The University of Pittsburgh might want to hide the Anti-Defamation League’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card from its parents.
publicly condemning antisemitism; partnering with Israeli institutions; having an active Hillel and Chabad; having an active pro-Israel group; and the level of hostile anti-Zionist staff and faculty activity.
For the first time, the university was included in the ADL’s report providing information about the state of antisemitism on campus and how universities and colleges are responding.
Pitt received an overall grade of D, the same as Columbia University, which has become a national symbol for antisemitic activity on college campuses. By contrast, Carnegie Mellon University, the only other Pittsburgh-area university graded in the report, received a B.
Pitt, the ADL said, performed below expectations in five categories: having an official position against BDS; having a Jewish alumni group; the level of severe antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents; the level of other antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents; and the level of hostile anti-Zionist student groups.
The school met expectations in six categories: antisemitism included in code of conduct and policies; advisory council to address antisemitism; mandatory antisemitism education for students and staff; clear time, place and manner policies; participated in program to address antisemitism; and interfaith initiatives on campus.
The university performed above expectations in 18 categories including: having a clear process to report antisemitic incidents;
Kelly Fishman, regional director of ADL Cleveland, which serves western Pennsylvania, said the report card is a tool for understanding what’s happening on campus.
“For schools like Pitt, this is the first year they’re on the report card so, right now, it’s about getting a baseline of where things are,” she said.
The university participated in the report by filling out a survey and attending webinars hosted by the ADL. The grade, Fishman said, will give Pitt an opportunity to work with the ADL and alter some of the things bringing down its score.
“For instance, antisemitism is included in the code of conduct. We want to see a firmer definition and really see that continue to be enforced and to have them build their advisory council to address antisemitism.”
One thing that negatively affected the university’s score, Fishman said, is its lack of a position against BDS.
A challenge Pitt faces, Fishman noted, similar to other campuses in major cities but not those in smaller cities, is the existence of outside actors who have access to the university and its students.
Three Pitt students were physically assaulted
ongressional hopeful Adam Forgie credits a 2016 Classrooms Without Borders tip to Poland as “changing everything.”
“We toured Treblinka and Auschwitz. It changed my life,” he said. “It changed my viewpoint, everything. This can never happen again.”
Forgie is the mayor of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania — an eastern suburb bordering Monroeville, East Pittsburgh, Forest Hills, Churchill and Wilmerding — and a teacher in the Woodland Hills School District.
He recently announced his candidacy to challenge incumbent 12th District Rep. Summer Lee in 2026.
“She has taken the party so far to the left that it doesn’t represent what it is to be a true Democrat,” Forgie said. “Socialist — she’s come out and said that publicly. That’s not the viewpoint of the majority of Democrats.”
Forgie, who calls himself a “traditional blue-collar Democrat,” said he is a moderate who makes decisions issue by issue. Lee, he said, isn’t simply out of step with the
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Reports of a synagogue’s imminent demolition are somewhat exaggerated. Congregation Ahavath Achim in Braddock, according to John Katz, is not slated for leveling.
Katz, whose family has maintained the building for decades, was reached after a top contributor to the Facebook group Jewish Pittsburgh posted that the building would be razed.
“The building is boarded up to protect the inside,” Katz told the Chronicle.
Windows are covered and painted blue. Entrances are sealed.
Those measures were taken because “chairs were stolen off the bimah, copper was stolen,” Katz said. “Every year we would go in before the High Holidays and we would notice that the ground floor window was open or things needed repair.”
Katz moved to Pittsburgh from California in 1998. For the next 20 years he attended High Holiday services at Ahavath Achim with members of his family.
“My great-grandfather is Harry Litman. It was his congregation. I never met him, but I got to daven in there with my grandfather and my mom and two of my four kids,” Katz said.
Each year, Katz and family members would join local residents and fellow reminiscers for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Abe Salem, a Holocaust survivor who studied to be a cantor in pre-war Warsaw, often led services.
Bernard Newman used to attend High Holiday services at Ahavath Achim.
“A building can’t stand forever, but while it’s standing it fills a role in history-making that you can’t replicate on paper.”
Newman called it a “legacy shul.”
“We went there every year for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Eugene Litman (Katz’s grandfather) was the president and Abe Salem was the rabbi,”
Newman said.
At one time, there were about 2,000 Jews living in Braddock, according to Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History
–ERIC LIDJI
Program & Archives.
Braddock was “unusual” in that it had two Orthodox shuls: Ahavath Achim and Agudath Achim.
“I’ve never gotten a breakdown of it, but maybe the Litvaks and Hungarians were going to Agudath Achim and the Russian Jews were going to Ahavath Achim,” Lidji said. “Definitely, the two Orthodox
SUBSCRIPTIONS
subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-687-1000, ext. 2
TO ADVERTISE advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-687-1000, ext. 1
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Evan H. Stein, Chair
Evan Indianer, Vice Chair
Derek Smith, Treasurer
Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary
Gail Childs, Dan Droz, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Seth Glick, Tammy Hepps, Judith Kanal, Cátia Kossovsky, Charles Saul
GENERAL COUNSEL
Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.
Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher 412-228-4690 jbusis@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
EDITORIAL Toby Tabachnick, Editor 412-228-4577 ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Adam Reinherz, Senior Staff Writer 412-687-1000 areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
David Rullo, Senior Staff Writer 412-687-1000 drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
ADVERTISING
shuls had a breakdown along ethnic lines.” After World War II, many Jewish residents of Braddock, including the Litmans, moved to Pittsburgh’s East End. Families maintained businesses in Braddock, but the Jewish population “dropped off pretty quickly.”
Amy Weiss, Account Executive (412) 613-0697 aweiss@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Main phone number: 412-687-1000 Subscriptions: 412-687-1000, ext. 2
PRODUCTION
Jeni Mann Tough Production Manager
Carl Weigel
Art/Production Coordinator
Subscriptions subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-687-1000, ext. 2
Published every Friday by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Foundation 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Phone: 412-687-1000
POSTMASTER: Send address change to PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE, 5915 BEACON ST., 5TH FLOOR PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 (PERIODICAL RATE POSTAGE PAID AT PITTSBURGH, PA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES) USPS 582-740
Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle become the property of this publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such items.
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle does not endorse the goods or services advertised or covered in its pages and makes no representation to the kashrut of food products and services in said advertising or articles. The publisher is not liable for damages if, for any reason whatsoever, he fails to publish an advertisement or for any error in an advertisement. Acceptance of advertisers and of ad copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is not responsible if ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser will indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle from all claims made by governmental agencies and consumers for any reason based on ads appearing in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
By Ben Sales | JTA
Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist arrested at Columbia University, will remain in the United States and in ICE custody following a brief, highly anticipated court hearing on March 12.
The arrest of Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident, has drawn national attention. Critics of the arrest have expressed alarm over the threatened deportation of a green card holder based on his activism, saying it threatens free speech rights. The Trump administration and its defenders argue that he supported terrorism and thus violated the terms of his residency in the country.
That debate created a charged atmosphere outside the federal courtroom in downtown Manhattan last week, where a crowd protesting for Khalil’s release — and on behalf of Palestinians — gathered ahead of the hearing.
“Lift the siege on Gaza now,” the protesters chanted, some waving large Palestinian flags. “We want justice, you say how — free Mahmoud Khalil now.”
Presiding over the hearing was Justice Jesse Furman, a federal district judge who had halted Khalil’s deportation earlier in the week. Furman allowed Khalil’s lawyers to speak with him twice last week; previously, they had not been able to speak with their client confidentially. Khalil was not present for the hearing.
Lawyers for the government are seeking to move the case out of New York, and Furman ordered the sides to file paperwork arguing that point in the coming days. The government lawyers could file their final reply on that question by Monday at midnight.
Furman is an observant Jew, and he and his family have faced online threats from Laura Loomer, a Jewish far-right activist, since that decision was issued.
Outside the courtroom, a member of Khalil’s legal team read a statement from his wife, who is eight months pregnant.
“My husband was kidnapped from our home and it’s shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and lives of his people,” she said, according to video in the New York Post. “His disappearance has devastated our lives.”
Khalil has not been charged with a crime, but on March 12, senior administration officials laid out their case for deporting him, claiming that he posed a threat to national security and could therefore be removed from the country under American immigration law because he supports Hamas.
“This is not about free speech, this is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a public appearance on March 12.
“No one has a right to a student visa, no
Demonstrators gather outside the Federal Courthouse in New York City to show support for Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and to demand his release from ICE detention on March 12, 2025.
one has a right to a green card, by the way,” Rubio added. “I think being a supporter of Hamas and coming into our universities and turning them upside down and being complicit in what are clearly crimes of vandalization … If you told us that’s what you intended to do when you came to America we would have never let you in. And if you do it once you get in, we’re going to revoke it and kick you out.”
His comments were echoed by Tom Homan, the White House border czar, and Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary. President Donald Trump has said he plans to take similar action against other foreign student activists. Pennsylvania lawmakers have weighed in on Khalil’s arrest and detention.
In a response to a post on X by Senate Judiciary Democrats that said, “Free Mahmoud Khalil,” Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman wrote: “Free all the hostages who have been tortured, starved, raped, beaten and STILL in tunnels in Gaza by Hamas since October 7th, 2023.”
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick wrote on X: “…if you support terrorist organizations you have no place in our great nation.”
Rep. Summer Lee, who represents Squirrel Hill, wrote on X: “Trump’s able to criminalize dissent for one group bc the groundwork was laid by bipartisan censorship. Freedom of speech is our 1st amendment. We’re eroding our democratic principles to justify literally erasing Palestinians to appease war criminals.”
Lee is among 14 House Democrats demanding the release of Mahmoud Khalil.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said Khalil’s arrest and detention was an act of “anti-Palestinian racism intended to silence the Palestine solidarity movement in this country.”
Other representatives who signed the letter were André Carson of Indiana, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Al Green of Texas, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Lateefah Simon of California, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Nydia Velázquez of New York and Nikema Williams of Georgia. PJC
Toby Tabachnick contributed to this report.
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
Tsach Saar moved to New York two months before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
An Israeli diplomat, Saar previously served as the deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Israel in Athens, counselor for culture and science of Israel in Berlin and deputy ambassador of Israel in Albania. He spent four years as a parliamentary adviser at the Israeli Knesset before beginning his diplomatic career.
In August 2023, Saar was named the deputy consul general and moved to New York. He’s responsible for relationships in five states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware.
“I came to New York just two months before Oct. 7, which turned everything upside down. The agenda has changed dramatically,” Saar said. “It’s definitely a challenging time to be here.”
Ostensibly, Saar’s main task is to build relationships with community leaders and elected officials. In practice, he said, part of what he does is maintain the special relationship “between Israel and the United States.”
“We build bridges, connection, cooperation
“We build
bridges, connection, cooperation and collaboration between academic and cultural institutions, promote trade.
It’s a lot of peopleto-people work.”
–TSACH SAAR
and collaboration between academic and cultural institutions, promote trade. It’s a lot of people-to-people work,” he said.
The relationship, he said, is of strategic interest to both sides and is evolving with the new Trump administration.
“It’s very good, I would even say excellent,” he said. “Many things his administration is doing have had a good impact for Israel. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have a good relationship with the previous administration. It’s very important that our relationship is bipartisan with the United States.”
“Storms
Lee & Lisa Oleinick
It’s no secret, Saar said, that the Trump administration views the Middle East and Israel’s war with Hamas differently than the Biden administration.
“I’m very happy with the involvement of the president,” he said. “So far, we’ve managed to see an additional 33 Israelis and non-Israelis come back home. Unfortunately, not all of them were alive, but it is progress.”
Asked about Trump’s actions against university students who support Hamas, Saar said that while free speech and f reedom to protest are important, it was Jewish students who were having their rights infringed.
“Jewish students, Israelis and pro-Israelis are the ones being intimidated,” he said. “They don’t feel safe. They’re being attacked physically or being insulted.”
The Israeli government, he said, applauds the administration’s attempts to “finally make Jewish students feel safe on campus. Even prior to Oct. 7 students were being harassed and intimidated. Since Oct. 7, there’s been a normalization of antisemitism.”
Israel has had two primary goals since Oct. 7, Saar said. The first is to bring the hostages home and the second is to ensure that Hamas is not able to commit the atrocities of Oct. 7 ever again.
“It’s really difficult because they operate as a terrorist organization. It’s very easy to keep some kind of guerilla capabilities even after they lose the grip of governance in Gaza,” he said. “That’ s why we would like to see the Gaza Strip demilitarized. If you take away from Hamas their military capability and governance, then you can also start the deradicalization process and healing.”
Until that happens, he said, Hamas will continue to spread its antisemitic message and calls for violence.
The terrorist organization’s goals, Saar noted, are clear: Its charter calls for a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”
Still, he’s optimistic, even after Oct. 7, that a path to peace might be found.
“It’s better not to strive or wish for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the river to t he sea,” he said. “Maybe with economic development and welfare in Gaza, things will look better.”
That said, Saar realizes that change may
be a generation away. First and foremost, he said, the hostages must be returned, and Hamas’ threat eliminated.
Without naming names, the deputy ambassador said that he’s aware of statements made by some elected officials in the States that were not constructive and didn’t acknowledge Hamas’ responsibility for innocent Palestinians lives lost since Oct. 7.
“ They use their own people as human shields and hospitals as command centers. They put missiles in mosques and kindergartens that are being shot at us. If you don’t say it out loud people won’t understand that this is their strategy,” he said.
Saar said he hasn’t seen that clarity from some of Pittsburgh’s elected leaders. Some statements he has seen, he said, haven’t been helpful.
“If they think it’s constructive or contributes to the security and safety of Jews, Israelis and pro-Israelis on the streets or campuses in Pittsburgh, or if these kinds of statements contribute to the healing and reconciliation here in America, they are wrong,” he said. “It is counterproductive using anti-Zionist and sometimes antisemitic rhetoric,” he said.
In fact, he said, calling for Arab selfdetermination while ignoring or speaking a gainst Israeli self-determination is antisemitic.
“Because when Jews are excluded from a right every other significant ethnic or religious minority has, and when we’re talking about the same land, that’s antisemitic,” he said. “And I think we’ve had a very strong demonstration that shows us how anti-Zionism is becoming more and more antisemitic.”
As to claims that Israel is committing genocide, Saar is clear. He noted that Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and that the attack of Oct. 7 was against citizens inside Israel, not Gaza or disputed territory.
“They’re the oppressor,” Saar said referring to Hamas. “From the river to the sea, they are supporting the colonization of my land.”
“ They are trying to oppress me and take my house, my home, my homeland,” he said. “I don’t have any other country. My grandparents were born in Yemen and had to leave because they were persecuted. When they arrived in Mandatory Palestine in 1932, Jews were there, and they were there centuries before.”
Saar is married to Israeli lawyer Guy Arad and they have two children. In his downtime, he enjoys DJing and playing house music.
Saar spoke to the Chronicle an hour after arriving in Pittsburgh. It was his first trip to the Steel City.
“ The classic buildings are so beautiful,” he said before zeroing in on something he noticed in the brief time he had been in the city.
“ The vibe is really good, and the people are nice,” he said. “They’re smiling. They’re kind.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Grocery shoppers and seder makers are keenly aware that Passover is just around the corner. A new book by local physician Dr. Jonathan Weinkle offers a prescription for an optimal holiday experience and beyond.
Published Jan. 31, by Resource Publications, “From Illness to Exodus: A Passover Meditation on Empathy, Health, and Healing” delivers 358 pages and 52 chapters of seder-related instructions and thoughts.
Weinkle, chief medical officer of Squirrel Hill Health Center, said he conceived of the idea years earlier while writing his first book, “Healing People, Not Patients: Creating Authentic Relationships in Modern Healthcare.”
That work was about “how to be a nice Jewish doctor,” a formula, he said, that was akin to Judaism: follow rituals. By listening, asking questions and listening, one could become a better physician.
The listening-questioning-listening exercise, Weinkle realized, is most evident on Passover. So, in an effort to enrich others’ seders, the physician dedicated his second book to the topic.
“For patients who are sick, or especially chronically ill, it’s like being stuck in your own personal Mitzrayim (Egypt),” Weinkle said. “Everything you need to do is a million times harder than if you are well.”
But it’s not just patients who can see themselves in the ancient Israelites. Physicians, or anyone involved in the healing process, can also draw parallels to the classic Exodus tale, he explained.
During the seder, people traditionally sing “Dayenu,” a text recalling numerous gifts and miracles delivered to the Jewish people.
The song’s lessons are relevant to healthcare, Weinkle said.
Gratitude is important, but it’s for individuals to “realize themselves and not for us to impose on other people,” he continued. “Twisting someone’s arm into being grateful is really unhealthy for them. Someone has to come to that on their own.”
p “From Illness to Exodus: A Passover Meditation on Empathy, Health, and Healing” book cover
Another familiar passage in the Haggadah involves the image of an outstretched arm. The reference, which stems from Deuteronomy 5:15 and is often cited as a reminder of God’s power to deliver the ancient Israelites from bondage, is not about anger or furious strife, Weinkle said. “It’s about going to bat for people, advocating for people and thinking about all the times as someone in a helping profession you have to knock down a barrier for someone and fight for them.”
Combat isn’t always against an army, he continued. The adversary could be a “bacterium or a cancer, or some type of a system that isn’t working, or even something in that person’s own head that is making them unwell.”
Reading or hearing about an outstretched arm should prompt seder-goers to say, “It’s time for me to stretch out my arm,” Weinkle said. After all, “everyone is going to end up on both sides of the equation: Sometimes we are sick and sometimes we are helping. The lessons apply to both people.”
Writing “From Illness to Exodus” was an opportunity for Weinkle to scour classical Jewish texts. It was also a way of reclaiming his professional duties.
“This offered me a lens to really see what I was doing,” he said.
One of the Squirrel Hill resident’s biggest takeaways was the need to synthesize and clarify communication.
Midway through the Haggadah is a reference to Deuteronomy 26:5: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation.”
APPETIZERS
CHOPPED LIVER
GEFILTE FISH (COOKED)
SOUPS
CHICKEN SOUP
MATZO BALL
VEGETABLE SOUP
SALADS
CHAROSES
COLE SLAW
CUCUMBER SALAD
ISRAELI SALAD
BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER
KUGEL
MATZO KUGEL
POTATO KUGEL
MATZO FARFEL
W/MUSHROOMS
OVEN BROWN POTATOES
MATZO STUFFING
TZIMMES MAIN DISH
ROAST CHICKEN LEG
ROAST CHICKEN BREAST
APRICOT LEG
APRICOT BREAST
SHERRY MUSHROOM CHICKEN
BONELESS BREAST
ROAST TURKEY BREAST HALF
ROAST TURKEY LEG (DRUM & THIGH)
BRISKET SINGLE
BEEF MEATBALLS
SWEET ’N SOUR
STUFFED CABBAGE
NUMBER OF SPECIALS ___ PASSOVER CHICKEN DINNER SPECIAL NUMBER OF SPECIALS ___ PASSOVER BRISKET DINNER SPECIAL • $9900 SERVES 4 PEOPLE •
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, MARCH 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. 7 p.m. Free. Registration required. rodefshalom.org/lateshabbat.
SUNDAYS, MARCH 23–JULY 27
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.
Join the 10.27 Healing Partnership for Roll for Insight: Community-Building Role-playing Games Meet every other week to connect and grow with new friends through playing tabletop role-playing games designed to inspire emotional depth. They will use RPGs to explore the intersection of identity, emotional resiliency and games, to fight isolation and disconnection and to meet new people and form friendships. Free. No experience required. 16 and up. 5:30 p.m. Jewish Community Ketner, 5738 Forbes Ave. 1027healingpartnership.org/rpg-club.
MONDAYS, MARCH 24–JULY 28
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
MONDAYS, MARCH 24–JULY 21
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.
TUESDAY, MARCH 25
Sarah Abrevaya Stein presents Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century sharing her award-winning research on the Levy family and their displacement from Salonica, Greece, to cities around the globe. Free. 5:30 p.m. calendar. pitt.edu/event/family-papers-a-sephardic-journeythrough-the-twentieth-century.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26
Congregation Beth Shalom is pleased to announce that Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook will present their book “Zahav Home.” 7:30 p.m. bethshalompgh.org/march-2025.
WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 26–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.
THURSDAY, MARCH 27
Join Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s YAD Philanthropy for Free Throws & Field Goals Sports Trivia Night, its annual fundraising event with a sporty twist. Will your team come out on top and win the grand prize? Register now and find out. Open to young adults ages 22-45. Early Bird: $25/person (ends March 17). General admission: $36/person.
7 p.m. PNC Park, 200 W General Robinson Street. jewishpgh.org/event/free-throws.
SUNDAY, MARCH 30
Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for Jewish Gems, an afternoon of jewelry making and snippets of inspiration for women and girls. 1:30 p.m. $15/person. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com/jewelry.
SATURDAY, APRIL 5
Families with young children are invited to spend Shabbat morning with Rodef Shalom at Shabbat with You. Drop in for a light breakfast, play date, sing-along with Cantor Toby and a Shabbat activity with Family Center Director Ellie Feibus. 9 a.m. $5 per family. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/ shabbatwithyou.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9
Join the Holocaust Center for a Generations "Speaker Series talk by Hedda Sharapan, a descendant of survivors originally from Lithuania. Hedda will share a heartwarming Holocaust story about a father and son. This program is part of a series of events in 2025, commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation and in observance of Genocide Awareness Month in April. 6 p.m. Chatham University Shadyside Campus, 0 Woodland Road. eventbrite.com/e/generations-speaker-series-heddasharapan-tickets-1.
SUNDAY, APRIL 20
The Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh presents “Help! I got my DNA Results, and I’m Confused!” with Gil Bardige. Did you get your autosomal DNA results from any or all of the four testing companies? Join the thousands of genealogists who have been successful with Bardige’s methodologies. He will share an expanded version of his processes and techniques to prioritize matches, to get organized and feel like you can accomplish something and know what to do next. 1 p.m. $10. pghjgs.org/event-details/ help-i-got-my-dna-results-and-im-confused-w. PJC
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its May 4 discussion of “Jews Don’t Count,” by David Baddiel. From Amazon.com: “‘Jews Don’t Count’ is a book for people who consider themselves on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. People, possibly, like you.
"It is the comedian and writer David Baddiel’s contention that one type of racism has been left out of this fight. In his unique combination of close reasoning, polemic, personal experience and jokes, Baddiel argues that those who think of themselves as on the right side of history have often ignored the history of anti-Semitism He outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don’t count as a real minority: and why they should.”
Your hosts
Toby Tabachnick, Chronicle editor
David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer
How it works
We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m.
What to do
Buy: “Jews Don’t Count.” It is available at some area Barnes and 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. PJC
— Toby Tabachnick
By, Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Sarah Abrevaya Stein discovered a secret. She was probing a family’s trove of letters when it happened.
Stein, the distinguished professor of history and the Viterbi Family Chair in Mediterranean Jewish Studies at University of California, Los Angeles, shared the detail in her book, “Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century.” Stein’s work became a National Jewish Book Award finalist and was named one of the best books of 2019 by The Economist.
Looking back on the project, Stein said the secret she uncovered wasn’t the crux of her narrative but it evidenced a tension she has come to appreciate in the six years since “Family Papers” was published.
“This was super sensitive and complex for me, ethically as a writer,” she said by phone from Los Angeles. “I was faced with the question of is this a secret that I have the right to tell or the responsibility to tell, and if I do tell it, how do I tell it in a way that is both true to the historical record and preserves empathy for the people whose lives it both affected in the past
and continue to affect right now?”
“Family Papers,” which Stein will speak about on March 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh’s Barco Law Building, relies on thousands of pieces of
correspondence in sharing the saga of a formerly Salonika-based clan.
Members of the Levy family were publishers and editors who helped chart Sephardic life throughout the Ottoman Empire. Amid 20th-century war and strife, relatives spread from Greece to Israel, Brazil and India. And while the Holocaust eviscerated scores of Levys, considerable correspondence remains. Personal matters regarding marriages, divorce, familial relationships and betrayal were transcribed and sent around the world. Much of those writings are privately held by descendants.
Given the fact that many of these documents are not housed in libraries, “sterile” archives or similar settings, researching this tale required Stein to adopt different practices. She said she traveled the globe, met with surviving members of the family and gained access to intimate letters and gatherings.
For someone who touts nine previous publications from academic presses, “Family Papers” was a new exercise in both its preparation and transmission, she explained.
“I have a lot of experience as a writer, and a scholar and a publisher, and I thought that this was a story that was a human story,
and certainly a Jewish story, and shouldn’t lead with all kinds of abstract arguments or theories, but should lead with the people,” she said.
Approaching history in this fashion “showed me that I loved working in family collections,” she continued. “A lot of my work since writing that book has relied wholly or in part on family-owned materials. It also taught me that I really like writing books where historical human dramas are the center of attention, and that is something I continue to pursue.”
“Family Papers,” published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, was released in November 2019.
“I had a wonderful book tour planned, with many wonderful stops, all of which had to be canceled because of the pandemic except the first three. And this was awful,” she said.
In lieu of visiting communities, meeting with interested readers and sharing a story, Stein — like many authors who published books five or six years ago — resorted to sitting in front of her computer and hopping on Zoom for talk after talk.
Still, digital delivery gave her a new appreciation of the material, she said.
The Tree of Life’s new traveling exhibition about American antisemitism, what happened on October 27, 2018, and the community’s response to the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history
Opening to the Public on March 27, 2025
The University Club Library University of Pittsburgh, 123 University Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
Joy Ladin, a poet, creative non-fiction writer and nationally recognized thought leader on gender and Jewish identity, will be the featured speaker at a brunch sponsored by Congregation Dor Hadash on Sunday, March 30, at Rodef Shalom in Oakland.
A prolific author whose genre-defying “The Book of Anna” was a National Jewish Book Awards winner in 2021, Ladin, 63, was the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution.
Because of an illness, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Ladin, who lives in New York, will appear remotely at the event, which is free and open to the public.
In her lecture “Gendering God: A Trans Jewish Perspective,” Ladin will examine the many ways God is gendered in Jewish tradition and how a transgender perspective can enrich explorations of the Bible and Torah.
“Understanding the way divinity is gendered can help us understand human gendering and open the door to dialogue and mutual respect,” she said.
Part of Ladin’s mission is to help people find common ground in discussing gender outside of the politically charged discourse on
trans and non-binary identities, she said. “We all know that we share the world with people who do gender in very different ways, and we have to get along.”
Ladin’s virtual visit is part of an occasional series, Learning with Liv, underwritten by the family of Olivia Zane, a young queer member of Dor Hadash who took her own life in 2021,
“I admire her courage not only to stand up to the administration of Yeshiva but to become more and more honest with who she was and is.” –STEVE ZUPCIC
said Steve Zupcic, who serves on the congregation’s learning and program committee.
“I met Joy when I lived in Tucson and she came to do a trans poetry conference,” he said.
“She has never done anything in Pittsburgh, and I thought now is the time, in our current political climate, to invite her to speak here.”
Ladin, who realized as early as preschool that she was living the wrong gender, has written extensively about her transformation from a married father of three named Jay to a female self — a process that ultimately was “the greatest miracle…intoxicating,” she said, “but also linked to agony, sorrow and grief, for myself, my children and my ex.”
Her memoir, “Through the Door of Life: A Journey Between Genders,” was a National Jewish Book Awards finalist in 2013.
“Emotionally, transitioning was the hardest thing I have ever gone through, a very costly process,” she said. “I lost my home, my marriage, and physical custody of my kids. I couldn’t see them every day, which often happens with divorces. But everything was heightened by my gender transition.”
Choosing to live her truth almost cost Ladin her job as a tenured professor of American literature and writing at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women.
When, in 2007, she announced that she was changing her gender, the university’s administration put her on leave and barred her from campus. With support from lawyers at Lamda Legal, Ladin successfully pushed back and returned to work in 2008 as the David and Ruth Gottesman chair in English.
“I admire her courage not only to stand up to the administration of Yeshiva but to
become more and more honest with who she was and is,” said Zupcic. “Her courage and honesty impress me.”
Today, Ladin is married to Elizabeth Denlinger, a curator at the New York Public Library, whom she met at the now-defunct Nehirim Queer Jewish Women’s retreat in 2010 and fell in love with over dinner.
“I found someone who loves me as I am,” she said. “I am delighted to be in this marriage.”
Still, Ladin said, the process of ‘becoming’ is ongoing and includes more than gender identity.
“Transition is continuous,” she said. “We don’t just become X and live happily ever after. I want to always be changing and growing, from birth to death.”
Ladin grew up in Rochester, New York, with social worker parents. Although they were non-observant Jews, her mother encouraged her to attend synagogue and Hebrew school to develop a Jewish identity.
She enrolled in Sarah Lawerence College at age 16, majoring in creative writing and social science. As a young married man, Ladin moved to San Franciso where she worked at the state bar as an administrator before returning east to pursue an MFA at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and to write poetry. She went on to earn a doctorate in American literature at Princeton, writing her dissertation on Emily Dickinson and modern American poetry, and graduating in 2000.
Although she taught at Princeton, Ladin eventually decided that life as an academic scholar no longer suited her.
Since leaving Princeton, Ladin has published, among other works, nine books of poetry, a memoir, and her first full-length academic monograph, “The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective.”
Ladin reads Torah practically every day and observes the Sabbath in her own way. “Because I am housebound by illness, rest is enforced all the time,” she said. “But I go into my Sabbath rest, where I don’t look at email or read the news or do anything involving money. I read Torah and I focus on what is good in the world.”
She is planning to write another book of poetry, one inspired by a desire “to help people recognize what we have in common and learn to live with one another’s differences,” she said.
To register for the March 30 lecture and light brunch, visit congregationdorhadash.shulcloud.com/event/gendering-god.html. PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
Jewish groups lambast UN report charging IDF with sex crimes Jewish groups and elected officials censured a report published by the U.N. Human Rights Council last week, accusing Israel of committing “genocidal acts” and sex crimes in the Gaza Strip, JNS reported.
The American Jewish Committee said the report, issued by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, “is egregiously flawed.”
AJC said the “attempt to distort the legal framework of genocide to demonize Israel is wrong and harmful. The U.N. Human Rights Council should never have established this one-sided entity, and the governments sitting on it should disband it now.”
The findings claimed that Israel’s actions in Gaza led to a surge in maternity deaths. The report also charged IDF soldiers with employing forced public stripping, sexual assault and threats of rape during its military operations in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas and Palestinian operatives slaughtered 1,200 people that day, wounded thousands, and kidnapped 251 men, women and children into the Gaza Strip.
The report said Palestinian confessions of raping Israeli women were “alleged.”
Israel forcefully denied the accusations, calling them unfounded, biased and lacking in credibility.
“The corrupt U.N. Human Rights Council’s new baseless report is antisemitic and anti-Israel slander,” wrote Rep. Elise Stefanik
(R-N.Y.), nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to the global body. “The so-called ‘Human Rights Council’ has failed to condemn the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists against Israel, including the brutal slaughter, torture, kidnapping of thousands of innocent civilians, and Hamas’ horrific use of rape and sexual violence against Israeli women and girls, yet disgracefully attacks Israel with unfounded smears.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee posted on X: “This U.N. report reflects the rampant anti-Israel disease that has infected U.N. agencies and is a repugnant example of blaming the actual victim of sexual violence. … Now, the so-called U.N. Human Rights Council is perversely attempting to create a false equivalence between the victims of these crimes and the perpetrators.”
In meeting with Irish leader, Trump disparages Chuck Schumer as ‘not Jewish anymore’
President Donald Trump falsely said that Sen. Chuck Schumer is no longer Jewish and called him a “Palestinian” while speaking to reporters last week, JTA reported.
Those remarks were the latest instance in which Trump has used “Palestinian” as an epithet to refer to Schumer, whom he once also falsely called “a proud member of Hamas.”
Trump made the comments alongside Irish leader Micheál Martin while talking about corporate tax rates. After saying that the American public would blame Democrats for high taxes, Trump launched into an aside on the New York senator, his top adversary in Congress. (The setting was ironic for the comments as the Irish government is staunchly pro-Palestinian.)
“And Schumer is a Palestinian as far as
March 24, 1966 — Israeli TV goes on air
I’m concerned,” Trump said. “You know, he’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”
Schumer, the New York Democrat and Senate minority leader, has spoken frequently about his Jewish identity throughout his political career. He is soon to release a book about fighting antisemitism.
John Catsimatidis on Anthony Cumia: ‘He says anything antisemitic, he’s off the network’
John Catsimatidis, the owner of New York conservative talk radio stronghold WABC, has vowed to fire his newest star, Anthony Cumia, if he says anything antisemitic on air, JTA reported.
Catsimatidis, a billionaire supermarket mogul and former Republican candidate for mayor, made the pledge in response to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency article about Cumia’s history of antisemitic and racist tweets. He said the station had discussed the tweets with Cumia before hiring him, and added that he believed Cumia’s contract forbids antisemitism on his radio show.
“He says anything antisemitic, he’s off the network,” Catsimatidis said in an interview. “We’re not going to put on somebody that’s bad for our people.”
Cumia, a longtime presence in conservative talk radio who was fired from a previous gig in 2014 for racist social media posts, has posted numerous antisemitic and pro-Adolf Hitler posts on X over the past couple years, in addition to racist rhetoric. His posts range from Holocaust jokes to an endorsement of the antisemitic “Great Replacement” theory to praise of white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes.
He aired the first episode of “The Anthony
Cumia Show” on last week. The show, according to the station, was a hit, and is now being syndicated nationally.
Catsimatidis said antisemitism runs against the conservative station’s ethos, calling WABC “the most pro-Jewish station in America.”
Columbia says it expelled some antiIsrael students, revoked degrees, issued multi-year suspensions
Columbia University announced last week that it had disciplined students who occupied the Ivy League school’s Hamilton Hall last spring, including with “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions,” JNS reported.
“The return of suspended students will be overseen by Columbia’s University Life Office,” added the school, which is the subject of a federal probe for alleged inaction in response to Jew-hatred. “Columbia is committed to enforcing the university’s rules and policies and improving our disciplinary processes.”
The Trump administration announced recently that it is cutting about $400 million in federal funding to Columbia for its lack of response to antisemitism.
“This ruling is an important first step in righting the wrongs of the past year and a half,” stated Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia Barnard Hillel. “I am grateful to the rules administrator and other members of the administration for their roles in ensuring these cases were resolved.”
In April 2024, a mob of anti-Israel protesters barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall and briefly held at least one university staff hostage. PJC
Compiled by Toby Tabachnick
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
March 21, 2013 — Obama addresses Israeli youth
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a broadcast address to 600 university students in Jerusalem. He pleads for a two-state solution with the Palestinians while emphasizing that “Israel is not going anywhere.”
March 22, 1945 — Arab League forms
Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Transjordan sign the Arab League Constitution after five days of deliberations in Cairo. A Palestinian representative participates in the talks but does not sign.
March 23, 1915 — Zion Mule Corps is created
p A registration card shows the enlistment details for a Zion Mule Corps soldier.
A Jewish unit of the British army is formed in Egypt with about 500 volunteers, many of whom had been expelled from Palestine. What begins as the Assyrian Refugee Mule Corps becomes known as the Zion Mule Corps.
An instructional program in math targeting seventh- and ninth-graders in 32 schools becomes Israel’s first TV broadcast, 10 years after Jordan and six years after Egypt launched domestic television channels.
March 25, 1950 — Saudi diplomat: We’ll never recognize Israel
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Sheik Yusuf Yassin tells a visiting U.S. diplomat that Arab states will never work with Israel.
“We shall never admit a Jew. … We shall never admit anyone traveling on an Israeli visa.”
March 26, 1979 — Egypt, Israel sign peace treaty
Six months after signing the Camp David Accords, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter sign Israel’s first peace treaty with an Arab neighbor.
March 27, 1949 — Poet Elisheva Bikhovsky dies Elisheva Bikhovsky, one of the “four mothers” of modern Hebrew poetry, dies of cancer at age 60 in Tiberias. Though not Jewish, she was the first woman to publish a volume of Hebrew poetry in Palestine. PJC
p Elisheva Bikhovsky wrote poetry in Hebrew, married a Jewish man and moved to Israel, but she never converted to Judaism. By Zoltan
Pitt:
Continued from page 1
during the last year in antisemitic incidents.
“The people were not from the university and the incidents happened off campus, but they happened to students,” Fishman said.
Pitt, she said, is already doing a lot of good things. She pointed to the university’s process for reporting antisemitic incidents, its religious accommodations policy and its willingness to condemn antisemitic incidents.
“They’re working with their partners at Hillel and Chabad,” Fishman said. “We want to continue to supply resources to them so that they can continue to do good work for all their students and make sure that Jewish students feel safe on campus.”
In an emailed statement from the university, a spokesperson for Pitt said that the university takes the feedback from the ADL’s report card seriously but it “does not reflect the breadth and depth of our work to support our Jewish community.”
Pitt, the spokesperson said, would use the report as a tool to guide future efforts.
And while university officials were pleased with Pitt’s good marks pertaining to Jewish life on campus and public safety, they were disappointed to see its score lowered because of demonstrations and incidents that “have occurred in the community — not on University property — and beyond our control.”
The grade also does not reflect the training and educational opportunities related to “antisemitism, discourse and dialogue and time, place and manner expectations,” the Pitt spokesperson said.
The university, the statement concluded, will do more.
Forgie:
Continued from page 1
region — she doesn’t know what the region wants or needs.
“It wasn’t until recently that she finally appeared [in Turtle Creek] and did an interview about railroad safety,” Forgie said. “Where was she before that? When she was our state rep, she was kind of absent. It’s what a lot of people think.”
It’s one of the reasons he’s pledged over the next 10 months to visit all 47 communities of Allegheny County and all 16 of Westmoreland County in District 12.
“I want to hear what they need. That’s being a true representative,” he said.
Forgie said he and Lee had similar socioeconomic backgrounds growing up in different Mon Valley neighborhoods; his was in the same borough where he now serves as mayor.
“If it wasn’t for programs like welfare when I was a young boy we would have starved,” he said. “Programs like welfare should be a crutch not a way of life. I think a lot of people feel that way.”
He credits his father for fostering his desire to give back.
“My dad taught that to me,” he said. “You don’t complain. If you’re on the sidelines you have to get in the game.”
It’s a lesson Forgie learned well.
At 18, he became Turtle Creek’s youngest firefighter before attending Slippery Rock University, where he became involved in the Student Government Association. He helped pay for his degree in secondary education by
Chabad at Pitt Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein takes the report with a grain of salt, noting that it doesn’t appear as if the ADL came to Pitt in conjunction with this report to speak with anyone there about Jewish life on campus.
“They’re grading from behind a keyboard,” he said, adding that he believes the university is taking the rap for activities happening off campus and by outside actors.
The Shabbat experience on campus, Rothstein said, is one of the largest in the country.
“We will always remain vigilant and supportive to our students,” Marcus said. “Antisemitism has no place on our campus.”
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein, a Columbia University alum, also took issue with Pitt’s D grade.
“For Pitt to get the same grade as Columbia makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “The Jewish Federation has been in close contact with the administration and we know that they’re
“We will always remain vigilant and supportive to our students. Antisemitism has no place on our campus.”
–DANIEL MARCUS
“I’m not sure there’s a university that has more Jewish classes being offered — Hillel has classes on offer, Chabad has offered 13 Jewish classes this semester. In short, it has one of the strongest Jewish communities you’re going to find,” he said.
Daniel Marcus, executive director and CEO of Hillel JUC of Pittsburgh, agreed with Rothstein.
“The ADL scoreboard does not paint a holistic picture of Jewish life on campus,” he said.
Marcus acknowledged that there have been incidences of antisemitism but said the university has committed to combating that behavior and Hillel is present as an advocate to support Jewish students while working with the administration.
He noted that Pitt’s Chancellor Joan Gabel attended a two-day College and University Presidents Summit on Campus Antisemitism hosted by the American Jewish Committee, Hillel International and the American Council on Education.
working for the Turtle Creek Street Department.
He joined the Army Reserves after Sept. 11, 2001, but his military career was cut short after a medical discharge because of gout.
Forgie earned a master’s degree in education at Walden University in 2005. In 2007, he became Turtle Creek’s youngest mayor at age 27.
His roots, he said, are tied to the region and help him understand the needs of the district.
“Both my grandfathers worked at Westinghouse. My dad worked for the Union Railroad before he got laid off. He worked for the postal service. He was a union steward,” said Forgie, who has served as a teachers’ union president. “I understand the need — especially in Pittsburgh — the workers’ need to unite and stand together for their rights, and to bargain collectively.”
He also feels a connection to the Jewish community, which deepened during his trip to Poland with Classrooms Without Borders, but started as a child when he became friends with his Jewish neighbor.
It’s because of those experiences that he believes Holocaust education should be taught in every school and that it should be federally funded. It’s also why he believes Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.
“I am 100% committed to standing with Israel, whether I’m elected or not,” he said. “That’s who I am.”
And that, he said, is one thing that frustrates him about Lee.
“She knows the Tree of Life happened. She knows 11 people were murdered in our community, but she votes against supporting Israel, which is a vote against the Jewish
trying to fight back against antisemitism.”
He also noted that many of the antisemitic incidents happened off campus “which is a difficulty with an urban-based school,” he said.
Finkelstein’s opinion of the report card is clear.
“If the ADL isn’t prepared to do these gradings in a way that makes sense then maybe they shouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
Pitt has made a public display of battling antisemitism on campus. It has created a working group on antisemitism, led by the office of the chancellor, provost and university senate president. Pitt professors Jennifer Murtazashvili and Kathleen Blee were announced as co-chairs of the group, which, the university said, will “engage proactively with Pitt and the broader Pittsburgh community to analyze and address antisemitism.”
Initially, the group’s creation was met with enthusiasm when it was announced in December. Since then, though, some community members have said the university is
community here,” Forgie said.
He said Lee’s dogmatic approach is against the political current.
“I feel like the progressive idea was popular a few years ago but people want things done right now, and being so stubborn, whether its on the right or left, is getting us nowhere,” he said.
As to the region, Forgie said he sees a lot of opportunities for growth and development, citing Eos Energy’s investment in Turtle Creek. Placing its Ingenuity Park facility in the community will create thousands of jobs, he said.
Forgie is also bullish about U.S. Steel staying in the region and development at the former Century III Mall site.
The district will continue to benefit from infrastructure upgrades and repairs, he said, as well as increased bus routes and connections between different communities. He also would like to see the Turtle Creek bike connector — which goes from Trafford to Rankin — completed and perhaps expanded to the Waterfront.
Although he’s willing to work with anyone, Forgie said he has concerns about the Trump administration, particularly Elon Musk’s position.
“I voted for Kamala,” he said. “She was exactly what I wanted to see in the presidency and would have protected people’s rights. Things like DEI being destroyed, that’s just insane. It’s not just about race. DEI is about having access for wheelchairs to get on a curb. That’s frustrating.”
On the other hand, Forgie understands the need for immigration reform and said he is in favor of deporting criminals who entered the country illegally, but said he supports naturalization of legal immigrants.
dragging its feet. Pitt has sent invitations to participate in the group but has yet to publicly announce a meeting.
Only days after the ADL’s report card was released, Pitt’s student body participated in a Student Government Board election that included a referendum question, introduced and promoted by Students for Justice in Palestine, asking if the university should divest from Israel. The referendum passed.
The university noted that SGB is “an independent, self-governing organization composed of elected student representatives who are responsible for advocating for student interests.”
The university said in its statement that it does not direct the group’s actions or statements and “any decisions by SGB are independent of the university and should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the University.”
SJP at Pitt was recently the subject of a disciplinary hearing by the university. No decision has been announced publicly.
Hillel’s Marcus said it was “deeply disturbing” that the BDS referendum passed.
“We are working in close cooperation with the administration to support and advocate for Jewish students,” he said.
The ADL, Fishman said, acknowledged the work that Pitt has done to stop antisemitism on campus.
“We really want to work with the university,” she said. “We don’t want them to feel like this is an attack on them. We know it’s difficult and we’ve tried to highlight what they’re doing well.”
The Chronicle reached out to several Jewish Pitt students for their reaction to the ADL’s report card but did not receive a response before publication. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
“I understand people coming from other parts of the world are coming because where they live is hard, but there is a right way to do it,” he said. Forgie has a preexisting relationship with Sen. John Fetterman from his time as the mayor of Braddock and believes they would work well together for the region.
Brad Zolnak, Forgie’s campaign manager, has known the congressional hopeful for nearly two decades, since the Turtle Creek mayor served as his mentoring teacher.
He said Forgie’s goal of uniting the region and his background in local governance makes him the perfect person to represent District 12 in Congress.
“I believe we have a strong message that will resonate,” Zolnak said.
He, too, believes Lee’s position on Israel has been detrimental to the region’s Jewish community.
“Summer’s positions are completely wrong on Israel’s right to defend itself,” Zolnak said. “All the horrible things that the Jewish community has been dealing and the continued rise in antisemitism, she’s just on the wrong side of history with this one.”
Lee emailed her supporters referencing this article shortly after it was published online, accusing Forgie of "chasing AIPAC's cash."
In the end, Forgie said, public service is about creating a level playing field for everyone, noting that many of his friends left the region because they couldn’t find jobs.
“Opportunity belongs to everyone,” he said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Continued from page 2
Newman’s father was bar mitzvahed at Ahavath Achim in 1948.
“He was probably the end of the line,” Newman said.
As a child, Newman and his family attended weekly services at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill. On High Holidays, however, Newman went back to Braddock with his father.
“I remember on Yom Kippur there were about 40 to 50 people, and only a few lived nearby,” he said. The mindset was always, “Let’s keep the Braddock shul going, so let’s go down there.”
Over the years, the commitment remained. Katz remembers about 30 people attending High Holiday services in 2000. Decline continued, however, and by 2017 only about 12 to 20 people attended.
“Mr. Litman and Mr. Salem got old,” Newman said. Litman died in 2003, Salem in 2017. Following the latter’s passing, services basically ceased.
Still, to Katz’s credit, “he continued with his grandfather’s tradition,” Newman said. “He had the building boarded up, but decoratively. He took good care of the building.”
Continued from page 5
In many ways, that verse summarizes the “whole arc of the Torah,” Weinkle said. “Four hundred years of history are boiled down” to a few sentences.
Similarly, the Haggadah includes Rabban Gamliel’s instruction that one who celebrates Passover must recite three words — pesach, matzah and maror (Passover, unleavened bread and bitter herbs).
Stein:
Like Newman, Katz spoke fondly of Ahavath Achim, of transporting Salem and his wife from Squirrel Hill to Braddock before the High Holidays, and about holiday adventures in Braddock.
One year, there was difficulty making a
Continued from page 7
“One of the things that I realized in the course of that experience is that that thirst for connection that families used to maintain through letters — which was their only tie across oceans, and distance and world conflict — we are still searching for a substitute tie that binds,” she said. “We communicate a lot, in a lot of forms of media, but I think there is always a human as well as a familial thirst for maintaining intimacy over space and time.”
Stein called the lesson “profound” and said it provided a “new empathy” for the characters she explored.
What’s important, he continued, is that “whoever used Ahavath Achim needs to be grateful that the Litman family kept it going for so many years.”
Katz, who calls himself “president of the Brotherhood,” said the building is “not currently for sale, but we are at a point where we are realizing it’s not being used and starting to think about what might be next for it. We’re entertaining ideas. It would be a great thing to see people benefit and thrive in Braddock. I just don’t know the right use for the building.”
All congregations must eventually decide “what they are going to do,” Lidji said. “If you look across the region, it’s gone so many different ways.”
Beth Israel Congregation in Washington County sold its building to AMVETS in 2024. Tree of Life Synagogue in Oil City was sold to the Oil City YMCA in 2019.
minyan, Katz recalled: “We went to the bar — Three Ferns — and deputized someone. It wasn’t kosher, but we took them back to the shul and made a minyan.”
Newman said he’s OK with whatever happens to the building now.
For Weinkle, the Haggadah’s quest for brevity is edifying.
“When you go into a medical setting, it’s busy, it’s loud, and sometimes all you get are four sentences,” he said.
Imagine entering a hectic venue or even a quiet room, he continued. It’s best to employ a four-sentence Haggadah-inspired narrative: “This is what I’m feeling. This is what I think is wrong. This is what I’m worried about. And, this is what I’m hoping you’ll do for me.”
The chronicling formula elicits insight.
“A lot of my work since writing that book has relied wholly or in part on family-owned materials. It also taught me that I really like writing books where historical human dramas are the center of attention, and that is something I continue to pursue.”
–SARAH ABREVAYA STEIN
Thinking back on the timing and experience, it was a “poignant book to have published at the onset of a global pandemic,” she added. “It left me thinking deeply about what is intimacy? What is family? What is connection? How do people maintain ties over time and distance? Why do we save the things we do? Why do we choose to communicate? How much care do we pour into our communications? And these are questions that became a global concern, even as the book was freshly released, and now, I think, are still live, even though it has been available for a few years.”
Stein, 53, is looking forward to her upcoming talk. Apart from a childhood trip decades ago, she has never been to Pittsburgh.
Speaking to western Pennsylvanians is an opportunity to broaden awareness about a critical subject, she explained.
“There are synagogues that languish for decades,” and some where it’s not “feasible or sustainable” to keep them going, Lidji said. “It’s always an interesting moment: A building can’t stand forever, but while it’s standing it fills a role in history-making that you can’t replicate on paper.”
PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
“The things we do Jewishly have a direct bearing on how we conduct our lives. They are supposed to change us and help us grow,” he said.
“From Illness to Exodus” follows that model.
“I’m hoping people can pick it up, and even read one chapter,” he continued. “I hope it will transform them and be something meaningful.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
“I think that for those of us invested in Jewish culture — in the Jewish past and in the Jewish present — there is a forgotten world of modern Sephardic experiences that haven’t gained the center of our attention, whether in movies, or books of history or works of fiction. And I want people to feel fascinated by a very grand Sephardic family narrative that puts this story back in the center of our consciousness,” she said. “Additionally, I invite people at this incredibly tumultuous time for our country and our world to join me in thinking about human connection, and perseverance and tribulations for ordinary people who weathered dramas and traumas as best they could, and who maintained their loyalty to one another — not that there wasn’t family friction, there was — but maintained a sense of relationship to one another through those troubled times.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
American Jews must not give an inch on free speech — even when words hurt us
We can’t make antisemitism go away by censoring antisemites.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration has said it is combating antisemitism at Columbia University by canceling $400 million in funding and detaining a former student over what the president has vexingly called “illegal protests” against Israel. It is also making a host of additional demands of the university.
Some Jewish groups are applauding the effort. But as an American Jew and free speech lawyer, I can tell you that protest alone isn’t illegal — and that giving the government the power to punish hateful speech will only erode our own right to speak out against hate.
In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas on Israeli civilians and Israel’s military response, protests erupted on campuses nationwide. Some of the activities by student protesters were unlawful, like blocking fellow students from entering parts of campus or occupying buildings. But many students engaged in pure speech by marching, displaying signs, or shouting slogans. These are protected and celebrated forms of protest in our country. Whether in support of Israel, Palestine, or even Hamas, the First Amendment prevents the government from punishing or censoring them.
As a historically persecuted population, Jews have a vested interest in ensuring American civil rights protections remain in full force. The First Amendment guarantees not only the freedom to practice our religion
in this country, but our ability to speak out when our rights and lives are in danger.
In 1943, 400 rabbis marched on Washington to draw attention to the mass murder of European Jews, helping lead to the creation of an American War Refugee Board that saved thousands of Jewish lives. In 1963, American Jewish leaders like German-born Rabbi Joachim Prinz marched again, this time with Martin Luther King Jr. Speaking just before Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”
Our
Security saying that Khalil had “led activities aligned to Hamas,” and has also claimed the power to deport a legal resident whose activities “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” But those justifications could merely describe Khalil’s on-campus protests, including his protected speech.
Threatening to deport Khalil without accusing him of any crimes chills speech. And that threat extends to everyone, no
institutions of higher education are supposed to be a marketplace of ideas. Even if you think those ideas are bad, protecting all speech means your speech is protected, too.
speech, Rabbi Prinz lamented that his former countrymen “remained silent in the face of hate” and pleaded that “America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent.”
But we endanger the ability to speak out when we allow the government to erode our First Amendment protections. That’s why White House statements last week threatening punishment for anti-Israel speech should have all Americans concerned — even those of us who would appear, at first blush, to benefit.
Regarding the arrest of Palestinian protester Mahmoud Kahlil by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Trump said, “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted an advisory from the Department of Homeland
to the United States. He used to visit her in the family house in the village once a year, bringing presents for their children.
But eventually she came to realize that her no-good husband had no intention of
American diplomats are supposed to serve at least one tour on the visa line overseas, interviewing would-be visitors. It’s important work that has the side benefit of supplying some good stories. The Mahmoud Khalil case reminds me of a story from my first tour at Consulate General Jerusalem in 1990, interviewing mainly Palestinians from the West Bank.
One day we received a handwritten letter in Arabic addressed to the American Consul. It was from a woman in a small West Bank village who wanted to inform us of the visa fraud perpetrated by her husband. When they married over 20 years before, he had promised her that he would get a visa, go to the United States, marry an American woman, become an American citizen, then divorce the American and bring her over
matter what side of the Israeli-Palestinian debate you are on, or whether you are promoting or combatting antisemitism. Would a green-card-holding Jew feel free to criticize special government employee Elon Musk for publicly supporting the far-right, German-nationalist AfD party, knowing our government could deem such criticism creates “adverse foreign policy consequences”? That standard is just too vague to risk deportation, and it permits the government to punish speech it just doesn’t like.
The Trump administration’s pledge to remove “pro-Hamas” students, coupled with Khalil’s arrest, make it hard to see the administration’s actions this week against Columbia and other institutions of higher education as anything other than attempts to police and punish campus speech.
To be sure, it has been a difficult year
for Jewish college students, and there have been documented instances of bad actors preventing them from getting to class, or even assaulting them. Title VI requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to ensure discriminatory harassment does not deprive Jewish students of an education, and it is possible Columbia has failed that obligation.
But protest alone is not grounds by itself for a Title VI violation. And the government did not make sure it was punishing only actionable misconduct before canceling Columbia’s funding, like it is supposed to.
The Supreme Court rightly set a high bar for conduct that amounts to discriminatory harassment that is supposed to ensure pure speech rarely rises to that level.
And with good reason: Our institutions of higher education are supposed to be a marketplace of ideas. Even if you think those ideas are bad, protecting all speech means your speech is protected, too.
I’m no stranger to fear of the recent public increase in antisemitism. Last year, given online antisemitism approaching the anniversary of Oct. 7, my wife and I chose to keep our daughter home from her Chabad preschool that day. The current political moment terrifies me. Antisemitism is coming from both sides of the political spectrum, and it feels like there is nowhere to run. So instead, I think we should fight.
But allowing the government to ignore our rights to free speech would only deprive us of our most powerful weapon. PJC
Jeff Zeman is a staff attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan nonprofit defending free speech. He grew up in the Metro Detroit Jewish community. This article first appeared on JTA.
societies, though not in most Arab countries outside the Gulf. A young British-educated academic in the West Bank once introduced me to his “mums” (plural). In the United States, hiding this practice constitutes fraud,
Allowing pro-Hamas actions on U.S. college campuses that incite violence (such as occupying university buildings) and threaten Jewish students undercuts the U.S. policy of combating antisemitism overseas.
bringing her to the United States. So she wanted to let us know. An experienced visa officer told me this kind of letter was not uncommon.
This guy was living the dream of multiple wives in different countries. Multiple wives are of course permitted in traditional Muslim
resulting in the revocation of U.S. residence and deportation.
The relevance of this story to Khalil is the possibility of fraud in his visa application. That form asks: “Have you ever, or do you intend, to provide financial assistance or other support to terrorists or terrorist
organizations?” Less than a year after arriving at Columbia on a student visa, 30 year-old Khalil was leading American undergraduates in actions in support of Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Hamas is a charter member of the U.S. terrorism list. Had he truthfully answered the questions on the visa for — or perhaps had the visa officer checked out his social media — then he should have been denied a visa.
But Khalil slipped through the visa vetting process. Then he married a U.S. citizen, which allowed him to adjust status to permanent resident and get a pathway to citizenship. Now he will get his day in immigration court facing deportation. The U.S. media have misleadingly reported his subsequent deportation proceedings as the Trump administration punishing his protected speech.
If Khalil had merely led peaceful pro-Hamas demonstrations, then deporting him would indeed raise an interesting freedom of speech issue: Can an alien
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an online poll the following question:
“Do you believe the U.S. government should cut federal funding to universities that fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus?” Of the 347 people who responded, 73% said yes; 20% said no; and 7% said they weren’t sure. Comments were submitted by 112 people. A few follow.
Universities that condone violence and intimidation against any identifiable group should lose funding and face civil penalties. This doesn’t mean anybody should be policing all language or looking for so-called “micro-aggressions.” Real threats should be punished; uncomfortable conversations shouldn’t be.
I believe that the U.S. government should be protecting free speech on university campuses. Not all criticism of the state of Israel is antisemitism. The right to free speech and the right to freedom of assembly is a right afforded to all people in America, citizens and non-citizens alike.
Do you believe the U.S. government should cut federal funding to universities that fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus?
College students are there to learn, not to protest. Everyone seems to have forgotten it was not Israel that started everything. Israel haters will continue to blame Israel for defending herself. I am opposed to all war, and I do not believe a college campus is an appropriate place for protests. Some protestors aren’t even students.
Sadly, the Biden administration did not do this because they were afraid to alienate part of their radical-left voter base. This political pandering led to the most antisemitic rioting in America in my lifetime. Kudos to President Trump for taking action to curb antisemitism in America.
I wish it had not come to this, but if this is the only way for universities to understand that terroristic incitement is not protected free speech, then so be it.
I believe that federal funding should also be at risk if universities fail to protect any minority.
Absolutely, yes, cut the funding. Where were the campus protests when the two redheaded Israeli brothers were found to have been strangled to death and their mother beaten to death? One-sided empathy in a situation like this is another way of showing antisemitism.
The federal government has never had a practice of cutting funding to universities who don’t protect other minorities, which goes to show that Jews are being used as an excuse to silence and repress universities. Whether or not I agree with what’s being said on campuses, creating fear among university administrators only serves to quash free speech, which is dangerous and should be concerning to all who cherish democracy.
Silverman:
Continued from page 12
(in this case a lawful permanent resident alien) be deported solely for speech that would be protected for U.S. citizens under the First Amendment? That is not clear. Certainly lawful permanent residents don’t enjoy all of the rights of U.S. citizens (e.g., they don’t vote). But the specific issue of deporting an alien solely for protected speech hasn’t been directly addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some lower courts have said you can do this, on the theory that since pro-terrorism speech is a valid basis for excluding someone from entering the United States, so it is also a basis for deporting someone who has already entered. Other courts say no, that once an alien enters the United States, he or she enjoys the same speech protections as a U.S. citizen. Two recent podcasters worth listening to on this are former prosecutor
Andrew McCarthy and law professor Eugene Volokh. I could argue it both ways, but it’s not relevant to the Khalil case.
Khalil was involved in illegal occupations of buildings (Alexander Hall at Columbia, which was vandalized and a school janitor injured, and the Barnard library, where classes were disrupted). He served as the negotiator on behalf of the occupying students with the university, pressuring the administration to accommodate student demands based on their illegal activity. He helped organize an illegal encampment on the campus that denied access to “Zionist” students. Therefore the First Amendment defense will not get him off, because many of his actions are not protected speech. (Note: These are state crimes, but no one expects Alvin Bragg, the partisan New York County district attorney, to follow up in these cases with prosecutions.)
Secretary of State Rubio did not rely on either Khalil’s potential criminal activity (aiding and abetting break-ins) or his
The article noting that Rep. Summer Lee co-sponsored an anti-Israel House resolution, along with the “Squad” and other progressive Democrats, should be a concern for all who support Israel’s right to defend itself, its military preparedness and its existence (“Summer Lee co-sponsors series of anti-Israel resolutions,” March 14). The proposed House Joint Resolution 68 is not just an arms embargo but a measure that would prohibit the United States government, military and its contractors from just about any interaction with Israel on defense matters. Israel’s ability to use, maintain and upgrade the F16 aircraft (of which Israel has the second largest number, next to the U.S.), the F-35 fighter, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and the Iron Dome system are just a few of the weapon systems and programs vital for Israel’s defense that would be crippled.
The U.S. military services and IDF often conduct joint training operations. Israel, unfortunately having to use weapons systems, gains extensive knowledge that it shares back to our military and defense contractors, which leads to improvements that may eventually save the lives of those who serve in our military and help the U.S. maintain battlefield superiority.
The chances of this resolution going anywhere in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is zero. But things can change in two years. Ms. Lee is adamantly anti-Israel.
If the funding cuts can be directed at aspects of the universities’ research and curriculum that directly teach antisemitism or otherwise accommodate antisemitic content and speakers, yes. Otherwise, no, inasmuch as such cuts ultimately undermine good work and promising futures. As with so many other matters, a scalpel is called for here, not a scythe.
Laws should be enforced separate from federal funding.
possible visa fraud to explain the decision to deport. Instead Rubio cited this provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act: “An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”
Does Secretary Rubio have reasonable grounds to believe there are potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences in this case? I believe so. Allowing pro-Hamas actions on U.S. college campuses that incite violence (such as occupying university buildings) and threaten Jewish students undercuts the U.S. policy of combating antisemitism overseas. Passivity could also hurt relations with allies that oppose Hamas, e.g., Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Ultimately Khalil’s deportation may present a constitutional issue, but that would be a separation of powers issue. Can a federal judge substitute her or his judgment
These cuts hurt many researchers and trainees who had nothing to do with these protests. They are the ones who will suffer, as will medical research and advances in life-saving treatments, not the universities’ financial portfolios. PJC
— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick
Chronicle weekly poll question: How often do you pray? Go to pittsburghjewish chronicle.org to respond. PJC
for that of the secretary of state on what is a reasonable decision in foreign policy? The Constitution gives the president (and designees) plenary power in the conduct of most foreign affairs. In the statute cited above, the Congress recognizes that power in deportations. Thus I feel confident that the federal bench — at some level — will side with the secretary of state’s judgment in this area. It would be more difficult to deport a foreign student who had solely expressed antisemitic hate speech or expressed support for Hamas. That free speech issue, however, is not what we are facing in the Khalil case. PJC
A former U.S. diplomat and president of the American Foreign Service Association, Robert Silverman is a lecturer at Shalem College, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and president of the Inter Jewish Muslim Alliance. This article was originally published by the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune and is reprinted from JNS.
We need to stay vigilant, educate the community on Israel and its right to exist, and its importance as an ally to the United States. Perhaps like the recent effort to defeat the local Not on Our Dime’s BDS resolution, we will see in 2026 a change in the Democratic Party’s candidate for Pennsylvania’s District 12 U.S. House representative.
We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Send letters to: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org or Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
We regret that owing to the volume of correspondence, we cannot reply to every letter.
By Marshall Weiss | Contributing Writer
Over Larry Roberts’ 50-year career in photojournalism, he’s worked for United Press International, Agence France-Presse, The Blade in Toledo, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, from which he retired in 2018.
And he shot thousands of photos of daily life in Israel. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, Roberts and his wife, Sherri, lived in Haifa from 1982 to 1985. He’s made 11 trips to Israel since, some on photo assignments, some personal.
Roberts was on the White House lawn Sept. 13, 1993, to photograph Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s handshake with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat at the signing of the Oslo Accords.
It was in 1996 — a year after Rabin’s assassination — when Roberts was back in Israel to photograph that anniversary that he first conceived of a book of his Israel photos.
Hebrew Union College Press in Cincinnati published that book, “The Faces of Israel: a Conversation by Larry Roberts,” in October. HUC Press selected 100 of his black-andwhite Israel photos from 1982 to 2015 for the volume.
“The Faces of Israel,” he told The Dayton Observer, is not about the conflict.
“I’m about the people living together, which they were back in the ’80s when I lived there and for most of the time thereafter,” he said via phone from Pittsburgh.
“I had very good access to an Arab village (Deir al-Asad), because we had very good friends there. There’s a good selection of the ultra-Orthodox life, people on the street, from elections, the election of Rabin, back to when Yitzhak Shamir was campaigning in the ’80s.”
For each photo in the book, Roberts, 72, wrote a caption about the subjects’ lives.
He hopes “The Faces of Israel” will give Americans an understanding of the Israeli people, “be they Arabs, Jewish, Christians, that they get an understanding of how people lived a daily life during that time period, prior to what we’re seeing now.”
He calls the book a historical document. “People don’t live this way anymore. This was roughly when they signed the peace treaty, Rabin and Arafat. There was great hope at the time. I hope it gives an understanding of what Israelis are supposed to be: not Jews, not Arabs, not Christians — but Israelis.” Born in Queens, New York, Roberts’ family moved to Dayton when he was a
boy. His father went to work for Arthur Beerman and then owned pharmacies on Dayton’s West Side.
Roberts’ parents, the late Francine and Irwin Roberts, joined Beth Abraham Synagogue. Larry’s brother and sister-in-law,
Jeff and Connie Roberts, are active members there.
“One of the things that brought me more or less into religion was going to Saturday morning (children’s) services, which were always led by Dr. Lenny Spialter,” he said.
about that time, we had Shlomo Carlebach come (to Beth Abraham and the Jewish Center campus). He was just great.”
When Roberts graduated from Meadowdale High School in 1970, he began college at Kent State a few months after the shootings.
“We were always worried what was going to happen,” he says. “We had a lot of demonstrations. But some of that is what got me into photojournalism rather than photo illustration, which was what I went there for. I just got more motivated by photographing news than photographing objects.”
He learned about the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 when he was at Kent State’s Hillel for services. “Somebody was operating a shortwave set on the third floor of the Hillel building and came down and announced there was a war in Israel,” he recalled.
At that point, Roberts was a staffer for the Daily Kent Stater and a photographer for the university’s yearbook. “Even though it was Yom Kippur, we left. We walked over to the journalism building and I flipped on the United Press International wire, and we started to get information.” He helped raise money for Israel on campus and in Kent.
“Then we celebrated the end of the war, and I had a much better feeling for Israel.”
Roberts also had friends who went to Israel; some made aliyah. He and Sherri took their first trip there in 1979.
“By the second day, I told my wife, ‘We’re going to move here.’”
They made aliyah in 1982. Roberts found work as a photographer and coordinator for foreign communications with the University of Haifa. His wife was an educator with the Health Ministry in Nazareth.
“And we said more and more, we’re staying. The only reason we came back was medical.”
This summer will mark 50 years since his brother Jeff donated a kidney for his transplant.
“The nephrologist (in Israel) told us to go back to the United States because they couldn’t offer me any dialysis I needed. More and more I wanted to go back. And unfortunately, I could only go back on basic trips.
“We couldn’t get medical insurance there. This is my indictment of the Israeli medical system. It was very disappointing, but I accepted that, and just kept going back and shooting pictures.”
Roberts’ most recent trip was in 2015 for a project funded by the Pulitzer Center on the 20th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. His assignment was to conduct follow-up interviews with Israelis he and another reporter had interviewed in 1998 for the 50th anniversary of the birth of the state.
Roberts said his upbringing didn’t
What got him hooked on Israel, he said, was his first taste of hummus, from a Sunday school teacher who brought in a can for her class to try. “I loved that. And then right
“There weren’t that many of those people left,” he says. “So we were tweaking the project at that time because Israel was under the knife attacks, where they were stabbing people, and it had become a little more complicated to live there.” PJC
Marshall Weiss is the editor and publisher of the The Dayton Jewish Observer, where this first appeared.
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
Local emergency department physicians are giving a thumbs-up to “The Pitt” — the new hit TV medical drama streaming on MAX.
The Thursday night series follows frontline healthcare professionals in a fictitious Pittsburgh hospital as they treat the critically ill, navigate workplace politics and wrestle their personal demons.
Noah Wyle — an actor with Jewish and Pittsburgh roots — plays The Pitt’s main character, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a senior attending still haunted by flashbacks of the COVID pandemic, which claimed the life of his mentor. The character is Jewish.
The show’s 15 episodes progress in real time through 15 hours in “the pit” — Robinavitch’s nickname for the hospital’s emergency department — as he and his staff barrel from one crisis to the next while coping with overcrowding, limited resources and tensions with hospital administrators.
Unlike other medical dramas, the on point portrayer by “The Pitt” of both the clinical and sociological dimensions of an emergency department resonates with the program’s devotees.
Dr. Joel Rosenbloom, of Allegheny Health Network’s Forbes Hospital, tuned in because of the buzz he was hearing from colleagues, and because he is familiar with Dr. Mel Herbert, a consultant on “The Pitt” as the founder of EM-RAP, an online educational tool that Rosenbloom sometimes utilizes.
“The show is well done,” said Rosenbloom, 71, of Squirrel Hill, who has practiced emergency medicine for 39 years. “It’s as realistic as it gets.”
Herbert’s input helped ensure that the medical procedures viewers see, like a rare lateral canthotomy to relieve potentially blinding
pressure in the eye, are credibly presented, said Rosenbloom, who has performed the procedure. “They may have even used footage of an actual lateral canthotomy in that scene.”
Rosenbloom appreciates that “The Pitt” gives equal measure to the more nuanced challenges emergency physicians face, such as guiding families of dying patients in when to let go, he said.
The medicine is accurate for the most part, and the show captures the most pressing issues facing emergency medicine and health care, such as patient boarding, he said. “We may have 20 or 25 patients boarding in the ED and nowhere to see new patients, except in the hallway or in the waiting room. It’s literally a problem in every hospital in the country and the show does a nice job of talking about that.”
It highlights another urgent issue, the opioid crisis, in a heart-wrenching segment in which a teen is brain dead from a fentanyl overdose, he said.
Although the volume of cases handled in each one-hour episode is a bit exaggerated, Tobias said, the unrelenting pressure on attending physicians is realistically conveyed. “There’s constant activity. Robby gets interrupted in everything he tries to do. He’s lucky if he can take a bathroom break. The show captures the spirit of that”
He appreciates that Rabinovitch is sensitive to the “intense emotional” effects of treating people whose lives may hang in the balance. “Robby stays calm under pressure but he’s also human,” he said. “We see that side.”
A native of Squirrel Hill, Tobias delights in the show’s references to Pittsburgh, including the iconic Primanti Brothers.
Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook Present Zahav Home
Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Congregation Beth Shalom
In one episode Robinavitch gently tries to persuade the adult daughter of an elderly man on life support that heroic measures — which go against the patient’s wishes — are futile and will only prolong his suffering. “You have to be patient with the family and let them take in the finalism,” Rosenbloom said. “It’s a tough decision for a family to have to make and Robby showed appropriate empathy.”
Kevin Friend, a St. Clair Medical Group Emergency Medicine physician, tunes into “The Pitt” because he loves his work —“I can’t get enough of emergency medicine,” he said — and he finds the show refreshingly authentic, compared to others of its kind.
“It strikes me as so realistic,” Friend, 54, of the South Hills, said. “Multitasking is one of the themes, and that’s accurate; emergency medicine is the ultimate multi-tasking job. We’re thinking of four different patients at once while we’re treating another.”
Advanced Registration - $20/each (Students - $5/each) Walk-ins Welcome - $25/each at the door Book signings & sales after the event $5/eac h) or scan QR code on this flyer.
Other realities of emergency medicine are addressed, including violence toward healthcare providers, which Rosenbloom has experienced. The show’s charge nurse is punched in the face by a patient in one scene. “Working in the ED is somewhat dangerous,” said Rosenbloom, who once was bitten by a patient. “Hospital security has guns now.”
He finds Robinavitch credible as a seasoned emergency physician who, in real life, “would be loved by his staff.”
“He has a heart,” Rosenbloom said. “He also looks a little burnt. But can you be burnt and still walk the walk? Yeah, you can. It seems like he’s doing a really good job. He’s admirable.”
He enjoys sleuthing the show’s constant array of cases from the comfort of his couch. In one episode, Friend diagnosed a patient, in severe pain from two tiny puncture wounds, as having been bitten by a black widow spider. “Very often cases come into the emergency department that are interesting medical mysteries,” he said. “You have to be a detective to figure them out.”
The show is adept at reflecting a range of strong personalities and how they interact, he said. “I like the bantering. We have nicknames for each other…but it’s affectionate and endearing. It’s cool that they include that.”
The show deserves special kudos, Rosenbloom said, for giving nurses their much deserved due, as when Robinavitch tells a crew of fledgling physicians that “the most important person you’re going to meet today is the charge nurse.”
On the whole, “The Pitt” conveys the passion emergency medical professionals have for their work, he said.
He gives the show credit for getting the equipment and technical jargon right, he said, and for including the “non-hardcore medical stuff — the social issues, like homelessness and patient abandonment” that staff routinely deals with.
“Sometimes it hurts, but it’s the greatest job. Every so often you get to save a life or deliver a baby or do something that is life-changing, and what could be better than that?”
Adam Tobias, an emergency physician at UPMC Presbyterian, also loves “The Pitt” for its candid portrayal of his profession.
“It does a really good job of depicting what my specialty is like, and what the emergency department is like, which I’ve never been able to fully describe to the people I know,” he said. “It makes me feel really seen.”
One thing missing from the show is physician charting — a task that takes up a big part of any emergency physician’s day, he said. “That really stands out, but I get that showing a doctor sitting at a computer would make for bad TV.”
Overall, he said, “The Pitt” effectively conveys that emergency doctors have “the most interesting, exciting job in the world. From a medical standpoint, we see the whole spectrum and never know what we are going to be dealing with next.” PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
By Beverly Siegel | Special to the Chronicle
“What brings you to Panama?” I asked four guys whose boisterous chatter caught my ear at a neighboring table at Adama, a kosher steakhouse in Panama City. In their 20s, they were all wearing kipot, skullcaps, signaling centrist Orthodoxy.
“The food and the monkeys,” one piped. “We’re here for a bachelor party,” chimed in another.”
“Enjoying the food?” I asked, though the answer was obvious.
“Panama has the best kosher food in the world, and everyone knows it,” declared Chad Weinstein, from Lakewood, New Jersey.
The claim might be hyperbolic, but kosher consumers from all over America seem to be flocking there to check it out.
“We don’t have a lot of kosher restaurants in Memphis,” said Lisa Kaufman, who I met in the elevator of our hotel. She was vacationing with her husband and two other couples. Back home in Tennessee, the Kaufmans don’t eat in non-kosher restaurants, which leaves them few to choose from. “To me, traveling is about being able to eat!”
My husband, Howard Rieger, and I live
in Chicago and Pittsburgh. In early 2023, a Chicago friend who rarely raves, raved to me about Panama’s kosher food scene and urged me to go. It was the first I’d heard about it.
The canal — and its epic story of America conquering tropical disease, creating a wonder of engineering and maneuvering an imperial triumph — was worthy background.
Howard and I enticed Chicago friends Tamar and Uri Heller, who similarly knew nothing about Panama’s reputation as a kosher food paradise, to join us. When we went in February, we were clearly riding the wave.
Mike and Atara Kentor of Pittsburgh first went to Panama in 2019. According to Atara, at the time there were 15 kosher restaurants.
In January 2025, they went back with their daughters and their families. For Atara, it was a dream to go back with kids and grandchildren, a dream long held because it took years to “find a window when everyone’s schedules matched.”
In the end, it was well worth the effort. “The beaches, the canal locks, the Old Town, the Embrera village,” she recalled, referring to an indigenous enclave, “everyone had a ball.”
Today, according to Ceci Katz, proprietor of Panama Kosher Tours, there are 40-plus kosher restaurants, cafes, bistros, coffee shops and carryout caterers in and around Panama City, with a Jewish population of 15,000-20,000. It is estimated that a whopping 90% of them don’t eat non-kosher meat and keep other rules of kosher practice to varying degrees.
The reason for the proliferation of kosher eateries traces back to the influence of one man, a Jerusalem-born rabbi of Moroccan descent who was sent to Panama in 1951 to head the Sephardi congregation, Shevet Achim.
Not enthralled at first with the assignment, Rabbi Sion Levi ultimately served as Sephardi chief rabbi of Panama for more than 50 years. He is widely credited with inspiring a wave of increased religious observance that continues today.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 21st -23rd from 10am to 2pm
Friday 3/21
Coffee & Conversation
Stop by for a fresh brewed cup of coffee and learn about the different types of services offered through personal care communities.
Saturday 3/22 10 am Asset Protection: Planning For Your Future
Presentation by Attorney Kathleen Schneider Attorney at Law and Certified Public Accountant.
Senior Living at Forest Hills 107 Fall Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15221 I 412.244.9901 junipercommunities.com ForestHills.Sales@JuniperCommunities.com
David Cohen, 23, a recent graduate of Yeshiva University, who served as our guide to local synagogues, proudly affirmed that his father learned many Jewish traditions from Levi. Standing in the magnificent Shevet Achim main sanctuary, within the Centro Communitario Shevet Achim complex — which comprises Jews from Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries — Cohen regaled us with lore of how Levi cajoled Jews to stop eating non-kosher meat. “He would go into non-kosher restaurants where Jews ate treif, wearing his kippah, and say to them, ‘Shabbat shalom’!”
Ceci Katz, who was influenced to become observant decades ago by Levi, said “he made it clear that he wouldn’t officiate at a bar mitzvah or wedding unless everything was kosher.” He also got the teachers in the Jewish schools to encourage kosher practice among students, she said, and children brought the message home to their parents.
As more Jews started keeping kosher, kosher restaurants popped up to meet the local demand. “The kosher food scene was created to accommodate the community. The more teshuvah,”
Please see Panama, page 22
Max Harari, a third-generation Panamanian of Syrian descent, and a community leader, asserted that his family, generations ago, became more observant because of Levi. “Everyone did,” he shrugged. “He made it cool to keep kosher.” When he got to Panama, Levi encountered a community that was long on Sephardi cohesion but short on observance of Jewish dietary laws.
Sunday 3/23
Free Breakfast
Stop by for a delicious chef prepared breakfast – RSVP’s encouraged
Samantha and Justin Rogalsky of West Milton, Ohio, proudly announce the birth of their son, Reid Louis on Jan. 23, 2025. Grandparents are Judy and Eric Rogalsky of Cranberry Township and Jamie and Steve Norris of Ohio. Reid is also the great-grandson of Sally Rogalsky. Reid is named in loving memory of his paternal great-grandmother Lois Shapiro and his maternal great-grandfather William Louis O’Connor.
Dana and Matt Kennedy announce their daughter Autumn Baylee was called to the Torah Saturday, March 15, at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. Proud grandparents are Lainie and Mark Pattak, and Rick and Rebecca Kennedy, all of Upper St. Clair, and the late Linda Comito Kennedy.
This week’s Torah portion is a story of forgiveness and the opportunity to make things right.
The opening sentence tells it all: “Moses assembled (vayakhel) the whole Israelite community and said to them: ‘These are the things God has commanded you to do.’” (Exodus 35:1). I imagine the subtext, the words that did not make it into the official Torah record, of Moses also saying, “We have been given a second chance. Let’s not mess it up again. This time let’s become the holy community God wants us to be.”
Returning to this week’s portion, then, we look at the instructions for building the Tabernacle with new eyes. Not only are the detailed descriptions meant to be a blueprint for the designers and architects, but they are to be a seen as proof that the people were back in God’s favor. It’s as if God said to the people: “All is forgiven. I will give you another chance. This time, build Me a place to dwell among you so that you can finally become a Kehilla Kedoshah, a holy community.”
In my imagined words, I use the word kehillah intentionally. It may be familiar as it is one of many words we use to describe a group of people. It is often used interchangeably with the word kahal
Moses pleaded on behalf of the people, asking for forgiveness for this most egregious of sins. And God responded positively, giving us another chance.
Dexter Boczkowzki, son of Lauren and Nate Boczkowzki, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Grandparents are Bev and Steve of Gainesville, Florida, Sheila of San Diego, California, Janie and Art (z”l) of Pittsburgh, and Sheila and Tom of Pittsburgh. PJC
This makes sense when we remember that the first time a version of the word vayakhel is used, things do not go so well. Just last week, we read, “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered (vayekahel) against Aaron and said to him, come make us a god … ” (Exodus 32:1). This first coming together was a gathering of rebellion, lost faith and lack of trust. What resulted was our well-known transgression — the building of the Golden Calf. Looking back, we can safely say it was not one of our finer moments. As a result, Moses shattered the tablets of the Commandments and God was ready to turn God’s back on us. It seemed that the Covenant was broken beyond repair.
that comes from the same Hebrew root meaning “to assemble, to gather.” But they do not mean the same thing. The most relevant difference is that kahal is a group of people gathered together and kehillah is a group of people that invites in the Divine Presence. Kahal becomes kehillah by adding just two Hebrew letters to its spelling — a yod and a hay — letters that spell God’s name and indicate God’s presence. A Kehillah Kedoshah is a community blessed with God’s holiness.
In this week’s Torah portion, the people are given a second chance to create a sacred community. We learn from this that there is always another chance to make a place for God’s presence in our lives if we would only take that opportunity to do so. PJC
Fortunately, the story did not end there. Moses pleaded on behalf of the people, asking for forgiveness for this most egregious of sins. And God responded positively, giving us another chance.
Rabbi Jessica Locketz is a rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.
BALLON: It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Jack Ballon, who passed away peacefully on Jan. 5, 2025, at the age of 95. Born in Pittsburgh on Aug. 29, 1929, to parents Abraham and Rebecca, Jack graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Jack was a successful real estate broker and developer, responsible for creating Treasure Lake in DuBois, Pennsylvania, Alpine Lake Resort in West Virginia, and Cross Creek Resort in Southern California. While he achieved much professional success, Jack will be remembered most for his love of family, quick wit and kind heart. He embraced life to the fullest, enjoying simple pleasures like a daily walk after dinner with an apple in hand. Jack was preceded in death by his siblings, William, Richard and Devorah. He is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Marilyn Roth, and their three sons Bruce (Amy), Robert (Monica) and Jonathan (Kristina), 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Jack’s memory will forever be cherished by all who knew and loved him. At the age of 95, he lived a full and wonderful life. Cards can be sent to Marilyn Ballon at 11 S Adams St. #810W, Denver CO 80209 marilynballon180@gmail.com.
FAIGEN (BARNETT): Fern Faigen, beloved wife of Irving Faigen (deceased); cherished mother of Scott (deceased), Joan (Steven Svensson), Tina (Robert Schultz); loving grandmother of Michael (Isolde), Liana, Judà and Jasiel; great-grandmother of Asher and Zoey; sister of Natalie Phillips, Myrna Ortinberg (deceased), passed away on March 11, 2025, at age 93. Music being the central figure of the entire Faigen household, Fern taught piano privately for 65 years specializing in young beginners. She created a music appreciation class for 5-year-olds, and wrote a two-volume piano course titled “Fern Faigen’s Piano Method” that was enjoyed by many. Although neither Fern nor Irv were professional performance artists, both were deeply involved in the music community. As highly active board members of Pittsburgh Concert Society, they created the society’s Alumni Recital that has been presented annually for decades. They also were part of the founding team for Bedford Springs Festival. Fern said her greatest life achievement was raising her three musically-talented children. She was proud of the good people they became and of their successful music careers. From her children’s perspective, her greatest attribute was her remarkable partnership with their father, who passed away in 2007. A true love affair, Fern described Irv as “even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.” Together they found joy in folk dancing, taking art trips, biking, hosting picnics, cooking, and enriching their lives with culture and travel. A memorial concert in memory of Fern and her son Scott, who passed away on Jan. 3, will be held on Monday, March 31, 4 p.m. in the chapel at Providence Point Senior Community, 500 Providence Pt. Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15243. Donations in Fern’s memory may be made to the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation, PO Box 1092, West Seneca, NY 14224. Arrangements entrusted to William Slater II Funeral Service, Scott Twp., 412-563-2800. slaterfuneral.com
GINSBERG: Nancylee Ginsberg, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Beloved wife of 35 years to Sam Ginsberg. Loving mother of Daniel (Allie Gray) Ginsberg and Dylan Ginsberg. Daughter of the late James and Margaret Hughes. Daughter-in-law of the late Hyman and Miriam Ginsberg. Sister of Beverly (Robert) Brownlee. Aunt of Shaina Bodenheim and Josh Hyde. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Kether Torah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western PA, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, or Pittsburgh Youth Leadership, c/o Mark Rubenstein, 1034 Fifth Avenue, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. schugar.com
GREENBERG: Jack K. Greenberg, of Pittsburgh, passed away March 6, 2025, three weeks shy of his 95th birthday. Mr. Greenberg was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He was the valedictorian of his Taylor Allderdice High School graduating class in 1948, and he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Greenberg served on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business during five decades, beginning in 1958. His classes and areas of expertise included personnel administration, employee selection and employee relations. After working for American Institutes for Research, he founded and ran Measurement Services Incorporated, a firm focused on human behavior measurement and evaluation, occupational testing, hiring processes, labor relations and training development. When he was a very young boy, he became interested in magic. His mother, Anne Greenberg, was in charge of starting a school for the arts at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill when she hired a pair of brothers to start the synagogue’s dancing school. One of the brothers, Fred Kelly, had taught the other,
Please see Obituaries, page 20
GALANTER: Jason Galanter. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Jason Galanter, age 57, on March 14, 2025. Jason was born on Dec. 22, 1967, to Janice and Larry Galanter. He was a beloved husband, father, son, brother and uncle, whose love and kindness will forever be cherished. Jason is survived by his loving wife, Lori Galanter; his children, Jacob Galanter (Mev Howison) and Kira Galanter; his parents, Janice and Larry Galanter; his siblings, Alexis Galanter, married to Robert Butcher, and Dan Galanter; as well as his cherished niece and nephews, Quinn Butcher, Cam Butcher and Chloe Butcher. A devoted family man, Jason was known for his warmth, humor and generosity. He dedicated his professional life to the mastery of technology in all its forms; he held senior network engineering and architecture roles at several technology firms helping them to grow and scale globally to serve customers all over the world. Notable companies include Airbnb and LinkedIn. In the last two years, Jason was vice president of Enterprise Infrastructure and Engineering at Stack AV, a company dedicated to deploying autonomous trucks to streamline supply chains across the U.S. Jason will forever be remembered as a brilliant architect, engineer, mentor and coach who led his teams with integrity and passion. Jason enjoyed sharing his interests, whether it be his love of good food, weekly trips to the shooting range, or watching movies with those closest to him. Through his work, his friendships and his love for his family, Jason left a lasting impact on everyone he met. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery, on Sunday March 16, 2025. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Bridge to Home Animal Rescue (bridgetohome84.org), an organization close to Jason’s heart. Jason’s memory will live on in the hearts of his family and friends, who will forever remember him for the joy and love he brought into their lives. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com
Robert Rosenstein
Audrey Silverman
Contact the Development department at 412-586-2690 or development@jaapgh.org for more information. THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —
Sunday March 23: Rose Bahm, Fay Seiner Cohen, Robert Davis, Edna Foster, Herman Frank, Hyland Gefsky, Mollie Gutkind, Bernice M Israel, Carl Katz, Lena Brodie Lebovitz, Dora Leiber, Gershen Liepack, Harold Meyers, T/Sgt Sherwyn W Meyers, Paula Ruth Mitchel, Esther Rider, Isaac Rosenberg, Bella Rosenzweig, A Max Schmuckler, Lena G Schwartz, Jack Isadore Slomoff, Paul Tabor
Monday March 24: Joanne Brodell Alpern, Ann Goldstein Beck, Marvin Berman, Matilda Helfgott Brand, Herman B Cohen, Benjamin B Crone, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Jennie Fisher, Esther Gottlieb, Albert Gross, Joseph Harris, Yolan Katz, Sadie Klein, Kathryn Levenson, Lena Levinson, Dr Herman Meyers, Mischa Mueller, Oscar Paris, William Rosen, Sarah Rothstein, Herman Samuels, Jennie Schoen, Frank Shapiro, Eugene Silverman, Isadore Smalley, Nathan Louis Stearns, Sarah Verbin, Albert Weinberg, Esther Wolovitz
Tuesday March 25: Gertrude Alpern, Grace Bahm, Samuel Barres, Joseph Bleier, Belle Finkel, Fannie Friedman, Mary Gordon, Audrey Brown Green, William Horwitz, Edward J Levine, Matthew Marcus, Herbert Meyers, Emanuel Morris, B .J Mundel, Samuel Rosenfeld, Herbert Rothman, Audrey M Seigworth, Bernard Beryl Sirota, Rosalind C Solomon, Sophie Warmstein, Tillie Rosenberg Westerman, Dora D Wilson, Harry Ziff
Wednesday March 26: Freda Benowitz, Alfred Cohen, Allen Cohen, Sonia Fogel, Verner William Friedman, Esther Glick, Max Glick, Anne Fierst Goldberg, Ann R Klein, Joy Ellen Levin Leff, Leona Levine, Leo Abraham Levine, MD, William J Lewinter, Frank Mandel, Ethel Plesset, Julius Rosenfeld, Aaron Louis Shefler, Morris Simon, Anna Snitkin, Rose Lieberman Solomon, Sam Weiss
Thursday March 27: Harry Birnkrant, Sara Esther Dickter, Joseph Eisenberg, Nathan Handelman, Mayer Handley, Sidney Jay Israel, Oscar K Light, Rory Sue Melnick, Belle G Meyers, Samuel Ostfield, Rowena M Rosenthal, Mary W Roth, Isadore Herbert Rudick, Moses J Sadowsky, Rose Schultz, Milton Schwartz, Beltran Shine, Bertha C Talenfeld, Geraldine Wald, Ida L Weinthal, Ethel Zamsky
Friday March 28: Rabbi A .M Ashinsky, Pearl Cohen, Henry Dentel, Rita Serrins Glazer, Morris Harris, Hannah Hershman, Joseph Kleinerman, Edward Kornstein, Bella Lencer, Meyer Levine, Lena R Mallinger, Morris R Mandelblatt, Gussie Marcus, Joseph J Reader, Nettie Ripp, Gertrude Rosenberg, Helen R .B Sand, Samuel Schwartz, Ralph Silverman, Jacob M Stone
Saturday March 29: Eleanor P Backer, Louis H Broudy, Sam Cartiff, Adele Cherkosly, Edgar Danovitz, Maurice Gutmacher, Libbie Broida Hirsh, Esther L Ives, Sara Louise Leff, Selma B Leuin, Max Loefsky, Michael Loffer, Evelyn Selkovits Marcus, Eleanor Silverstein, Archie Steinberg, Anna Sarah Waldman
Obituaries:
Continued from page 19
older brother, Gene, to dance. (Yes, that Gene Kelly.) The two were excellent dancers and teachers, but Fred was also a working magician who performed throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Young Jack Greenberg was already interested in magic when, after a dancing class, Fred showed him some magic ... and the little boy went from interested to obsessed. Fred and Gene Kelly remained close friends with the Greenberg family through the rest of their lives. By the time he was 14, he was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), the world’s largest organization of magicians. Local chapters of the IBM are called “Rings,” and Pittsburgh’s Ring was known as “Tampa Ring 13,” after a world-renowned Pittsburgh magician whose stage name was Tampa. Jack quickly became one of the most active and integral members of the Ring, and he ran the junior events when the annual convention was held in Pittsburgh in 1947. During college at the University of Pittsburgh, Jack played trumpet in the marching band and stayed on the band’s staff during graduate school as the “Drill Master,” the person who created and taught the marching formations for the halftime shows. He worked in the same capacity with the Mt. Lebanon High School Band, taking them to twice to the Tournament of Roses Parade. His love of march music kept him active in the Pitt Alumni Band into his later years. As a young man, he performed as a recurring character, a “Magical Milkman,” with Fred Rogers and Josie Carey on WQED’s “The Children’s Corner.” He remained in contact with Mr. Rogers, who called him occasionally with questions about magic and magicians. But Jack’s involvement in magic never stopped. Each Halloween, for 51 years, Jack performed magic shows in his Forest Hills living room for trick-or-treaters. Kids that grew up in the neighborhood eventually brought their children and then their grandchildren to watch the show he called “Tricks and Treats.” Jack continued to join his neighbors each Halloween, even at age 94. He enjoyed it when they asked, “Is this the house that had the magic shows?” Jack was a member of the IBM for 80 magical years, and was elected to be the IBM international president from 2000 to 2001. At the IBM Annual Convention in 2023, the Ring 13 membership announced the renaming of the Ring to Tampa-Greenberg Ring 13, in his honor. Jack’s beloved wife of 61 years, Carole, passed away in 2021. He is survived by his son Don (Sharon), his daughter Diana and his granddaughter Anna. He will be missed by family, friends and magicians around the globe. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. schugar.com
KROHNER: Robert Gary Krohner, age 67, of Pittsburgh, passed away on March 11, 2025, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Born Sept. 4, 1957, in Detroit, Michigan, to Harry and Faye (Grunt) Krohner. Rob attended Hillel Day School of Detroit, Southfield Lathrup High School, Michigan State University, Wayne State University and the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa. This was followed by a residency in anesthesia and critical care medicine fellowship. Rob practiced the majority of his career at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, both at the Eye & Ear Hospital and Magee-Women’s Hospital, finishing his career as an associate professor. During his tenure at UPMC he was actively involved in patient care, as well as teaching both anesthesia residents and medical students until he retired in 2021. In his spare time, Rob was a sports enthusiast both as a participant and a spectator. He enjoyed kayaking, biking and boating with his wife and family. Rob leaves behind his wife Karen (Marrich) Krohner, children Matthew Krohner (Hannah), Noah Krohner (Kelsey) and Gavrielle Kasznel (Zachary); grandchildren Eliza, Lucille, Hendrix and Otto; sister Linda
Friedlaender (Gary); sister-in-law Lisa Gordon (Robert); brother-in-law David Simon; Aunt Libby (Grunt) Newman; and a large extended family of nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Faye Krohner, in-laws Donald and Ghinda (Friedenberg) Marrich, brother Martin Krohner and sister-in-law Diane (Marrich) Simon of blessed memory. Funeral was held on Friday, March 14, 2025, at Homewood Chapel and Cemetery. The family kindly requests that memorial gifts be made to one of the following organizations: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network pancan.org; United Hatzalah israelrescue. org; Beth El Congregation of the South Hills bethelcong.org.
PERELMAN: Dr. Stanley G. Perelman, beloved father, friend, and a highly regarded psychotherapist who practiced in Pittsburgh, died Jan. 5, 2025, at the age of 81. Stan was born March 4, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, to Morton and Daisy Perelman. He is survived by his son John, John’s wife, Maureen, and their two daughters, Emilie and Lilly; his son Max, Max’s wife, Yumi and their daughters, Kaya and Mei. He is preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Nancy, who passed away in 2023. Following high school in LA, Stan graduated from UCLA with a BA in English. After college, he spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, and then moved to Washington, D.C. where he earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University and taught high school English. It was also while living in D.C. that he met the love of his life, Nancy Kelly. After marrying, Stan and Nancy moved to Pittsburgh where they raised John and Max. Stan earned his doctorate in counselor education from the University of Pittsburgh. He also received a diploma as a Jungian analyst from the inter-regional Jungian Institute. Stan was a highly esteemed psychotherapist, supervisor and teacher, and active member of the Jungian Communities in Pittsburgh and New York City. He was especially well known for his capacity to develop loving and healing relationships with his patients. Although he was raised in Judaism, Stan was a practicing Buddhist. He helped found the Bon Buddhist Temple in Pittsburgh, and he attended meditation retreats with Buddhist sanghas in Pittsburgh and in Charlottesville, Virginia. Stan relished Saturday haircuts and lunches with his eldest son, John, and morning phone conversations with Max as Max rode his bike into work. In addition to spending time with his family, he loved his frequent lunch dates with friends, going to movies, having dinners, shopping and watching Steelers and Pitt football. As his sons married and became fathers themselves, he and Nancy enjoyed their roles as loving grandparents. They were also devoted parents to their two dogs, Katie1, and Katie2, who are no longer with us. Stan is survived by his dog, Maggie, a constant companion. In addition to his many professional accomplishments, his greatest gift was his ability to create deep and enduring relationships. He will be greatly missed. A memorial service open to all will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The service will be held at 4 p.m. at the Church of the Redeemer, 5700 Forbes Ave, Pgh, Pa. 15217. Zoom will be available for people unable to attend in person at <https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84267028846?pwd=Od1wzTA2SGYjiMmw6zXPIcAxe9pig9.1> Professional services entrusted to Smith Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd; 930 Center Avenue Blawnox, PA, 15238; thomasmsmithfuneralhome.com.
RULIN: Edye L Rulin of Cambridge Massachusetts, passed away on March 8, 2025, at the age of 65. She is survived by her partner of 25 years, Paul Watson; her siblings Renee B Rulin, Elliott G. Rulin (Paula) and Judy Rulin (Chuck z”l) Mahan; her nephews, Matthew Rulin Mahan, Lou Najjar-Rulin, Josh Najjar-Rulin and Adam (Hannah) Valen; and her great-nephew Emerson DeAlencar. She is also survived by her father, Dr. Marvin C. Rulin. Edye was born in Pittsburgh and was an avid lifelong Steelers fan, even while living in hostile Patriots territory. She was one of the originators of the Rulin Family Football pool. Edye found joy on the beach in the sun on the coast of Maine, and especially when she was there with Paul. She was a voracious reader, and always had a library novel and daily Globe at hand. Edye graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1980. She began her career in retail management, but found her passion in nonprofit financial management for local human service organizations. She was a strong believer in giving back to her Cambridge community, both in time and money. After an early retirement, she especially loved her annual volunteer work as a tax preparer at the Brookline Senior Center. Funeral was private. Donations in Edye’s memory may be made to Transition House, transitionhouse.org/how-to-support-us.
TAPER: Lillian Ruth Taper, age 98, of Squirrel Hill, formerly of the East End, passed away on Jan. 22, 2025. Beloved daughter of the late Samuel and Ida Stoller, and wife of the late Harold Taper. Now embraced in the loving arms of her sons who went before her, Mark and Gary Taper. Loving and cherished mother of Elyce (Frank) Deodato of Philadelphia and Eric (Lori) Taper of Greenfield. Adoring grandmother of David, Michelle (Teddy), Brandon, Gregory and Paige. Doting great-grandmother of Roman and Viviana. PJC
Smith-Rosenthal Team
Jason A. Smith & Caryn Rosenthal
Jason: 412-969-2930 | Caryn: 412-389-1695 Jasonasmith@howardhanna.com Carynrosenthal@howardhanna.com
Sherri Mayer, Realtor Squirrel Hill Office C: 412-760-0412 O: 412-421-9121x225 sherrimayer@howardhanna.com HowardHanna.com
pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
schedule your advertising
aweiss@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-613-0697 advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
she said, using the Hebrew term for return to religious practice, “the more restaurants.”
The sizeable uptick in kosher tourism, though, which began three or four years ago, was a response to increased marketing of Panama as a kosher destination, by several companies, and the word started to spread. And, ironically, COVID helped. In 2021, Ceci’s company hosted its first Passover program, with everyone renting their own homes — “bubbles” — with kosher-for-Passover catering provided. After that, she initiated programs coinciding with breaks from America yeshivot. This year, she’s hosting a Passover program in a hotel on the “Pacific Riviera,” outside Panama City.
Jews first came to Panama in the early 1500s, when Spanish and Portuguese Jews fleeing the Inquisition arrived with Spanish explorers. A community began to develop in the 1820s, when Panama declared independence from Spain and allied with Colombia. Lured by the development of the trans-oceanic railroad, the California Gold Rush, and later by the construction of the canal, Jews migrated from the Caribbean and South America in search of economic opportunity. After World War I, Jews fleeing instability in the Middle East joined them, with Ashkenazi Jews fleeing Europe coming in the 1930s.
fellow “Zionians,” he said, “I still love the sense of community and mission we shared. Directly or indirectly, we were all there to get the ships through the canal.”
Pittsburgher Paul Barkowitz recalls his own family’s migration to Panama in the 1950s. After World War II, his father went to college on the GI Bill to become a schoolteacher. But
Today, Panama has a population of more than 4 million and the largest Jewish population in Central America. In addition to Shevet Achim, there is a large Ashkenazi and Chabad
don’t flaunt our Jewishness.”
“The food was excellent, better than I expected,” Tamar Heller said. She and I were both charmed by Lula Casco in the Old Town, a vegetarian-friendly meat taverna, serving up Israeli street food with a Panamanian vibe.
My husband loved Spice Market on Via Brasil, featuring a fusion of Japanese and Thai. I
can’t forget the real ice cream on chocolate lava cake following abundant servings of delicious ceviche, creative sushi, tuna tartar and more. And the bill, with drinks, before tip, topped out at a very reasonable $100 per couple.
Much as he enjoyed the dining, Howard, who served as president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for 24 years, before helming the Jewish Federations of North America, was equally — if not more — impressed with the achievement in community building and what it produced. “It was spiring to me to see what one Jewish leader can do and what can grow from that.”
Having become more observant thanks to the power of a teacher, Uri Heller, past president f the Lake Shore Drive synagogue in Chicago, echoed a similar sentiment. “It’s so impressive to see that phenomenon play out on a ommunitywide scale. I’d like to be able to have that impact.”
As for her favorite dish, Pittsburgher Ayelet Knoll, 13, the granddaughter of Atara and Mike Kentor, awards the honor to the mushroom truffle noodles — “it was a mix of fettucine alfredo and mushroom truffle sauce” — at Kava. But food-wise there were no surprises, she said, since she was expecting the food to be good. What was most memorable, said the eighth grader at Hillel Academy, were the geography, the terrain, the weather, the language and the culture.
“What was most interesting was the country itself!” PJC
Beverly Siegel is a writer who splits her time between Squirrel Hill and Chicago.
Lots of celebrations
Jewish and Hindu community members came together for a cross-cultural celebration of Purim and Holi at Congregation Beth
and the Hindu Jain Temple.
Thanks and bagels
Celebrate spring with Bakery treats.
Try our Market District pies, a flaky crust filled with quality ingredients!
