FAssembly President Robin Kear came as a surprise.
During the assembly’s final meeting of the fall 2024 semester, Kear announced the creation of a university level Working Group on Antisemitism. The new body, which has a two-year mandate, replaces the ad hoc committee on antisemitism that had been proposed by Kear and Vice President Kristin Kanthak during their Nov. 16 faculty assembly meeting.
A resolution for the ad hoc committee had been introduced at last month’s faculty assembly meeting but was tabled after a motion by Bridget Keown, co-chair of the assembly’s Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee. Keown asked for more time to allow EIADAC and other committees to review the proposal and make recommendations they deemed necessary, including requiring the ad hoc committee to create a definition of antisemitism before it began its work.
“We have decided to withdraw that resolution
in favor of a different, broader direction that I believe is beneficial,” Kear said, introducing the cellor, the provost, and it is in collaboration with the university senate president.”
The new working group, she said, will engage proactively with the university and broader Pittsburgh community to “analyze and help address antisemitism, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to combating antisemitism and fostering an inclusive environment where all community members feel valued and respected.”
Kear said that the group is charged with assessing and analyzing the state of antisemitism at the university within a national context, with particular attention to Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh and will assess the school’s role in addressing this challenge. It will examine university procedures, programs and support systems and explore options for improving their development, implementation and enforcement.
The working group will consider the role of off-campus actors and events on the
Ben Sales | JTA
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has fled the country and his government has fallen to rebels, a swift and stunning collapse after more than a decade of civil war.
The country is now enveloped in joy and turmoil as hundreds of thousands of refugees stream home, political prisoners go free and Syrians — along with the rest of the world — wonder what’s next.
Also wrapped up in uncertainty: Syria’s neighbor and longtime adversary, Israel. Assad’s fall came after several of his regional partners have been weakened in Israel’s multi-front war, which began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, invasion.
Israeli troops entered a buffer zone with Syria over the weekend and its planes have reportedly begun bombing Syrian chemical weapons facilities and other targets. Beyond that, Israeli leaders are broadcasting optimism about the fall of Assad, a key Iranian ally, while girding themselves for the ascension of the jihadist-linked
Dor Hadash wins
Photo by Jim Busis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and other Israeli officials at the Syrian border on Dec. 8, 2024. Koby Gideon/Israeli Government Press
Appeal
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Headlines
Local journalism matters. So does your support.
Editor Toby Tabachnick
It’s been another tough year for Jews worldwide, including in Pittsburgh. With Israel still at war, antisemitism surging and the growing polarity of political discourse, the Chronicle’s small but dedicated staff continues to soldier on. It’s messages from readers like this that give us strength: “More than ever, the Chronicle is vital to our community, and you and your staff are doing an excellent job.”
It’s gratifying to be recognized and appreciated by our readers, and a powerful motivator for us to continue doing what we are doing: reporting on stories not only of general interest to our community, but, in many cases, vital in maintaining and enhancing its wellbeing.
Local newsrooms are disappearing across America at an alarming rate and communities are suffering as a result. Civic engagement is eroding while misinformation proliferates. Ensuring the health of local media outlets like ours is essential to help counteract that trend.
The value of the Chronicle to Jewish Pittsburgh was recognized this year by Press Forward, a new national movement that aims to strengthen democracy by supporting local news. Our paper is one of 205 media outlets across the country to be awarded a grant from the Press Forward foundation’s first open call for funding. The Chronicle, which will receive $100,000 over two years, is proud to be the only Jewish publication in the country awarded a Press Forward grant.
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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Evan H. Stein, Board Chair
Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary
Evan Indianer, Immediate Past Chair
Gail Childs, Dan Droz, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Seth Glick, Tammy Hepps, Judith Kanal, Cátia Kossovsky, Charles Saul, Derek Smith
GENERAL COUNSEL
Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.
The Chronicle also was recognized nationally this year by the American Jewish Press Association, winning 11 Rockower awards for excellence in journalism. We were recognized regionally by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, earning eight Golden Quill nominations and winning the award for excellence in editorials.
We know the work we do is important and meaningful. Whether it is alerting our readers to antisemitic threats, exposing bigotry in our educational institutions or keeping tabs on the actions of local politicians, the Chronicle is there to bring you the news you need.
But it’s not just the “oys” of Jewish life that are reported in these pages; it’s the joys as well. From profiles of community members with interesting careers or hobbies, to previews of Jewish-themed plays, to the tasty recipes of our food writer, Jessica Grann, you are sure to find something each week to make you smile. For more than 60 years, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle has shared our community’s accomplishments and innovations, challenges and disappointments. We have been with our readers as they celebrated and as they mourned. Through our weekly print edition, our expanded online coverage and our social media presence, we strive to meet you where you are.
Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher 412-228-4690 jbusis@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
PRODUCTION Jeni Mann Tough Production Manager Carl Weigel Art/Production Coordinator
Through the most violent antisemitic attack in U.S. history, a life-changing pandemic and now an alarming surge of antisemitism, we have been there for you. And whatever the coming year brings, the Chronicle will continue to be there, reporting on the events and issues that matter most to Jewish Pittsburgh.
But we cannot do this work alone. Without your support, this newspaper could not continue to thrive. Only through your generosity can we continue our mission. PJC
Toby Tabachnick is the editor of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
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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.
SUNDAY, DEC. 15
Grades K-3, join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for Jewish Children’s Discovery Center andlearn about some interesting sites and cities in Israel through creative art and baking activities. Children ages 0-2 enjoy a friendly meetup for moms and tots with Jewishthemed music, activities and sensory play. 10:30 a.m. $75/semester for grades K-3; $50 for ages 0-4; 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com/art.
Chabad of the South Hills presents the CKids ChanukahBlockParty, a totally epic indoor preChanukah event for the whole family. Dreidel dash, curbside karaoke, kosher food truck fest, make your own glowing Chanukah sculpture. 2 p.m. 1700 Bower Hill Road. chabadsh.com/blockparty.
Kick o the JCCMaccabiCampusGames, Pittsburgh style. Join the community kicko event and cheer on the Steelers with the Maccabi Pittsburgh delegation. Don’t miss the excitement, food and team spirit.
3:30 p.m. JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. bit.ly/3YIsjXc.
SUNDAYS, DEC. 15–JULY 20
Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club. Services and tefillin are followed by a delicious breakfast and engaging discussions on current events. 8:30 a.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.
MONDAY, DEC. 16
Join Rodef Shalom Congregation for the opening reception of the exhibit SecretForest, featuring new sculptures by Jonathan Shapiro. This free exhibit is a program of the Music and More at Rodef Shalom series and will be on display in the Rodef Shalom Jewish Museum through Feb. 28, 2025. 6 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/forest.
Women are invited to join Chabad of the South Hills for ShabbatanIslandinTime,Welcomingand EscortingtheShabbatQueen. An evening of insight, song and favorite dishes. 7:30 p.m. $18. 1700 Bower Hill Road. chabadsh.com/ladies.
Hear from guest speaker Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center, as he presents A Stroll Through the Past: Stories from the Rodef Shalom Archives. Learn about interesting finds and stories from Rodef Shalom Congregation’s archives. 7:30 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/archives.
MONDAYS, DEC. 16–JULY 27
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmudstudy. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.
Join Temple Sinai for an evening of mahjong every Monday (except holidays). Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie and good times as you make new friends or cherish moments with longtime pals. All are welcome. Winners will be awarded Giant Eagle gift cards. All players should have their own 2024 mahjong cards. Contact Susan Cohen at susan_k_cohen@yahoo.com if you have questions. $5. templesinaipgh.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18
Join Chabad of the South Hills for the Grand ChanukahSeniorsLunch, a festive holiday program featuring a delicious kosher lunch, hot latkes, ra es and prizes. Wheelchair accessible. Pre-registration strongly suggested. 1 p.m. $5 suggested donation. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com.
Join the SquirrelHillAARPforitsannualholiday party. Enjoy Bingo with prizes, potato pancakes and more. RSVP to Geri at (412) 421-5868 by Dec. 10. 1 p.m. Rodef Shalom Cong., Falk Library,4095 5th Ave.
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.
FRIDAY, DEC. 20
Join Chabad of the South Hills for a community Shabbatdinner featuring singing psychiatrist Dr. Yaakov Guterson and Amy Guterson. Candle lighting is at 4:30 p.m. followed by a Kabbalat Shabbat service and Shabbat dinner. $25/ $72 family maximum. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com
Join Liron Lipinsky Salitrik, BBYO’s vice president of enrichment strategy, as part of Temple Ohav Shalom’s Rabbi & FriendsSeries. Lipinsky will present “The Kids are Alright.” 6 p.m. $10. Email jleicht@templeohavshalom.org for more information. templeohavshalom.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25
The Tree of Life Congregation will hold an outdoor lighting of the Chanukah menorah. The public is invited. 5 p.m. Corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues. treeoflifepgh.org.
MONDAY, DEC. 30
Chabad of the South Hills presents Nurturing Relationships, a new six-week course with Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum. Learn Jewish wisdom for building deeper connections in all your relationships. 7:30 p.m. Bower Hill Road. chabadsh.com.
call 866.632.2763.
WEDNESDAYS, DEC. 18–JULY 29
Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman presents a
Join Chabad of the South Hills for its annual Chanukah Festival featuring a grand menorah lighting, fire show, fire truck gelt drop, latkes, donuts, hot drinks, a photo booth, music and more. Free. Register in advance to be entered into a ra e for Chanukah swag. 5 p.m. Dormont Pool parking lot. chabadsh.com/menorah. PJC
Join the Chronicle Book Club!
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Dec. 22 discussion of “Long Island Compromise,” by Taffy BrodesserAkner. From the Jewish Book Council, Evie Saphire-Bernstein:
“Five years after her wildly successful debut, ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble,’ Taffy Brodesser-Akner returns with an engrossing new novel, ‘Long Island Compromise.’
The book opens in 1980, when, thanks to the success of their polystyrene molds factory, the Fletchers lead a privileged life on Long Island. But after the head of the household, Carl, is kidnapped and held hostage for five days, no one in his family or community is the same. Carl’s three adult children — Nathan, Beamer, and Jenny — all deal with PTSD in different ways, and Carl’s mother and wife attempt to shield him from any further difficulties. While their intentions are good, the outcomes of their actions are unexpected and everlasting. ‘Long Island Compromise’ is about how one person’s actions can impact their family, and how their legacy — well deserved or not — will shape future generations."
Your hosts
Toby Tabachnick, Chronicle editor
David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer
How it works
We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m.
What to do
Buy: “Long Island Compromise.” 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. Happy reading! PJC
— Toby Tabachnick
Headlines
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Local educators silenced their phones and raised alarms while calling attention to healthy screen use. The Dec. 8 conversation, convened by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Rabbi Hindy Finman, welcomed school leaders and parents from across the East End for a 90-minute chat at the Squirrel Hillbased community center.
Before delving into the issue, Finman asked participants to power down their devices and said the impetus for Sunday’s talk grew from an earlier presentation.
During the summer, Finman, the JCC’s newly hired senior director of Jewish Life, attended a conference at Brandeis University where participants repeatedly discussed best practices for preventing children from experiencing hate speech.
Several guests of the summer conference proposed eliminating access to devices, Finman recalled.
“That’s not really realistic. There’s screens everywhere,” she said. “The better approach is leaning on those “who are constantly thinking about how to use screens in a healthy manner.”
Finman did so by speaking with local school leaders and discovering their takes on the issue. She talked to Community Day School’s Casey Weiss, Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh’s Rabbi Sam Weinberg, Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh’s Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, Pittsburgh CAPA’s James Clawson, Pittsburgh Colfax’s Tamara Sanders-Woods and St. Edmund Academy’s Chad Barnett.
On Sunday, Finman asked the group to share their thoughts while remaining open to ideas championed inside neighboring buildings.
The educators complied and humbly admitted that they too are seeking answers to the challenging question of how children, and adults, should navigate technology.
“This is the topic, and I will say definitively that what we are doing at our school, I don’t think is working,” Weiss said.
“Unfortunately, I think one of the biggest mistakes that we made with PPS was putting these devices into kids’ hands without that type of structure around what they would be seeing and what they are exposed to,” Sanders-Woods said.
“As an educator, we were taught to view technology with suspicion,” Clawson said. Instead, schools and educators “started supplying” students with a constant stream of devices, and “we’re now the pushers.”
During the 2022-23 school year, 94% of public schools reported providing digital devices, such as laptops or tablets, to students who need them, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
With access to so many devices, students are spending numerous hours each day staring at screens.
In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that between July 2021 and Dec. 2023 about 50% of teens ages 12–17 spent four hours or more on screens
poor health outcomes, including fatigue and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Education spurs homework
On Sunday, several school leaders spoke about the need to separate screens from bedrooms.
The reality is that there’s a certain foolishness in asking students to avoid constantly scanning their devices when parents are unable to perform a similar task, educators said.
“I’m constantly pulling out my phone, checking my texts,” Rosenblum told attendees before humorously recalling how he purchased a smart watch in order to detach himself from his phone, but only discovered the watch was a vehicle for incessantly monitoring calls and messages.
Even if parties agree that devices are impeding sleep and causing harm, there remains a belief that phones are necessary tools for safety, school leaders said.
For many parents, giving children phones affords a sense of comfort, but the question becomes, “At what cost,” Barnett said.
What is so urgent that must be communicated during class that couldn’t wait until class is over, he continued. “When my parents needed to get in touch with me at school, which I think was maybe never in the course of my education — but if they ever did — they would call the office, and then the office would send a message, and then things would happen and that seemed to work out just fine.”
Several school leaders said parents have told them that children must have phones in the event of an emergency.
“Sometimes it’s okay to tell parents that they’re wrong,” Weinberg said. “The instances of kids getting kidnapped on the way to school in Squirrel Hill — correct me if I’m wrong — are not very high. The instances of kids having negative relationships on social media are much worse.”
A lot of it comes down to “trust” between parents and schools, Sanders-Woods said.
If a crisis is occurring and the principal is communicating with the superintendent, city police and other agencies, but parents start panicking and flooding the school’s phone lines, “it takes us away from what we should be doing to keep the staff and students safe,” she said.
safety personnel from arriving on site — because parents and community members are clogging the space — but the use of cell phones during an emergency can distract students from properly paying attention, taking shelter or following emergency responses, according to the organization.
Part of education is understanding that, “If, God forbid, something is urgent, we will communicate,” Weinberg said. It’s
total elimination of technology. Instead, the group called for moderation and healthy practices.
“As Jews, we’re really lucky because we’re supposed to unplug every single week. And it sounds so archaic, but it is the most freeing, amazing, special thing,” Weiss said. “I’m going to be honest. I’m not fully shomer Shabbos, but on all the Shabbats that I lean in, that I go to Shaare Torah, that I go to a
Photo by Adam Reinherz
Headlines
Democracy in Israel requires voting in North America, says World Zionist Organization vice chair
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Experiencing election fatigue? Well, another big choice is coming.
Between March 10 and May 5, American Jews will vote for delegates to the 39th World Zionist Congress. Considered the “parliament of the Jewish people,” and founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897, the WZC influences the policies of Israeli institutions, including the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (JNF-KKL) and Keren Hayesod. Collectively, WZC and its representatives allocate nearly $1 billion to Jewish causes annually.
Yizhar Hess, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization, visited Pittsburgh on Dec. 2 to spur voter turnout.
“We hope that as many Jews in North America, as possible, will take advantage of the platform that allows them to influence the future of Israel,” he said.
Hess pointed to JNF-KKL as an example of what’s at stake in the upcoming election.
JNF-KKL owns approximately 13% of Israel’s total landmass, according to the organization.
“This land, because of development, bears fruit” resulting in an annual budget exceeding $1 billion: a sum greater than “the campaigns of all the Jewish Federations in North America together,” Hess said. “That money doesn’t belong to Israelis. It doesn’t belong to the Government of Israel. It belongs to all of us together. And the only way to influence how to allocate, what not to fund, how to think strategically about our biggest collective fund, our biggest collective pot, is by voting.”
Economics is one reason to vote. Post-war Israel is another.
“Israel today, in many ways, is still experiencing Oct. 7,” Hess said. “We didn’t cope with what happened yet in a way that we should. The war didn’t end. The vibe is different in Israel. And Israel on Oct. 8, when we will get to
The end of the calendar year is often associated with making charitable donations, even though many
represents MERCAZ Olami, a movement advo cating for full equality for Masorti/Conservative
J whether at the WZC, in the Knesset or other democratic bodies, he worries about extremist threats: There is a trend that “political demo cratic systems, liberal systems, are under attack b
he said. Apart from spending about 24 hours in Pittsburgh pitching residents to vote, Hess’ other North American stops include Boston, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
this is the time to do it,” he said. “We are in a pivotal moment in our history, and if we fail to connect Jews to Israel, or connect Israelis to diaspora Jews, that would be a generational disaster.”
Throughout his conversation with the Chronicle, Hess stressed the idea of Jewish peoplehood and the need for Zionism to “represent the ranks of consensus in a way that Jewish
Today we are at a stage of Zionism where Jewish peoplehood must be one of our core values,” he said. “We have so much to learn from each other, from a Jewish perspective, from an
Hess, 57, told the Chronicle he reached these views almost 25 years ago during a three-year (emissary) in Tucson, Arizona.
“I’m a 10th generation Jerusalemite and yet for me the first significant Shabbat experience I had in shul was here in North America because of the tensions between state and religion, because of politics and religion, in Israel. Here, I was able to experience Jewish pluralism in a natural way that allowed me to understand
Hess hopes North American and Israeli Jews
“These are two strong Jewish communities that could give so much to each other,” he said.
Of the 15.7 million Jews worldwide, about 7.2 million live in Israel; 6.3 million live in the U.S., 398,000 live in Canada and 40,000 live in Mexico, according to The Jewish Agency for Israel.
Despite the population totals, voter turnout is sparse.
During the 38th World Zionist Congress in 2020, only 120,000 North American Jews voted, according to Hess. Casting a ballot is the mechanism to “solve problems,” Hess said.
The democratic process relies on a discussion of ideas and an understanding that “no one is 100% right and the other is 100% wrong,” he continued. When it comes to the future of Zionism and the Jewish state, “We need to come to a sort of consensus, to a sort of coalition, to solve our problems…I understand that in today’s world, because of what happened in the last few decades, because of what happened in the last year or so, everything that is associated with the word Zionism, for some people, is more challenging. I can explain why their views are not necessarily accurate. I can identify with some of their concerns as well.”
Jewish peoplehood demands the continuance of conversation and democratic practices, he said.
“This is our family. This is who we are. You don’t choose your family, but I think that you need to try to love your family. It’s a subjective kind of thinking, this is true. If someone doesn’t care about Jewish life or doesn’t care about his fellow Jews, what can we do? This is what it is. Sometimes your children think so differently than you, right? It happens. But I think that we should educate for the value that every Jew, wherever he or she lives, should feel like a family — even if he doesn’t think like you, even if he goes to shul or he doesn’t go to shul, whether he lives in Israel or outside of Israel, and vice-versa.”
The future of North American and Israeli Jews is “dependent on the other,” he said. “We are not big enough not to care about each and every one of us.”
Individuals can register to vote for the 39th World Zionist Congress at azm. org/elections. PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
among us don’t wait for a specific time of year to give back to our community. This year the Chronicle has the biggest year-end giving guide that we’ve ever produced, and it’s a great resource for anyone looking to make a difference year-round. This guide highlights some of the local agencies and organizations that are doing important work in the Jewish community and beyond. Of course we
want you to support us, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, but we hope that many of you will have the means and desire to support other worthy nonprofit organizations as well. From supporting the vital work of our Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to supporting education, health care and wellness, culture, and other areas, these organizations and numerous others are making a real impact on the lives of so many in our community.
As we know, giving back isn’t just about the end of the year. It’s about recognizing the needs of our community and taking action to support it throughout the year. Whether it’s making a one-time donation or a recurring monthly gift, or volunteering our time or expertise, or simply spreading awareness about
important causes, there so many ways for us to make a difference.
Our 2024 year-end giving guide is a reminder that giving back is not just for December, but a year-round commitment. It’s a way to show our support for the organizations and causes that matter to all of us, and to make a real impact on the lives of others. In the pages that follow you’ll see advertisements that showcase organizations and their causes, in their own words.
So, let’s give back now and continue to do so in 2025. Let’s use this a starting point for our year-round giving and volunteering, and let’s work together to create brighter future for all of us. PJC
Jim Busis is CEO & Publisher of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
Jim Busis
p Yizhar Hess wants North American Jews to vote.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Livingston
The Children’s Institute
To Heal. To Teach. To Empower. To Amaze.
For more than 120 years, The Children’s Institute has served children with disabilities and families with complex needs to help them reach their full potential and lead their best lives. Our expertise, innovation, and creativity are renowned as we provide care unlike any other. Programs include The Day School, early intervention services, family support services, and outpatient therapies. The Children’s Institute is an independent, licensed nonprofit organization, helping more than 8,000 children yearly in six counties across Western Pennsylvania.
WHAT’S NEW
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We offer supportive, in-home care for children from birth to three years old at no cost to families. Physical, occupational, and speech therapies, among others, are provided.
INTERESTED IN HELPING?
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Mackenzie’s education and therapy began years ago. That’s why your support means so much today. Now 22 years old, Mackenzie is a nonverbal woman with autism and Pompe disease. She has been under our care since she was a second grader at The Day School.
“The Children’s Institute is a place of comfort and safety. The team has given our family the tools to help Mackenzie. They eased our fears.”
— Malissa, Mackenzie’s mom
Headlines
Dor Hadash recognized for its trailblazing work with immigrants
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
When Congolese native Fataki Somwe and his family were resettled in Pittsburgh, Congregation Dor Hadash helped to make the transition smooth.
Members provided the Somwes, who had fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo for Zambia, with the support they would need to start a new life, including finding and furnishing an apartment, navigating the medical care system and assisting with employment.
“There were pleasurable things, too, like sharing meals, museum trips, soccer games and walks in the park,” said Dr. Richard Weinberg, chair of the congregation’s social action committee. “We orient people to Pittsburgh and show them what the community is about.”
Somwe, 62, and a father of eight, regards Dor Hadash as family. “They are our aunties and uncles,” he said, “We love their culture and we love them.”
Dor Hadash also is assisting refugees from Burma and Syria as part of an initiative launched three years ago with the Community Sponsorship Program of Jewish Family and Community Services, and HIAS, a national organization that helps immigrants, asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons around the world.
For its transformative resettlement work, Dor Hadash recently received one of HIAS’ inaugural Trailblazer Awards, which is given annually to congregations for their unique projects, exceptional volunteer efforts and/ or response to crises.
Trailblazer is the highest tier in HIAS’ new Pathway Awards program, which recognizes six categories of engagement: education, volunteering, advocacy, philanthropy, ritual and values.
“Dor Hadash hit all six with gusto,” said HIAS Rabbi-In-Residence Sarah Bassin, who also cited the “sense of solidarity” HIAS has shared with Dor Hadash for years.
“The congregation has such a special place in our hearts, we wanted to show our love and appreciation.”
Dor Hadash’s continued dedication to resettlement work in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was a key reason it was chosen for the award, Bassin said.
Congregant Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz was among 11 people murdered in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018, by a gunman widely reported to have targeted Dor Hadash because of its connection to HIAS.
“Even with the trauma that occurred in their community Dor Hadash has remained deeply committed,” Bassin said. “You could see an organization saying, ‘It isn’t worth it,’ but Dor Hadash leveraged the tragedy to double down on its mission.”
important what we are doing has been to the community and to our congregation.”
Despite the heightened antisemitism and harsh political rhetoric of recent years, support such as this and from other sectors, including the state — which allocated grants for a security system at Rodef Shalom Congregation, where Dor Hadash in now located — provides “considerable assurance that we can act on our values without being threatened,” he said. “We need to demonstrate that we won’t be intimidated.”
In fact, the membership of the congregation has grown in recent years, with programs like the resettlement initiative encouraging people to join, Weinberg said.
“It’s an avenue for those who want to be involved as part of their commitment to working on a mitzvah. Rather than say words and donate money, it’s wonderful to have a direct impact on the lives of families within our community. It’s an enriching experience.”
About three dozen congregants are active in the program, and tasks are divided according to skills so that no one person feels overwhelmed, Weinberg said. “We have educators, and people who can help with employment or teaching English.”
In the process, Dor Hadash volunteers experience the satisfaction of connecting with people of different cultures and promoting understanding, he said.
Volunteers complete online training and receive clearances.
JFCS nominated Dor Hadash for the prestigious award because it was the first of several faith-based groups to cosponsor a family since the federally-funded program began, said Alina Harbourne, JFCS’ refugee partnerships supervisor.
“They’ve been supportive from the beginning and have impressed us with their
dedication to helping refugees and with their interest in having intercultural exchanges with these families.”
Weinberg called the Trailblazer Award a source of pride.
“We are certainly honored that our work with HIAS has been acknowledged,” he said, noting that it helps to convey “how
Several congregants take part in an annual fundraiser to augment the sum that JFCS funnels into supporting a refugee family.
“A group of our older members who are very vigorous cyclists do a weeklong trip, going hundreds of miles in places like Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains,” Weinberg said. “They get sponsors and raise about $12,000 a year.”
The JFCS resettlement program initially provided refugees with a year of support, but that was shortened to six months because it was determined that most families can become self-sufficient in that amount of time, Harbourne said.
But that doesn’t mean the end of the relationship between refugees and their benefactors, who typically continue on as friends.
“We go to each other’s houses,” said Somwe, who has joined Dor Hadash at services. “We communicate. Any time we are in need, they don’t deny. They are good people.”
Resettlement is an ongoing process, said Somwe, who continues to adjust to cultural differences, American slang and frosty Pittsburgh winters.
“But we have a much better life here than in Zambia,” he said. “My daughters go to work. My children can learn easily. It is very different here.” PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
p Dor Hadash members prepare for their fundraising bike ride
Photo courtesy of Richard Weinberg
p Some members of the Somwe family celebrating their one-year anniversary as new immigrants Photo courtesy of Richard Weinberg
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Our Mission: Leverage the power of community to achieve lasting solutions to hunger and its root causes.
What’s New:
Volunteers are critical to the ability of the Food Bank to serve our neighbors. Last year, 8,300 volunteers donated 70,500 hours to support our mission. There are several ways to get involved as an individual or with a group. Visit pittsburghfoodbank.org/volunteer or email volunteer@pittsburghfoodbank.org.
KDKA-TV Turkey Fund through December 31 Donations made at PNC Bank locations of $50 or more will be matched up to $75,000. Donations can also be made by texting KDTURKEY to 50155, KDKA.com/turkeyfund or by mailing a donation to P.O. Box Thanks | Pittsburgh, PA 15230
Empty Bowls Dinner, Sunday, April 6, 2025 at Rodef Shalom Synagogue Sponsorships available. Contact information below.
Interested in Helping?
Contact: Jennifer Zgurich Director of Corporate and Community Giving 412-460-3663 x453 | jzgurich@pittsburghfoodbank.org
1 N. Linden St. Duquesne, PA 15110 412-460-3663
www.pittsburghfoodbank.org
Year Established: 1980 Number of Employees: 160
CEO
Headlines
County Controller Corey O’Connor says he will announce candidacy during meeting at New Riverview Apartments
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
During a Dec. 9 meeting at the New Riverview Apartments, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor told residents that he would announce his candidacy at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10 for the office of Mayor of Pittsburgh.
O’Connor told those in attendance that he had a vision for the future of the city and believed that, because of his experience as a former city councilperson and county controller, he had the ability to start fulfilling that vision on day one.
The mayoral hopeful said that he had a plan for the city’s neighborhoods and its downtown district.
“Right now, you see a lack of approach,” he said. “If there’s a bad news article they switch and change and go do something else. You can’t do that. You have to have your head off social media and have a plan of how we’re going to guide the city to the next level.”
Part of his plan, he said, involved an increase in transparency, noting that a reported deal between Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and former police chief Larry Scirotto which would have allowed Scirotto to referee basketball games shouldn’t have happened.
“That’s a backroom deal and they can’t be made,” he said. “It has to occur in public.”
The city’s neighborhoods, O’Connor said, need growth and investment. He said that the Forbes and Murray avenues corridor is an example of what can happen with city investment, increased infrastructure and robust public transportation.
“You can do that with a million dollars in 10 different parts of this city and rebuild neighborhoods from the heart out,” he said. “People will see that investment and will hopefully follow suit.”
Attention must be paid, he said, to the city’s
Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel
Our Mission: Our mission is to empower breast cancer survivors of all ages and abilities to strengthen their mind, body, and spirit through camaraderie and Dragon Boat paddling. We provide a supportive space to share experiences, foster well-being, and embrace life beyond diagnosis. Through physical activity, friendship, and community service, we enhance quality of life for survivors, including those in lifelong treatment. Hosted by Three Rivers Rowing Association, we are a non-profit dedicated to ensuring all donations benefit breast cancer survivors through education, activities, and support. Together, we paddle forward, inspiring resilience and hope in the Pittsburgh community.
What’s New:
The team is currently in its off-water season. We are continuing our healthy living activities with winter workouts to be prepared for the on-water season.
Healthy Living Event: (Date TBD, Spring 2025)
Golf Outing: June 2, 2025, Connoquenessing Country Club
Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival: September 27, 2025, North Park Lake
Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel is hosted by Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA), a 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 25-1544798.
Pittsburgh Heart of Steel c/o Three Rivers Rowing Association
300 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Interested in learning more about joining the team, donations, or sponsorship?
O’Connor said that Pittsburgh Public Schools has revealed a plan to close 12 of its 52 schools. At the same time, he said, youth programs, including before and after-school programs, have been largely ignored. The lack of those programs, he said, affects when parents can work.
There is a disparity, he noted, between the resources of the city and the suburbs.
“Go to the suburbs and every playground has scoreboards that work, has lights. We’re lucky if half our playgrounds and ballfields have scoreboards and lights,” he said.
O’Connor bemoaned the lack of shovel-ready development projects in the city, saying that opportunity exists in areas that have blight and empty storefronts.
“I see opportunity,” he said. “I see opportunity to have people get in a room and fix the problem.”
The future candidate said he wanted to incentivize people to begin investing in downtown again.
“I think the time is right for visionary conversation,” he said.
Asked by an audience member, why, as a Democrat, he would run against an incumbent Democratic mayor, O’Connor said that he sees a path to victory in the upcoming primary. “They need to be held accountable,” he said, “because they aren’t delivering.”
The controller did note, however, that he would be running against an incumbent with the power of the Democrat party machine behind him.
His time on city council and as controller, he said, means that he can do the job better than the current administration.
When pressed about his previous endorsement of Rep. Summer Lee, O’Connor said that they are in the same party, and it was something most party members did. However, he noted that he spoke out against Lee’s controversial statement on the anniversary of Oct. 7. Gainey,
Screen Time:
Continued from page 5
lunch — whether I just go to Shaare Torah and then go for a walk with my family or go play at Blue Slide — being unplugged is truly a gift.”
Weiss encouraged colleagues and listeners, regardless of faith, to find their own unplugged time: “I say this not as an educator, but as a mom and as a wife. I just think for our families to be together, to be doing things actively together, laughing together, away from the screens, is so powerful.”
Squirrel Hill resident Chaim Strassman praised the event and said the speakers imparted valuable lessons about developing proper relationships with devices.
“In the same way that we expect our children as students to responsibly use technology for school, we need to also model it in the home,” he said.
Karen Batterton, a Baltimore resident who attended the talk while visiting family in Pittsburgh, said the program encouraged her
he said, signed onto the statement.
Questioned about the revitalization of the downtown district, O’Connor said that Gov. Josh Shapiro has committed a $62 million investment to projects downtown. He said the mayor has to work to make the area vibrant. Creative conversations needed to take place between businesses and the city, he said, about reinvesting and moving back to the area.
“The first major company that comes downtown should have as many incentives as possible because they’re going to bring a couple hundred employees. They’re going to rejuvenate downtown.”
Increased public safety, aid for the unhoused and help for those with mental health and drug and alcohol addictions were also needed, he said. And while he said he was anxious to work with the area’s universities, O’Connor also said a PILOT-Payments in lieu of taxes-program was needed for the city’s nonprofit organizations. Gainey, he said, turned down a $40 million offer from UPMC when he took office.
Infrastructure and public transportation were other areas, he said, that needed to be improved. The two could be linked, he offered, building up business districts in areas with popular public transportation stops.
“If we don’t start growing and investing,” he said, “We’re all going to have to pay more taxes because there’s no revenue coming in.”
O’Connor served on city council from 2012 to 2022, representing District 5. He resigned to take over the county controller office after being nominated by then Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
His father, Bob O’Connor, was elected to serve as the city’s mayor in 2005 but was diagnosed with cancer in early 2006. He died while in office.
The Democratic primary takes place on May 5, 2025. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
to consider her own relationship with technology.
“Even though I’m not around a lot of children, I really need to try to figure out in my own head how the good parts of technology can still be a positive, while we’re also trying to teach about the bad,” she said.
S chool leaders serve different demographics in the city, but everyone is dealing with “the same thing,” Amira McLemore Wolfson, a Squirrel Hill resident and CEO of the Pace School, said. “We don’t have a single answer, and we need to work collaboratively and collectively as a community in order to address the larger issues that our children are facing or will face.”
Recognizing a mutual responsibility does not negate the need of individuals to do their part, she continued. “Sometimes being a parent means saying, ‘No,’ or ‘Not right now,’ and being okay with that too.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Corey O’Connor Courtesy of Corey O’Connor
Neighborhood Legal Services
Our Mission: NLS secures justice and resolves fundamental legal problems for those who are low-income and vulnerable in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties by providing high-quality legal services and community legal education. NLS works to promote fairness in the civil justice system, regardless of how much money you have. We envision a just community where all people are treated fairly and have access to civil legal services to meet life’s most basic needs: personal safety, shelter, economic stability and employment.
What’s New:
INAUGURAL PRO BONO AWARDS LUNCHEON
Save the Date - April 10, 2025
LEGAL LITERACY COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE
As part of our service to clients, NLS also educates them with knowledge and strategies to prevent future legal issues – developing a client’s Legal Literacy. NLS offers Legal Literacy outreach education programming to the community to empower vulnerable residents of our region with knowledge of their legal rights and the ability to use that knowledge to prevent legal difficulties.
LAWYER OF THE DAY
A collaborative eviction prevention effort that helps tenants facing eviction receive legal representation at eviction hearings and assistance in obtaining resources to achieve housing stability
Interested in Helping?
Contact: Julia Marasco, Development Coordinator 412-586-6140 | marascoj@nlsa.us | nlsa.us
928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
1-866-761-6572
Year Established: 1966
Number of Employees: 82
Leadership
Kris Bergstrom, Esq. Executive Director
Judy Hale, Esq. Pro Bono Manager
Headlines
BYU’s star Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff scores sponsorship deal with Manischewitz
Jacob Gurvis / JTA
After a historic football season at BYU, Jake Retzlaff’s latest honor places him in the company of Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali: having his face grace an iconic box of food.
Retzlaff, the star quarterback at Brigham Young University, has nabbed a sponsorship deal with Manischewitz, the Jewish food company’s first-ever sports deal. The deal includes special-edition boxes of Manischewitz matzah emblazoned with Retzlaff’s likeness.
Retzlaff, 21, who grew up attending a Reform synagogue in Pomona, California, is BYU’s first Jewish starting quarterback and one of only three Jewish students at the Mormon flagship in Utah. His story has resonated with fans, Jewish and not, both because of his athletic prowess — he threw 20 touchdowns as he led BYU to a 10-2 record in the Big-12 Conference and a top-25 national ranking — and because of his public embrace of his Jewish identity. Retzlaff wears a Star of David necklace around campus and has taken on the nickname “BY-Jew.”
Retzlaff’s sponsorship was negotiated
through a three-year-old NCAA initiative — called “Name, Image, Likeness,” or NIL — that allows college athletes to profit from their personal brands. It will include a limited run of Retzlaff matzah boxes that won’t be available in stores but will be distributed in a giveaway, as well as social media and video content including Retzlaff and showcasing recipes and holiday traditions. An announcement video features
Retzlaff eating and signing sheets of matzah and talking about his Jewish upbringing.
Manischewitz declined to share how much it is paying Retzlaff for the deal, which runs from Chanukah through Passover. (A Washington Post investigation found that many athletes and universities do not reveal specifics of NIL deals.)
“Manischewitz has always been part of my life,” Retzlaff said in a press release. “I
Hebrew Free Loan Association of Pittsburgh
grew up with matzo with peanut butter as my favorite snack, and every Passover, my family and I made matzo pizza together. At Chanukah time our tradition was making potato latkes.”
He continued: “Now, at BYU, I’m able to share these traditions with my teammates. This partnership is about more than football — it’s about creating connections and celebrating Jewish pride in ways I never expected.”
In its announcement, Manischewitz, the instantly recognizable kosher food brand founded in Cincinnati in 1888 and known especially for its matzah, highlighted Retzlaff’s involvement in the local Jewish community in Provo, Utah — where BYU is located and where he has wrapped tefillin in the school’s stadium and led the city’s first public Chanukah menorah lighting.
“We are so proud to welcome Jake officially into the Manischewitz family this holiday season,” Shani Seidman, the chief marketing officer of Kayco, Manischewitz’s parent company, said in the release. “He is such an inspiration, and we are honored to support his exciting football career and dream. This partnership represents everything the brand aspires to be — celebrating our heritage and bringing awareness to Jewish food and excellence.” PJC
We are proud to carry on the 137 year legacy of providing interest-free loans to those in need. As more people approach Hebrew Free Loan for assistance, your generosity help us to make valuable and life-changing loans to people across our region.
Shani Lasin Board President Amanda Hirsh Executive Director
Reading Ready Pittsburgh
Our Mission: Reading Ready Pittsburgh is a non-profit organization supporting the healthy development of young children by increasing access to books and by encouraging significant family engagement through reading.
What’s New:
Reading Ready Pittsburgh, Allegheny County’s primary local partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library now has over 7000 children under the age of 5 enrolled to have a free book mailed to their home each month at a cost to Reading Ready Pittsburgh of $36/ year. Also, new this year, is the opening of a totally FREE children’s bookstore, B is for Books, in Homestead. Please consider supporting early literacy for young children. Every child deserves a full bookshelf!!
Interested in Helping?
Contact: Mark Sepe
Outreach Coordinator
mark@readingreadypittsburgh
222 E. 8th Ave., Homestead, PA 15120
412-352-7488
readingreadypittsburgh.org
www.facebook.com/readingreadypittsburgh
www.instagram.com/readingreadypittsburgh
Mary Denison, PhD Executive and Founder
Reading Ready Pittsburgh believes in the power of family book sharing to ensure all children are ready to thrive in kindergarten.
By increasing access to books and encouraging significant family engagement, we work to guarantee that all families have the tools and resources they need to support their children. All children deserve full book shelves.
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Allegheny County
Our Mission: CASA’s volunteer community counselors advocate for children in the court system due to abuse or neglect by a parent or caregiver. Appointed by a judge, CASAs are the court’s ‘eyes and ears’ in meeting the child’s needs that will allow them to begin healing from their trauma and prevent future maltreatment.
What’s New:
In the past year, CASA served 124 maltreated children and their families. This is a small fraction of the 3,000 children in the family court system due to abuse or neglect by a parent or caregiver, or accusations of abuse by one parent against another in custody cases. Funds are to support CASA’s volunteer community counselors who advocate for the child’s needs and additional volunteers will enable CASA to serve more vulnerable children.
Leadership
Melissa Protzek, Esq. Executive Director mprotzek@pgh-casa.org
412.594.3606
564 Forbes Ave, Ste 1302 Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412.594.3606 pgh-casa.org
Established in 1993 3.5 employees and 65 active volunteers
Interested in Helping?
Dennis Biggs Outreach Specialist
dbiggs@pgh-casa.org
412.594.3606 info@pgh-casa.org
Today in Israeli History
— ISRAEL —
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Dec. 13, 1949 — Mossad Is Established
Reuven Shiloah, a Foreign Ministry special operations officer, is assigned the task of launching and leading the Institute for Collating and Coordinating Intelligence Operations, commonly known as the Mossad.
Dec. 14, 1858 — Land Deeds
Introduced in Palestine
The Ottoman Empire enacts the Tapu Law, which introduces title deed registration to its Arab provinces under the new Ottoman Land Code. The law has the effect of concentrating land ownership among Arab nobles.
Dec. 15, 2016 — Trump Picks Friedman as Ambassador President-elect Donald Trump announces that he will nominate New York bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, who advised the campaign on Israel policy, to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Dec. 16, 1922 — Hebrew Advocate Ben-Yehuda Dies
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, often considered the father of modern Hebrew, dies of tuberculosis at 64 in Jerusalem. He founded the Va’ad ha-Lashon, the forerunner of the Academy of Hebrew Language, in 1890.
Dec. 17, 1993 — Rabbi Urges Soldiers Not to Remove Settlements
Shlomo Goren, the first head of the IDF’s Military Rabbinate and the Ashkenazi chief rabbi from 1973 to 1983, calls for soldiers to disobey orders to remove Jewish settlers from the West Bank, Gaza Strip or Golan Heights.
Dec. 18, 1947 — Trans Pioneer Gila Goldstein Is Born
p Gila Goldstein appears in Alon Weinstock’s 2010 documentary about her, “That’s Gila, That’s Me.”
Gila Goldstein, among the first Israelis to have sex reassignment surgery, is born in Turin, Italy. The family immigrates to Israel, and Goldstein begins identifying as a girl by 1960. She becomes a leading LGBT activist.
Max Nordau, who co-founded the World Zionist Organization, escapes unharmed when a would-be assassin, angry over the Uganda Plan, fires two shots at close range during a Chanukah party in Paris. PJC
p Turkish flags fly over Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate to honor the Ottoman sultan in 1903.
Antisemitism has risen 30% since Oct. 7, 2023. In response, our security team, with law enforcement and community leaders, has taken steps to address this threat.
• Served over 50,000 people, 70 organizations.
• Launched the Virtual Block Watch program.
• Installed 22 BluePoint security systems.
• Conducted over 425 trainings and drills.
• Secured $1.1 million in state security grant funding for local Jewish agencies.
• Continue to provide safe spaces for the Jewish community to convene through our programming and partnerships.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, we’ve made an incredible impact in Israel.
• Delivered essential food assistance to over 285,000 evacuees and victims.
• Served more than 1.2 million hot meals.
• Distributed basic needs packages to more than 164,736 Israelis and more...
Levinson Chair of the Board
Headlines
412 Ability Tech closes year by featuring local disability services and bolstering innovation
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Sta Writer
Agathering of engineers, therapists, researchers and administrators demonstrated Pittsburgh’s commitment to furthering assistive technology. During a morning of mingling and presentations, attendees discovered technological advances and local offerings for individuals with various abilities.
The Dec. 6 program, hosted by 412 Ability Tech and CLASS, in partnership with TechOwl, yielded new insights and enabled connections among those working within the disability and tech industries.
Alex Geht, founder of Testa-Seat and a 412 Ability Tech board member, told the Chronicle that along with featuring TechOwl (Pennsylvania’s designated Assistive Technology Act Program) and learning about accessible items available through the state-wide program, the Dec. 6 event was an opportunity to showcase CLASS, a 73-year-old Regent Square-based organization serving people with disabilities.
Promoting this organization is essential, he said.
As demonstrated by a show of hands Friday morning, few of the 40 attendees were familiar with CLASS.
And these are people who “work in the
disability space,” Geht said.
Despite earlier ignorance, attendees quickly learned about the organization, as a tour of its Regent Square facility demonstrated adult learners using adaptive keyboards, socializing and enjoying various elements of CLASS’ structured day program.
Initiated last year, the day program helps individuals with brain injuries achieve “independence and fulfillment,” according to Shannon McCarty, CLASS’ Chief Development Officer.
McCarty touted CLASS’ work with local residents and said the organization’s mission aligns with goals espoused by numerous individuals at the Dec. 6 program.
People affiliated with 412 Ability Tech have a “vested interest” in serving people through programs and assistive technology; the problem, however, is that no one is able to “do everything,” McCarty said. “We really need different people in the community to really help us all meet
Creating those connections is a key driver for attending 412 Ability Tech events, explained Carolyn Slayton, program director at the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation.
Slayton was already familiar with CLASS prior to Friday’s meetup, but when Geht told her about the other organizations and individuals participating, Slayton said she quickly accepted the invitation: This is a chance to further “our resource networks.”
During the past two years, 412 Ability Tech has mapped more than 140 local organizations and 1200 contacts within Pittsburgh’s related tech ecosystem.
Hundreds of individuals have attended various 412 Ability Tech in-person events, and though relationships have developed, the challenge moving forward, Geht told the Chronicle, is quantifying these connections.
“We know that people are collaborating,” he said. “We just need to make the metrics.”
Dror Yaron, director of strategic partnerships at 412x972 and a 412 Ability Tech volunteer, attended Friday’s program with multiple purposes.
The first was to introduce local professionals
to Wide Platform, an Israeli-developed online platform allowing users to create personalized simulations aimed at helping children overcome challenges and master life skills.
“We’re trying to help them find clients here,” Yaron said.
The second purpose for attending the Dec. 6 program was to foster 412 Ability Tech’s growth.
Two years of in-person events have enabled partnerships to emerge, but “it’s hard for us to track how much impact we’re making,” he said.
As the new year begins, the organization will revisit its mission and efforts to date.
It’s currently seeking a “community leader” to cultivate new connections, coordinate events and help make Pittsburgh “the most accommodating and empowering city for individuals with disabilities,” according to representatives.
Enhancing the organization won’t negate one of its finest elements, as 412 Ability Tech will continue promoting a “welcoming and open environment,” Yaron said.
There’s a certain joy that comes from attending an event and putting “a face to a name,” he continued. 412 Ability Tech will remain a place for connecting “people that provide solutions with people that have needs. It’s a no brainer.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Local residents socialize and smile at CLASS. Photo courtesy of Shannon McCarty
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
Our Mission: We connect people to wildlife, inspiring our communities to conserve nature for future generations.
What’s New:
WILD ILLUMINATIONS: A HOLIDAY LANTERN EXPERIENCE
Select Nights through January 12. The Zoo glows with the brilliance of wintry giant handmade silk and steel sculptures and more than a million twinkling lights!
MEMBERSHIPS MAKE GREAT GIFTS!
What could be better than a full year of Zoo visits and animal adventure? There’s a Membership for every individual and family! Visit www.pittsburghzoo.org for details.
PENGUINS ON PARADE
Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m., conditions permitting. See our beloved black and white birds waddle outdoors in the winter at the Aquarium!
Home to more than 8,000 diverse animals representing over 600 species, it is where elephants ramble, giraffes roam, sharks dive, and otters frolic. Here, penguins play, gorillas raise families, and kids have a kingdom. We celebrate and conserve wildlife in our backyard and around the world, inspiring our visitors to conserve nature for future generations.
This holiday season, join us in spreading joy, hope, and compassion for wildlife! Purchase an annual Zoo membership, adopt an animal as a gift, or make an honorary donation. No contribution is too small, and every act of kindness has the power to make a difference!
Plan a visit today at www.pittsburghzoo.org.
Interested in Helping?
Contact: Alyssa DeLuca, Vice President of Development 412-365-2541 | ardeluca@pittsburghzoo.org
Mailing Address: Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium One Wild Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Visit Us: 7370 Baker Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 412-665-3640
Top Leadership
Jeremy Goodman DVM, President and CEO
The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center
Our Mission: The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center, established in 1893, is an independent, nonprofit organization with a mission to promote the health and well-being of infants and children through services that establish and strengthen the family. Our programs include Adoption & Permanency Services, Child’s Way ®, the Pediatric Specialty Hospital, the Pediatric VIEW Program, Pediatric Therapy Services, and Counseling. We are dedicated to establishing, strengthening, and empowering families through our holistic approach to care, ensuring every family receives the support they need.
What’s New:
WE’RE GROWING: We’ve expanded our Counseling Services to support individuals, couples, and children. Our new Pediatric Therapy Program offers comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and Early Intervention services, addressing critical needs identified in our Community Health Needs Assessment.
AWARENESS: Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is the leading cause of visual impairment in all countries yet is often misdiagnosed or not identified at all. Our Pediatric VIEW Program specializes in identifying, assessing, and creating intervention plans for children with CVI.
SAVE-THE-DATE: Join us Saturday, May 10th for our 2025 Annual Gala, Shake Your Booties Masquerade, at Rivers Casino. Tables and tickets, on sale now!
Provides over $4 million in charitable care every year
Top Leadership
Stacy Schesler Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Houlihan Chief Nursing Officer
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania
Our Mission: Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP) is dedicated to providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, education, and advocacy throughout our region.
Our clinics o er a wide range of health services for patients including STI testing and treatment, birth control, wellness exams, cancer screening and prevention, abortion, and hormone therapy.
Originally founded as the Birth Control League in 1930, PPWP has provided vital care for nearly 100 years.
What’s New:
PPWP is proud to provide a safe and welcoming place to get health care and information for all patients of any gender.
• Reproductive Health Services: Includes prescribing & providing birth control options, pregnancy testing, and family planning.
• STI Testing & Treatment: Available at regular wellness checks or for acute symptoms.
• Cancer Screenings: Breast cancer & cervical cancer screening, and treatment referrals.
• Comprehensive Sex-Ed: Community support for youth & parents across the region.
• Gender A rming Care: Hormone therapy, referrals to trans- and nonbinary-friendly therapists, housing aid, and more.
• Abortion: In-clinic abortion and the abortion pill options available. Both are safe, and very common.
Sydney Etheredge President & CEO
Amnesty International’s antisemitic agenda
Guest Columnist
Ruthie Blum
Amnesty International released its latest broadside against Israel on Dec. 5, accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza. The nearly 300-page report — “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza” — is typically mendacious.
Laden with hyperbolic hostility and “proof” gleaned from bogus Hamas data, it portrays Israel’s defensive war against the Iran-backed terrorists as the deliberate attempt by a villainous regime in Jerusalem to annihilate a whole population of Palestinians.
Talk about the inversion of reality — par for the course with the “human-rights organization” that makes a mockery of its mandate. In truth, every accusation in this polemic masquerading as research could and should be directed at Hamas.
Indeed, every word of the diatribedisguised-as-research could and should have been penned about Hamas. According to Amnesty’s summary of the document, “International jurisprudence recognizes that the perpetrator does not need to succeed in their attempts to destroy the protected group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to have been committed,” since “the commission of prohibited acts with the intent to destroy the group, as such, is sufficient.”
Uh, yes. Hamas failed to achieve its genocidal goal prior to, during and since Oct. 7, 2023. But the will was and still is there.
There’s antisemitic irony for you.
According to Amnesty’s own definition, both the acts committed and the intent behind them meet the criteria for genocide.
So as not to be called out for its blatant bias against Jews, Amnesty employs a not-so-neat trick. The ploy is as old as it is transparent: only mentioning the “atrocity crimes committed … by Hamas and other armed groups against Israelis and victims of other nationalities, including
In February 2022, Amnesty labeled Israel an apartheid state. This term, originally associated with South African segregation, has been misappropriated by antiIsrael activists to paint the Jewish state as inherently racist.
Amnesty ignored the active participation of Arab citizens in Israeli society, from serving in the Knesset to holding prominent roles in medicine, academia and law. It omitted the historical context behind
During “Operation Protective Edge” against Hamas in 2014, Amnesty accused Israel of grave violations of international law.
deliberate mass killings and hostagetaking” in order to stress that the above “can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
This sleight of hand allows Amnesty to claim that Israel is engaged in a “campaign of systematic extermination in Gaza, marked by the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, medical facilities and evacuation routes.”
To support its ludicrous lies, Amnesty relies on sources aligned with the Islamic Republic’s aim of wiping Israel off the map. Predictably, the report disregards Israel’s exhaustive efforts to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza — a Herculean challenge given the terrorists’ deliberate use of civilians as shields and cannon fodder.
None of this is surprising. For the better part of two decades, Amnesty has been fixated on singling out Israel for condemnation.
Israel’s security measures, designed to thwart relentless waves of Palestinian terrorism, and distorted the legal and political realities on the ground.
During “Operation Protective Edge” against Hamas in 2014, Amnesty accused Israel of grave violations of international law. Overlooking substantial evidence of Hamas’ use of schools, hospitals and mosques as weapons depots and command centers, Amnesty decried Israel’s defensive measures. It issued reports lamenting civilian casualties and damaged buildings while downplaying Hamas’ use of densely populated areas to provoke such tragedies.
Meanwhile, Amnesty remained silent on Hamas’ brutal treatment of its own people, including executions of alleged “collaborators” and the forced recruitment of child soldiers. Nor did it acknowledge Israel’s unprecedented measures to warn civilians — via phone calls, leaflets and
“roof-knocking” — before conducting strikes.
The aftermath of “Operation Cast Lead” in 2008–09 prompted a similarly warped narrative. Amnesty’s report “22 Days of Death and Destruction” portrayed Hamas as a minor player rather than a bloodthirsty terrorist group that had fired thousands of unprovoked projectiles into Israel.
During the Second Intifada (2000–2005), when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses, cafés and nightclubs, Amnesty directed its ire at Israel’s counterterrorism measures, such as the construction of a security barrier to reduce attacks on innocent Israelis.
Despite Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, forcibly removing every last Jew from the Strip, Amnesty continues to describe the enclave as “occupied.” The pattern is undeniable: Amnesty seizes every opportunity to vilify Israel.
Founded in 1961 by British lawyer Peter Benenson to advocate for prisoners of conscience, Amnesty won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for its defense of human dignity and a United Nations humanrights prize the following year. Once lauded for impartiality, it has devolved into a slanted advocacy group with a pernicious agenda.
Amnesty’s animus toward Israel transcends politics. Naturally. Considering the existence of the Jewish state to be illegitimate means never having to care about the ideological makeup of the ruling coalition in Jerusalem. PJC
Ruthie Blum, a former adviser at the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is an award-winning columnist who writes on Israeli politics and U.S.-Israel relations. This piece originally ran on JNS.
What accounts for the speed of the Syrian revolution?
Guest Columnist
Sarah N. Stern
On Nov. 30, the forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of Jabhat al-Nusra, which has been associated with al-Qaeda, rapidly took control of Aleppo in Syria. Hama fell to them on Dec. 5; on Dec. 6, Daraa fell; and on Dec. 7, it was Homs, with the residents eagerly toppling a statue of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. By Sunday morning, Dec. 8, the capital, Damascus, was overtaken by the rebel forces. After decades of control by the Assad family, Syria is free of their suffocating grip.
What accounts for the lightning speed of the Syrian revolution?
The answer lies in a tremendous amount of justifiable, internecine hatred.
For over 50 years, the iron fist of the Assad family has ruled Syria. Hafez al-Assad of the Syrian nationalist Ba’ath party hailed from an
Alawite branch, beginning his rule in 1971. He was known for his 1982 brutal massacre of approximately 20,000 Sunni Muslim rebel forces in the city of Hama, leading to the term “Hama rules.” Translation: mercilessly
auto accident, and the family’s rule was reluctantly passed into the hands of Bashir, a Western trained ophthalmologist. His father, Hafez, did not feel Bashir had the stomach to maintain his ruthless style of
“Congratulations to all of us, the survivors of decades of conscription and brainwashing, and congratulations to Syria, which now begins a new chapter of its history, written by its own people, free from tyranny.”
–AHED AL HENDI
putting down and crushing one’s opposition. The reins of power were supposed to have been passed to Bashar’s older brother, Basil, who was tasked with crushing Hama. However, Basil was killed in an
governance over Syria.
However, after the Syrian uprising of 2011, with approximately 500,000 people murdered and nearly 13 million people internally or externally displaced — causing
a major refugee crisis in Europe — Bashar proved his father exceedingly wrong. With the help of Iran and Russia, the younger Assad maintained the regime’s iron grip over Syria, until Dec. 8, 2024.
The hatred of the approximately 74% of the Sunni Syrian population of the Assad regime continues unabated. Why is this?
In early March 2011, a group of children scrawled on the walls of Daraa, in southern Syria, “Assad must go.” These children were hunted down and tortured by the regime. Their parents were told that if they ever wanted to see their children again, the mothers must sleep with the regime’s commanders. Cans of dog food were sent to their families, with a note, “Herein lies the remnants of your children.”
On Aug. 20, 2012, President Barack Obama issued his famous “red line,” concerning the implementation of chemical weapons during the Syrian civil war, saying, “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also
Please see Stern, page 21
Chronicle poll results: Hostage deal
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Do you think that Hamas will agree to a deal releasing the hostages before President Biden leaves office?” Of the 243 people who responded, 74% said no; 18% said yes; and 8% said no opinion. 79 comments were submitted. A few follow.
The correct question is whether Hamas and Netanyahu will agree to a deal. Israel has not agreed to one to this point either.
It’s not possible to predict what Hamas will do. Like Donald Trump, you can’t believe or trust a thing they say.
This is going to be just like Jimmy Carter and the Iranian hostages where Carter did the work and Ronald Reagan took the credit.
Continued from page 20
to the other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus.”
Exactly one year and one day later, on Aug. 21, 2013, we saw images on our televisions of scores of young children writhing, convulsing, trembling, and frothing at the mouth, many suffocating to death, because of their exposure to sarin nerve gas, at the hands of Bashar al-Assad.
Fifty years of ironclad rule at the hands of the Assad family has rapidly and abruptly come to an end.
There are many individuals who have been tortured by the Assad regime, who are now celebrating. Friends, such as Ahed al Hendi, said, “I left Syria in 2007 after a political arrest that turned my life upside down at the age of 20. It was an experience that cost me friends, a homeland, and led
Israel still has a free press
Do you think that Hamas will agree to a deal releasing the hostages before President Biden leaves o ce?
Democratic Party is not a friend of Israel. They did nothing during the last four years in power. Now the administration is trying
me to live in exile. Today, after 17 years of separation from my city, Damascus, we can finally return. Congratulations to all Syrians! True, the change didn’t come at the hands of those we dreamed of as liberators, but the Assad era has ended, cast into the trash heap of history. Congratulations to all of us, the survivors of decades of conscription and brainwashing, and congratulations to Syria, which now begins a new chapter of its history, written by its own people, free from tyranny.”
Yet, we have no idea who is involved in this uprising. There are many elements within the rebel forces. Some may be innocent Sunni Muslims and Christians, whose family members or friends have long been tortured by the Assad dynasty. However, we must bear in mind that the HTS is listed on the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist organizations and that elements of these groups have sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIS. Who might the rebel forces release from the prisons? Bearing in mind that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan-controlled
to take credit for what occurs when the Republican administration takes office.
The hostages will be released not because of Joe Biden but because Donald Trump is a strong leader.
Bibi is the one slow-rolling this process for his own political gain. Blood is on his hands.
I do not believe that Hamas fears Trump and his threats. Therefore, the hostages will continue to be imprisoned.
If it happens it’s because they see the writing on the wall and want to send a message to Trump. Huckabee as Ambassador: that sent a clear message.
Hamas is not beholden to a change of U.S. administrations or to anyone or anything beyond its charter to eliminate Israel.
Turkey has supported HTS, and Erdoğan has particular antipathy toward the Kurds, what is going to happen to them as people who have been extremely loyal to the United States?
And what does this mean for Israel and for U.S. interests in the region?
On the positive side, the corridor from Iran through Syria, a major gateway from Tehran to Hezbollah forces inside Lebanon, has been cut off. Iran has been described by Israel as “the head of the octopus,” the most destabilizing power in the region, controlling its terror proxies throughout the Middle East. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, had been credited with creating the Iranian “ring of fire” strategy around Israel. However, the decisive moves the Israel Defense Forces has made on Hezbollah in Lebanon, on Hamas in Gaza, and with the IDF’s Oct. 26 attack on Iranian military targets and nuclear research facilities, much of the Iranian “ring of fire”
Gratitude for the Jewish Community
Hamas has President Biden in its corner. There is no reason that it would give him anything in return. What a sad ending to a distinguished political career.
Agree to a deal, maybe. Keep to a deal, never.
No chance. Hamas is only interested in the destruction of the Jewish State. Peace is an illusion of the West.
Hope springs eternal.
— Compiled by Adam Reinherz
Chronicle weekly poll question: Do you think that on balance the fall of the Assad regime in Syria will be good for Israel or bad for Israel? Go to pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC
has been neutered.
Moreover, the Israelis have painfully learned from Oct. 7 that territory is destiny.
The brilliant, strategic move of the IDF’s conquest of the Syrian part of Mount Hermon on Dec. 8 during this “fog of war” will give the Israelis a border and some necessary strategic depth.
Or, as my dear friend Mosab Hassan Yousef puts it, “This might just be another country in the establishment of a worldwide Islamist caliphate.”
And this will be sitting on the borders of Israel. President-elect Donald Trump has said he does not want to send more troops there, nor does President Joe Biden. It seems — as always — that it will be left up to Israel to remain vigilant. PJC
Sarah N. Stern is the founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), a think tank that specializes in the Middle East. This piece originally ran on the Endowment for Middle East Truth’s website.
Ely Karmon (“Why I just subscribed to Haaretz,” Dec. 6) says he is subscribing to Israel’s extreme-left newspaper, Haaretz, as a protest against the Israeli government’s recent action regarding that publication.
What did the government do that was so outrageous? Well, Haaretz’s publisher called the murderers and rapists of Hamas “freedom fighters,” and the government responded by announcing it will no longer advertise in Haaretz.
Karmon compares the new Israeli government policy to recent restrictions on the press by the government of Turkey. That comparison is absurd. The Israeli government is not restricting Haaretz in any way. It is simply refraining from giving it paid advertising. How many Israelis do you suppose would want their taxes used to advertise in a newspaper that called Hamas “freedom fighters”? Not very many, I would wager.
Moshe Phillips National Chairman
Americans For A Safe Israel New York, NY
I very much enjoyed Rabbi Mordechai Soskil’s recent Thanksgiving piece in the Chronicle (“Oddly specific gratitude,” Nov. 29) about being meaningfully grateful for more than just the standard platitudes. It prompted me to consider what I am grateful for, along with the usual (but no less important) “thankfulnesses” of family, health, etc.
One that plays prominently in my mind these days is thankfulness for the Jewish community, both locally and globally. On the whole, the world little appreciates (to put it mildly) the role the Jewish people have played both historically and currently in the betterment of humanity.
As a non-Jew, I have learned much from this community about resilience, ethics, being a positive force in the world and thoughtful consideration of what it means to be human.
So, to my Jewish neighbors and friends, I am grateful for you.
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.
Jack Bailey Pittsburgh
Headlines
Antisemitism:
Continued from page 1
experience of university students, faculty and staff—an important consideration given the role of outside groups last year in the creation of anti-Israel protests and encampments on university property, some of which resulted in arrests—to create a safer environment.
Addressing many of the fears leveled at the ad hoc committee, Kear said that the working group will not be empowered to set limits on free expression or protected free speech. Nor will it be authorized to impose restrictions on “teaching, scholarship, programming or other activities at the university that fall under the protections inherent in the university’s definition of academic freedom.”
Kear said that the yet-to-be-created group will be well-resourced and will be co-chaired by Jennifer Murtazashvili, director of the university’s center for governance and markets, who had been selected to co-chair the ad hoc committee, as well.
Murtazashvili told the Chronicle that she views the creation of the working group as positive. And it demonstrates the importance and centrality of the issue to the university.
“As the issue gained more attention,” she said, “it was clear to the university that a more targeted effort was necessary, and so they decided to take it on directly.”
Murtazashvili said the working group will have more gravitas than the ad hoc committee because it is supported by the university’s
Syria:
group that toppled him.
Continued from page 1
Events are still unfolding rapidly in Syria and the region. But in the immediate wake of Assad’s ouster, here’s what this means for Israel.
Oct. 7 likely contributed to Assad’s downfall.
To remain in power during the Syrian civil war, Assad relied on several allies — including Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.
Now, those allies have been weakened or are fighting elsewhere. Russia, which shored up Assad in 2015 at a key moment in the civil war, has focused its firepower on Ukraine since invading that country nearly three years ago.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group that is also funded by Iran, sent thousands of its fighters to Syria to battle on Assad’s behalf.
Following Hamas’ invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah began shelling Israel’s northern border area. That conflict escalated sharply a few months ago and ended with a ceasefire two weeks ago, after Israel destroyed much of Hezbollah’s capabilities and leadership.
Iran, too, has engaged in a few rounds of direct conflict with Israel, during which Israel bombed its air defenses.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Assad’s defeat “the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s main supporters.” President-elect Donald Trump, too, credited “Israel and its fighting success” contributing to the chain of events.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden also said the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s response led to Assad’s ouster. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are “far weaker today than they were when I took office,” Biden said. After the Oct. 7 attack, he added, “Iran and its proxies chose to launch a multi-front
administration who is taking ownership of the issue.
“This seems like an openness for some kind of dialogue on policy issues,” she said, “which I think is very positive.”
said she expected it to include not only Jewish groups on campus, as well as faculty and administration members, but also community representatives from outside the University of Pittsburgh and from Jewish groups around the
Murtazashvili told the Chronicle that she views the creation of the working group as positive. And it demonstrates the importance and centrality of the issue to the university.
And, she said, the administration is allowing the group to lead the way, identifying issues where there should be greater clarity.
Rachel Kranson, director of the university’s Jewish Studies and associate professor of religious studies, said that the university is still very early in the process of creating the working group, so it isn’t sure how the group will function, but she said she felt it vital that her department be involved.
“It feels important that its members involve Jewish studies faculty who have real expertise in the study of antisemitism, who teach about antisemitism in our classrooms and can bring nuance and deep historical knowledge to the discussion.”
Murtazashvili said she expected the composition of the group to be decided soon and for work to begin sometime in January.
In an interview with the Chronicle, Kear
war against Israel. That was a historic mistake on Iran’s part.”
Another Iranian ally is down.
Iran is widely seen as Israel’s chief adversary, and it funded and coordinated extensive efforts in the region to counter Israel. For Israel, Assad’s ouster means that yet another node of Iran’s so-called regional “Axis of Resistance” has been taken out.
But since Oct. 7, that alliance has been decimated. Its members include:
Hamas, the Gaza-based terror group that has been all but destroyed after 14 months of war with Israel.
Hezbollah, which has suffered a heavy blow in its conflict with Israel.
The Houthis, a Yemeni terror group that has also bombed Israel and been hit with airstrikes from a multinational coalition.
Assad in Syria, who is now deposed.
To both sympathizers and opponents, Assad’s downfall is a huge setback for Iran and its regional influence.
“Iran has suffered a strategic defeat with the fall of Assad,” tweeted Dennis Ross, a veteran former U.S. government official focused on the Middle East. He wrote that Iran’s “ring of fire around Israel is gone.”
He also noted that Iran transferred weapons to Hezbollah via Syria, which could now be impossible.“Without the Syrian land/air bridge, it can’t easily rebuild a defeated Hezbollah. Its enormous investment in Syria has gone down the drain,” he wrote.
Rania Khalek, a journalist who has expressed sympathy for Iranian aims and criticized the Syrian rebels, tweeted, “The resistance axis era is over. Regionally Israel/US won this battle and we have to recognize that and reflect internally on why and how.”
Israeli parliamentary opposition leader Yair
city and region.
Because of that, she expects the group to have a broader impact than a typical faculty assembly ad hoc committee.
“I think it’s a really good way to move forward,” she said.
Pitt student Heaven-Leigh Scalf, a Jewish freshman, was more tempered in her response.
“I think that Pitt has a spectacular way of avoiding actual issues and pretending they’re doing more than they are,” she said.
She said she’s unsure if the working group will make a difference at the university, especially if outside groups and individuals are consulted.
“Opening it up to everyone has a way of slowing down anything actually happening,” Scalf offered. “Because it’s not just faculty, it’s not just administration. It’s not just people affiliated with Pitt who know what’s going on with antisemitism on the campus.”
Lapid called for Israel to take the opportunity of a teetering Iran to “work toward a diplomatic achievement” that will work toward Israel’s interests in Gaza and the West Bank.
The victorious rebel group is no friend of Israel’s — but has taken a pragmatic turn.
That doesn’t mean the rebels are an ally of Israel. The group that has led the offensive is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, an Islamist organization that evolved out of the Nusra Front, a group that was affiliated with the terror group Al-Qaeda and with the Islamic State. A standard piece of that ideology is opposition to Israel.
“In terms of HTS’ stance on Israel, they’ve always been for the Palestinian cause,” said Aaron Zelin, a senior research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who wrote a book on HTS called “The Age of Political Jihadism.” Zelin said HTS has celebrated Hamas attacks on Israel for years, including the Oct. 7 invasion, and has praised the Hamas leaders Israel has killed.
The group’s leader goes by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. The name indicates that the family of Jolani, 42, is from the Golan, the region that Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed. Zelin said Jolani’s father was originally from the Golan before moving to Damascus and Saudi Arabia, where Jolani was born.
That history has led to some trepidation in Israel.
“The events in Syria are far from a reason for celebration,” tweeted Amichai Chikli, the rightwing Israeli Diaspora affairs minister. “Despite the rebranding of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham… the bottom line is that most of Syria is now controlled by a subsidiary of al-Qaeda and ISIS.”
He added, “We can’t let the jihadists establish themselves next to our towns.”
Zelin, however, has documented a turn toward pragmatism by HTS. He called the group
Antisemitism, she said, was too pressing of an issue to be dealt with effectively and in a timely manner by a large working group.
In the light of the attacks on Jewish students on campus, she said, the university can’t spend “a couple of months dallying on it.”
Murtazashvili, though, said that the group will be both nimble and responsive to what’s happening in real-time on campus and that it will also take “into consideration the broad historical context, the community context, to really understand whether something is systemic. I think taking that into account is important, but we’ll also be responsive to issues when they arise.”
In a statement to the Chronicle, the university said its administration unequivocally condemns antisemitism and is committed to real action, noting its concern over the antisemitic experiences endured by Pitt students from “actors unaffiliated with the university.”
“The Working Group on Antisemitism will, therefore, engage proactively within the University and also the broader Pittsburgh community to analyze and help address antisemitism, demonstrating the University’s steadfast commitment to combating antisemitism broadly and fostering an environment where all community members feel safe, valued and respected,” the statement concluded. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
“somewhat pragmatic” and added, “I think that starting some with Israel would be suicidal from their perspective.”
A statement by HTS that Zelin posted to social media said the group was focused on “construction and progress” within Syria. The group added, “Liberated Syria looks forward to strengthening its relations with all brotherly and friendly countries on the basis of mutual respect and common interests.”
Israel and Syria haven’t fought for half a century — and probably won’t start now.
That’s one reason why, despite instability and violence on yet another one of its borders, Israel likely will not find itself at war with whomever takes power in Syria. The countries haven’t fought a major conflict since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, though Israel has bombed weapons shipments to Hezbollah in Syria numerous times.
Right now, the future of Syria’s government is unclear, different rebel groups control different areas and military positions have been abandoned. In response, Netanyahu said, Israeli forces have entered the buffer zone between the two countries “to take action against possible threats.”
He said that Israel wants “neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria” if possible. He added, “The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”
In a statement, the Israeli military said that the presence of troops in the buffer zone doesn’t mean that Israel is getting involved in whatever fighting is to come. “We emphasize that the IDF is not interfering with the internal events in Syria,” it said. PJC
Life & Culture
Rachel Ringler | JTA
For most of Jewish culinary history, anyone seeking to make matzah balls faced one major choice: sinkers or floaters?
In the 20th century, with the advent of homecooking conveniences, another decision joined the one about density: from scratch or from a box?
Now, in an era of niche food products, home cooks have a new set of matzah ball options: freeze-dried, flash-frozen, and flecked with furikake, the Japanese seasoning mix including seaweed and sesame seeds.
As soup season descends, a growing number of new efforts are underway to remake Jewish culture’s most iconic comfort food for the harried home cook. Both legacy brands and new startups are getting into the matzah ball game, aiming to simplify production so that a bowl of steaming, tasty soup can always be just minutes away.
Nooish, which hit shelves in September, is a just-add-hot-water option that comes in a paper ramen container, emblazoned with iconography and lettering that its designer says subtly reflects American Jewish visual culture.
Shalom Japan, the Brooklyn Jewish-Japanese fusion restaurant, has recently launched a mailorder matzah ball ramen kit that allows home cooks to replicate its signature dish.
And even Manischewitz, the vaunted kosher
brand that launched in 1888 as a matzah producer, has innovated on its longstanding line of box mixes. Now, Manischewitz matzah balls can be found in many supermarkets’ freezer sections.
“I don’t know if everyone is ready to make a matzah ball or is able to, especially the younger demographic,” said Shani Seidman, chief marketing officer of Kayco, the owner and distributor of Manischewitz. “But if you have it readily available in the freezer, you can plop it into any soup.”
The trend has prompted debate among Jewish food icons, many of whom have their own recipes and traditions for the soup that is a mainstay of Shabbat and holiday tables from the onset of cozy season until Passover in the spring.
Calling matzah balls “the supreme Jewish comfort food,” Joan Nathan, the matriarch of the Jewish food world, said she believed the readymade options are unnecessary and likely
subpar. (Her own recipe calls for fresh ginger and nutmeg and results in balls that are neither overly dense nor especially light.)
“Matzah balls are so easy to make. They don’t take any time at all,” she said. “It probably takes less time to make them than to buy them.”
But Adeena Sussman, author of the cookbooks “Sababa” and “Shabbat,” said she understands why some cooks would turn to readymade options. Her own family is divided: Her mom, Steffi, was firmly planted in the box-mix camp as she prepared food for 60 people at two Passover seders every year. As an adult, Sussman has taken to making her own family’s matzah balls from scratch, sharing a recipe in her collaborator Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook that calls for seltzer and black pepper.
“Not everyone has a great matzah ball recipe or the wherewithal to make matzah balls,” Sussman said. “It’s a hard time to be a Jew. Even a little Jewish comfort, by adding hot water to a matzah ball mix, I am all for it. I think it’s great.”
Some of the new products offer a spin on the classic dish.
As a busy executive at food brands such as Chobani and Just Date, Nathan, 37, often found herself turning to instant soup when she didn’t have time to cook from scratch. But after helping plan a virtual Jewish food festival during the pandemic, she realized that none of her go-to brands reflected her own culture.
“Why can’t I get matzah ball soup instantly? Why does it have to take over an hour?” Nathan recalls thinking. “It’s so hard to make, hard to get and it’s expensive. But it is also a love language.”
This fall, after years of testing and product development, she brought Nooish to the market. The vegetarian, certified kosher soups come in packages of four for $40 or 18 for $125. Its name is a mashup of “new,” “Jewish” and a dose of advice from a successful entrepreneur.
“Gwyneth Paltrow said brands with two o’s — like Goop — sell better,” said Nathan, who worked at American Jewish University early in her career and now lives in Chicago.
Sussman sampled the soup and said she was initially skeptical because of its appearance — until she added hot water.
“They are like space food, freeze dried. When you look at it, it is dry and powdery with flecks of dried herbs. Until it is rehydrated you have no idea what is going to happen,” she said. “I was pleasantly surprised with the matzah ball. It was better than I thought it would be.”
Shalom Japan’s mail-order kit includes two soup packets that come with matzah balls, packets of noodles, scallions, soup mandels and a spicy sauce. Consumers need only to boil water, stick in the packets of soup to heat them, remove the packets and put the noodles into the same boiling water to generate their own version of matzah ball ramen. (Add your own furikake.)
“That dish is the dish people think of the most when they think of our restaurant,” said Aaron Israel, Shalom Japan’s co-founder with his wife Sawako Okochi. “It helps define us.”
Sarah Nathan, the creator of Nooish, meanwhile, touts the “clean” ingredients in her product — no MSG, less salt than other instant soups on the market, and high-end flavorings from Burlap and Barrel, the Jewish spice startup.
In the first week after Nooish launched, Nathan said she sold mostly to friends and family. In the second, she said, orders poured in from around the world, including from places where cooking is impractical or impossible — including on a naval ship. Now, she’s touting its utility for organizations that want to send soup to their constituents but want to avoid ordering pricey restaurant delivery or setting up temporary distribution centers from their own kitchens. The company’s social media is highlighting a comment from a Hillel employee who wrote, “Our Hillel sends soup to students who are not feeling well. Nooish has revolutionized how we do it — no more freezers, no more defrosting, no more complicated requests from campus dining.”
For Sussman, that type of experience is perhaps the greatest appeal of at-home matzah innovations such as Nooish.
“A convenience food that ties into super great comfort food memories and associations can fill a hole for people,” Sussman said. “Can’t you see every mom sending it to their kid in their college dorms? I would want to.” PJC
p Companies like nooish (left) and manischewitz (right) are offering products that allow customers to make instant matzah ball soup with just one added ingredient: hot water. Courtesy
Life & Culture
Righteous Among the Neighbors: Terri Baltimore
By Ellie Rost | Mt. Lebanon High School
R
ighteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and stand up against antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write profiles about their efforts. To learn more, visit https://hcofpgh.org/ righteous-among-the-neighbors.
Wused the neighborhood over time.
hile giving a tour of the Hill District, Terri Baltimore noticed that a building on Miller Street was marked for demolition. Unfortunately, this building also contained an artifact important to Pittsburgh’s Jewish community: the Labour Lyceum Cornerstone.
Struck by the possible loss, Baltimore jumped into action, sending dozens of emails to the new developer requesting his help in saving the cornerstone. After recognizing the developer she had been emailing in a coffee shop, she sat down with him and explained the situation. Not only did this conversation inspire the owner to save the cornerstone, but he also used the walls of the building to tell the stories of how both Jewish and African American communities
Through her compassion and tenacity, Baltimore has contributed much to the Hill District and Jewish community of Pittsburgh and therefore was nominated for the Righteous Among the Neighbors award for 2024.
Although she has been an active community organizer for both the Hill House Association and the Macedonia FACE, Baltimore’s most significant contribution to the Jewish community has been through her 30-year commitment to giving tours of the Hill District.
She started leading tours in 1992 after joining one with a group of Carnegie Mellon University students. Despite her positive perspective on the neighborhood itself and the apparent value of the tour, the students began making ugly and disparaging comments about the place. The architecture students were appalled that they were forced to come
to the Hill to look at architecture there. After a long conversation with the tour guide and her friend David Lewis, Baltimore was inspired to educate visitors and encourage compassion.
“It’s not just a place with a red circle that you stay away from,” she said. “It is an integral part of the story of Pittsburgh. At the end of each tour I always tell people that they have a responsibility. Once they leave the Hill, their job is to go back to their homes, their schools and their places of business and share with people what they saw. It breaks down barriers around race and differences, and I think that’s why the tours are really important.”
To better understand the community and give more comprehensive tours, Baltimore started to gather information about the area. Not only did she do basic research, but she also talked to the people who lived on the Hill. When speaking to these community members, she discovered a rich Jewish history that she began to incorporate in her historical tours.
Baltimore’s passion and research is apparent when discussing her favorite building in the Hill District — 1908 Wylie Ave.
“It started as a yeshiva and the Hebrew is still above the door with the translation ‘House of the Books,’” she explained. “After that was a community and recreation space, office space, empty at times, and in the ’90s when the crack epidemic hit the neighborhood it became an Afrocentric treatment facility for women and their kids. Later the
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Hill House Association bought the building and refurbished it, and one of the things we wanted to do was make sure that all of the people who used the building were reflected in the renovations.”
Through her tours she learned the importance of understanding a community — all parts of it. Her passion for the neighborhood, compassion for those who live in it and curiosity for new stories empower Baltimore to inspire and educate others. On her tours she breathes life into a place and the people who live in it.
“I’ve learned that communities are more than just what you see,” she said. “The value of the tours is not only talking about the buildings and what exists now but also giving people a sense that there are lots and spaces where the buildings aren’t there anymore but the stories of the people and how they used those spaces are equally important.”
Most importantly her tours empower the members of the Hill District community to be proud of their history and where they live.
“It’s a place where people are there by choice and not by default,” she said. “It’s a place where the people have longstanding stories and they want their neighbors to cross rivers and bridges and railroad tracks to come to the Hill and find out more about their neighbors.” PJC
Ellie Rost is a senior at Mt. Lebanon High School.
TEN IMPORTANT WILLS & ESTATES CONCEPTS AND FALLACIES
This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq. Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney with offices in Squirrel Hill. Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.
All these general comments are subject to exceptions, and as always, this message does not constitute legal advice!
A Will in Pennsylvania does not have to be witnessed or notarized to be effective. The requirements to make a valid will in Pennsylvania are actually pretty simple. It just has to be a written statement, made by a mentally competent adult with understanding and capacity to make such a decision, intended to be your Will, and signed at the end by that adult. No video or audio Wills in PA!
Your Will doesn’t get registered, filed or recorded anywhere in advance during your lifetime. Each county’s Register of Wills (In Allegheny County, it’s called the Department of Court Records, Wills and Orphans Court Division) only accepts a Will for probate after you die. Therefore, it is important to secure the original signed Will safely until or if needed. It’s possible to probate a copy of a Will, but is often difficult.
Surviving family members are usually NOT personally liable for debts of the decedent. Generally, unless you yourself also signed on the dotted line to be responsible to pay, you personally are not responsible for debts of the estate. The only exception is that sometimes the surviving spouse may be individually liable for debts of the decedent – especially under the doctrine of “Necessaries” such as for medical care.. However, it’s relatively rare for a
creditor to actually file suit against a surviving spouse who’s not otherwise personally liable. Most debts that were only owed by the person who died become the responsibility of their probate estate, and assets that are also part of the probate estate usually do need to be used to pay such debts (sometimes subject to compromise and settlement).
Probate doesn’t happen in the court system itself, but in an administrative agency one level below the courts. In Allegheny County it’s called the Department of Court Records, Wills and Orphans Court Division (formerly the Register of Wills). However any appeals from a determination at the administrative level do go up to the trial court.
The actual amount of Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax to be paid depends more on who you leave it to, rather than what it is. Even though the tax applies to almost everything and all the different kinds of assets that you leave behind, the “who” matters a lot. Anything left to a spouse or charity is exempt from PA inheritance tax. A bequest left to a descendent or their spouse is taxed at 4 1/2% on the net value of the assets and the estate, while inheritance by a sibling is taxed at 12%, and to any other relative or friend at 15%, on the net value.
Much of the time needed to complete an estate administration is just waiting. For most estates, after we prepare and file the PA Inheritance Tax return, it still takes about five months more these days to get an approval, and a refund if overpaid. The tax and return are due nine months after the date of death –but most of the heavy lifting is often done by then, in investigating, collecting and documenting assets, selling a house or other property, paying liabilities, filing other required filings, etc. While waiting for
the Inheritance Tax approval, other common steps near the end may include Fiduciary Income Tax returns, Family Settlement Agreement, or a Summary (or formal) Accounting.
The annual gifting limitation that’s part of the Federal Gift and Estate Tax system - last year at $17,000, this year $18,000 per person per year -only applies to the very wealthy, and does not apply to folks of ordinary middle-class means. Federal Estate Tax is only owed on the wealthiest four tenths of 1% (.004) of all estates in the US.
This year you can leave behind up to about $13.6 million as an individual, and about $27 million as a married couple, before any Federal Estate tax is owed. That threshold amount is scheduled to come down by half in 2026, to about $7 million for an individual, and $13 million for a couple.
Federal Income tax under the SECURE ACT causes an inherited IRA to shrink after you leave
it behind. Inherited IRA or retirement account type money is usually taxable, earned income that no one’s ever paid tax on YET. Whoever takes the money out – the original taxpayer, a spouse, anyone else from an “inherited IRA” – pays income tax on all of it, at the recipient’s own individual income tax rates. Note: naming individual beneficiaries on a retirement account is often optimal and better than naming your own estate or no one at all. But it’s complicated. Get advice.
Leaving inheriterd IRA or retirement money to a charity provides a tax advantage. A tax-exempt charity doesn’t pay tax on an inherited IRA like a taxpaying individual does, leaving more value for the charity from your bequest. (I repeat, but be careful how you designate the beneficiaries.).
At Marks Elder Law, we help people every day with issues like these. I invite your questions and feedback. Please let me know how I can help you and your family.
Terri Baltimore
Photo by Brian Cohen
tradition surround yourself with
Set the table for a memorable gathering.
Torah Celebrations
Birth Announcements
Rachel Fauber and Joe Brophy are overjoyed to announce the birth of their identical twins, Martin Akiva Brophy and Asher Joseph Brophy, who were born on Nov. 21. Akiva arrived at 4:11 p.m. at 6lbs, 11 oz, 20 inches long, and Asher arrived five minutes later at 4:17 p.m. at 5lbs, 12oz, 18.5 inches long. Their big sister Leora Mae Brophy is thrilled to have two new best friends. Proud grandparents are Debbie and Tim Fauber of Rockville, Maryland and Marty Brophy and Jan McKenzie of Fort Collins, Colorado, and the late Julie Brophy (z”l). The britot milah were held at Congregation Beth Shalom on Thanksgiving Day.
Samantha Darrow and Matthew Seth Goldstein of Delray Beach Florida are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Cooper Grey Goldstein, on Nov. 7, 2024. Cooper is the little sister of Graham Wilder Goldstein, granddaughter of Michael and Ellen Teri Kaplan Goldstein of Pittsburgh and Frank and Karen Darrow of Parkland, Florida. Cooper is the great-granddaughter of Natalie Kaplan of Boca Raton, Florida, and the late Judge Lawrence Kaplan; Barbara Goldstein of Columbus, hio, and the late Howard Goldstein; Molly Lipsitz of Parkland, Florida, and the late Harry Lipsitz; and the late Lucille and Jerry Darrow.
B’nai Mitzvah
Natanel Alon Fischbach is the son of Yael Silk and Jordan Fischbach, younger brother of Jacob Fischbach, grandson of Janice Davidson and John Thomas, Lee and Marnin Fischbach, Carol and Jerry Hait and Mark Silk. Natanel is in the seventh grade at Community Day School. He loves solving problems in Odyssey of the Mind and performing in musicals at the JCC. He also enjoys piano and playing Dungeons & Dragons and board games with friends and family, the more complex, the better. In the summer, he attends Camp Young Judaea in Wisconsin with his Pittsburgh friends. Natanel will become a bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom on Saturday, Dec. 7.
is the daughter of Ilia and Jennifer Murtazashvili, little sister of Leo and big sister of Eve and Max Murtazashvili. She is the granddaughter of Geraldine and the late Stanley Cutler of Wilmington, North Carolina and Milan Sasic and the late Milena Sasic of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Zoe enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball and cheering on her friends and siblings. An eighth grader at Community Day School, Zoe will celebrate her bar mitzvah on Dec. 14, 2023, at Congregation Beth Shalom. PJC
Dot…dot…dot
This week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach, is fascinating, deep and textured on so many levels. In it, Jacob famously wrestles with what is described as an “ish” (man). Is it really “a man,” or is it a heavenly being? G-d? Or a struggle within himself?
After this struggle, G-d changes Jacob’s name to Yisrael, “for you have wrestled with G-d, and with people, and prevailed.” The name can be deconstructed as Yisra-el, the first part of which stems from the word “to struggle” and “el” referring to G-d.
This face-to-face encounter with G-d, panim el panim (face to face), as the text says, precedes another face-to-face encounter with his twin brother, Esau — this encounter is one that Jacob fears, and for good reason. But rather than run away from what might be a disastrous meeting, Jacob is ready to face Esau. He does not go naively into their meeting but prepares well, keeping his growing family protected — just in case Esau is out for revenge, still seething after Jacob usurped his birthright.
The first meeting between the estranged brothers is interesting. After Jacob approaches cautiously and humbly, prostrating himself seven times at Esau’s feet, the text continues, “Esau ran to meet [Jacob and his family]. He hugged [Jacob], and throwing himself on his shoulders, kissed him. They [both] wept.”
Taken on face value, the text suggests that the years have faded the bitter memory of the stolen birthright from Esau into some sort of acceptance, and rather than bitter, one reading of the Hebrew text suggests some sort of reconciliation — a hug to “forgive and forget.”
But in the scroll, above the word “kissed,” you might notice a series of tiny dots set one over each letter. It is a scribal oddity, a unique formation that appears only a few other times in the Torah. The presence of the dots wherever they appear in the Torah suggests there is something more than meets the eye within the word (or words) itself.
Esau, and what the dots are trying to tell us.
One argument posits that the dots suggest Esau’s kiss was ambivalent at best, or even that it wasn’t a kiss at all, but an attempt to bite (!) Jacob in the neck. The word for bite differs by just one letter from the word for kissed.
So, is “Vayisha’kei’hu (and he kissed him),” as it says in the scroll, really supposed to be “Vayisha’kei’hu (and he bit him)”?
Quite a different meaning, eh? The words sound exactly the same, but one of the verb’s consonants is different (noted in bold), and vastly changes the meaning of the passage. Do the dots indicate a biblical typo? (There are, indeed, many such scribal errors throughout the Torah.)
The change of a single letter would entirely alter Esau’s sentiment (and the direction of his heart) from a kiss of reconciliation after years of estrangement, to the betrayal of vulnerability and friendship instead.
The truth is, we don’t know for certain (and that’s often the fun of parsing biblical text). But it’s always interesting to speculate.
For me, the dots above the word might well suggest Esau’s ambivalence toward his brother, but for this inevitable meeting, he is willing to bury the past, if only for this moment. And later in this portion, to set aside animosity to bury, together, their father Isaac.
This tense meeting between Jacob and Esau got me thinking about the holiday season. As we venture out beyond our local circles of family and friends, perhaps for the first time since the election, we’ll undoubtedly meet up with those in our intimate circle for whom we don’t, let’s say, have the kindest of feelings — especially these days.
How will we greet them? Yeah, you may be inclined to bite them (at least metaphorically, with a sarcastic snap or two), but you won’t. Instead, hopefully you will embrace them, perhaps not wholeheartedly, but in the interest of keeping peace, maintaining civility and enjoying the moment. In other words, set the dots, let them fade from relevance, if only for a day, and embrace what you do you have in common.
And with that in mind, from our family to yours, my wishes for a meaningful and joyous season of light and a Happy Hanukkah! PJC
Here, in the context of this meeting between the estranged brothers, the word and its meaning have been the subject of many a rabbinic and scholarly debate since Talmudic times as to what’s really going on here between Jacob and
Hazzan Barbara Barnett is a Jewish educator and cantor living in Pittsburgh. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.
Obituaries
BLOOM: Mitchel Filip Bloom, passed away on Oct. 28, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington. Mitch was born on July 13, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School, class of 1952. Mitch was the beloved husband of the late Rony Revsin Bloom. He is survived by his loving wife Luiza Howell. He was predeceased by his parents Ethel Forbes and Samual R. Bloom, and a baby sister Jean Florence Bloom. Mitch is survived by his daughters Dr. Erete Bloom (m. Dr. Peter Brown) and Cullanete Bloom, and his grandchildren Elon, Ronin, and Adira Brown. He is also survived by his sister Nancy Bloom Hoffman, brother Donald F. Bloom, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. During his long life, he traveled throughout the world, often with his daughters Cullanete and Erete. Mitch was blessed with a wonderful childhood and often spoke with delight about his schoolmates and the club he belonged to, The Tartars, twelve boys who played sports and enjoyed many reunions. - Mitch went on to earn two master’s degrees and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He also worked at Pittsburgh Plate Glass and Douglas Aircraft, where he made important scientific contributions. Mitch had a graveside funeral in Tacoma, Washington. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends.
Martin Cohen, M.D., 86, of Pittsburgh, PA, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at 1:05 a.m. Born in New York City, New York, Martin met the love of his life and future wife Brenda Lee Kaplan through mutual friends in Kansas City. The couple added to their family in Burbank, California with the births of Adam and Julie. The family soon moved to Pittsburgh, where they have lived for over 56 years of their 63-year marriage. Martin is survived by his wife, Brenda, children Dr. Adam (Rowena Camejo) Cohen and Julie (Bryan Neft) Cohen, brother Paul (Elena Hart) Cohen, brother-in-law- Robert Carvin, and grandchildren erena (Mike) Formosa, Alexa Cohen, Cas Cohen, Simon Neft, Justin Neft, Zoe Neft, one greatgrandchild Liliana Formosa, and nephews Andy (Susanne) Carvin, and Eric (Dr. Kim Noble) Carvin. Martin’s second home for over 50 years was at Mercy Hospital. He endeared himself to his co-workers and everyone who met him. Most knew Martin as a quiet, bright, easy-going man. If you asked him a question, you had to buckle in and prepare for a very ailed and long (but always useful!) explanation. He didn’t rush anything as he strove to give 1000% to every question or request made of him. What did he love? Brenda and his family top that list. Next, dark chocolate, reading (especially thrillers and science fiction novels), tinkering with tools, and taking devices apart to learn how they worked. Martin was interred with military honors at Sharon Memorial Park in Massachusetts on Friday, Nov. 29. The family requests donations be made to your favorite charity or to Beth El Congregation (Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund), 1900 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 (https://www. bethelcong.org)
MILLER: Gwen Miller, passed away peacefully Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. Pre-deceased by her late husband, Felix H. Miller, MD, she is survived by sons Andrew and Thomas and daughter-in-law Monica. Fondly remembered by sisters-in-law Barbara Davis and Myrna Miller, nieces Tracy Miller and Jill Davis and nephew Jeffrey Davis. Gwen grew up in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York and was a 1952 graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School, and a 1956 graduate of Hunter College. She taught English in the New York City Schools before moving to Pittsburgh. She started the Young Women’s Event Series at the Ladies Hospital Aid Society at Montefiore and was a case worker at Big Brothers/Sisters. She was the vice president of the Center for Human Development and vice president of the Rodef Shalom Congregation Sisterhood. She was a counselor for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit at Wilkinsburg High School, retiring in 2000. After earning an M.Ed. from the Pitt School of Education, she later actively served on its Alumni Board. She stayed very active in retirement with friends and family, always organizing events for her book and garden club. She was the unofficial mother of Scope and Scalpel, Pitt Med’s original musical production, having been married to one of the founding members. Her wisdom was often sought by people of all ages, and she always knew what to do to help people who were struggling for an answer. In keeping with her expressed wishes, Graveside Service and Interment were held at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Gwen and Bebe Miller Scope and Scapel Fund at the Alumni Office at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, M-200 K. Scaife Hall, 3550 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261.Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. www.schugar.com
STEIN: Faye “Fanny” Bernstein Stein, age 93, passed away on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Marvin “Bunker” Stein, was born and raised in the Hill District, and was a longtime resident of Squirrel Hill. She is survived by her children, Jules (Jan), Edward, Rachel and Harriet Stein; and her sister, Anne Kranzler. Loving grandmother of Sam (Liz), Jessica (Carlos), Hillary (Mario), Ariel, Cyrus (Lily) and Stuart; and great-grandmother of Atlas, Caleb, Maximus, Ezra, Lazar and Boaz. She was devoted to her family and was famous for her Friday night dinners. Besides being a wonderful cook, she was our friend, confidant, a safe haven and second home to us all and, of course, an expert Bubbie. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Interment Kether Torah Cemetery. schugar.com
STEIN: Rabbi Jonathan Stein passed away on Shabbat, Nov. 22, 2024 with his family at his side. He spent the last 50 years in service to the Jewish community, but his family always came first. He served at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation from 1974 to 1994, at Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego from 1994-2001 and Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City from 2001-2014, where he was named Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Stein was a past president of the Central Conference of the American Rabbis and was editor of the “CCAR Journal” for six years. He taught at the Hebrew Union College in New York and served on the boards of countless organizations. He was a wonderful teacher and an eager learner and traveler. Born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 18, 1948, he was the son of the late Amy Stein and the late Milton Stein (Frankie.) After his bar mitzvah, his family moved briefly to Philadelphia and then to Pittsburgh, where he was very active in the youth group at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. A graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, he earned a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1975. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, the former Susan Pollock, his daughters Rachel (Len Rosner) of Rochester, New York, and Jessica (Matt Colvin) of San Francisco, his adored grandchildren Andrew and Leah Rosner, Lev and Shai Colvin, his sister Diane (Andy Holzman) of Indianapolis, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Contributions may be made to the Mikveh Fund of Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego.
WINIKOFF: Stanley Asher Winikoff, May 31, 1942 – Dec. 3, 2024. Dear husband of Miriam Gross Winikoff; beloved father of Allison Winikoff Ziefert and Cara Winikoff Hirsch
Estate of Shirley Sacks a/k/a Shirley P. Sacks, late of the City of Pittsburgh No. 02-2405029. Joel Pfeffer, Esquire, Executor 535 Smithfield Street, Suite 1300 Pittsburgh, PA 15222; or to Joel Pfeffer, Esquire c/o Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP 535 Smithfield Street, Suite 1300, Pittsburgh PA 15222
Obituaries
Obituaries:
Continued from page 27
(Jeremy); son of Sydney Winikoff (deceased) and Ida Schein Winikoff (deceased); brother of Harriet Winikoff Segal (deceased) and Arnold Winikoff (Barbara Hollander Winikoff); brother-in-law of Ellen Gross (Alan Weiskopf) and Benjamin Gross; adored grandfather of William, Nathaniel and Sylvie Ziefert, and Anna and Samuel Hirsch; and cherished by many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Stan died at home of pancreatic cancer in the tender care of his family. Born and raised in Squirrel Hill, where he was a lifelong resident, Stan led a very committed Jewish life. He and his family were members of the Tree of Life Congregation and later Temple Sinai where he participated in the rabbi’s weekly study group. He was a past president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Jewish Committee. An attorney for more than 50 years, he specialized in civil rights law, civil litigation, insurance defense and product liability. He attended Taylor Allderdice High School and graduated from Penn State University and Duquesne University School of Law. His first appointment was as a law clerk for the Pennsylvania Attorney General. He became assistant attorney general and was then appointed general counsel to the state Human Relations Commission. In that role, he oversaw issues such as school desegregation, gender discrimination in help wanted ads, prisoners’ rights and the protection of religious liberties. He was a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and Academy of Trial Lawyers. Stan was a ceaseless learner and an avid reader, particularly of books on history and politics. He enjoyed many hobbies including cycling, sailing and photography, and did nothing in half measures. In his retirement, Stan found the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, of which he was a board member, to be a resource for his intellectual interests. He took courses in history, literature and politics and co-taught a series of classes in both film and history. There he made many wonderful new friends. His family and friends will remember him as a funny, generous, kind and loyal man who loved culture, technology and adventures of all sorts. His goal was to make the world a better place. His wife and children are indebted to the friends and medical professionals who helped him to savor every moment of his life, even while facing a terminal illness. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc. Interment private. Stan requested that contributions in his memory be made to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (cmu.edu/osher) or The Hartman Learning Group at Temple Sinai (templesinaipgh.org). schugar.com
ZOBER: Dr. Ruth Stock Zober, it is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Ruth Stock Zober on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. Loving mother of Yarone (Tiffany) Zober,
Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: A gift from ... In memory of...
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Contact the Development department at 412-586-2690 or development@jaapgh.org for more information. THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —
Sunday December 15: Max Blatt, David H Fischman, Walter Frank, Fern Halpern Kaye, Lawrence L Lifshey, Edward C Meyer, Sam Salkovitz, Harry B Saltman, Harry Soltz, Abe Stolovitz, Samuel Tufshinsky, Jacob Winer
Monday December 16: Eleanor Bergstein, Thomas Berlinsky, Maurice A Berman, Sybil Young Cherington, Henrietta Chotiner, Bessie C Cohen, Hyman Cohen, Gertrude Dugan, Joseph O Goleman, Helen Gusky, Meyer Leff, Marian Pearl Malt, Leona Mandel, William Nathan, Hyman Parker, Samuel Silverman, Anna R Weil
Tuesday December 17: Flora Breverman, Harry A Cohen, Lillian Cohen, Sol M Cohen, Morris D Golden, Myron (Bunny) Klein, Edward Lamden, Pvt Joseph Mandel, Louis J Rubenstein, Fannie Solomon, Edward E Strauss, Blanche Strauss Zionts
Wednesday December 18: Sidney Epstein, Anna Gold, Ella Kazan, Jennie Levy, Donald J Malt, Isaac Mikulitsky, Jane Florence Pianin, Joseph Reisz, Freda Rosenwasser, Charles Saxen, Norman M Schwartz, Yetta Vinocur, Judge David H Weiss
Thursday December 19: Bessie M Bleiberg, Joan Brandeis, Samuel B Cohen, Louis Debroff, Hilda B Friedman, Jacob Gilberd, Marcella Shapiro Gold, Bella Goodman, Everett Green, Eileen G Herman, Frieda K Lawrence, Ruth M Lazear, Sadye Lincoff, Carl Markovitz, Jacob Mendelblatt, Marcus Rosenthal, Goldie Mallinger Schwartz, Charles B Shapiro, Julius Sheps, Morris Solomon, Bella Stein, Edna Teplitz, Celia Verk
Friday December 20: Bernice Finegold, Bertha Fingeret, Rebecca A F Finkelhor, Leo Freiberg, Margaret K Lebovitz, Martin Rebb, Edward F Reese, M .D , Esther Rice, Herbert Rosenbaum, Bessie Rosenblum, Eugene M Rosenthall, Louis Schultz, Dorothy Schusterman, Albert H Snyder
Saturday December 21: Gertrude P Elias, Leonard Enelow, Arthur Forman, Jack J Friedman, Jacob Gold, Norma Harris, Harry Haynes, William Hersh, Milton Iskowich, Max Janowitz, Sylvia Kalmenson, Nannie Klater, Shirley Krouse, Ruth Kwall Land, Joseph Levitt, Allan Lippock, Maurice Malkin, Rebecca K Malt, Harris Nathan Miller, Ruth Murman, Annette Nussbaum, Harry Rosenfield, Harold J Rubenstein, Frank Smith, Zelig Solomon, Anne C Weiss
Jordana (Michael) Cutitta and Shoham Zober. Sister of Dr. E. Lee (Barbara) Stock, the late Dr. Robert Stock and the late David (surviving spouse, Celia) Stock. Grandma “Z” to Leah Margo Cutitta, Isabel Erin Zober, Franklin Robert Cutitta and Eva Lynn Zober. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, social worker and friend “Dr. Ruth” dedicated her life to helping others, making a meaningful impact in her community and proudly keeping her Jewish faith and sharing it with her family and the world. Dr. Ruth’s journey took her from her roots in Pittsburgh to the vibrant halls of the University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, and to Brandeis, solidifying her commitment to education and social work. Dr. Zober’s academic prowess led her to a position as a professor at Cornell University, where she inspired countless students with her knowledge, compassion, and unwavering dedication to the field. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Dr. Ruth cherished her family above all else. She embraced her role as a loving mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, always prioritizing the bonds that held her loved ones close. Dr. Zober was known for her warm hospitality and culinary skills, often gathering family and friends around a table filled with delicious food, laughter, and love. Ruth’s adventurous spirit also led her to spend time in France, where she immersed herself in the culture and made lifelong memories. She was a passionate Zionist who helped build a town in Israel in the 1970s and supported the soldiers and families during the Six-Day War, returning to Israel to raise her family, living in Israel for a total of eight years. Her zest for life, passion for food, and love for her family will be remembered fondly by all who knew her. Dr. Ruth Stock Zober leaves behind a legacy of kindness, dedication, and love. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and all whose lives she touched. May her memory be a blessing and a source of inspiration to all who knew her. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Pliskover Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Pliskover College Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 8237, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (pliskover.com). www.schugar.com PJC
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Antisemitic, anti-Black gra ti found in Riverfront Park
David Rullo | Senior Sta Writer
Incidents of antisemitic and anti-Black graffiti were discovered along the North Shore’s Riverfront Park near the 10th Street Bypass. Graffiti, including swastikas, the n word, numeric codes used by white supremacists, “Heil Hitler” and “Free Gaza,” was painted on several murals and flyers along the walkway.
In a press release issued Dec. 9, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeffrey Finkelstein said the organization condemned the act, meant to divide the community and spread fear.
“The hateful messages deface not only Riverfront Park but also the values we hold dear as Pittsburghers,” Finkelstein said. “We are committed to fostering understanding and combatting all forms of bigotry. Hate speech, whether it targets the Black community, the
Jewish community, or any other group, is an attack on all of us. We stand united against these acts of division and intimidation.”
Shawn Brokos, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh community security director, said the organization is working with law enforcement to identify who painted the graffiti.
“We’re grateful to the people who have reported this to us and are working to connect the dots and find out who’s behind this,” she said.
The graffiti was found a day after photos
appeared online of apparent white supremacists holding Nazi flags on the Liberty Bridge over the weekend.
Brokos urged anyone with information about this or other hate crimes or discriminatory acts to report them to local authorities and to file an incident report at jewishpgh.org/form/incidentreport. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Trump picks Jewish space adventurer Jared Isaacman to head NASA
To advance his efforts to return Americans to the moon, Presidentelect Donald Trump is tapping a Jewish entrepreneur who has traveled privately to space himself.
Jared Isaacman, 41, is the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company. He is best known for his high-profile, private jaunts into space, most recently traveling on a rocket built by SpaceX, owned by Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk, to conduct the first private spacewalk ever in September. His inaugural space voyage, in 2021, was the first to proceed
without a professional astronaut on board.
Trump announced on Dec. 4 that he would nominate Isaacman to helm NASA.
“With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose
our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place,” tweeted Isaacman, whose travels have prompted reflections on how Jewish law would address spaceflight, after Trump’s announcement Wednesday.
“Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
Isaacman, a high school dropout and billionaire, is Jewish but has not made that piece of his identity a major part of his public persona. This year, he and his father Don, who is on Shift4’s board, were among dozens of people on a gala committee for Chabad of Hunterdon County, the Hasidic movement’s outpost in their area of New Jersey. In 2010, Isaacman donated the opportunity to be “Fighter Pilot for a Day” on one of his planes to a Chabad auction. Isaacman would not be the first Jewish NASA director. President George H.W. Bush selected Daniel S. Goldin, an engineer who had been active in the movement to free Soviet Jewry, to helm the organization in 1992. PJC
is
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Photo by Pixabay
time for Shabbat
University
Celebrating 142 years young Congregation Poale Zedeck marked its 142nd annual dinner on Dec. 8. The festive gathering honored members of
p Knowledge is power.
Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC
Hanging with Chabad
of Pittsburgh students stopped by Chabad House on Campus for soup and bagels.
Poale Zedeck’s security team as well as Rebbeca Gruener and Robbie Gruener.
