Alice Sahel-Azagury has spent countless hours since Hamas ignited its current war against Israel helping organize dozens of vigils in Squirrel Hill as part of a volunteer team helmed by David Dvir. She distributes posters of those in captivity, marks pieces of masking tape with the number of days the hostages have been imprisoned and helps arrange speakers to tell each hostage’s story for scores of community members gathered in solidarity.
“Once you speak about someone, you just feel like it’s a connection,” Sahel-Azagury told the Chronicle.
As a deal between Israel and the terrorist group took effect on Sunday, and the first three hostages, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, were released after 471 days of captivity, Sahel-Azagury felt a mix of emotions.
“It’s what everybody wished for, just to see those moms hugging their daughters,” said Sahel-Azagury, who moved to Pittsburgh from France about eight years ago because of rising antisemitism there.
Still, she can’t shake the anxiety that comes with not knowing how many of the 33 hostages scheduled to be released in the first phase of the deal will be alive.
“So, I’m scared in the coming days,” she said.
The ceasefire/hostage deal is complicated. It began with an initial six-week stage in which the fighting paused and the Israeli military began its withdrawal from Gaza. Israel is set to release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and
detainees, including several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks, in return for 33 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the first, 42-day phase of the deal.
A second stage of the deal, which has yet to be fully negotiated, would see a further Israeli military withdrawal and permanent end to the fighting in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages. In a third phase, the military withdrawal will be complete and reconstruction of Gaza would begin, as the bodies of deceased hostages are returned to Israel. In each stage, hostages will be freed in exchange for a much larger number of Palestinian security prisoners.
f you’ve seen Rona Kaufman’s videos on social media, you’ve seen her passion for Israel and Jewish identity. It comes as no surprise, then, that she was chosen to be part of the first 150-member cohort of Israeli President H.E. Isaac Herzog’s new initiative Voice of the People.
If all goes smoothly, Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for postwar Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.
Local community leaders expressed relief and hope with the announcement of the deal, despite the high price Israel is forced to pay for the return of the hostages.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “You know, I think with any of these deals, there are always bumps in the road, and we saw that over the last few days, but I am cautiously optimistic that 30-plus hostages or their bodies will be returning to Israel [in the first phase of the deal].”
Whether the deal will be good for Israel in the long run is unclear at this point, he said, but “it’s really good for the hostage families
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Kaufman, an associate professor at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Duquesne University, has produced videos battling the anti-Israel misinformation dominating college campuses and has become more involved in the work of strengthening Jewish identity.
After learning about Voice of the People through LinkedIn, Kaufman applied to be part of the first cohort. The selection process included submitting a CV and a video explaining why she wanted to participate in the program. Several different interviews followed, beginning with an initial group interview that included 20 people. Early this month, she was “super excited” to learn she had been selected, she said.
“The idea of the organization is to get diverse Jewish voices from across the world to come together and essentially strategize and network, compare ideas and collaborate for the purpose of confronting the challenges that world Jewry is facing in a post-Oct. 7 world,” Kaufman said. Herzog launched Voice of the People in April 2023, six months before Hamas’ terrorist attack
Irene Skolnick on trauma
Rona Kaufman Photo courtesy of Rona Kaufman
Community members stand in solidarity with the hostages at a vigil in Squirrel Hill. Photo by Sandy Zell
Headlines
Director of StandWithUs’ Center for Combating Antisemitism unpacks Zionism, Jewish identity on Pennsylvania tour
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
How committed is Carly Gammill to battling antisemitism? Committed enough to travel more than 3,000 miles, from Alaska to Pittsburgh, and spend three days meeting community stake holders, politicians, university security officials and members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community to discuss Zionism, Jewish iden tity and bigotry.
Gammill is the founding director of the StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism. She’s a constitutional litigator who has assisted clients with issues involving freedom of speech and religious liberties. And for more than a decade, she was active in fighting antisemitism on college campuses, in court and at the United Nations.
StandWithUs Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Julie Paris calls Gammill “one of the foremost experts on the issues affecting the Jewish community, and the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism. She is able to come in and really bring a level of expertise that I am in awe of.”
Paris should know. Not only does the pair work together at StandWithUs — an international, non-partisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism — but they’ve shared a car traveling around Pennsylvania and spent most of Gammill’s time in Pittsburgh together.
The duo’s journey began on Jan. 13, when they gave a presentation about antisemitism to DEI administrators and staff at the University of Pittsburgh.
Gammill did “a great job addressing
depoliticizing Zionism,” Paris said. “Her way of explaining and breaking down Zionism as a core component of Jewish identity for the vast majority of Jews in the world, and how Zionism being politicized changes the way administrators respond to it.”
Gammill said the conversation was an “unpacking” of Zionism and Jewish identity for the DEI group, including “its breadth and its scope and how that is tied to this 3,000plus year history of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.”
This topic is particularly important on college campuses, where protected speech is a prominent issue, Gammill said.
“We talked a lot about the impact of words, and that even if you can’t punish those words or silence those words, the impact of those words can create a hostile environment, triggering the responsibility of the administration to act,” she said.
Gammill said many university administrators are confused when it comes to incidents
involving free speech and equal treatment. Whatever is being done to protect other minority groups should also be done to protect the Jewish community, she stressed.
“Just because there’s protected speech doesn’t mean they’re out of options and can ignore it and move on,” Gammill said. “In DEI meetings, there are discussions about how to ensure that Jewish students feel like they belong on campus and that they know they are not only welcome but wanted.”
Gammill and Paris spoke on Jan. 14 to local law enforcement, members of college and university law enforcement and student affairs staff as part of a training hosted by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education. They also conducted training at the U.S. attorney’s office, which Paris said was initiated as a result of conversations with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala and Deputy District
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“Unfortunately, attacks on the Jewish community are on the rise,” Paris said, “and the DA’s office has a responsibility to ensure that all members of the community feel safe and able to live in this community free of division and hostility.”
Gammill said the training was part of ongoing conversations that have been taking place for over a year and that it wouldn’t have occurred without the buy-in of the U.S. attorney and district attorney’s offices.
“The fact that we had the opportunity and access to provide this educational training is a credit to these offices,” she said.
Gammill and Paris didn’t only talk to university officials and law enforcement officers, though. They also had a meeting with community members that included David Smokler, director of K-12 educator outreach for StandWithUs, about issues focused on students in elementary, middle and high school.
The duo finished their Pennsylvania trek with a trip to Harrisburg, where they discussed the state’s Jewish community and the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The meetings, Paris said, demonstrated the importance of collaboration and relationships.
“We always say it’s much harder to hurt someone you know,” she said. “So, the more that we’re able to provide these kinds of educational opportunities outside of the Jewish community, outside of this immediate inclusive environment, where we’re able to reach people who can bring about positive impacts for our community, I think we’re in a much better place.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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Headlines
A survivor’s voice: Irene Skolnick on the trauma of the Holocaust and the ongoing fight against antisemitism
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
With the approach of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 — and amid a rising tide of antisemitism — survivors are called upon to share their stories.
Irene Skolnick, 87, and one of a dwindling number of survivors living in Pittsburgh, was 2 years old when the Nazis marched into Poland and began their campaign of terror.
For more than three years, Skolnick and her family hid “in plain sight” within their own country, enduring the brutality and humiliations of Nazi occupation and resorting to extreme measures as they struggled to stay alive.
Today Skolnick is a mother of three, grandmother of seven, a retired entrepreneur and an autobiographer.
Drawing upon vivid childhood recollections and memoirs her father produced after the war, she works through the Claims Conference and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to speak about the horrors that she and her parents, brother and extended family experienced under Hitler’s regime — as well as the hope they maintained in the presence of extraordinary evil.
“We didn’t have a choice but to persevere,” Skolnick said. “The first great challenge was to accept that these cultured Germans were capable of the atrocities they were perpetrating. Notwithstanding Hitler, Poland was just as antisemitic. They piggybacked on Nazi fever.”
Skolnick’s father, Maurice Rinde, came from an Orthodox family of factory owners and businessmen, and her mother, Stella, was an assimilated Jew. They were one of just three families in Przemysl to own a car, and they employed a chauffeur, who would prove to be pivotal to their survival.
“There were four ways a Jew could hope to survive,” said Skolnick. “Being sent to the camps, escaping the ghetto to hide in the forest, being hidden by a Christian — although we know how that went for Anne Frank — or getting false papers and passing yourself off as Catholic. That is the option we chose.”
Skolnick’s family was living in Lvov under Soviet Communist persecution when the Nazis invaded and circumstances became far more ominous.
Her mother purchased birth certificates from their former chauffeur and his wife and gave them to a counterfeiter to modify.
Although Skolnick’s father at first refused to disguise his Judaism, a series of events would force him to change his mind.
“In Poland, Jews 12 and older were made to wear not a yellow star, but a white armband with a blue Star of David,” Skolnick recalled. “My aunt didn’t feel she needed to wear the armband. One day a Ukrainian stopped her and asked to see her documents. He wanted a bribe, which she could have afforded, but she refused and he turned her over to the Germans.”
“She thought she could talk her way out it,
and then my father tried to buy her freedom, but it did not pan out,” Skolnick said. “She was put into a truck and taken to the forest and executed. That was a message to my family that the Germans meant business.”
home — “the one room we were living in,” Skolnick said — demanding money, which civilians were not allowed to possess.
“My mother had dollars hidden, of course — in the lining of her purse, and in a box of facial powder under a big puff. When they began rummaging through her cosmetics, she quickly opened and closed the powder box as if to say ‘Look, there’s nothing there.’”
This infuriated the Nazis, who forced her to take off her nightgown and sit still until they left, Skolnick said.
“To her dying day, when she would occasionally talk about this episode, she would shiver, and wonder how she’d ever had the courage to do what she did.”
“But if she hadn’t, she said, she knew we would all perish. It strengthened her determination to never give up.”
When deportations to concentration camps began in Przemysl, “Rumors started flying and were so unbelievable everyone dismissed them except my mother,” Skolnick recalled. “She knew this was different from past antisemitism: ‘They are out to exterminate us, and we need to do something to save ourselves.’”
An uncle in Przemysl, a physician, warned about what was happening. He was turned
over to the Nazis by a gentile patient, and he would eventually perish with his wife and daughter in Belzec extermination camp. Facing a similar fate, Skolnick’s paternal grandparents killed themselves with cyanide
“It shook my father up,” Skolnick said, “and he was willing to try to pass as Aryan.”
“That was the beginning of us becoming Christians. We had new names, and were instructed not to tell anybody who we really were or anything about our past. My brother was instructed never to undress in public because only Jews were circumcised.”
The family found someone to clandestinely shepherd them to another city, Lublin. A lthough it was in the shadow of the Majdanek concentration camp, Skolnick’s father, with his new identity, was able to secure work as an accountant in a German-controlled factory.
It was owned by Polish brothers, Victor and Albert Pacalowski, who hired him because they needed someone who spoke German, and who, even after learning that he and his family were Jewish, went to great lengths to keep them safe, Skolnick said.
“These brothers and their wives who didn’t owe us a thing risked their lives, because anyone helping Jews suffered the same fate as Jews. There was no benefit to them except being decent human beings.”
Their names are inscribed as righteous non-Jews at Yad Vashem, the World
Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel. There were smaller acts of kindness, too, said Skolnick, who remembers an Italian soldier on his way to the front handing her oranges and chocolate as she and her brother loitered near the train station. “These goodies were unheard of in the ghetto,” she said, further noting that he carried her to her home and handed her to her mother along with a cigarette — another rarity — and a photograph of his own wife and children.
Skolnick’s family was liberated in 1944, and Skolnick moved to New York in 1952, enrolling in Brooklyn College and eventually marrying a physician.
Although they have made a good life, Skolnick said she is still “haunted” by her childhood experiences.
“Does a 4- or 5-year-old know what death is? Not the way a teenager does, but I saw the brutality of the Nazis, I saw people jumping out of windows and crashing at my feet and I could smell and see the smoke from the Majdanek camp.”
“I knew it was dangerous to be a Jew and that if I said the wrong thing a lot of lives would be at stake.”
She often ponders how she would have behaved if she had been in her parents’ position, she said. “Would I have risen to the challenge that my mother did? I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t know how you will respond until you are fully confronted with a situation.”
The massacre in the Tree of Life building in 2018 “absolutely” brought back traumatic memories, she said, as well as the sad realization “that nothing has changed.”
“I am just so disheartened that antisemitism has not died. I keep asking, in vain, why does the world hate Jews? I like to think we are good citizens. In whatever country we live in we contribute. We are pacific. Even Jews who assert their individuality do it in a peaceful, respectful way.”
Skolnick was raised without much Judaism after the war because her father had lost his faith, observing only the High Holidays and Passover out of respect for his parents, she said.
“Whatever religion I have is largely selftaught. I’m far from observant, but when my grandchildren visit I make Shabbat dinners because I want them to have the traditions.”
Skolnick recalls that even after her mother immigrated to New York, she allowed others to assume she was Christian. “She had worked not to be Jewish so much of her life that, when I got engaged, my future in-laws questioned whether their precious son, who was about to be a doctor, was going to marry a shiksa,” Skolnick said. “My mother, to her horror, realized that she had no way to prove that we were Jewish.”
And when her mother was in her 90s and Skolnick found a cross on a chain amid clutter on her desk, her mother stopped her from tossing it into the trash.
“It saved my life once,” she told me, “and I might need it again.” PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
p Irene Skolnick
Photo courtesy of Irene Skolnick
Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions also will be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.
FRIDAY, JAN. 24
Join Rodef Shalom’s Cantor Toby Glaser for a 20s-40s Kabbalat Shabbat. Get to know other young Jewish professionals and close out the week with apps, wine and great company. Registration required. Free. 7 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave.rodefshalom.org.
SUNDAY, JAN. 26
Join Congregation Dor Chadash for Mahloket Matters, Cultivating a Constructive Disagreement Mindset with Karen Morris. Disagreements are often seen as an unfortunate aspect of life. However, in the tradition of the Mishnah and Talmud, mahloket (debate) is a vital tool for fostering discussion, critical thinking, personal growth and the strengthening of relationships. 1 p.m. Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Ave. For more information, visit dhollander24.github.io/ mahloketmatters.dorhadash.
SUNDAYS, JAN. 26–JULY 20
Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club. Services and tefillin are followed by a delicious breakfast and engaging discussions on current events. 8:30 a.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.
MONDAY, JAN. 27
Join the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for
a screening of the film “The City Without Jews” in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The film will be accompanied by live music performed by violinist Alicia Svigals and pianist Donald Sosin. 7:30 p.m. Free, but registration is required. Levy Hall, Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., eventbrite.com/e/the-city-withoutjews-cine-concert-tickets-1110448795239.
MONDAYS, JAN. 27–JULY 27
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmudstudy. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.
Join Temple Sinai for an evening of mahjong every Monday (except holidays). Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie and good times as you make new friends or cherish moments with longtime pals. All are welcome. Winners will be awarded Giant Eagle gift cards. All players should have their own mahjong cards. Contact Susan Cohen at susan_k_cohen@yahoo.com if you have questions. $5. templesinaipgh.org.
WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 29–JULY 29
Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman presents a weekly Parshat/Torahportionclass on site and online. Call 412-421-9715 for more information and the Zoom link.
Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful with Rabbi Mark Goodman in this weekly ParashahDiscussion: Life & Text 12:15 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh. org/life-text.
Chai
THURSDAY, JAN. 30–FRIDAY, FEB. 28
Pittsburgh-area Jewish students are invited to apply for ZOA: Pittsburgh’s scholarshipto Israel program, taking place in summer 2025. The scholarship is open to junior and senior high school students in the fall of 2025 who are traveling to Israel on a structured study trip. Applications are due by Feb. 2 and can be requested by emailing pittsburgh@zoa.org. A ZOA committee judges applications and three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded.
SUNDAY, FEB. 2
Join Temple Ohav Shalom for “Unlimited Sound,” a free Azure family concert celebrating artists of all abilities in honor of Jewish Disability Awareness Month. From classical music to modern hits, experience the joy of composers, instrumentalists and singers who didn’t believe in limits. An instrument petting zoo follows the concert. All ages, abilities and behaviors welcome. Free. 2 p.m. 8400 Thompson Run Road. autismpittsburgh.org/azureevents.
TUESDAY, FEB. 4
Join Chabad of the South Hills for a Day in the Heights for Women. Pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel, visit Chabad’s headquarters, explore Crown Heights, visit a Chassidic art gallery and Judaica shops, enjoy delicious lunch, dinner and more. $125 plus airfare and dinner. For more information, email batya@ chabadsh.com. chabadsh.com/heights.
WEDNESDAYS, FEB. 5–MARCH 12
Join Chabad of South Hills for Decoding the Talmud Get inside the story, substance and significance of the book that defines Judaism. 7:30 p.m. 1700 Bower Hill Road. To register, visit chabadsh.com.
FRIDAY, FEB. 7–SATURDAY, FEB. 8
The Rotunda Collaborative invites you to attend Savor: A Sephardic Music and Food Experience with chef Susan Barocas and musician/author Sarah Aroeste of Savor. Engage in a weekend of food, music, history, learning and community, including a communitywide Sephardic-style service at Rodef Shalom. Friday night services are free; Saturday events are $18/each. rotundapgh.com.
SATURDAY, FEB. 8
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for Clues and Schmooze, a fun trivia event including a ra e, open bar and snacks. Trivia will be played with teams of three to six. Bring your own team or be matched up at the door. Must be 21 years of age or older to participate. Doors open at 7 p.m. Trivia starts at 8 p.m. To register visit, bethshalompgh.org/2025-cluesand-schmooze.
SUNDAY, FEB. 16
Refugee Mariam Al Ahmad will cook and host a Syrian luncheon at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Al Ahmad, her husband, Ahmed, and their five sons are excited for the opportunity to share their delicious Syrian cuisine with the Pittsburgh community. $30 adults; $20 children, 5-17. 1:30 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave. thrivepittsburgh.org/events.
FRIDAY, FEB. 21
Join Rodef Shalom’s Cantor Toby Glaser for a 20s & 30s Kabbalat Shabbat. Get to know other young Jewish professionals and close out the week with apps, wine and great company. Registration required. 7 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org. PJC
Join the Chronicle Book Club!
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Jan. 26 discussion of “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin. Overview: “It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children — four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness — sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ‘80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, ‘The Immortalists’ probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.”
Your hosts
Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle
David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer
How it works
We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m.
What to do
Buy: “The Immortalists.” It is available at area Barnes & Noble stores and from online retailers, including Amazon. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.
Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting.
Happy reading! PJC
— Toby Tabachnick
Headlines
Nearly half the globe has ‘elevated levels’ of antisemitic beliefs, ADL survey finds
Nearly half of adults around the world have “elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes,” the Anti-Defamation League reported in its latest global survey of anti-Jewish beliefs, according to JTA.
In addition, the survey found that one-fifth of the world has not heard of the Holocaust. About half accept the Holocaust’s historical truth.
Known as the Global 100, the survey represents 94% of the world’s population through responses from a sample of more than 58,000 adults across 103 countries and territories.
As it has in its previous surveys, the ADL determined levels of antisemitism by posing 11 antisemitic statements to each respondent and asking how many they agreed with. The group said that 46% of respondents agreed with most of the stereotypes tested, which include statements like “Jews have too much control over global affairs” and “Jews don’t care about what happens to anyone but their own kind.”
By that measure, the level of global antisemitism documented by the ADL appears to have sharply increased from 2014, when the group first did such a survey and found that 26% of adults were “deeply infected with anti-Semitic attitudes.”
Elon Musk’s straight-armed gesture at inauguration event ignites comparisons to Nazi salute
When Elon Musk gave his own victory
speech following Donald Trump’s inauguration, it was something he did — rather than something he said — which ignited the biggest reaction, according to JTA.
The billionaire, who was Trump’s top donor during the 2024 election, told a crowd in Washington, D.C., “This is what victory feels like.” Then he saluted those in attendance, twice, with a straight-armed salute.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk then said. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
To some of his supporters and fans, the salute appeared to be a gesture of his gratitude that was distorted as clips were shared on social media. To many others, mostly among his critics but also including some on the far right, it bore an uncanny resemblance to the straightarmed, palm-down salute of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.
“For the record, the distance between Trump declaring that he was saved by God to make America great again & Musk delivering the Hitler salute was less than 4 hours,” tweeted
Steve Schmidt, a former Republican operative turned critic of the party with 1.4 million followers on X, the social network Musk owns.
“My first glimpse of the inauguration is Elon Musk grabbing his chest and throwing a seig heil. Not encouraging,” tweeted Mike Rothschild, a writer whose books, including “Jewish Space Lasers,” examine antisemitic conspiracy theories on the far right.
Jerry Nadler, the Jewish Democratic congressman from Manhattan, called the gesture antisemitic and said other officials should condemn it.
“I never imagined we would see the day when
Today in Israeli History
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Jan. 24, 1965 — Syria arrests spy Eli Cohen
Syrian police arrest businessman Kamel Amin Tha’abet at his Damascus home and charge him with espionage. Tha’abet is Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who has gathered intelligence for years. He is hanged
were
baptize them.
Jan. 25, 1904 — Herzl meets with pope
Theodor Herzl meets with but fails to win over Pope Pius X during a two-week trip to Italy. “We cannot give approval to this movement,” Pius says of Zionism. “We could sanction it.”
Jan. 26, 1919 — Weizmann warns of catastrophe
Chaim Weizmann makes the Zionist case in a letter to Gen. Arthur Money, who heads the British military administration in Palestine. Without a secure home, Weizmann says, Jews face “a terrible catastrophe.”
Jan. 27, 2006 — U.N. holds first Holocaust Remembrance Day
The first U.N.-recognized International
what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal,” Nadler tweeted. “This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism.”
Around the same time as Nadler’s tweet, the Anti-Defamation League, the antisemitism watchdog group, issued its own ruling: “not a Nazi salute.”
The ADL has tangled with Musk over hate speech regulation on X; the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, has also praised Musk’s business acumen.
“This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety. It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the group tweeted.
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” the ADL added. “This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
The reaction underscores the sensitivity of the moment, with many Americans on the lookout for signs that Trump’s second term will empower far-right extremists within the United States. Some see Musk, who has removed a range of guardrails against hate speech on X and recently championed far-right extremists in Germany and the United Kingdom, as the most influential avatar of that potential.
Javier Milei, Argentina’s pro-Israel president, is first non-Jew to win ‘Jewish Nobel’
For the first time since its inauguration more than a decade ago, the prize dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” is going to a non-Jew: Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, JTA reported.
Milei’s selection marks another first for the Genesis Prize Foundation: the first prize given to a head of state, a departure for an award that has historically sought to sidestep politics.
Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” elected to lead Argentina in December 2023, has transformed Argentina from a critic of Israel to one of its staunchest supporters. He plans to move the embassy to Jerusalem and recently replaced his foreign minister after his first pick voted against Israel and the United States at the United Nations. Under his leadership, Argentina has declared Hamas a terrorist organization and ratcheted up efforts to prosecute those responsible for two deadly bombings against Jewish institutions in the 1990s.
Milei was raised Catholic but has also famously been drawn to Judaism and said he intends to convert once he leaves office. (He says it would be impossible to serve as president and observe Shabbat fully, a commitment that requires abstaining from work.) He studies regularly with a rabbi, Axel Wahnish, whom he appointed as his ambassador to Israel, and has cited Jewish stories and texts at multiple official events, including during his inauguration. PJC
— Compiled by Jarrad
Saffren
Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on the 61st anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation. The U.N. General Assembly president calls the commemoration “a unifying historic warning.”
Jan. 28, 1996 — Dumping of Ethiopian blood sparks riots
About 10,000 Ethiopian Jews demonstrate outside Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ office to protest the government’s decision to throw out blood donated by thousands of Ethiopian Israelis amid fear of AIDS.
Jan. 29, 2004 — Israel swaps prisoners for man, 3 bodies
Israel frees more than 430 Arab prisoners to win the release of an Israeli businessman abducted in Dubai in October 2000 and to receive the bodies of three soldiers who were captured and killed by Hezbollah.
Jan. 30, 1958 — U.S. commits to Baghdad Pact
In Ankara, Turkey, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles says the United States is committed to the defense of the Baghdad Pact nations: Muslimmajority Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey, plus the United Kingdom. PJC
p Pope Pius X said in 1904 that if Jews settled in large numbers in Palestine, he would ensure there
enough churches and priests there to
Headlines
Summer Lee calls for arms embargo against Israel, ignores Israeli suffering, in social media post about the cease-fire
By Toby Tabachnick | Editor
Rep. Summer Lee, Squirrel Hill’s congresswoman, weighed in on the hostage/cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel, acknowledging only Palestinian trauma and ignoring the past 15 months of Israeli suffering.
In a Jan. 17 post on X (formerly Twitter), Lee does not mention Hamas and its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, instead laying the blame for the conflict entirely on the Jewish state and referring to Israel’s response as a “genocide.”
“The enduring suffering and trauma endured by the Palestinians in Gaza and
the rising toll of this conflict underscore the urgency of doing more,” Lee wrote on X, while calling for a “decisive shift in U.S. policy,” including an arms embargo against Israel, “an end to the occupation and blockade of Gaza, and the apartheid policies that deny Palestinians their basic rights.”
“True peace cannot exist with occupation and oppression,” she added.
Lee did not mention the trauma inflicted on the Israeli people, including the hostages held for 470 days by terrorists.
others, and using sexual assault as a weapon of war, Lee and fellow “Squad” member Cori Bush introduced a House resolution calling for an “immediate cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.” The resolution did not call for Hamas to release its hostages.
Lee was one of only 10 House members to vote against a resolution condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and was one of only 22 Democrats to vote against a resolution condemning the support of terrorist organizations and antisemitism on college campuses. PJC
Just nine days after Hamas invaded Israel, brutally murdering 1200 people, mostly civilians, kidnapping more than 250
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Mt. Lebanon Commission hears Jewish community members’ concerns about menorah policy
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
More than 40 members of the local Jewish community attended a Jan. 14 Mt. Lebanon commissioners meeting to comment on the township’s refusal to include a menorah as part of its annual holiday display.
The commissioners opened the comments section of their meeting with a statement by Ward 2 Commissioner Steve Silverman, acknowledging the Chronicle article that brought attention to the matter and saying that Mt. Lebanon “does not accept requests or grant permission for third-party groups to add any municipal displays.”
Such permitting, he said, would require that permission be granted to any group, regardless of the group making the request or its message.
“We take the position to ensure municipal displays represent the character of the community without excluding any specific groups,” Silverman said.
The issue of a public menorah, Silverman said, is being considered by a nine-member Civic Engagement Advisory Board, created in 2023. That board is “examining the subject of inclusion globally and makes recommendations to the commission regarding municipal efforts, including all displays on municipality-owned and controlled properties.”
Several members of the Jewish community addressed the commission, delivering respectful but disappointed comments.
After discussing the historical and religious significance of both Christmas trees and Santa Claus to the Christian faith, and noting their prominence at Mt. Lebanon’s public holiday celebrations, Audree Schall said seeing those symbols at public displays didn’t bother her.
“The problem that exists for me and my husband, our family and my Jewish community,” she said, “is that our choice and opportunity to celebrate our Jewish faith in the city does not exist.”
After noting that both Dormont and
Swissvale have hosted Chanukah celebrations, Bryan Neft referenced the 1989 Supreme Court decision that, he said, “ruled that if you allow a Christmas tree you must include a menorah, too.”
place to live that I always thought Mt. Lebanon is,” Neft said. “This is particularly important now when the Jewish community has faced greater antisemitism now than at any time in postwar history.”
Chabad of the South Hills Rabbi Mendy
Rosenblum, who has tried for the last three years to have a menorah included as tions, noted that the menorah “embodies a ness, freedom of expression and triumph ver oppression … themes that resonate deeply with people of all backgrounds,
e meeting ended with the commission thanking those who spoke and reiterating that the engagement board is taking up
the issue and will make a recommendation to the commission. The engagement board’s meetings are also public.
Municipal Manager Keith McGill said in an email to the Chronicle that one function of the engagement board is to “advise the Commission and make recommendations concerning strategies and methods to promote culturally responsive service delivery, programming and communication strategies.”
Th e commission, McGill said, will consider recommendations provided by the board and determine “how to implement the recommendations that advance the municipality’s commitment to perpetuate a community with a profound sense of belonging for each individual.”
Rosenblum told the Chronicle that he addressed the engagement board at its Jan. 2 meeting. He expressed concern that the matter was being sent back to an advisory board.
“It feels like another delay tactic,” Rosenblum said. “Instead of going to the decision-makers, they’re telling us to go to the people who will make recommendations to the decision-makers.”
And while Rosenblum isn’t moved by the commission’s policy to ban third parties from adding to municipal displays, he questions whether the Mt. Lebanon Partnership, which runs many of the holiday celebrations in the municipality, is actually a third party since it has its own board.
McGill said that the municipality provides financial support to the Mt. Lebanon Partnership and that two of its directors are appointed by the Mt. Lebanon Commission.
Rosenblum said he won’t be deterred and that his commitment to ensuring Mt. Lebanon has a menorah as part of its holiday celebration is unwavering.
“I’m not going away,” he said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum addresses the Mt. Lebanon commissioners
Photo by Toby Tabachnick
p Mt. Lebanon Commissioners at the Jan. 14 meeting
Photo by Toby Tabachnick
p Rep. Summer Lee Photo courtesy of summerlee.house.gov
LOCAL —
Headlines
By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle
If you were born on Oct. 24, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, you would have been nearly 16 years old when the Japanese surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945 — not quite an adult but certainly old enough to have opinions about the world and your place in it.
After a decade and a half of restraint, you can imagine the yearning to build. And, in fact, 1946 was probably the single-most active year locally for synagogue developments.
Tree of Life announced plans in January to relocate to Squirrel Hill from Oakland. The new Young People’s Synagogue began holding services at the Hebrew Institute in February. Shaare Torah announced plans in May to relocate to Squirrel Hill from the Hill District. The new Temple Sinai held its first public services in August. Cneseth Israel relocated to Negley Avenue in Highland Park from the Hill District in September.
Those five developments reflect the consolidation of Jewish communities in the first-rung suburbs of Squirrel Hill and the East End. And yet, another development was underway.
Over the entirety of 1946, the Steelwood Corp. was constructing Millermont, a massive housing development at the old Stanton Heights Golf Course in the East End. Steelwood Corp. began in 1941 as an offshoot of H. Miller & Sons Co., which had been the most active Jewish contractor in the Pittsburgh area throughout the 1910s and 1920s.
Steelwood pioneered systematized housing construction in Allegheny County and was incredibly productive. Between 1944 and 1954, the company built nearly 1,500 homes at Millermont in Stanton Heights, Shadycrest Village in Beechview, Riverside Manor in Sewickley, and a complex of five new apartment buildings in North Oakland now called the Royal Windsor, North Windsor, South Windsor, Stephen Foster and Mark Twain.
Steelwood marketed Millermont to the many young couples who struggled to find housing immediately after World War II, especially returning veterans eligible for help under the GI Bill. A lot of young Jewish families bought these new houses in Stanton Heights. The Jewish youth population of the East End doubled between 1946 and 1958.
By the early 1950s, Stanton Heights had become a Jewish neighborhood. It had more than 200 Jewish families. All these young, spirited families were part of the larger East End community, but they were also distinct from it. They brought a different energy.
“It was an extremely active community… You had people competing for positions at the PTA, and that sort of thing,” Dr. Barbara Shore recalled in a 1993 oral history. Stanton Heights had no Jewish institutions
of its own. Everyone went down the hill to patronize B’nai Israel, Adath Jeshurun, Torath Chaim, and the Irene Kaufmann Center.
A Stanton Heights Jewish Community Center was started in October 1953 under the chairmanship of Eddie Steinfield and a Sisterhood led by Frances Cartiff. Through the 1950s, the group arranged services and programs in community spaces and private homes. They were raising money toward opening a synagogue in Stanton Heights.
When the new Sunnyside Elementary School building opened in September 1954, about 400 Jewish residents of Stanton Heights signed a petition asking the Hebrew Institute to convert the previous Sunnyside School building on McCandless Avenue into a Jewish community space for the neighborhood. The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies intervened, worried about the impact on existing Jewish institutions in the East End.
That could have been the end of it.
Federation instead did something interesting. It provided seed funding for the Stanton Heights community to conduct a needs assessment.
The move was neither a dodge nor an act of altruism. It was an experiment.
By the mid-1950s, second-rung suburban Jewish enclaves were emerging in Eastmont, Monroeville and Churchill to the east, and in Mt. Lebanon, Scott Township and Pleasant Hills to the south. Stanton Heights was an oddity, a suburban-style community in the city.
Federation was struggling to engage young suburban Jewish families as volunteers and as donors. In one of the first meetings of the new Stanton Heights group, the Federation’s Administrative Assistant Meyer Schwartz said that the self-study “may give the Federation a clue as to how to solve some of the problems arising in connection with the movement of population into other areas of Pittsburgh,” according to meeting minutes.
The concern was fragmentation. If each of those suburban communities viewed itself as self-contained, would they still support communal institutions? By having the Stanton Heights Self-Study Committee study itself, it seems that the United Jewish Federation wanted to broaden the vision of the neighborhood beyond its immediate needs.
Over the course of a year, the group analyzed the existing Jewish services available to East End residents. According to its November 1955 report, Stanton Heights had 555 children from 253 households attending programs at six existing institutions: B’nai Israel, Adath Jeshurun, Torath Chaim, the East End branch of the Irene Kaufmann Center, the YM&WHA in Oakland and the Hebrew Institute in Squirrel Hill. That represented about two-thirds of the total Jewish youth population of the neighborhood.
The study found that daily and holiday religious services, daily religious schools, and adult education programs could all accommodate additional people, while the Sunday schools, Jewish recreational
facilities and Jewish summer camps were nearing capacity.
According to a review of the final report found in the United Jewish Federation minutes, “There is a greater realization as a result of this Study that Jewish institutions, affiliated and not affiliated with the Federation, will have to reach out to Stanton Heights, and, in turn, there is a healthy feeling on the part of the leadership in Stanton Heights that they want to work with the leadership in the East End institutions and the Federation.”
The Stanton Heights Jewish Community Planning Committee was formed in April 1956 with 58 members and four subcommittees. It started holding Friday night services in private homes that fall, launched an adult education series and became increasingly active in communal affairs in the neighborhood. By 1963, Stanton Heights had more than 3,200 Jewish residents and more than 800 Jewish households — about the same size as the eastern suburbs and the South Hills and just a bit less than East Liberty/Highland Park.
“Just a bit less,” though, meant that communal institutions continued to invest in East Liberty and Highland Park. Stanton Heights never got a community space of its own. PJC
Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. He can be reached at rjarchives@heinzhistorycenter. org or 412-454-6406.
p Dr. Barbara K. Shore (at podium) with (seated, left to right) Dr. Leonard A. Cohen, Norman Krochmal and Arthur Abelson, presenting the findings of the Stanton Heights Self-Study Committee at a community meeting at Sunnyside Elementary School on April 25, 1956.
Photo courtesy of the American Jewish Outlook, Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project
hether you are a caregiver or may need a caregiver in the future, the start of a new year is the best time to get your personal paperwork in order. Being organized today will make an emergency less stressful for you and your loved ones.
Resolve this month to gather the 25 documents below and organize them in a binder or file box.
PERSONALCARE
Gathering the documents is only half of the equation.
DEMENTIA/MEMORYCARE
The other half is to schedule time this month and review the information with your family, or the person or people with whom you are entrusting your affairs if you become incapacitated.
COMPANIONSHIP RESPITECARE
Let them know where these materials are stored so they are available in an emergency. It is not recommended to keep these documents in a bank safe deposit box, but rather keep them in a safe place in your residence.
WECANHELPYOUR PATIENTSWITH:
Be sure the documents are current and have contact information, if that is appropriate.
For example, add the name and telephone number of your mortgage holder or your insurance broker to the files if they aren’t pre-printed on the documents.
If appropriate, be sure that all documents that need signatures, dates and witnesses, like a will or a power of attorney, are properly executed.
An annual review of these documents is important also. If circumstances have changed you will need to update the information.
Proof of ownership
1. Housing, land and cemetery deeds
2. Escrow mortgage accounts
3. Proof of loans made and debts owed
Medicationreminders
4. Vehicle titles
Groomingandbathing
5. Stock certificates, savings bonds and brokerage information
Toiletting
Ambulation
Health and confidential documents
Dressing
6. Personal and family medical history
7. Durable health care power of attorney
Skincare
8. Authorization to release healthcare information
Feeding
9. Living will
LightHousekeeping
10. Do not resuscitate order (DNR)
Mealpreparation
Escorttoappointments
RespiteCare
Companionshipandmany more.
Marriage/divorce/life insurance/ retirement
11. Marriage license(s)
12. Divorce paper(s)
13. Life insurance policies
14. Individual retirement accounts
15. 401(k) accounts
16. Pension documents
17. Annuity contracts
Banking information/essentials
18. List of bank accounts
19. List of all user names and passwords
20. List of all safe deposit boxes
21. Will
22. Letter of instruction
23. Trust documents
24. Birth, adoption and death certificates
25. Military service documentation (if applicable)
Along with these 25 documents, it is also important to share a list of all your passwords and PIN numbers (computer, tablet, phone, banking, etc.) with your power of attorney. PJC
Jeffrey Weinberg is president of Caregiver Champion, LLC and author of “The Emperor Needs New Clothes Or Why The Caring Disappeared from Health Care.”
Keeping your mind active and engaged is important at every stage of life, though for individuals living with dementia, engaging in meaningful activities is especially beneficial. These activities can help maintain verbal and motor skills, reduce feelings of loneliness and boredom and alleviate challenging dementia-related behaviors such as wandering, judgment errors, anxiety and agitation.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that about 1 in 9 Americans aged 65 and older, or 10.9%, are living with Alzheimer’s disease. In 2023, there were 11.5 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. caring for people living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, many of whom were family members. These caregivers must ensure that their loved ones are safe while also finding creative ways to keep them engaged.
When planning their day, it can be helpful to observe which activities the person enjoys and any spontaneous interests they show. Tailoring activities to their preferences can encourage their participation. Remember that individuals
living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias can be easily overwhelmed, so tasks should be simple with clear and easy-to-follow directions. Since individuals with dementia may not initiate an activity on their own, scheduling a specific time for an activity and inviting them to join may spark their interest and desire to participate. Establishing daily routines can help your loved one feel more at ease, reduce anxiety and foster feelings of control and independence. Over time, familiar patterns may transfer to long-term memory, offering comfort and stability.
When creating a daily schedule, consider what times of day your loved one functions best. Also, take into account how they used to structure their day. Allow ample time for meals, bathing, dressing and rest, and avoid overloading the schedule. It’s important to have a gentle balance between stimulating activity and downtime. Tools such as a calendar or dry-erase board can serve as a helpful visual throughout the day. While an activity like watching a favorite TV show can be relaxing, it may not always offer the kind of mental stimulation that individuals with dementia need. Regularly planning creative, engaging dementia-friendly activities can feel daunting, but setting realistic goals that will support your loved one’s healthy lifestyle is key.
Juniper Village is the area’s
Juniper Village at Forest Hills provides everything you’ll need to enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle at an affordable price without the expense of a large buy-in fee. You’ll find us comparable to an apartment complex with all the privacy you desire. Here at Juniper, we’ll pamper you with conveniences such as
Senior Living
How to discuss vaccination with family and friends
By Family Features
During the fall and winter months, respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19 and RSV can surge. People who are vaccinated lower their risk of getting seriously ill and needing medical care if they get infected. About 70% of adults in the United States said they probably or definitely will get a flu shot, and more than 50% said they probably or definitely will get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. While many people are ready to get this season’s vaccines, others might still have questions.
“It is normal for people to have questions about
Continued from page 10
Tailoring activities to match your loved one’s abilities will help ensure their success and enjoyment.
Some practical activities for individuals with dementia include:
• Encourage participation in simple household chores, such as drying dishes, folding clothes or assisting with cooking or baking under your supervision.
• Take a leisurely walk outdoors or work in the garden when weather permits. Spending time outside can improve mood and physical health.
• Listen to their favorite music and incorporate it into daily routines — even if it’s just in the
vaccines,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees and reviews vaccine clinical trials. “It’s important for everyone to know that all vaccines go through extensive testing before they are approved and that following approval, they are carefully monitored to identify any safety concerns so that they can be addressed quickly. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers have taken part in respiratory vaccine trials. The results tell us that these vaccines are safe and effective in preventing severe disease caused by flu, COVID-19 and RSV.”
Here are some ways to talk about the importance of this season’s vaccines with a family member or friend who is unsure about
background. Music is a powerful tool that can evoke memories, elicit emotions and oftentimes facilitate a discussion. When possible, adding music to other activities can encourage movement and social interactions.
As your loved one’s Alzheimer’s or dementia progresses, it’s important to modify activities to meet their abilities. In the early stage, they can often continue to participate in the activities they’ve always enjoyed. This familiarity will help them to thrive with confidence. Activities like card games, conversations about current events or history, social interactions and physical activities like walking or gardening are appropriate and healthy.
During the middle stage, as symptoms
getting vaccinated.
Hear them out. When talking about vaccination, it’s important to make others feel heard. There are many reasons why people may have questions and concerns about vaccines or even the health care system in general. Listen to their thinking and try not to judge. They want to know their thoughts and feelings matter.
Focus on the facts. Instead of calling out vaccine myths, focus on vaccine truths. Concentrating on myths can cause them to become the topic of your conversation. Instead, speak about the benefits of vaccines. For instance, you can mention vaccines cut your risk of being hospitalized for flu or COVID-19 by about half.
Ask if they need help getting vaccinated. Sometimes, people just need some help to
become more significant and your loved one needs additional support, plan adaptable activities that can accommodate their varying daily needs, such as following a guided exercise video, singing familiar songs, or even coloring pages to provide mild stimulation when they need downtime. You can reminisce with them using old photos or show them photos of things they have always liked to start a conversation. As an individual enters the final late stage of dementia, they can feel comforted by therapeutic activities like holding hands or giving a gentle hand massage, playing soft music and providing light sensory or tactile stimulation, all of which remind them they are cared for and loved. Engaging with them significantly
find, schedule and get a vaccination. You can help them find a vaccine location at Vaccines.gov. They may also need help finding child care or figuring out whether they can take time off from work. Offering a ride or accompanying them can also be helpful, especially if the closest vaccination site is far away. If English is not their primary language, offer to help them schedule the appointment and arrange for a medical translator if needed. When it’s easier to get vaccinated, people are more likely to take this important step to help protect their health. Having open, honest and supportive conversations about vaccines with family members and friends can make all the difference. For more information, visit cdc.gov/RiskLessDoMore or talk to your doctor. PJC
enhances their quality of life, ensuring they feel valued and cared for at every stage.
Ultimately, many caregivers want to keep their loved one at home, in a familiar community and with a sense of independence for as long as possible. Supporting them through this challenging time can often be demanding and take a toll on you as a caregiver. As you plan activities for your loved one, remember to take breaks, continue to do things you enjoy and talk with others who are experiencing the same challenges. Caring for yourself is not just beneficial for you — it also ensures that you can provide the best possible care for your loved one. PJC Mary Anne Foley, RN, MSN, is president and CEO of the Jewish Association on Aging.
Foley:
INTERGENERATION PHILOSOPHY
Senior Living
I’d like to introduce you to Julie and Audrey. The pair quickly became easy friends. They were neighbors in the same apartment building, where happenstance conversations about their mutual love of animals and crocheting hobbies created a bond. They visited each other regularly, and their time together soon became less about crochet and more about a budding friendship.
Over hours of conversations about their lives, sharing laughs and challenges, exchanging advice and crafts, Julie and Audrey crocheted more than the stuffed animals that they gave to fellow residents, their families and the building’s staff for birthdays or milestones.
Together, they crafted a meaningful relationship.
Julie’s presence often encouraged Audrey, a natural introvert, to join gatherings she might have otherwise skipped. And Julie loved her regular visits with Audrey’s cat, Smokey. Their relationship benefited each of them unexpectedly, neither imagining that sharing a street address would lead to a lifelong relationship.
Audrey and Julie just happened to be born
six decades apart. They met through an intergenerational living program at Vincentian Terrace Place, an independent living community for older adults 55-plus, where Audrey is a resident. Julie, an undergraduate student at La Roche University, also had an apartment there for two years. The Students in Residence program started in 2019, after Vincentian approached the university to embark on this unique partnership.
Encouraging connections between community members is integral to the program’s success. Spaces and programming are designed to bring students and residents together. Some interactions are unplanned, like Julie and Audrey’s connection, and some are intentional, like intergenerational gardening, cooking classes, book club or mindfulness yoga.
Ideal intergenerational environments support and inspire intentional connections between the generations, maximizing engagement between participants, instead of involvement or simply participating in activities together. There are a number of organizations and experts in the intergenerational field, such as Generations United, The Eisner Foundation and the Penn State Intergenerational Program, whose work focuses on the value of connections between people of different generations and how to create them…meaningfully.
Why is it important? Research shows that we’re in the midst of a national epidemic of
loneliness and isolation. In 2023, as Vincentian’s intergenerational living program at Terrace Place was entering its fourth year, the U.S. Surgeon General released a groundbreaking advisory, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” shining a national spotlight on the multifaceted negative impact of social isolation and decades of research to support this groundbreaking public health advisory.
In the advisory, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy cited multiple studies correlating the physical impact of social isolation on individual and societal health outcomes, including increasing the risk of premature death by at least 25%. Lack of social connection is more widespread than other major health issues like smoking, diabetes and obesity. More than half of America’s adults experience loneliness, and some of the highest rates of loneliness are reported by young adults.
The advisory also included a national strategy with a number of recommendations. One of the key tenets is that with every level of increase in social connection, many health conditions can be reduced. Social connections literally impact our bodies physically — whether negatively by being isolated or positively by engaging with others.
Particularly vulnerable to isolation and its effects are older adults in congregate care settings. At Vincentian Schenley Gardens in Oakland, a personal care community, a
similar intergenerational living program exists in partnership with Chatham University. There, graduate health sciences students live alongside the personal care residents. Like at Terrace Place, the students design and participate in programming with the older adults. These students also use their research skills to improve community life.
This year at Schenley Gardens, students are working on capstone projects including hands-on training for staff to better understand residents who have vision impairment, the creation of an ambassador program for existing residents to welcome new residents into the community and a project aimed at helping residents increase their mobility through research-based approaches for activities of daily living. Vincentian is also seeking funding partners to help it bring a childcare center to Schenley Gardens, further connecting the generations and providing a much-needed resource in Oakland.
Practitioners across industries that intersect the generations must design programming and spaces that empower individuals to contribute to their own and others’ well-being, focusing on each individual’s strengths and abilities. This will act as an antidote to the loneliness epidemic. PJC
Patricia Embree is chief operating officer of Vincentian.
Headlines
Hostages:
Continued from page 1
from what I’ve been reading, that the majority of Israelis are for it; obviously, there are those that are not. But hopefully it can lead to the return of the remaining hostages over the next period of time, and God willing, lead to a time when Israeli young soldiers aren’t being killed in combat.”
Julie Paris, the Mid-Atlantic regional director of StandWithUs, and a constant presence at community gatherings supporting those in captivity, expressed solidarity with the hostages and their families. “Each life freed from the clutches of terrorists is vital and precious, and we pray that every single one of the 98 hostages will come home to their families,” she said.
“We also recognize the complexity of this deal and the many challenges that lie ahead. Hostages are to be released in multiple stages. Further negotiations between Israel and Hamas will be required to free all of them and end this war, which has been horrific for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The release of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons, including many with blood on their hands, will be a deeply painful price to pay…. Going forward, we call on the international community to support Israel as it defends itself against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran’s regime and others who seek its destruction. Those who will be involved in the reconstruction of Gaza must help prevent Hamas from rearming, so that the devastation of the Oct. 7 war does not repeat itself. Israelis and Palestinians deserve the chance to rebuild their lives, free from the genocidal hatred and violence Hamas represents.”
Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Gefsky community scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, made aliyah in 2009 and lives in Israel six months a year. On a Jan. 17 Facebook post about the deal, he wrote:
“[W]e will need to remind the world of this fundamental truth: Had Hamas proposed — on any day since October 7, 2023 — to return every single hostage and to lay down
Kaufman:
their weapons, Israel would have immediately agreed to end hostilities. All the loss of life, all the protracted suffering, all of the destruction of Gaza is because Hamas wanted it. The blood of every Palestinian and Israeli innocent is on their hands, and on the hands of their enablers. Their cult of death, which still looks forward to destroying Israel even at the price of thousands more Palestinian lives, is a gruesome and inhuman ideology that must be expunged.”
“Until that day comes, we can at least take heart from this: Israel is strong,” Schiff continued. “I am not referring to Israel’s military strength, though the IDF’s ability to diminish Hamas, liberate Lebanon from the stranglehold of Hezbollah, and break the Iranian grip on the Middle East has been remarkable. Rather, I am referring to something else that should not be overlooked: The overwhelming majority of Israelis maintain that it is critical to bring home all the hostages, even though it requires the release of hundreds of murderers. There are those who hold that this type of lopsided deal is fundamentally irrational. They are right. And yet we continue to do such deals. Why? Because the idea that we would leave one life behind that could be saved, or ignore the plight of one family that could be reunited, or walk away from our responsibility to sustain the spark of human
Continued from page 1
in Israel, but the organization pivoted after Oct. 7. Voice of the People “aims to engage a diverse range of Jewish voices from six continents, working together to collectively identify, discuss and creatively address the most pressing immediate and long-term challenges affecting the Jewish people,” according to its website.
Oct. 7 “reshaped paradigms and raised profound questions,” which have increased the relevance of the initiative. The organization lists rising antisemitism, the digital media battlefield and future leaders grappling with Jewish identity as urgent issues requiring a response.
To that end, 150 people — including 50 from Israel, 50 from the United States and Canada, and 50 from the rest of world — were selected to take part in a two-year program beginning with a four-day conference in March 2025.
Kaufman believes the mission of the initiative is more important now than ever, because, she said, Oct. 7 has shown the need for new leadership.
“In North America, we’re seeing a colossal failure of leadership,” she said. “Failure to anticipate the seriousness of the growth of antisemitism in academia and social justice circles that have been taking place for 30 years — a failure to anticipate it and confront it properly.”
Much of what has transpired — building
hope — is simply anathema to us.”
Some anti-Israel groups hailed the deal as a victory for Hamas.
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Pittsburgh, for example, posted on Instagram: “As we celebrate the ceasefire in Gaza and the victory of the Palestinian resistance over the brutal Zionist regime, we also understand this is not the end of our student movement, but only the beginning. Our demands go beyond just a ceasefire; we demand an end of the siege on Gaza, the removal of settlements and the apartheid system in the West Bank, and the liberation of every single inch of Palestinian land from Gaza to Jerusalem.”
Rep. Summer Lee, Squirrel Hill’s congresswoman and a vociferous critic of the Jewish state, opined about the deal on X (formerly Twitter), but failed to mention Hamas and the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war; instead, she blamed the conflict entirely on Israel, referring to Israel’s response as a “genocide.” (See story on Page 6.)
Ben Case, who is on the steering committee of Not On Our Dime — the organization that seeks to put a referendum on Pittsburgh’s May ballot that would forbid the city from doing business with Israel — spoke to the Chronicle on his own behalf, and not as a spokesperson for the campaign.
“I hope all of the people who are held hostage by Hamas will be able to be reunited with their families, and those that have already, that’s a blessing,” Case said. “I hope all of the people who are held captive by Israel are able to reunite with their families, the Palestinian people who are held captive by Israel.
“I hope that the people in Gaza get respite from the constant violence, planes and drones overhead and are able to return to what’s left of their homes,” he continued. “I hope they get the humanitarian aid they need now to survive in the devastation of Gaza. I hope all the people in Israel as well are able to return to their homes. A lot of people have been displaced. And most of all, I hope it leads to a lasting peace.”
Case said he also hopes that “the Netanyahu regime doesn’t spoil the deal. I know they
get enormous pressure from the far-right contingent of the Israeli government, who doesn’t want to see an end to the war, who wants to see an escalation. And I think the Netanyahu regime has been making decisions in a very self-interested way."
Asked if he was concerned whether Hamas might “spoil the deal,” Case said the “onus is on the Israeli government because they have almost all the power in the situation.”
Case said that despite the deal, Not On Our Dime would continue its efforts toward getting the referendum on the ballot.
“The referendum language is very clear that it would apply to any country engaged in certain egregiously moral atrocious acts like genocide, like ethnic cleansing, like apartheid. And I believe that does apply to the state of Israel, but I also think it should apply to any country,” he said.
Case said that the wording of the petition “is not specifically targeted at Israel.”
Israel, however, is the only country identified by name in the petition. Moreover, at the top of the Not On Our Dime Pittsburgh website are the words: “We have the chance to pass a local law to move the needle toward ending the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Finkelstein recognizes that the implementation of the deal will not quell the efforts of anti-Israel groups that have been calling for a cease-fire since shortly after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack.
“The reason is that these groups are not about a cease-fire,” he said. “These groups are about delegitimizing and demonizing the state of Israel. They are about BDS and we need to continue to fight back against them.
“We need the community to continue to stand up to things like this referendum initiative and not let up,” Finkelstein added. “Let’s make sure that people, the readers of the Jewish Chronicle, make sure that they and their friends do not sign the petition to put this anti-Israel referendum on the ballot in May.”
PJC
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. The Times of Israel contributed to the report.
bridges with other marginalized communities hoping that it would keep the Jewish community safe — has failed, she said, as has Jewish education and what she calls “extreme assimilation.”
Kaufman isn’t simply pointing fingers; she noted that she has served on the boards of various Jewish groups, so she shares in the blame.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” she said.
Which is why she believes Voice of the People is so important.
“This is a cohort that is going to welcome other viewpoints that are not already represented,” she said. “I think that’s really powerful.”
In fact, Voice of the People’s CEO Shirel Dagan-Levy said the organization is working in unique ways to fulfill its mission, noting that the organization conducted a survey that more than 10,000 people in six languages across the globe answered.
“We asked them what do you think are today’s most urgent topics,” she said. “And we let them add anything they wanted to add with regards to what happened post-Oct. 7. We got unbelievable answers.”
Antisemitism, she said, is the top issue respondents cited, across the globe.
The organization, Dagan-Levy said, strives to be data-driven, transparent and live up to its name.
“We’re the voice of the people,” she said. “We don’t decide what to do; the people need to decide.”
That idea is tied to Herzog, who endeavors to be the president of the Jewish people, she said.
“His heritage — being the chairman of the Jewish Agency and his father as a president and his grandfather as the chief rabbi of Israel — he really feels responsibility not just for the state of Israel but for the global Jewish people.”
The initiative, she said, worked hard to find new leaders who could help with global issues of Jewish identity. To that end, 75% of people in the first cohort are below the age of 50, and the majority are between the ages of 18 and 40. Over 1,000 people applied to take part in the initial group. The final 150 represent a cross-section of world Jewry — men and women from diverse geographic locations, professions and educational backgrounds.
“Diversity nurtures creativity and innovation, and that’s what we want,” Dagan-Levy said. “We want Voice of the People not to be just another think tank but be a place in which we can come up with actionable solutions to really affect change.”
The council, she said, will be divided into 10 different groups — 15 people per group — and work with one facilitator and one fellow, who will guide them through the two-year cycle of the cohort. After that cycle ends, a new cohort will take their place.
“They will go back to their community to lead the change,” she said.
Kaufman said she has two goals in mind as she prepares for the cohort’s March meeting.
The first is to meet people who are as concerned as she is about the crisis she believes world Jewry faces now.
“I see us in an existential moment, and I think that how we move forward matters in terms of our security, in terms of the survival of Western civilization and in terms of what the future of world Jewry looks like,” she said.
There is a split, Kaufman said, between those who believe in a Jewish homeland with a 3,000-year history, and those who believe “we are connected by bagels and a couple of cute prayers and that we’re just a global social justice movement wherein we’re forced to deny our Judaism in order to be a part of the club.”
Her second goal is to continue to build a strong resume, not for professional selfsatisfaction, but to supply gravitas as she co nfronts “self-appointed leaders that spread lies.”
Kaufman believes Voice of the People will help accomplish both of those goals and help people understand the importance of Jewish identity and its connection to Israel.
“We have real issues to confront, and I want to be a part of thinking strategically about how to confront those challenges and to help direct where resources are going to flow and where our attention is going to flow,” she said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Miriam Levari speaks about Romi Gonen at a recent vigil in Squirrel Hill. Gonen was released from captivity on Sunday.
Photo by Alice Sahel-Azagury
From hell to safety in a few frenzied seconds
Four hundred and seventy-one days.
Four hundred and seventy-one days after they were dragged away into the dark underworld of Hamas captivity, where nobody knows what hell they endured, Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, emerged into the light on Sunday afternoon.
And they were not merely standing and walking but also, incredibly, in some of the very first clips and pictures, smiling.
Emily’s beaming face as she and her mother phoned their family, her bandaged left hand waving — two fingers missing from where she was shot on that worst of all days, Oct. 7, 2023 — took the national breath away. (Hamas gunmen who burst into her home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza shot her dog, she has reportedly told her family and friends in her first conversations with them, and she was hit, too, as she tried to comfort her dying pet.)
And then, minutes later, the pictures of all
three of these young women embracing their mothers surely moved many Israelis, and others all over the world who love this country and its people, to tears of joy and relief.
Romi cradled by her mother Meirav, a gracious, noble presence in innumerable television interviews through the many awful months.
Emily and her mother, Mandy, during that
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming both — for the agreement that never came.
It held its breath, after this new deal was finally reached, signed, approved and supposed to take effect, when Hamas delayed the release of the names of these first three to be freed.
And it watched with no little dread on Sunday afternoon when dozens of Hamas
The nation waited, month after month after month — blaming Hamas, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming both — for the agreement that never came.
first phone call with the rest of the family.
And Doron, her face not visible, hand covering her eyes, her cheek against her mother Simona’s, hugging each other like they’ll never let go.
Fourteen months since the last deal with Hamas, fears have mounted inexorably for the almost 100 hostages still captive in Gaza.
The nation waited, month after month after month — blaming Hamas, blaming Prime
gunmen, hailed by a large cheering crowd, commandeered Gaza City’s Saraya Square for a wild, self-aggrandizing daylight ceremony before a vast global audience.
But in a few frenzied seconds, it was done: Doron, Emily and Romi scrambled the five or so paces from one vehicle to another, one reality to another — from Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and thence to merciful Israeli safety.
The joy and relief are heartfelt and deep, but no, not overwhelming.
Because nobody can forget for a second that this first, six-week phase of the deal has only just begun. And given that not all of the 33 women, children and men to be freed in this so-called humanitarian phase are alive, there will be much that is terrible before it is over.
Because nobody can forget that the agreement comes at the price of the release of hundreds of the most dangerous terrorists, many, likely most, of whom have every intention of killing again.
Because nobody can forget that Hamas aims to use this deal, as it has always intended to use the hostages it seized, to enable its revival.
Because nobody can forget that 94 hostages are, unthinkably, still held captive in Gaza.
PJC
David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” (2004) and “A Little Too Close to God” (2000), and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post and The Jerusalem Report. This article first appeared on The Times of Israel.
A punch in the gut to the families of terror victims
Ijust got a message from Chaya, one of the bereaved women we work with in the Koby Mandell Foundation. The Koby Mandell Foundation was created in honor of our son Koby and his friend Yosef Ish Ran who were murdered by terrorists 24 years ago near our home in Tekoa, Israel. Since then, we have worked with hundreds of bereaved families from terror and other tragedies.
Chaya just received a devastating phone call notifying her that the Palestinian killer of Erez Rond, her son, is about to get out of prison and be set free. She says that she felt like somebody had punched her in the gut, as if she was receiving the news of her son’s murder again — as if her son was being killed again.
She wrote on Facebook that she is asking Erez for forgiveness that his killer is being released. Erez was 18 years old and if you look at his photograph, you can see that he was a happy young man, bursting with life, two weeks
before he graduated from high school, a leader in Bnei Akiva.
Multiply the message that Chaya received by thousands.
Terror victims know that the danger of releasing Palestinian killers is not theoretical but real.
I’m glad that my son’s murderers were not found. I would be terrified that I, too, would receive a phone call telling me they were letting out Koby and Yosef’s killers. I, too, would ask Koby’s forgiveness as a murderer of children was set free. But what does that say about justice in this country? How can we pretend to offer
There’s no right answer because either way is filled with pain. We all feel the terrible pressure.
The hostages need to be released, and most of us are not naïve about the price. We know that we cannot bear for our people to be hostages in Gaza, but we also know that the price we have to pay is unbearable. The price is what created Oct. 7 because of the previous release of Sinwar in the Gilad Shalit deal, and the price is one that other Israelis will have to pay in the future because terror will continue. The price is another Israeli family knowing that their world has been destroyed. The price is the fact that, in terms of this hostage deal, we are at the mercy of Hamas.
Is it happening again?
“It’s happening again,” she said, looking up at me from her cloudy, mousey brown eyes that had seen 75 years of multiple continents, family drama, frightening illnesses, intense academics and
many days unremembered, like fresh snow that the rain melts while you are inside at work. What did she think was happening again?
This was about a year after Sept. 11, 2001, and I had moved with my husband and 1-year-old to Pittsburgh, not knowing anyone except my in-laws’ oldest friends from “the old country” — Edith and Egon Balas, who had immigrated here from Romania via Canada in the 1960s. So in the early 2000s, at a fancy dinner party, in a fancy neighborhood, the fancy university
justice to the families of terror victims, when that justice is temporary?
We as a country are caught in a vise. There’s no right answer because either way is filled with pain. We all feel the terrible pressure.
In addition, Hamas is trying to ramp up the pressure, to condemn us to psychological warfare this week. Waiting for the list. Waiting for another three hostages to be released. Waiting for the next hostages.
This nation is like the baby in the story of the two mothers who go to Solomon claiming the
professor hostess was telling me that after a 40-year hiatus, she began to have nightmares again about the time she was a slave in Auschwitz at age 14.
Years have passed since that moment, and in the summer of 2024, Edith’s older daughter asked me to come to the house to go through her belongings. A pretty, enfeebled of mind and body 95-year-old Edith was moving to Florida to live close to her younger daughter. (Egon died more than five years earlier.)
same baby. It is the true mother who is willing to give up her child to the other mother rather than hurt him.
Avraham in the Bible was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac but God, in the end, told him that he didn’t have to. We are tired of paying the price, we are tired of the sacrifice, the deaths of hundreds of soldiers, the deaths on Oct. 7. We are tired of being called on to sacrifice so much, to bear the injustice of releasing the killers of our children.
God, release the hostages but without this bitter price. Otherwise, the families whose children’s killers are released become emotional hostages. I know that’s better than being physical hostages, but don’t mistake or discount the price that the families of terror victims will have to pay. PJC
Sherri Mandell is co-director of the Koby Mandell Foundation which runs programs for bereaved families in Israel. She is the author of the book “The Road to Resilience: From Chaos to Celebration.” Her book, “The Blessing of a Broken Heart,” won a National Jewish Book Award in 2004. She can be reached at sherri@ kobymandell.org. This article first appeared on The Times of Israel.
My heart thudded as I climbed the flagstone steps to the Balas house.
I had not done enough for Edith. Why didn’t I do more? I made excuses — mainly a busy family life with three children and a spouse who works many nights and weekends. But the real reason was that I felt guilty that my life was easier. Nothing in my American experience could compare to that of a person who
Please see Hammer, page 17
Opinion
Chronicle poll results: Presidential inauguration
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Will you watch the presidential inauguration?” Of the 379 people who responded, 63% said no; 24% said yes; and 13% said they weren’t sure. Comments were submitted by 108 people. A few follow.
I dread this administration. Why would I watch the inauguration?
I can’t bear to watch the smarmy over-thetop event it is bound to be. I can’t bear to watch the installation of a possible oligarch.
It’s time for the country to be managed by a mensch.
I will watch to hear what crazy things Trump will say, such as making Canada the 51st state and taking over the Panama Canal and Greenland.
Continued from page 16
was stuffed into a train car with 100 others for several days, without food or water, to ride to Auschwitz. I ignored her. I was not brave. I was not selfless. I avoided a lonely, sickly, esteemed professor and de-facto godparent of my husband. Why?
Because it was hard.
Inside, her daughter and I went through Edith’s walk-in bedroom closet.
“Would any of these shoes fit you?” Edith’s daughter asked. “I remember these sandals! My mother and I bought them together when we were in Italy. I bought really plain ones, but she wanted these.” They were three colors, strappy, exquisite Italian leatherwork, and surprisingly, fit me well. I went home that day with a big bag of shoes to delight my 20-something daughters: Ferragamo, Bruno Magli, Bally — brands I never before touched.
Another day, she asked me to go through her mother’s basement cavernous cedar closet. Despite the cedar, many items were full of moths and mold. There had been a flood there years ago and remediation efforts were not entirely effective. Why had her daughters not cleaned this up on one of their many visits? I can only imagine that it was too heartbreaking a task to even look at the racks and racks of brightly colored couture because they were so much a part of their mother’s special spark, which had dulled. Would getting rid of this collection be admitting the life she built was gone? I made multiple trips back and forth with about 20 trash bags of sequined, beaded, silk, taffeta, linen and wool garments — some which Edith designed and had professionally tailored. Maybe that’s why her daughters didn’t touch this room.
After washing about 40 loads of dry-cleanonly items with Borax and vinegar, as well as backbreaking ironing, I was facing my own inner garbage. Why did I take on this project? Guilt was at the top of the list. Yet, I continued to avoid Edith. She was still alive, and I was spending more time with her dresses than with her. Does saving, preserving and finding a new life for the beauty she valued matter? If Edith’s prized collection was thrown away, it would be a shame. She’d feel erased.
As I worked to revive Edith’s fashion testament, I wondered if the value of the magnificent, striking and meticulously stitched pieces was reclamation, redemption or retribution. By amassing the likes of Carolina Herrera and Emilio Pucci was Edith taking back the joy,
I have never seen the need, desire or reason to watch any presidential inauguration.
Though I’m concerned about the next four-plus years, I need to be on top of current events.
This inauguration is nothing to celebrate. It represents the worst values in humanity and an embarrassment to the world.
Trump’s first inauguration speech was so dark. I can’t watch a second one.
I’m not arranging my schedule around it, but if I am near a television, it is an important official government happening.
It’s MLK Day! I’m going to volunteer somewhere instead of wasting my time watching a convicted felon become the next president of the United States.
enthusiastically, “Yup, that’s Nan’s design! Thanks so much for making the effort to find us!” her son wrote. One of her daughters wrote back, “The outfit is just spectacular and fits me well. Thank you for helping me reconnect with my mother through her design.” This dress will
Has the world always been as bad, but we are just more aware now because of better and faster access to information?
innocence, confidence and peace stolen from her by the Nazis and later by the communist regime in Romania? Were beautiful clothes therapy to a woman who walked through the memories of hell every day for 80 years, always wondering if it could happen again? Indeed, it was surprising that she could thrive after all she had undergone — like witnessing from a crack in her Auschwitz barrack wall the Roma community being liquidated to the gas chambers, or when a bucket of human waste spilled on her from the barrack rafters where it had been placed because every inch of the dirt floor was taken up by another woman. Was art solace, comfort, medication? Was building a brilliant career in art history an escape from her own history?
A couple weird and wonderful things happened as I found homes for Edith’s dresses.
I sold a few items on eBay. One was a dress designed by one of the first Black designers of 1970s New York City, who died at 52, Scott Barrie. The woman who purchased it said she had a family connection to fashion of that time and place, so collecting things like this made her feel closer to her past.
I had another successful rehoming with Edith’s older daughter’s 40-year-old wedding dress. This daughter had since divorced but could not bear the thought of this dress going to just anyone. I looked up the designer, and found she was local to Pittsburgh, Nan Evans. She is no longer alive, but I got the names of her three children from her obituary, and via internet sleuthing, I contacted them to ask if they were interested in the outfit. They responded
The Republican Party will put the United States economy back into the black. Also, in world affairs, the United States will settle affairs among warring countries.
Trump is disgusting, but we will be stuck with him for four years. Might as well watch.
Looking forward to Trump making America Great Again!
I’ll probably watch the late-night comedians and hear from their perspective.
I despise him. But I will probably watch if I’m at home. It is an historic event. PJC
— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick
Chronicle weekly poll question: Overall, do you think the cease-fire/hostage deal is good for Israel? Go to pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC
years, she had endured breast cancer five times and broken her neck, but this was the first time something threatened her ability to write. She recovered and decided it was time to compose her autobiography. Egon also had done so, chronicling living under a false identity, suffering solitary confinement, multiyear imprisonments with beatings. Overall, it’s a miracle that neither was internally destroyed by what they lived through.
now be a hug from mother to daughter.
But getting back to “It’s happening again”: Edith wasn’t just talking about the return of her nightmares — she meant the return of the dark times she and her husband barely survived. Is it happening again? Has the world always been as bad, but we are just more aware now because of better and faster access to information?
Soon after Edith made that haunting statement to me, she had a small stroke. Over the
Netanyahu’s ‘miscalculations’
And so, after making several trips to the house for forgotten tasks— returning the Comcast equipment to Xfinity, shipping the contents of a hidden drawer full of tax papers —I shut the door behind me to an empty Balas household after their 60 years in Pittsburgh. I hope I honored Edith by preserving some of the beauty she loved and needed.
And I fully expect to be finding sequins from her dresses around my home for decades. PJC
Robin Hammer works in project and data management in Pittsburgh. She wrote the first draft of this piece on Nov. 16. That night, Edith Balas passed away in her sleep.
— LETTERS —
Giovanni Giacolone repeats the same worn arguments about destroying Hamas and not negotiating with terrorists even when they’re still holding 90-plus Israelis and have regrouped despite the onslaught (“The ‘deal’ would be a win for Hamas, Biden and Trump, but not for Israel,” Jan. 17). Anything short of total victory rewards Hamas and dishonors the IDF soldiers who fell in this conflict. Giacolone sums up by wringing his hands saying this “surely was not what we expected.”
Well it’s time that the forever-war proponents take a step back to assess Trump 2.0 and rethink their expectations. Netanyahu will never admit his abysmal miscalculations, but waiting for Trump might prove his greatest error of all. Trump has his sights on Saudi Arabia. Israel has paid and will continue to pay a terrible price for Netanyahu’s hubris and selfassured arrogance. Trump wants an end to this war and an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Netanyahu, to put it in stark terms, is in his way.
Richard Friedman Pittsburgh
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Life & Culture
Refreshing citrus salad
By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle
The ruby red grapefruits I’ve been getting recently are the best tasting that I’ve purchased in years, so now is the moment to share this light and refreshing citrus salad recipe.
This salad is exactly what I want in January after I’ve had my fill of rich holiday fare. I typically make this with avocado, but I listed avocado here as optional because it’s not in the photograph. I think we’ve all had the unfortunate experience of buying a bag of avocados only to find them unusable. If you happen to have ripe, yet firm, avocados, then you should use them, but the salad tastes wonderful either way. The cucumber, citrus and hearts of palm make for beautiful additions to salad greens.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 bag of arugula or spring mix
1 large ruby red grapefruit
1 large orange
1 cup of thinly sliced cucumber
1 cup of sliced hearts of palm
Optional:
1-2 avocados, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons raw unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
BRAND, Robert
The American Technion Society mourns the passing of our longtime friend and supporter Robert Brand of Pittsburgh. He was an emeritus director of our National Board of Directors and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Technion Board of Governors. Bob’s deep connection to the Technion spanned more than four decades, and his gifts to the University supported a myriad of priorities that included the Robert N. & Carol Ann Brand Scholarship Fund and the Technion Fund. We extend our deepest sympathy to his son Leigh Andrew Brand, daughter Laura Ann Brand, son David Owen Brand, and the entire family.
Mark Gaines, President
Steve Berger, Chair of the Board
Michael Waxman-Lenz, CEO
Rob Platt, Director of Development
If you need to prepare this ahead of time, chop everything (except avocado) beforehand. Wrap and store each item separately and assemble the salad just before you need it.
Thinly slice the cucumber and slice the hearts of palm in ¼-inch round pieces.
Slice the stem and naval ends off the grapefruit. If you can’t see the entire round window of the fruit, keep slicing through the pith until you can. When the ends are sliced off, the grapefruit will sit flat on a cutting board, which makes it easier to remove the skin.
Use a sharp paring knife and cut down and through the rind from top to bottom, removing the peel and as much of the pith as you can. Then turn the grapefruit on its side and slice it in 2 or 3 rounds that are about 1 ½ inches wide. The membrane and pith hold most of the bitter flavor, so remove as much of it as possible.
Grapefruits can be very juicy, so I work over a bowl. Doing so catches all of the extra juice, a portion of which will be used later to dress the salad. Gently pull each round apart and peel the membrane from each section, then put the sections back into the bowl of juice.
Repeat the same steps with the orange and add those pieces to the grapefruit. If you have an extra orange, you can cut thin slices and garnish the salad with them.
Lay the lettuce onto a platter.
Scatter the cucumber slices and hearts
of palm over the top.
Use the nicest, biggest sections of grapefruit for the top of the salad, tucking any smaller pieces into the lettuce.
If you’re using avocado, remove the pit, slice the avocados in ¼-inch slices horizontally, scoop each half from its skin, then fan each one out over the top of the salad.
I dress this simply and don’t use a real recipe, but I’ll share how I do it:
Take 3 or 4 tablespoons of the citrus juice from the bowl and put it into another small bow. Taste the juice — if it’s very bitter you can add 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey. If the juice is on the sweeter side, then don’t add any sweetener.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir in 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Drizzle it over the salad right before serving.
This isn’t a traditional salad dressing as there is no need to make an emulsion, no garlic or herbs and no excess oil. It’s very light, which is what I enjoy about it most.
Many people have nut allergies, so I usually make nuts optional, but I especially enjoy this with coarsely chopped pistachios — they should be raw, unsalted and sprinkled over the top. Nuts are a good way to add texture to salad.
Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC
Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.
p Refreshing citrus salad
Photo by Jessica Grann
Dear Friends
We can’t wait to gather March 1 at Big Night: Olympics!
The JCC is in the final stretch to reach our fundraising goal.
We invite you to join us as a Big Night sponsor, donor, attendee, or auction and raffle participant. Sponsorship includes tickets to the event.
Get started by scanning the QR code below or go to bit.ly/bignight25
Your support will:
• Ensure anonymous assistance to the one in three members who receive some type of scholarship.
• Fund JCC’s high quality programs and services
• Fund staffing and operational needs
Thank you for helping the JCC make a lasting impact in our community.
Big Night Chairs
Terrina & Dan LaVallee
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Questions? Contact the Big Night team: bignight@jccpgh.org
bit.ly/bignight25
Terrina & Dan LaVallee
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Life & Culture
Sotheby’s to auction ‘the most complete Jewish baseball card collection in the world’
p A complete collection of Jewish players’ baseball cards being sold at Sotheby’s is estimated to fetch more than $500,000 in January 2025.
By Jacob Gurvis | JTA
For many Jewish fans who collect baseball cards, the joy of opening a new pack and finding a Jewish player is second to none. That was Seymour Stoll’s experience years ago when he drew a Sandy Koufax card at 14 years old.
Inspired by that sense of pride, Stoll set out to collect the cards of every Jewish player in baseball history — around 200 total. More than 50 years later, his complete collection is going up for auction at Sotheby’s, with an esti mated price of $500,000 to $700,000.
Touted as “the most complete Jewish baseball card collection in the world,” Stoll’s archive features over 500 cards representing 191 Jewish players. It claims to contain at least one card for every Jewish player who has appeared in a professional game as of the 2024 season. (A similar but much smaller set of Jewish baseball cards was produced and sold throughout the 2000s.)
The players most represented in the collection are Hall of Famers Koufax and Hank Greenberg. Other well-known Jewish stars such as Norm and Larry Sherry, Ron Blomberg and more contemporary players like Ian Kinsler and Ryan Braun are all featured. Lipman Pike, the first Jewish baseball star and one of the sport’s firstever professional players, is also represented.
one of two Meyerle tintypes in existence. Stoll told Sports Collectors Digest that he bought the card for $750 around 30 years ago and later had it appraised at $250,000 to $300,000. Meyerle’s card stands out for another reason — because some of the most devoted aficionados of Jewish baseball history are certain that he is not Jewish, despite his name. He and several other players mentioned in the Sotheby’s listing are not included in “The Jewish Baseball Card Book,” published in 2018 by Bob Wechsler.
Sotheby’s acknowledged having heard from Neil Keller, a baseball fan and self-described “national and international speaker on ‘who is Jewish,’” about the listing. It said his concerns were addressed in the online listing, which acknowledges some uncertainty about the included players’ Jewishness.
“Compiled over five decades, this remarkable archive represents every Jewish baseball player of the 191 total as of the 2024 MLB season,” the listing says. “Of these, 177 players have confirmed Jewish heritage, while the remaining
14 players’ heritage has not been proven.” It does not note that Meyerle is among the 14.
Other notable cards include a rare one of 1930s New York Giants star Philip Weintraub and a 1946 Cuban series card of Max Rosenfeld. There’s also a fake card of former Cincinnati Reds player Harry Chozen — a card that Chozen’s family created after the Reds refused to have one made because Chozen was Jewish. (That card holds little value on its own.)
“This collection not only celebrates achievements but also sheds light on the challenges Jewish players faced on and off the field,” reads the Sotheby’s listing, which notes that Koufax and Greenberg both faced antisemitism during their careers.
The most valuable card in the set is an 1867 tintype — an old-fashioned metallic print — of Philadelphia Athletics star Levi Meyerle,
Stoll’s collection has been on display at 11 major museums around the United States — including the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles — as well as synagogues, libraries and community centers.
“Everybody loves something whether you’re young, you’re old, and it gives you a sense of pride of what the baseball players did to integrate Jews into society,” Stoll, now a physician alifornia, said in 2020. “In the old days, they would be blackballed and had to hide their Jewish heritage. Today, they’re welcomed with open arms. It shows the evolution of the game, the evolution towards the feelings of Jewish players and the country in general.”
Bidding in the auction — which includes a broad array of Americana — is open now and ends on Jan. 25. For Shabbat-observant interested parties, Sotheby’s notes, bids can be made in advance or through an agent. PJC
Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s
p A Sandy Koufax rookie baseball card displayed by the Unclaimed Property Division of the Colorado State Treasurer at the State Capitol in Denver, Colorado, March 10, 2015.
Photo by Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
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Celebrations
Bar Mitzvahs
Torah
A God with many names
Jacob I. Farber becomes a bar mitzvah on Jan. 25, 2025, at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Jake is a seventh-grade student at Fox Chapel. Proud parents are Josh and Julie Farber. Jake is the grandson of Nancy and Shelley Farber and Zelda and the late Edward Curtiss, and loving brother of Max, Zac and Samantha. Just
Joshua Kole Nicholson, son of Shanna Kovalchick and Brandon Nicholson, became a bar mitzvah at Rodef Shalom Congregation on Jan. 17, 2025. Josh is a seventh grader at Shady Side Academy, where he is an active member of the robotics team. Outside of school, he enjoys sailing, skiing and biking. He is also interested in city planning and architecture. For his bar mitzvah project, Josh plans to use his 3D modeling skills to help a nonprofit organization visualize its facilities. PJC
Jewish boy was chatting with a non-Jewish friend about God, when his friend declared, “I know God’s name!” Incredulous, the Jewish boy asked, “Oh yeah? What is it?” His friend proudly replied, “It’s Howard!” “Howard?” the Jewish boy repeated, confused. “Yeah,” his friend explained. “You know, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be Thy name.’” The Jewish boy laughed and said, “That’s cute, but my rabbi taught us that God has many names, and trust me, ‘Howard’ doesn’t make the list!”
This dynamic understanding of God’s names reflects a central truth in Judaism: While God’s essence is constant, how we understand and relate to God evolves. Just as the Israelites in Egypt needed a redeemer, we, too, experience God in ways that speak to our own circumstances.
During personal struggles or after recovering from an illness, we might call out to God as Rofei Cholim (Healer of the Sick). In moments of awe, we might reflect on Borei Olam (Creator of the Universe). Seeking justice, we might invoke Dayan HaEmet (Judge of Truth). Each one of these names reflects an aspect of God that meets us where we are.
This idea challenges us to ask: How do we name and experience God in our own lives? For some, it may be that God is a source of
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Mazel Tov!
While Howard may not have made the cut, God’s name — or names — and identities (also plural) are central to Jewish theology, and this week’s Torah portion, Va’era, offers us a profound insight into how this is so.
compassion (El Rachum); for others, God may be a source of strength (El Gibbor). Like the Israelites and the Patriarchs before them, we each encounter God in ways that reflect our unique needs and moments at any given time.
In Va’era, God, speaking to Moses from the burning bush, says: “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by My name YHWH, I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3). This is a striking statement. Why would the God of the patriarchs reveal a new name to Moses?
But there’s a deeper lesson here: Just as God is known by many names, we, too, reveal different parts of ourselves as life demands. Sometimes we are called to be sources of comfort; other times, we must embody strength or speak out for justice. By embracing this dynamic way of being, we mirror the Divine in our lives.
In Jewish tradition, God’s many names aren’t mere identifiers; they express different attributes of the Divine. El Shaddai — often translated as “God Almighty”— emphasizes power and might, which suited the patriarchs as they needed faith that God could fulfill promises of land and descendants.
But in Moses’ time, the Israelites were enslaved and needed more than a God of promises — they needed a God of action. By revealing the name YHWH, associated with God’s eternal and redeeming nature, God was signaling a shift: The same Divine Being was now revealing a different aspect, one suited to the liberation that was about to unfold.
So, the next time someone asks, “What’s God’s actual name?” we can confidently answer: Truly, it depends. God’s names — and God’s power and presence — meet us where we are. And just as the Israelites learned in Egypt, sometimes the revelation of a new name is the first step toward a deeper understanding of who God is — and who we are called to become.
Shabbat Shalom. PJC
Rabbi Aaron Bisno is the senior rabbi at Temple Ohav Shalom and the Frances F. & David R. Levin Rabbinic Scholar at Rodef Shalom Congregation. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.
Obituaries
FINEBERG:
Fineberg, of Squirrel Hill, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at the age of 96. Ruthie was the beloved wife of the late Irwin Fineberg for 45 years. She is survived by her children, Sharon (Steven) Schwartz, Elizabeth Fineberg (Bruce Shackleton) of Wayland, Massachusetts, and Abe (Amy) Fineberg of Montville, New Jersey. Ruthie was a cherished Bubbe to Laura (Dave) Dayan, Marla (Ben) Pourrabbani, Leah Shackleton (Chris Wear), Emily Shackleton, Sarah Shackleton (Warren Howe), and Jared Fineberg, and a loving G.G. to Nathan, Simon, Ian, Ava, Rebecca and Madelyn. Ruthie was also dearly loved by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and her siblings, Evelyn and Cliff Surloff, as well as her sister-in-law, Sema Fineberg. Ruth was a passionate fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, and enjoyed swimming, golf and playing mahjong, bridge and canasta with family and friends. A skilled cook, Ruthie took great pride in preparing traditional Jewish dishes passed down from her mother, Rebecca, as a way to nourish and express her love for her family. The family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff, aides and nurses at Weinberg Terrace, as well as the Sivitz Hospice team, for the exceptional care and compassion they provided to Ruth during her final months. Donations in Ruth’s memory can be made to a charity of your choice. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. schugar.com
GREEN: Leona S. Green, 90, of University Heights, Ohio, passed away on Dec. 14, 2024. Born on Dec. 24, 1933, in Pittsburgh, she was the daughter of Eastern European immigrants. Leona lovingly married Norman Green (deceased) at the age of 19. She began her undergraduate work at the age of 29, earning a Bachelor of Science in education and an elementary certification in 1970 from Cleveland State University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was a member of Pentelicus Women’s Honorary Society. Leona earned her master’s in education and professional certificates in elementary reading, special education, learning disabilities and behavior disorders in 1977 from John Carroll University in University Heights. Her post-graduate work focused on reading, learning disabilities, classroom economics and student self-esteem for kindergarten through eighth grade. Leona taught one year in The Agnon School, now the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School in Beachwood, and 26 years in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School System as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist at Roxboro Middle School, formerly Wiley Junior High School and Gearity Professional Development School, formerly Belvoir Elementary. She trained and supervised student teachers and parent volunteers. She was very involved, co-leading a group of high school students, with Chaim
Estate of Armand J. Pistilli Sr. a/k/a Armand J. Pistilli, Deceased April 9, 2024, of Lincoln, Pennsylvania No. 02-24-04918
Catherine M. Pistilli, Executrix; 218 Harbinger Ridge Road, Harbinger, NC 27941 or to Bruce S. Gelman, Esquire, Gelman & Reisman, P.C., Law & Finance Bldg., 429 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1203, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Horowitz, for a year that stressed positive Jewish identity which eventually became Cleveland Betar. Leona also served as a Brownie leader; president of Maple Heights chapter of B’nai B’rith Women, now Jewish Women International; board member of Oheb Zedek Cedar Sinai Synagogue in Lyndhurst, Ohio, and Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Beachwood, Ohio; a volunteer at The Cleveland Orchestra Store; and a lifetime member of Jewish Women International, NAAMAT, Hadassah and Council of Jewish Women. Leona also authored two books, “The Traditional Egalitarian Passover Haggadah” and “At Home with the Jewish Holidays.” She was the proud mother of three daughters, Lynn Green-Bennett (Jeff Bennett) of Colorado, Ronna (Marc) Zaken of North Carolina, and Yehudis (Rabbi Eli) Cohen of New York; delighted grandmother of Remy (Ethan) Andersen and Michael (Paola) Zaken, Esther (Rabbi Yudi) Horowitz, Moshe (Jana), Lazer (Mookie), Devorah (Rabbi Didy), Gavriel (Yulia), Chaya, Mendel, Mickey (Brocha), Rivka (Maish), Dovber and Yetta Cohen; great-grandmother to many outstanding great-grandchildren; grateful daughter of Esther Y. and Sol E. Podolsky (both deceased); daughter-in-law to Bertha A. and Lawrence Green (both deceased); sister-in-law to Faye Lipsitz and Leda Cohan (deceased); proud sister of Selma Ryave; beloved aunt to Rosalyn; sister and sister-in-law to Mal and Ann Powell; aunt to numerous, wonderful nieces and nephews; a special friend to Marvin Engelberg and grateful riend to many. Funeral services were held Dec. 16/15 Kislev at Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel in Cleveland Heights. Interment was at Zion Memorial Park in Bedford Heights, Ohio. Contributions are suggested to ShaareyTikvah.org, Chabadclinton.com or
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Sunday January 26: Samuel Bernstein, Rose Schwartz Bodek, Pauline Caplan, Renee Cohen, Nathan Dektor, Leroy D Fienberg, Freda Florman, Arthur W Fried, Zola S Heller, Sylvia Kalmick, Max Kalson, Pearl Klein, Jack Lange, Marcia Lieberman, Rita Marks, Byrde Marlin, Nellie E Rudolph, Harry Selkovits, Samuel Solow, Sarah Rachel Teplitz, Morris Vinocur, Dora Zeidenstein
Monday January 27: Ruth Boimel, Abraham J Epstein, Max Levenson, Esther Mallinger, Julia Mankin, Rose H Mirskey, David Newman, Eugene Neil Reuben, Rae Solomon
Tuesday January 28: Philip Backer, Bernard Bigg, Aaron H Braunstein, David Dugan, Louis Fineberg, Abraham J Friedman, Sam Gerson, Harry Glick, Nathan Greenberg, Frances S Winsberg Gusky, Samuel Harris, Sarah Kallus, Betty Lenchner, Jacob Linder, Violet Semins Paris, Minnie Pecarsky, Bea Perer, Charlotte Rubin, Ben Scolnik, Jacob Shapiro, Dr Bernard J Slone, Jennie S Solomon, Ann Tergulitza, Freda Venetsky
Wednesday January 29: Blanche Stein Banov, Matilda Barnett, Irene Bloom, Florence Ravick Fishkin, Goldie Friedman, Herman Friedman, Harry B Harris, Jennie Hoffman, Albert Lebovitz, James Leff, Mathilda Lindner, Ilene Grossman Mattock, Bernard Peris, Leah Rosenfeld, Beatrice Rita Weil Ruben, Esther Sadowsky, Anna L Saville, Max Schlessinger, Gertrude Shakespeare, William Solomon, William Spokane, Morton Stein, Rose Wedner, Mary Sulkes Wolk
Thursday January 30: Sylvia S Berger, Frances Levenson Carey, Ruth H Cohen, Fanny Eisenfeld, Harry T Feinberg, Nochim Gelman, Henry Goldberg, Philip Goldblum, Samuel E Klein, Norma Marks Klein, Samuel Levine, Estelle E Martin, Jacob Alex Miller, Harold J Pasekoff, Dr George Raffel, Anna Shapiro, Sophie Shapiro, Anna Sigesmund, Chaim Silberblatt, Yetta Singer, Henry Solomon, Elder H Stein, Albert J Supowitz, Rose Tabor, Louis Tenenouser, John D Whiteman, Goldie H Zacks
Friday January 31: Isabelle Pitler Backer, Mollie Beck, Samuel Darling, Sidney H Green, Florence Hiedovitz, Paul Ibe, Max M Jacobson, Fannie Klein, Rose Klein, Regina Kossman, Geraldine Lerner, Blanche L Schwartz, Bernice Semins, Russell Tanur
Saturday February 1: Samuel Baem, Harry N Bailiss, Sara T Davidson, George J Fairman, Joseph Gray, Dr John J Horwtiz, Sara R Jacobson, Sam Kaufman, Max Kweller, Fannie Kwalwasser Lazar, Morris Levy, Harry Meyer, Mary Myers, Lt Louis Newman, Harry Pretter, Mollie Samuel, Florence Stone, Pauline Strauss, Jennie Walk, Victoria Zimmer
Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: In memory of... Marlene Alpern
Obituaries
Continued from page 23
Dr. Carl Medgaus, 76, of Pittsburgh, son of the late Morris and Jeannette Medgaus, passed away on Jan. 15, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of passion, determination and excellence that will orever inspire all who knew him. Born on Jan. 31, 1948, Carl lived a vibrant life filled with love and purpose. A brilliant dentist with an extraordinary 51-year career, he was not only a dedicated professional but also an innovator in his field. He founded and developed the groundbreaking full-arch dental procedure, Stabili-Teeth, revolutionizing the lives of
countless patients. A true gift to his profession, Carl’s impact reached far beyond the dental chair. Outside of work, Carl’s zest for life was unmatched. An avid guitar player, he found joy in music and shared that passion with those around him. In the kitchen, he transformed into an unofficial chef, delighting family and friends with meals crafted from love and creativity. Yet, as accomplished as he was in his career and hobbies, Carl’s greatest pride and joy were his children. They were not just his family but his best friends and most cherished companions. Carl’s love for his children and granddaughter was boundless, and his role as a father was his most treasured accomplishment. Known for his youthful spirit and heart, Carl defied age in every sense. At 76, not a gray hair adorned his head — an outward reflection of the vibrant energy he carried through life. He was the centrifugal force of his family, the center of their world. His loss leaves an indelible mark on the lives of those who loved him most. Carl is survived by his beloved wife, Norma J. Medgaus; his de voted children, Bari Medgaus, Melanie Medgaus, Connor Medgaus, Alexa Medgaus and Nathan Medgaus; and his adored granddaughter, Jayda Medgaus, as well as his sister Beverly Jones, brother Daniel Medgaus and special nieces and nephews. His memory will live on in their hearts and in the countless lives he touched with his kindness, wisdom and vision. Carl’s life was a testament to living fully, loving deeply and leaving the world better than he found it. While his physical presence will be deeply missed, his spirit and legacy will remain forever in the hearts of those who knew and loved him. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel. Interment private. schugar.com PJC
Act Program — to settle allegations that it received the loan, which was forgiven,
The anti-Israel nonprofit would have been required to repay three times the loan amount, $1,016,451, as well as “lost interest, along with civil penalties for each false certification made in the loan application and forgiveness application,” if it was found guilty of fraud, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The forgivable loan was part of the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which “authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses and other entities, including non-profit organizations, struggling to pay employees and other business expenses,” according to the Justice Department.
The program wasn’t open to those that “primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities,” and when Jewish Voice for Peace applied for the loan, it certified that it was not an “entity that is organized for research or for engaging in advocacy in areas such as public policy or political strategy or otherwise describes itself as a
think tank in any public document,” per the department.
An investigation revealed that Jewish Voice for Peace did engage primarily in political activities, according to the Justice Department, which added that JVP “contends that any misstatements in this application were inadvertent.”
“The Paycheck Protection Act Program existed to help businesses survive a devastating global pandemic,” stated Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
“When business owners unfairly drain those funds — either by not reading the eligibility requirements or disregarding them — they put the entire program at risk,” Graves added. “In the end, those who are harmed are the businesses that actually qualified for and needed the money, and the taxpayers who funded the program.” PJC
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Life & Culture
Righteous Among the Neighbors: Arlene and Jeff Berg
By Lucy Pryor | Mt. Lebanon High School
Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and stand up against antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write article-length profiles about their efforts. To learn more, visit hcofpgh.org/ righteous-among-the-neighbors.
When moving to a new school, most kids strive to follow the crowd in order to make friends. Jeff Berg did the opposite.
After entering a new school in fifth grade, Berg decided to befriend a Jewish boy who was being bullied.
In the years before social media, bullies took a more physical approach than hiding behind a screen. People would call the young boy names and pick fights with him after school.
“I mean, at that young age, there was just something in me that I just felt really bad for,” Berg said. “So, I said, ‘He needs a friend.’”
As they became good friends, the boy invited Berg to his bar mitzvah, which allowed Berg to experience his first taste of Judaism.
Later in life, this same friend introduced
Berg to Arlene, the woman who would become his wife.
Thanks to this friend, Berg forever will be indebted to the Jewish community, he said.
“I’m just trying to share the benefits of befriending somebody,” Berg said about his work fighting antisemitism today.
Due to their work, Arlene and Jeff Berg have been named Righteous Among the Neighbors honorees for 2024. This award is designed to honor people who are allies with the Jewish community, actively fighting antisemitism.
Although the Bergs practice Christianity, they take responsibility to fight antisemitism by educating various ages, groups and ethnicities.
One way they work to defeat antisemitism is by talking to their local churches. Their goals when speaking to church congregations are to spread awareness about antisemitism and to teach people to love and accept the Jewish people and religion.
“We are encouragers,” Arlene Berg said.
When the Bergs bring their message to Christian churches, they show that many of
the New Testament messages are rooted in the Hebrew Bible. They note that the Apostle Paul quoted many Psalms when he spoke.
Jeff Berg emphasized that an important way to spread love for the Jewish people is by teaching younger generations.
“When we’re in churches, if we can, we try to teach the children,” Jeff Berg said.
The call to love the Jewish community and culture has created paths that have helped shape people’s lives. In the 1990s, Arlene Berg taught at a junior church in Cleveland. She spoke about the Jewish community and encouraged young people to love and accept Jews for who they are. Later, she discovered that a girl she taught traveled to Israel.
She said, ‘Oh I’ve always remembered you two for what you taught me about Israel,’” Arlene Berg recalled.
The Bergs have visited Israel four times in an effort to experience Jewish culture. On a recent trip, by visiting sites and towns that most visitors don’t see, they gained a priceless experience that they will forever cherish, they said.
“Even just by seeing the architecture from synagogues, we learned a lot,” Arlene Berg said.
On that trip, the couple collected funds and gifted them to the head of a Jewish community there.
“We wanted to show love to the Jewish
WEST COAST: EAST COAST:
Event Chairs: Debbie & Josh Resnick
Event Co-Chairs: David Sufrin & Diane Samuels
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 • 5 PM
Hosted by Edgar Snyder & Adele Sales (Address provided upon registration)
Please visit: jewishpgh.org/occasion/snowbird-west or scan QR code TO REGISTER
Event Chairs: Gail & Norman Childs
Event Co-Chairs: Laura & Elliot Dinkin
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2025 • 5 PM Woodfield Country Club 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton, FL 33496
Please visit: jewishpgh.org/occasion/snowbird-east or scan QR code TO REGISTER
p Jeff and Arlene Berg
Photo by Brian Cohen
With winter continuing to bring snowy days, members of the After School Clubhouse at the JCC
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Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
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Photo courtesy of Community Day School
What a pickle
Local college students enjoyed a pickle-making event at Chabad House on Campus.
p More fun than salty
Photo courtesy of Chabad House on Campus
Spreading out at story time
J-JEP educator Pam Stasolla shared a Jewish story with second graders.
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With students back on campus following a long winter break, Chabad House on Campus hosted
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Photo courtesy of Chabad House on Campus
REFUSE TO SIGN THE ANTI-ISRAEL PETITION!
A new petition endorsed by the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America seeks a citywide referendum to prohibit the city from doing business with Israel or companies with Israeli ties. It falsely accuses Israel of genocide and apartheid, while diverting focus from Pittsburgh’s real challenges.
Refuse to sign the petition
Speak out and post online using our toolkit at StandTogetherPGH.org
Encourage others to oppose this measure
The Federation is committed to protecting our community as we continue to strengthen Jewish life, support those in need and build a safer, more inclusive world.
Learn more and download our toolkit: StandTogetherPGH.org
