday as they have done together since 2015. which will begin at noon on Dec. 16, Exler Photo provided by Andrew Exler said. The game begins at 4:25 p.m. By hosting a celebration before a Steelers his bar mitzvah there, and his great-grandfaThis will be Ethan Silverman’s first experi- game, with lots of food and a DJ, “we are ther was a founder of the congregation. His ence at Menorahgate. Silverman, who moved trying to honor the victims in the most mother, Judy Danenberg, is a kosher caterer back to Pittsburgh from New York City last Pittsburgh way possible,” he said. PJC who frequently caters events at that building. spring, is looking forward to getting together “We knew five of the people who passed with his childhood buddies to “celebrate the Toby Tabachnick can be reached at away,” Danenberg said. ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. lives of the people who were lost.” PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE
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Headlines Thanksgiving: Continued from page 3
past few weeks. During the rabbi’s sermon, he specifically welcomed Small’s family from Pittsburgh, offered a message of consolation and encouraged congregants to do the same. Small said it was then that she began to cry. “I think it’s because up until then we really
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two-party system of the United States. This is largely because the two nations had different goals in mind when they were founded. Instead of guarding against tyranny, Hoffman said, Israel’s founders wanted to make sure minorities had representation. Hoffman also offered background on the most recent violence in Gaza, which prompted Lieberman’s resignation. “Israel facilitated the delivery of $15 million to the people of Gaza, from Qatar. And in return, what Hamas decided to do was to open fire at Israel” to prove their unwillingness to collaborate, Hoffman said. Despite the most recent flare-up of hostilities, Hoffman said the strategic security situation for Israel has never been better. Israel, he noted, has recently forged better relationships with other nations in the Middle East. “Part of it was the result of the Iran [nuclear] deal, which united the people of the Middle East against Iran and against the people who
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“We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians,” the statement said. “Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow.” An Airbnb spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the company’s specific concerns with rentals in settlements. The company will next be investigating whether it should remove its listings in Western Sahara, which is controlled by Morocco. The Israeli government has protested the move, with Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan calling for a boycott of Airbnb in response. “Airbnb’s decision simply harms the Palestinians, ruins employment opportunities for both sides in Judea and Samaria, and destroys the chances for peace and coexistence,” Erdan said. “We call on all supporters of Israel around the world to stop working with Airbnb. There are enough competitors, we do not need them.” Israel advocates have also criticized Airbnb for singling out Israel amid a world of geopolitical conflicts and allegations of human rights abuses. “Airbnb has not de-listed rentals in any
had escaped, it was a totally different world and it had already been three days where no one said anything, so to have it brought out in shul in an unexpected way it made me realize that all of the emotions are still very raw,” said Small. Small said the rabbi had asked permission beforehand to make such announcement, and she was appreciative of the congregation’s kindness. “It’s nice to be away from reality, and then
coming back is hard,” she added. Shifra Poznanski, a Squirrel Hill resident, spent the holiday weekend with family in a rented home in the Shenandoah Valley. “Every year, my extended family — my parents, aunt and uncle, my cousins, second cousins and third cousins — get together. This year was the 50th year of when it started,” she said. Fifty-one people gathered in a home that
made the deal with Iran, because it scared so many of us. It brought Israel closer to Egypt, to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman,” Hoffman said. He added that Israel has developed these relationships despite the lack of a formal peace process with the Palestinians, an issue Hoffman did not discuss in detail. Although he acknowledged significant political differences, including the left’s demands for a peace process and the right’s insistence on more settlement activity, Hoffman said the people of Israel largely agree on two key issues: the importance of security and the economy. “Unlike in America where the economy is always a divisive issue, in Israel, not so much. Everyone pretty much agrees on what’s going well and what’s not going well,” Hoffman said. He noted low unemployment rates of less than 4 percent and a record year for tourism to Israel during 2018. Netanyahu, Hoffman said, has also reminded the press that “the real trend in international diplomacy is actually T.N.T.” This stands for technology, natural gas
and terrorism, the latter issue being one that other nations look to Israel for help in solving, Hoffman said. Regarding natural gas, he emphasized that Israel is poised to become a major exporter over the next several decades. In addition to the economy, Hoffman pointed out that politics have recently become more divisive in America. Bruce Fine, a South Hills resident who attended the lecture, said he particularly appreciated the way Hoffman explained how Israeli Jews view American politics. For example, Hoffman mentioned that many Israelis didn’t like former U.S. President Barack Obama due to his handling of the Syria crisis and his role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal. However, he said that many Israelis see the benefits of a Donald Trump presidency, which 77 percent of American Jews disapprove of, according to an American Jewish Committee survey. Hoffman indicated that the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem went over particularly well in Israel.
“The night that embassy moved, as an analyst, I got 100 percent of Knesset members sending positive messages, no one against it at all, and it’s the ultimate consensus issue in Israel that all the embassies around the world need to be in Jerusalem,” Hoffman said. However, he also talked about the downsides of Trump, including the president’s divisive rhetoric. Hoffman noted, in particular, the blowback Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister, received when he defended the president from criticism following the Tree of Life shooting. Hoffman, who was on a speaking tour of America, closed his speech by urging solidarity between American and Israeli Jews. In a comment after his lecture, he spoke as if visiting Pittsburgh was his own personal act of solidarity. “I felt I had to come here because this is a place where Jews came under attack, and America showed solidarity with them in such a beautiful way,” Hoffman said. PJC
other disputed areas,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in an open letter to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. “Yet only Israeli settlements are being singled out for de-listing by Airbnb, a decision which many see as a double standard set by your company.” Before this week, Airbnb appeared to have a positive relationship with Israel and its supporters. In 2015, Tel Aviv partnered with Airbnb to create an interactive guide to the city, the first such partnership that Airbnb had formed. In 2016, partly due to multiple allegations that Airbnb hosts in Europe refused to rent to Israelis, the company added a non-discrimination clause for hosts. Palestinian officials supported the decision to delist settlement rentals. Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator, called the decision an “initial positive step” and hoped it would be expanded to eastern Jerusalem, which the Palestinian Authority claims as its capital. Husam Zomlot, a Palestinian diplomat, had previously told the Guardian that Airbnb’s settlement listings were “illegal and criminal” and that “there will come a time when companies like this, who profit from the occupation, will be taken to court.” A report released Nov. 20 by Human Rights Watch says settlements are uniquely bad because they are illegal under international law (Israel disputes this), some are built on seized Palestinian land and Palestinians who live in the West Bank are not allowed access to them. Shakir said this is the first territory in which his organization
has called on Airbnb to remove listings. Israelis are regularly prohibited from entering several Middle Eastern countries where Airbnb listings are still accepted. But Shakir said the comparison is faulty: Palestinians being prohibited from West Bank settlements are not foreigners but live in the same territory. “It’s the only place in the world where a person who lives somewhere cannot enter based on their ethnicity or national origin,” he said. “If there were another country where those things are found, we’d be all for Airbnb having a similar policy, but we haven’t found that.” It’s unclear whether this decision will help or hurt Airbnb’s bottom line, said Pam Scholder Ellen, an associate professor of marketing at Georgia State University. Because people hold passionate opinions on both sides of the issue, she said, Airbnb would anger one side and please another whether it kept or removed the settlement listings. She added that because the international community considers settlements illegal, it’s possible that Airbnb saw them as a legal liability. “It is becoming increasingly common for companies to take stances on political issues, particularly since the last election,” Ellen said. “A lot of the companies that are doing this are run by much younger founders and they are more likely to be politically active.” Tamar Asraf, a spokeswoman for the Binyamin Regional Council, which governs settlements in the central West Bank, also said that she didn’t think Airbnb’s decision would hurt tourism there. PJC
Doyle spearheads congressional condemnation of attack
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sleeps 42; some relatives stayed in an RV parked next to the house. The experience of being together, with so many people (almost) under one roof, was greatly appreciated, Poznanski said. “Life must go on. It still is very much in our minds. I think being with family is moving on.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Sam Bojarski is a local freelance writer.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-District 14) condemning the Oct. 27 antiSemitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building and honoring the memory of the victims. The resolution also expresses gratitude for the actions of law enforcement, first responders and medical personnel, and declares that Congress “stands with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, the United States and across the world,” reaffirms a commitment to defeating anti-Semitism and “supports the rights of Americans to freely exercise their religious beliefs.” After passage, Doyle said, “We all must do more to combat this hate in our neighborhoods and to stop these tragedies from happening. This resolution is just a step in the healing process that our city and our country need.” Co-chairs of the Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat Anti-Semitism helped draft the resolution and were original cosponsors of the bill. They included Reps. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Kay Granger (R-Texas), Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Peter Roskam (R-Ill.). PJC — Adam Reinherz NOVEMBER 30, 2018 21
Celebrations
Torah
Bar Mitzvah
Responding to darkness by spreading light
Gabriel Engel is the son of Ina and Greg Engel and the grandson of Harriet and the late Robert Jedeikin and Marilyn and Tom Engel. Gabe is the younger brother of Hannah and Dana. Gabe attends Community Day School, where he plays basketball and trumpet. He enjoys learning about history, and he spends every free moment playing baseball. He will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom on Dec. 1. PJC
Mumbai: Continued from page 16
worth 50 times the lives of non-Jews. In their twisted ideology, hatred of India, Israel and Jews in general were all hopelessly intermingled. In November 2008, I was working at the American Jewish Committee in Washington as the director of its Asia Pacific Institute. India was one of my assigned countries. AJC’s India representative lived in Mumbai and reported to me, and I had been in Mumbai and met with the local Jewish community. On that Wednesday I was driving back to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving when I received a phone call from my representative in Mumbai saying that something bad was happening there. Over the next 24 hours the unprecedented scope of the terrorist attack gradually became clear, including the attack on the Chabad House in which hostages were taken. My Thanksgiving became subsumed by Mumbai. I was constantly on the phone with the State Department, the Indian government and others, working through options to rescue the hostages at the Chabad House, getting updates from Mumbai and giving briefings to AJC. In the end, all our efforts came to naught. Although some people at the Chabad House did manage to escape in the first stage of the attack, the six hostages, including the rebbetzin who was six months pregnant, were murdered before Indian commandos could free them. (A report would later conclude that in all likelihood, the six were slaughtered either in the opening moments of the attack or soon thereafter, and that the terrorists had no intention of keeping anyone alive.)
Two years later I led another AJC delegation to Mumbai. We visited the Chabad House, which basically had been left as it was after the attack, because Chabad was still negotiating with the Indian government over security arrangements to relaunch the facility. We saw the horrendous damage of those awful three days. I haven’t been inside the Tree of Life building, but I imagine it must be similar. In the days and weeks that followed the attack here in Pittsburgh, my mind kept returning to Mumbai. Besides the emotional impact on me, I can’t help but draw the ideological connections between the attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a Chabad House in India. Across 10 years and almost 8,000 miles, across different cultures and histories, the one constant is anti-Semitism. Violent, murderous anti-Semitism, which begins with ideological claims against the Jews and the Jewish state. Often the hatred starts with something or someone else — an immigration policy or India — but then it comes back to the Jews. Like many others in our community, I participated in a variety of media interviews after the massacre at the Tree of Life building. Perhaps because I was a newspaper publisher and not a rabbi, I was always asked the same questions. Wasn’t this the result of President Trump’s rhetoric? Wasn’t this the result of lax U.S. gun laws? I thought back to Mumbai and other times and places, and I gave the same answer: No, this shooting was first and foremost about anti-Semitism. It exists on the far-right, and it exists on the far-left, and all too frequently it leads to murderous attacks on innocent Jews. PJC
Rabbi Yisroel Altein Parshat Vayeshev Genesis 37:1-40:23
T
his coming week we begin the holiday of Chanukah. While the lighting of the Chanukah menorah celebrates the miracle that took place in the Temple of the oil lasting eight days, there are some differences between how the menorah was lit in the Temple and how we light the menorah on Chanukah. In the Temple the menorah had seven lamps. The Chanukah menorah has eight. The menorah in the Temple was lit in the afternoon, while the mitzvah on Chanukah is to light the menorah after sunset. The menorah in the Temple was inside, only seen by the Kohen who entered to kindle the lights. On Chanukah the mitzvah is to light the menorah in a way that everyone outside can see the lights. Finally, the menorah in the Temple was on the south side of the Temple. In Judaism, forward is east, putting south on the right side. When placing the menorah in the doorway on Chanukah we place it on the left side. (While many place the menorah in the window, as this is the simpler way of spreading the light, if placing in the doorway, it is placed on the other side of the mezuzah, on the left.) There is a common message in these differences. Our primary task on earth is to bring light into an otherwise dark world. As King Solomon writes in Proverbs, “The mitzvot are like candles, and the Torah is likened to light.” There are different ways to illuminate the world. One method is to create a center that is very holy and serves as a beacon of light to the world. To quote the Sages in explaining the symbolism of the menorah in the Temple: “Does G-d need the light of the menorah? Rather the purpose of the menorah is to serve as a testimony to the world that the Shechina resides amongst the Jewish people.”
This was also expressed in the way the windows of the Temple were shaped. They were narrow on the inside and wider on the outside, allowing the light from the inside to spread throughout the world. This places the menorah of the Temple on the inside of a holy space, on the right, which Kabbalah explains is the location of revelation; it is lit during the day, which is a time of brightness. The second way to illuminate the world is to go to the dark places and bring the light there. This is represented by the Chanukah candles. We take the menorah to the outside, the left side of the door, during the evening or night, and we illuminate those dark spaces and times with light. This can be a difficult task, which even seems impossible at times. For this we need to tap into a deeper light than the one we are usually given. The Kabbalists speak of the seven attributes with which G-d created the world in seven days. In the Temple, a space of light, we can use the usual lights of seven to serve as a source of light to the world. But when going into the dark places of the world, we transcend the laws of nature, the number seven, and reach the infinite powers of our souls, alluded to by the number eight; these infinite powers enable us to illuminate even the darkest of places and times. This message is especially relevant to us, here and now. Our community was recently engulfed in darkness, and most of us were left wondering how to emerge from our despair. The eight Chanukah candles teach us that the light we all seek can be found within us. We can, and should, dig deep into ourselves to uncover the powerful light that is there, and then use that light to illuminate ourselves and our entire city with brightness and warmth. PJC Rabbi Yisroel Altein is the spiritual leader of Chabad of Squirrel Hill. This column is a service of Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.
Jim Busis is the publisher and CEO of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
I am changing my name from Golda Leah Perelman to Golda Leah Schreiber.
22 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
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Reflections on Tragedy Rising: Continued from page 16
The wait was unbearable and it made the day feel longer than it was. On Sunday, in the middle of the day, I thought to myself, “How could this only have happened yesterday? It feels like it happened months ago.” And when the news finally broke, Mr. Wax’s family, my family and the entire community was devastated. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s taken from you. Many of my mother’s old friends from law school or even high school that she hadn’t talked to in years reached out to her to send their condolences. This goes to prove that even in the darkest of times, people will come together despite their differences. The next time you’re in an argument with a friend, or you haven’t talked to a friend that you used to talk to every day, or you won’t talk to someone simply because they are different than you, start talking to them! One day you are going to regret not talking to them because they’ll be gone and you’ll just have to sit with the few memories you have of them. No matter where you are in the world, if you just start to talk to someone, no matter how different they seem from you, you will always, always find similarities. Humans are all more similar than different. Even in the darkest of times, someone will always be there to lend a helping hand, even if that hand is a simple conversation. Back to what I said about posting for policy
and change, I still believe nothing will change unless we do. That is why I am writing. This needs to be talked about. This needs to be more than talked about. Something needs to be done. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, “What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.” This struck something in me. As a Jew living in Pittsburgh right now, I felt a strong obligation to write this piece. I will not stand by and wait for someone else to fix it. I’m not here to just write about what happened, but to take action and make a change. We, everyone reading this right now, we are the future. If we don’t want anything like this to happen in the future, that’s our job to ensure it. We must work so that future generations don’t have to contact their friends to make sure they’re alive. That’s right. I called my friends and my friends called me to make sure we were all alive and OK. My 10-year-old friend texted me and my friends to see if we were OK. He was a block away when the incident occurred. If that doesn’t chill your blood, I don’t know what does. So I am here to ask you all to help make a change. I ask all of you to donate to the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagogue. I want to create a committee of students that will create things and develop projects that will raise funds for the synagogue and the families affected. We could place tzedakah (charity) boxes in every homeroom. We could plant trees in Israel. I have created a Google form for students to sign up. Hometown hero Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things
in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” I want all of you to be those helpers. Rise above hatred while bringing others in need up with you. If there’s anything I want you to take away from this piece, it would be: Tell your family to vote, respect and love your neighbors and people of all religions, races, humanities, languages or anything different than yourself, listen to the refugee signs all around Squirrel Hill and welcome everyone, talk to people and connect with them before they’re gone, end anti-Semitic stigma, let
no name be forgotten, donate, and be the change you wish to see in the world. Do not shrug this off. Today, in this unbreakable city of steel, more than ever am I proud to be a Pittsburgher. A third generation one at that. Today more than ever am I proud to be a Jew. Today more than ever am I proud to be a Jewish Pittsburgher. Together we are stronger than hatred. PJC Jessica Daninhirsch is a freshman at North Allegheny Intermediate. A version of article was first published by the NA Eye student news website.
El kaddush Hashem, a prayer more than a poem By Judith R. Robinson
Rabbis Akiva, Trad-yon, BenBava, Hanasi, Gadol, Shamua, ben Dama, Hakinae, Gamliel, Yesivav (the scribe). Joyce Feinberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, Irving Younger. Burned, flayed, beheaded, slaughtered, for the sake of their faith, Judaism. El Kaddush Hashem: they Died as Martyrs, Taken from this plain of struggle and pain While actively serving God: This is the highest elevation of a life Spent on earth. They will be forever The most closely bound to God,
Sheltered, cradled, held tight! They are ours: the martyrs who will be remembered by shattered hearts but unbroken spirits; by all who come after us, forever: the beautiful, blessed nashamas of Feinberg, Gottfried, Mallinger, Rabinowitz, Rosenthal, Rosenthal, Simon, Simon, Stein, Wax, Younger. You are gone from us, yet you remain with us. All who come after us will know you. All will worship you eternally. You died El Kaddush Hashem: Shalom, Al Mish Ka Voe, rest in peace. PJC
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Obituaries BELLIN: Marvin L. Bellin, M.D., died Thursday, November 22, 2018, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was 89 years old. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he inherited a deep love of family and an enduring sense of social justice from his parents, Samuel A. and Pearl Bellin. He graduated from Glenville High School in Cleveland and Western Reserve in 1952, and then went on to receive his medical degree in 1956 from the Ohio State University, to which he regularly returned for Buckeye homecoming games. After interning in New Orleans, he met his wife of 60 years, Judith (Crowley) Bellin, while she was a nursing student and he was a newly fledged physician in Madison, Indiana. In Pittsburgh, where he and Judith moved in 1961, he began his residency at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, working there until his retirement. Throughout his working life, he was an advocate for the young, the poor, and those suffering from physical and mental illness. When he learned that Pittsburgh had no chapter of Big Brothers, he convened a group of fellow Pittsburghers whose efforts resulted in the establishment of a local chapter in 1965. An outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, he was also a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Physicians for a National Health Program. On a less noted but no less significant level, he single-handedly waged a successful campaign to end Pittsburgh’s practice of spreading oil on community playing fields, which he believed was hazardous to children’s health. His faith in the power of selfless service is captured in a quotation he saved from George Eliot’s “Middlemarch”: “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts, and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs.” His own final resting place will be visited by all who share this credo, not least by his loving wife; his beloved children, Samuel A. (Sarah), Joshua D. (Christine), and Rebecca A. McGuire; and his six adored grandchildren, Eamonn, Lilly, Sammy, Jonah, Zack and Warren. In addition to his immediate family, he is survived by his brother, Allan Bellin of Cleveland, and his sister, Beverly Cassirer of La Mesa, California. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, 5989 Centre Ave., Suite 1, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, or to The Gamma Fund, c/o The
Pittsburgh Foundation, Five PPG Place, Suite 250, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. schugar.com BOAS: Annabelle Boas, on Sunday, November 25, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Harry Boas. Daughter of the late Edward and Ethel Gottesman. Preceded in death by sisters, Margaret and Gertrude and brothers, Harry, James, Charles and Robert. Mother of Barbara Boas Donato (Morgan), Edward Boas (Marlene), Paula Boas (James) and Robert Boas (Cynthia). Grandmother of Zachary, Aaron, Erica, Samuel, Harrison, William, Emily, Amy and Kathryn. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, friends and caregivers. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, 800 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or a charity of the donor’s choice. schugar.com BYER: Sylvia Moidel Byer, age 94, of White Oak, died Nov. 24, 2018. She was born in Pittsburgh on October 5, 1924, and is the daughter of the late Morris and Leah Barad Moidel. She is the wife of the late Harold B. Byer. Mrs. Byer is the former executive secretary for the Downtown McKeesport Association, former executive secretary for the Industrial Health Foundation and was formerly with the PA Department of Health Energy Department. She served as a WAC at the rank of Sergeant in the Army Medical Corps during World War II. She was a graduate of Schenley High School, attended Robert Morris Secretarial School and Duff ’s Business College. She was a member of Temple B’nai Israel and a past member of its board of trustees, a member of Hadassah, B’nai B’rith, the Jewish War Veterans Post #181, the American Legion Post #361 and the Jewish Women International. She is survived by her son, Robert L. (Louise) Byer of Marshall Township, daughter Barbara L. (Bryan) Rosenberger of Upper St. Clair, granddaughters Laura Rosenberger of Washington, D.C., and Lisa Rosenberger of Washington, D.C. She was preceded in death by siblings Isadore, Bernard, Sidney and Herbert Moidel and Sara Rosen Kaufman, Jeannette Louik and Esther Gzesh. Services were held at Strifflers of White Oak Cremation and Mortuary Services Inc. Interment Temple Cemetery. Rabbi Paul Tuchman officiated. Remembrances may be made to Temple B’nai Israel, 2025 Cypress Street, White Oak, PA 15131.
Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: A gift from ...
In memory of...
A gift from ...
In memory of...
Reggie Bardin ...........................................Charles Bardin
Adrienne Marks .............................. Alvin (Boomie) Marks
Hyla & Sandor Caplan............................Zelda Sadowsky
Adrienne Marks .....................................Herbert B. Marks
Mark & Ellen Diamond ................................ Mollie Pretter
Simma & Lawrence Robbins ..................Sara Rosenberg
Lynne & Jim Gabriel .................................Milton Shermer
Schlesinger & Seed Families ...... Norman H. Schlesinger
Sherwin Glasser ...................................... Eleanor Glasser
Bernard S. Shire .............................................Hattie Shire
Gerald Gold .............................................. Theodore Gold
Rae Solomon ...............................................Jacob Braun
Jerrie Johnson ............................................... Abe Mullen
Janice Standel .....................................Samuel Levenson
Joyce & Leonard Mandelblatt............. Louis B. Supowitz
Mrs. H. Supowitz ........................ Rose Fruhlinger Berger
THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday December 2: Benjamin Americus, William Aronovitz, Fannie Gertrude Becker, Belle Bennett, Nathan Bennett, Joseph Braunstein, Hannah Cohen, Meyer Fineberg, Benjamin Finkelhor, Louis Fishman, Philip Hoffman, Milton Kuperstock, Samuel Kurfeerst, Benjamin Levin, Abraham Lincoff, Benjamin Jacob Platt, Leon Ryave, Fannie Solow, Philip Stein, Max Strauss, Anna Swartz, Max Zeiden Monday December 3: Essie Finesod, Hymen Glickman, Ralph Hoffman, Harry Katzen, Sylvan Meth, Max Osgood, Mary R. Sachs, Dorothy Saul, Dorothy Weiss Schachter, Sylvia Snyder Sealfon, Benjamin S. Shapiro, Charles Tillman, Mary Weinerman Tuesday December 4: Rose Blatt, Reuben Bliwas, Raymond Cole, Lena Eisenberg, Jacob Erenrich, Birdie Weiler Greenberg, Herbert Alvin Haase, Celia Liberman, Morris Miller, Ed Newman, Stella G. Pervin, Louis Riemer, John Rothstein, Lawrence E. Schachter, Marcia E. Schmitt, Sarah Schor, Herman Schwartz, Norman M. Schwartz, Charles Stewart, Fannie White, Dave L. Wyckoff Wednesday December 5: Marci Lynn Bernstein, Ella Braemer, Harry B. Cramer, Anne G. Diznoff, Esther H. Friedman, Benjamin Gordon, Alexander Grossman, Joseph Grumer, Sylvia Rudov Klein, Ida Buck Levy, Harry Lieberman, P. A. Love, Alfred (Kurlie) Miller, Esther Monheim, Sophie Ruben, Sidney J. Rudolph, Norman H. Schlesinger, Dr. Donald M. Schwartz, Morris Serbin, Bessie Sherman, Violet Slesinger, Morris A. Taylor, Louis Venig Thursday December 6: Rose Cohen, Isaac Dobkin, Stuart Richard Harris, Zelda Sparks Hepner, Minnie Van Praagh Jacobs, William L. Kaplan, Morris L. Karp, Frank Levine, Meyer Levy, Ella Farber Lipman, Harry Marshall, Louis Rapport, Csipa Shapiro, Marc Wells Shapiro Friday December 7: Thelma Chizeck, Julius B. Epstein, Jacob Goldblum, M.D., David Goodwin, Lawrence Louis Green, Mollie G. Kartub, David Aaron Liebman, Bella Marians, Dorothy Mustin, Anna Natterson, Rebecca Oppenheim, Annette Reidbord, Edward David Rosenberg, Howard Bernard Schwartz, Selma Schwartz, Milton Shermer, Bertha Tabachnick Saturday December 8: Samuel Avner, Helen N. Broida, Esther F. Busis, Murray D. Goldstein, Samuel Litman, Mary Malyn, Louis Marlin, Alex Pollack, Nathan A. Potosky, Annette Reicher, Sara B. Rosenberg, Hattie Shire, Max Shulman, , Louis F. Stein, Mildred Weiner
Please see Obituaries, page 26
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NOVEMBER 30, 2018 25
Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 25
HORNE: Clarice K. Horne, a hardworking volunteer for more than 50 years at UPMC Shadyside and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, died on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. She was 92 years old. Her death was announced by Louise R. Brown, executive director of the Shadyside Hospital Foundation, where Mrs. Horne served as a director. Mrs. Horne was born on January 1, 1926, in New York and had what she always considered the good fortune to be adopted by Hyman and Elizabeth Silverstein Kalovsky of Donora, Pennsylvania, where she grew up. A Hadassah volunteer in her younger days, Ms. Horne began volunteering at UPMC Shadyside in 1968, shortly after her late husband, Lloyd Horne, M.D., an endocrinologist, joined the medical staff there. “As a doctor’s wife, you were expected to do these things,” she told The Voice of UPMC Shadyside magazine in 2012. The Shadyside Hospital Auxiliary assigned her the job of sewing slings, tray covers and baby booties for the hospital. “Most members sewed beautifully,” she recalled. “But my seams just meandered.” So she took on a new job: volunteer baby photographer. Although she worked full time managing her husband’s office, she took pictures of all the newborns at the hospital six and sometimes seven days a week for 29 years. Her photographs raised thousands of dollars for Shadyside, and for years people would stop her on the street, remembering that she took their babies’ first pictures. “One time a mother named her baby for me,” she said. “I was so thrilled I burst into tears.” Although Ms. Horne “retired” from baby photography in 1996, she continued to volunteer as a patient advocate several days a week, arriving at 5 a.m. to staff the main information desk in Posner Tower, helping out in the Day-of-Surgery waiting room, and also visiting with hospitalized patients,
talking in her easy, low-key way about “whatever they want to talk about — their families, friends, travel, the Steelers — anything except religion and politics!” Thursdays were her days at Hillman Cancer Center. In addition, she worked at the Auxiliary’s monthly sales in the West Wing of UPMC Shadyside. She served as president of the Auxiliary from 1996 to 1998 and in 1991 received the first-ever Mary Moorhead Volunteer Excellence Award. Mrs. Horne faithfully attended Shadyside Hospital Foundation board and committee meetings as long as she was able. Her volunteer work gave her valuable insight into the hospital’s services and patient needs. “Volunteering is my job, and I enjoy it,” she said. “The satisfaction of volunteering is knowing you have made a difference in someone’s life, even for a day. I believe we’re put on earth to help people.” Graveside Services and interment were held at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com. SPIEGELMAN: Stanley Spiegelman on Thursday, November 22, 2018. Beloved husband for 50 years of Barbara (Morgan) Spiegelman, beloved father of Marcus (Alexis) Spiegelman, Jason (Mitzi) Spiegelman; brother of Michael (Marty) Spiegelman; grandfather of Rebekah, Reina, Jonah, Eli and Matthew Spiegelman. Stanley was a graduate of Drexel Institute of Technology’s five-year co-op program and enjoyed a 30-year career in mechanical engineering with Westinghouse Nuclear. In a weekly breakfast, he met with six friends who graduated together from Taylor Allderdice, to share life and experiences. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside. Entombment at Homewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Jewish Family and Community Services, 5743 Bartlett Street, Pittsburgh PA. 15217 or jfcspgh.org. schugar.com TRELLIS: On Friday, November 23, 2018, Emil Trellis, M.D. died peacefully. He was 89.
Man fires BB gun outside ‘Fiddler’ Less than one month after the attack at the Tree of Life building, a man was arrested outside the Benedum Center after firing a BB gun near a crowd waiting to enter the theater for a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof.” No one was injured during the Nov. 21 incident, but the shooter, identified as Andre Freeman, Jr., 29, of Lincoln-Lemington, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, discharging a firearm or air gun, carrying facsimiles of weapons, simple assault and risking a catastrophe. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail, unable to post bail for $25,000, according to triblive.com. At approximately 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 21, police responded to a report of a man with a firearm near the Benedum, according to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department. When police arrived at the scene, Freeman was found pinned to the ground by Kevin Wilkes, chief security officer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The incident came days after the Pittsburgh 26 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
Cultural Trust launched new security procedures at its theaters, including metal detectors at the Benedum. “The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is committed to providing a space for a wide range of opinions and ideas. We will not, however, tolerate violence of any kind — be it physical, threats, or hate speech,” Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of the Trust, said. During a performance of “Fiddler” in Baltimore the previous week, a man shouted “heil Hitler, heil Trump” during intermission, causing audience members to run to the exits. The man apologized, telling a CNN affiliate that actually he was antiTrump and anti-hate. Freeman made no anti-Semitic remarks following his arrest, according to Wilkes, as reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 3. PJC — Toby Tabachnick
While he enjoyed a varied career as a psychiatrist, his main source of gratification was his family. He considered himself so grateful to have had a 66-year marriage to Barbara Miller Trellis who was the love of his life. His children: Cindy Bernstein (Hal Bernstein), Dan Trellis (the late Robin Berdahl Trellis) and Tom Trellis (Mark Gunsky) provided him with much joy and pride. His grandchildren: Paul Bernstein, Claire Trellis and Scott Trellis have only added to his sense of gratitude as he has watched their growth. Dr. Trellis was the son of the late Paul and Minna Trellis. Following graduation from Peabody High School and the University of Pittsburgh, he received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, an honorary scholastic fraternity. Internship followed at Philadelphia General Hospital. His three-year residency in psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic was completed in 1961. The next two years were spent in the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital at Lexington, Kentucky, where he was chief of the Women’s Addiction Service. While in Lexington he was also appointed as a clinical instructor at the University of Kentucky, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Upon returning to Pittsburgh in 1963, Dr. Trellis developed the first comprehensive treatment program in Pennsylvania to treat heroin addicts. Although only a pilot program based at Torrance State Hospital, he received wide support from the Department of Mental Health, the courts and probation offices, the police, the Catholic Diocese and several philanthropists. The program ended in 1967 when it was moved to Woodville State Hospital under different leadership. During this period, he was on the Pennsylvania State Mental Health Task Force on Drug Abuse in preparation for the state’s comprehensive Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act at which time he wrote the substance abuse section. From 1967 until 1973, he served
as assistant director of the Community Mental Health Center at Western Psychiatric Institute and was appointed clinical associate professor of psychiatry. For two years, he was the director of the Hill District Mental Health Team, a treatment agency equally involved in community affairs. During this period, Dr. Trellis spoke widely about individual and institutional racism. It was during this time he received the honor of “Distinguished Life Fellow” of the American Psychiatric Association. He was also director of the Squirrel Hill Mental Health Team with a focus on adolescence in the community for two years and director of the Methadone Maintenance Clinic for two years. Dr. Trellis began a part-time practice in clinical psychiatry in 1964. When urban and suburban youth began using drugs in the middle 1960s, he was much in demand as a speaker regarding adolescence. He became a full-time private practitioner in 1973 in partnership with the late Norman Kresh, M.D., who had been a longstanding, close friend. In 1973, they joined the psychiatric staff of St. Francis General Hospital. In addition to individual referrals, they provided in-patient care for patients of Health America, Central Medical Pavilion and United Health Care. While there, he was chairman of the Department of Psychiatry for two years. His last community effort was as a board member of the American Jewish Committee to help establish the priest-rabbi dialogue, serving with Monsignor Ronald Lenguin of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Prior to and after retirement in 1992, he and his wife spent 25 years as ballroom dancers. Together they enjoyed traveling extensively, visiting numerous countries as well as all 50 states. He was also an ardent fan of the Pirates and Steelers. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, his sister, Joyce Weingartner of Nashville, Tennessee, in addition to cousins, nieces and nephews. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Interment Beth Jacob Cemetery, New Kensington. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the charity of your choice. schugar.com PJC
Help us Document the Events of the Past Weeks The attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building promises to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of Pittsburgh. With the support of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives is actively collecting original documentation of the event and its aftermath. The public is encouraged to submit digital materials — everything from photographs of vigils, to voice messages and texts on the day of the attack, to posts on Facebook and other social media, and to stories from the past week — through a special web portal https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/collections/rauh-jewish-historyprogram-and-archives/responding-to-the-tree-of-life-tragedy To donate physical materials, please contact Eric Lidji at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.
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Community ZOA Awards DInner
At Beth Shalom
The Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh Awards Dinner was held on Oct. 30. Elana Eydelman, Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh student, received a ZOA Israel Scholarship and spoke about her trip to Israel last summer. Bianca Dunay, CAPA High School student, participated in the ZOA Tolerance Education program and visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.; she won the Program’s essay contest and spoke of the impact of visiting the museum. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Charles H. Saul, Esq., the Israel Service Award went to Meyer “Skip” Grinberg and the Ivan and Natalie Novick Community Leadership Award went to Katie Whitlatch.
p PIZMON — In Concert, a family friendly program open to the community was held at Congregation Beth Shalom on Nov. 17. PIZMON is the nation’s first collegiate co-ed pluralistic Jewish a cappella group, from New York City. The concert was a collaboration of Beth Shalom’s Derekh, Community Day School and J-JEP, and was made possible by a grant from the Department of Jewish Life and Learning of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
Photo courtesy of Congregation Beth Shalom
p Meryl Ainsman presents Katie Whitlatch with the Novick Award, a crystal menorah, with ZOA Pittsburgh Executive Director Stuart Pavilack.
p Congregation Beth Shalom held its successful annual fundraiser party and silent auction “Come Together” on Nov. 17. Photo by Judith Adelson
Activities at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh t Ms. Garcia from Bodiography and girls from the ballet club stretch before dancing.
u WTAE Chief Meteorologist Mike Harvey (center) gave rapt elementary students a lesson about extreme weather. Mr. Crazy Cary (left) from the Carnegie Science Center provided jaw-dropping demonstrations.
p Charles Saul, center, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Hirsh Dlinn (right) with the help of Stuart Pavilack.
Photos by Micki Myers
PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG
p Skip Grinberg (right) is presented with the Israel Service Award from David Ainsman (center) with Stuart Pavilack watching.
Photos courtesy of Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 27
joy to you this chanukah! a festival of flavors for your festival of lights. Prices effective through December 12, 2018
Empire Kosher Fresh Whole Frying Chicken
3
Red Delicious or McIntosh Apples 3 lb. bag
2
7
$
FOR
lb.
save up to 50¢ lb.
Small Red Potatoes 3 lb. bag
2
Sun•Maid Pitted or Chopped Dates 8 oz.
2
3
59
6
$
FOR
6
$
FOR
49 Empire Kosher Frozen Turkey
lb.
Empire Kosher Fresh Boneless Chicken Breasts
6
99 lb.
save up to $1.00 lb.
Yellow Onions 3 lb. bag
Kedem Sparkling Juice
1
99
24.5 oz., selected varieties
ea.
kosher wines Plus all state and local taxes. Not all items and retails available in all places.
Lipton Kosher Soup
1.9 to 4.3 oz., selected varieties
1
99 ea.
Manischewitz Concord Grape or Blackberry
save up to $1.00 ea. with your
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2
5
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save up to $2.58 on 2 with your
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4
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save up to $1.76 on 4 with your
4
99 ea.
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1.5 L
Kedem Tea Biscuits 4.5 oz., selected varieties
79
¢
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Chanukah Cards
save up to 21¢
Bartenura Moscato d'Asti 750 mL
Elite Chocolate Coins .53 oz., selected varieties Please visit our stores for additional selections of fine kosher wines.
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28 NOVEMBER 30, 2018
2
1
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Fresh Flowers for your Holiday! Selection may vary by location.
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