The Jewish News - June 2016 by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

happySHAVUOT Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS 1971-2016 SERVING OUR COMMUNITY FOR

45 Years . jfedsrq org

June 2016 - Iyar/Sivan 5776 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 8 12 16 23 26 29 31

Community Focus Jewish Happenings Jewish Interest Israel & the Jewish World Commentary Focus on Youth Life Cycle

4 Local students attend AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

Why do hikers in Israel keep stumbling upon ancient relics?

Jewish Federation to fund new Hillel position for SWFL students By Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Executive Director

ach year, hundreds of thousands of college students find community, create Jewish connections and build leadership skills through their local Hillel. Hillels rely on the local Jewish communities, Jewish community leadership, motivated students and demonstrated university support to create positive Jewish memories for hundreds of thousands of students worldwide. Hillel’s headquarters, located in Washington, D.C., partners with each Hillel in its network Howard Tevlowitz to ensure that they achieve their mission of “enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.” Hillel engages with and inspires the leadership of more Jewish college students than all other endeavors combined. Hillel knows that 90% of Jews in the United States go to college, and with a rich and diverse Hillel network, it is proud to be serving them at more than 550 colleges and universities worldwide. Hillel – Gulf Coast The area defined as the Gulf Coast includes the following universities/colleges: State College of Florida, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee,

lead in raising the funds necessary to seed this fulltime staff position. The Federation has set a goal of $180,000 to ensure that the staff person hired for this new position would have the resources available for his/her initial two years. Eric Fingerhut, President of Hillel International, visited Sarasota in April 2016 for two days of meetings to kick off The Jewish Federation’s fundraising efforts. As a result, approximately $100,000 of $180,000 has been raised toward our overall goal. It is the goal of Hillel International, Hillel of the Tampa Bay and The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee that the staff person will focus, for two years, on: 1. Meeting with students one-on-one through a Hillel International student engagement program developed for Hillel throughout North America • Identifying student leaders and then developing those leaders through conferences with AIPAC, AJC, JNF, Jewish Federations, etc. • Building student boards and programs/serORT America vices based on student interests CEO 2. Meeting with college administrators and faculty visits 3. Developing a working Hillel Volunteer Committee on the Gulf Coast in conjunction with Jewish Sarasota Federations on the Gulf Coast This new engagement “A student’s involvement with Hillel is one of the strongest model taps personal social predictors of future Jewish leadership – stronger than Jewish networks (fraternities or sororities, business majors, day school enrollment, Jewish camp experiences, or member- foodies, artists) to connect ship in a Jewish youth group. As the leading authority on Jewish friends and friends of friends to each other,14276 and to launch theengages Family Jeweler Name: ________________________________________________ Invoice Ref #: ________________ campus life, Hillel reaches, and equips tomorrow’s student-run Jewish initiatives on campus. They will leaders today.” – Avi Chai Foundation Study, 2010 learn to build authentic reNew College, Ringling College, and Florida Gulf lationships, create new Jewish experiences, expand Coast University in Fort Myers. Today, it is esticommunities, and impart sophisticated and relevant mated there are more than 1,000 Jewish students atJewish content and feelings. tending college in this area alone. Presently, a Hillel The takeaway from this engagement model is to staff person from Tampa comes to New College and/ create a pipeline of future Jewish leaders, prepared to create accessible Jewish experiences with and for our or Ringling College one day per month. The Jewish This Proof must be signed and returned before Sarasota-Manatee community and other post-college Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is underwriting GFA students we can proceed with your order. This is your the staff and program expenses for this once-a-month communities. prior to printing. Please examine all spellharvest,Proof The goal of The Jewish Federation is to have effort.carefully. RFJD will not be ing and information donate held foodresponsible forBased on ongoing this staff position in place by August 2016. any unnoticed errors. Anymeetings and consultations errors found after printing will beInternational customer’s sole and Hillel in the Tampa to All Faiths For more information or to make a gift to The Jewwith Hillel responsibility. Bay area, it has become clear that this area needs/ ish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee’s Hillel Fund, Food Bank please contact Ilene Fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@ Approval deserves a full-time staff position. The Jewish Fedjfedsrq.org. eration of Sarasota-Manatee has agreed to take the Approved

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June 2016

FEDERATION NEWS

National Young Leadership Cabinet’s Study Mission to Berlin and Israel By Simone Knego

“

speak for those who cannot speak.” This inspiring mantra of Margot Friedlander, a native Berliner who survived the Holocaust and eventually returned to Berlin, resonated with the group of 73 members of the National Young Leadership Cabinet who had traveled from 31 different Federation communities across the U.S. and Canada to attend the 2016 Study Mission to Berlin and Israel. Our group had the opportunity to visit with the 94-year-old Ms. Friedlander, who insisted on meeting with us despite battling a persistent illness, demonstrating the passion for life that helped her survive.

Brandon Prosansky and Simone Knego with Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander in Berlin

This theme of doing good for others echoed throughout the seven-day Study Mission, which ran April 4-10. The Mission, co-chaired by thirdyear member Simone Knego of Sarasota, and fifth-year member Brandon Prosansky of Chicago, Illinois, offered Cabinet members an unparalleled opportunity to honor the Jewish past, celebrate the Jewish present, and leave with a profound sense of hope for the Jewish future. Prosansky noted: “The Cabinet Study Mission uniquely demonstrates the power of the collective. Not only do participants have top-level access to incredible speakers and programs that are unavailable to the indi-

vidual tourist, the entire experience is elevated because it is shared with more than 70 close friends, or as we say in Cabinet, our chevre.” Even before the Mission got underway, 17 attendees participated in the Berlin Half Marathon. In an effort coordinated by Lee Murnick from the Greater Metrowest Federation in New Jersey, the “Halbmarathon”-ers raised more than $12,000 in honor of those who could not run, and donated the funds to the Accessible Health Zone and the Witness Theater, two programs in Israel administered by one of The Jewish Federation of North America’s (JFNA) overseas partners, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). This theme continued in Berlin. After many participants overcame initial hesitations to even set foot in Germany, we collectively said kaddish for those who perished at the hands of the Nazi death machine, by taking part in emotionally-charged memorial services at Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Track 17, one of three train stations where 55,000 Jews were deported to almost certain death at camps like Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. We also visited the House of the Wannsee Conference, where the Nazis developed the final solution that resulted in the murder of millions of Jews. After visiting the various memorials and historical sites in Berlin, Knego stated, “It is not enough to just say we will never forget. We have to live our lives in a way that helps others to remember the atrocities that happened here.” This is exactly what we discovered school teacher Christa Niclasen is doing at the Loecknitz Primary School in Berlin’s Bavarian Quarter. After

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learning that more than 6,000 former Jewish residents who had lived in that area were deported by the Nazis, the teacher asked her students to develop a memorial project. On the school grounds, a wall of yellow bricks, placed one-by-one by the sixth-grade classes for the past 18 years at this non-Jewish school, now stands as a testament to the names and addresses of more than 1,000 of these individuals. We were also privileged to visit the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Germany John Emerson, and had the honor to meet with the Israel Ambassador to Germany Yakov Hadas-Handelsman. Both discussed the strong diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel that have resulted in close partnerships between the countries over the past 50 years of diplomatic relations. Leaving Berlin behind, on the short flight to Ben Gurion Airport, each of us had the opportunity to reflect on what we had experienced in Berlin, and to look forward to coming “home” to Israel. Upon arriving in Israel – many of us for yet another time, but the very first time for four of us – Study Mission scholar-in-residence Rabbi David Ingber led the group in a powerful shehecheyanu and reminded us that we are all at home in Eretz Yisrael. That evening, we traveled to an IDF base and met with a group of soldiers in the elite intelligence corps. After receiving an overview of what these amazing young soldiers are doing to ensure Israel’s security and survival, we all celebrated, laughed, dined and enjoyed an unforgettable Israeli folk dancing lesson. Over the next couple of days, we visited various social service programs, spoke with Yossi Vardi and other representatives of the hi-tech space who have helped Israel become a superpower in that arena, and had a Q&A session at the Prime Minister’s Office with Eli Gruner, the Prime Minister’s Director General. Near Tel Aviv, we delivered Passover food packages to those in need with participants of the SAHI program, a program that empowers troubled teens to learn that “the greatest thing in the world is doing good for others.” The SAHI program, in which teens deliver food packages anonymously, originated as part of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Partnership Together pairing with the Kiryat Gat region of Israel, and therefore had spe-

cial meaning for the five Study Mission participants from Chicago. In addition, we participated in an amazing program called Hagal Sheli (“My Wave”), which helps disadvantaged teens “catch a wave to a better life” by teaching them to overcome challenges through surfing. The program originated with funding from The Jewish Agency for Israel, one of JFNA’s overseas partners. Several of us jumped in the water for an inspirational surf lesson with the Hagal Sheli surf instructors, while others participated in team-building activities. We also visited the Accessible Health Zone, a JDC program in Rishon LeZion that enables people with disabilities to have access to fitness activities. We participated in various activities, including a game of wheelchair basketball, to gain perspective on how we can all be more inclusive toward people with disabilities. We then were humbled to meet with Israeli Paralympic rower and World Champion Moran Samuel, who shared her incredible story of overcoming challenges against all odds. Finally, our journey concluded with a visit to the Kotel, where we joined together as a group of motivated and empowered young leaders, having learned, lamented and laughed with each other, and having shared experiences as a group that will inspire us to accomplish more together than we could as individuals.

Brandon Prosansky and Simone Knego with Israeli Paralympic rower Moran Samuel

We are grateful to National Young Leadership Co-Chairs Josh Green and Beth Liss for not only choosing such important destinations but for allowing us the privilege of leading the group. In addition, we are in awe of the efforts of JFNA professionals Samara Tesler, Tikva Mahlab and Yehuda Gershonovitz, whose tireless work turned this dream into a reality. Simone Knego is a Sarasota resident and a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet.

AJC’s Associate Director of International Affairs U.S.-Israel Relations: Background and Dynamics The U.S. was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, and for many years the U.S. has been the Jewish state’s best friend in the international arena. But the two countries also have had their share of disagreements, such as Israel’s settlement policy and the nuclear deal with Iran. Aaron Jacob will provide a historical background and some insights into the current state of the U.S.– Israel relations. T UESDAY, AUG UST 1 6

Andy Baker AJC’s Director, International Jewish Affairs Do European Jews Have a Future? Resurgent anti-Semitism and security threats are challenging long-held assumptions about Jewish life in Europe. Bolstered by the expanding European Union and its values of pluralism and democracy, Jewish life seemed bright and secure, but no longer. Resurgent anti-Semitism and security threats are challenging long-held assumptions about Jewish life in Europe. Do European leaders recognize the threat to their Jewish citizens? Will they be able to act in time? Sponsored by

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June 2016

FEDERATION NEWS

The ongoing importance of Holocaust education

he Holocaust was an unprecedented event in human history. The enormity of the crime is unparalleled. The consequences for perpetrators, victims and bystanders are istill being debated in scholarly as well -as popular literature to this day. Theorlogian David Tracy refers to the Holoecaust as a fundamental interruption in the flow of history. Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust m Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, f fand the Holocaust Memorial Museum -in Washington, D.C., are constantly iadding testimonies to their archives. -Likewise, the USC Shoah Foundation

e n s e e e i r -

Andre Krauss

dInstitute for Visual History and Educagtion at the University of Southern Calihfornia, founded by Steven Spielberg, -has collected tens of thousands of vidseoed testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust. And, as survivors of the Holocaust are fading into the sunset, the secondgeneration survivors are carrying on the narrative, often at great emotional cost. In spite of the fact that the Holocaust, given its importance and gravity, is one of the most amply documented events in history, troves of new documentation resurface on a continual basis, as was the case, for example, in November 2015, when 6,300 documents from 1944, relating to the gplanned deportation of Hungarian dJews, were found hidden in a wall in a hBudapest apartment. Holocaust education is multifacetg ed and addresses the various aspects of . the many different problems related to this historic cataclysm and its current day understanding of its legacy – rangsing from holocaust denial, attempts to rewrite history through school educattion and the media, the portrayals of Israel as a racist state, and the attempts by certain governments to absolve themselves of complicity in the genocide of the Jews. Early on in Israel, the first task of Holocaust education was to face the moral dilemmas related to the years of persecution and extermination of Jews during the Nazi reign in Europe.

While Yad Vashem was established in 1953, for the young State of Israel, Holocaust education had primarily gained importance only after the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem in 1962. During these trials, it became painfully clear that for the sake of its moral hygiene, Israel had to come to terms, not only with the enormity of the crime committed against the Jewish people, but also with the horrible stain on the honor of those who were stigmatized by the claim that they had passively gone to their deaths. And yet, there continues to be controversy relative to the Holocaust and its very existence. One thought that Holocaust denial was finally resolved with Deborah Lipstadt’s resounding courtroom victory in April 2000, over self-styled British historian and notorious Holocaust denier David Irving. However, Holocaust denial has instead become even more vociferous. In December 2006, Iran sponsored a Holocaust denial conference entitled the “Review of the Holocaust: Global View,” preceded and later followed by a number of yearly international cartoon competitions ridiculing the Holocaust. Regarding the Holocaust in popular culture, historian Ronald Smelser has drawn attention to what he called the “counter narrative” of the Holocaust, a tendency to not only trivialize the Holocaust, but to actually rewrite history. He points out, for example, the books by Paul Carell which attempt to portray the SS as heroic fighters and the saviors of western civilization against invading Soviet hordes. Closer examination shows that Paul Carell, whose WWII books sold millions of copies in Europe and the U.S., was in fact the pen name of Paul Karl Schmidt, who was a former member of the Nazi party, a member of the SS, and a press officer in the Nazi Foreign Ministry. Present day anti-Semitic graffiti in Budapest both denies that the Holocaust ever took place in the past while it promises a more vigorous one in the near future. One could perhaps take this cognitive dissonance as a joke were it not for the uniformed neo-Nazi members of the extreme right wing party marching and chanting similar slogans about the Holocaust. On a more official note, the ruling right wing party is not only attempting to whitewash Hungary’s complicity in the Holocaust, but it also erects memorial monuments to its wartime leader, Admiral Horthy, who introduced the first discriminatory anti-Semitic laws in Hungary in the 1930s. Further, in Poland, the right-wing government recently introduced legislation according to which anyone who implied in print that Poland was com-

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plicit in the Holocaust risked imprisonment. Politicians in Scandinavia and England use the Holocaust opportunistically, accusing Israel of being a racist state that discriminates against minorities and actually oppresses them with methods formerly used by the Nazis. This, of course, is not only offensive to the Jewish state but yet another way of falsifying and trivializing the Holocaust. This in spite of Simon Wiesenthal’s legacy according to which all victims of discrimination and genocide should have equal opportunity to historical justice. Perhaps one of the most critical and vital initiatives one can emphasize to counter-balance these modern

attempts to misconstrue or misrepresent the truth about the Holocaust is through proactive and overt educational programs that will inform and teach our youth that this atrocity perpetrated against mankind must never happen again. Dr. Krauss, a research fellow at the Institute of Sociology at the Romanian Academy, is a published art historian and media psychologist. He holds two doctorates: History of Art from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Social Psychology from the University of Bucharest, Romania. For more information about The Federation’s Holocaust educational initiatives, please contact Orna Nissan at 941.552.6305 or onissan@jfedsrq.org.

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June 2016

FEDERATION NEWS

The AIPAC Policy Conference By Andrea Eiffert

ine local students were awarded scholarships by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee to attend the AIPAC Policy Conference, March 20-22, in Washington, D.C. Of the 18,000 in attendance this year, 4,000 were students. Our teens heard keynote speeches from Israeli and American leaders, participated in educational sessions and workshops, saw demonstrations of cutting-edge Israeli technology, attended plenary sessions, were entertained, and had the opportunity to lobby on Capitol Hill. And all this in the span of 48 hours! Sending these nine deserving students to the AIPAC Policy Conference is another example of The Federation’s impact on our community and our pledge to make opportunities available to teens to make meaningful connections to Jewish life. Congratulations to scholarship recipients: Caroline Colburn, Mackenzie Grace, Gabriella Hazan, Max Lerman, Sarah Levison, Daniel Nissan, Tomer Nissan, Sam Sklar and Jessica Zelitt. Following are observations from eight of the participants:

An engaging conversation

By Tomer Nissan he AIPAC Policy Conference’s goal is to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Israel through education and legislature in order to secure a stronger future for both nations. The annual conference engages thousands of highly motivated people in the name of creating a stronger and better future for our fellow humans. I remember sitting in one of the session rooms enthralled by the conversation about the current state of civil society in the Middle East. Apart from the educational aspects of the conference, something else gripped my attention – something that sheds light on the importance of AIPAC in our political arena: The majority of the presidential candidates came to address the AIPAC participants. Each delivered an engaging speech addressing important issues, including foreign policy and their experiences with Israel and the Jewish community.

Around election time, I’m sure many organizations invite the candidates to speak. So why did they decide to show up at this conference? In fact, a Republican presidential debate was canceled because two candidates said

Tomer Nissan and Daniel Nissan

they were going to speak at AIPAC instead. It even became a topic of discussion when one candidate did not attend. Deeper politics aside, this event certainly demonstrates that AIPAC sits in a position of major influence in American and global politics. I strongly recommend attending the next policy conference and experiencing it firsthand. I am grateful that The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee provided me with this inspiring opportunity. Tomer is a senior at Florida International University.

18,000 friends

E Max Lerman, Daniel Nissan, Sam Sklar, Mackenzie Grace, Senator Vern Buchanan, Gabriella Hazan, Caroline Colburn, Jessica Zelitt

By Mackenzie Grace ighteen thousand people. That’s the population of some universities or small towns. Can you imagine being in a room with 18,000 other people, all there for the same reason as you? At the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference, that’s the number of people who graced the halls of the Washington Convention Center, the Marriott hotel and the Verizon Center. Holding the general sessions where the presidential candidates and other important presenters spoke in the Verizon Center was a necessity this year, as the Convention Center could not hold the steadily increasing number of people in attendance. With so many people, there were some challenges: the food lines were long; you could lose your friends in the crowd if you weren’t careful; and there was quite a bit of noise. While these were all things we had to work around, they didn’t outweigh the positives. Anywhere you turned you could easily strike up a meaningful conversation. Even walking outside the convention center, other AIPAC attendees were easily identifiable with their lanyards and badges. And if you overheard someone mentioning that they didn’t know how to get to the room where their next breakout session was, you might discover that you were go-

ing to the same place. Suddenly, you and a few strangers would be walking together, as if you had always been traveling together. I found it easy to form friendships simply by being there. In one of the breakout sessions, I made a joke and the girl in the row in front of me turned around and laughed. We started talking and, after the breakout session, we exchanged contact information so we can stay in touch. It turns out she lives only a few hours away. Imagine that, finding a friend who also lives in Florida out of 18,000 people. Thank you to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for providing me with a scholarship to attend the AIPAC Conference! Mackenzie is a 10th-grade student at Out of Door Academy.

Candidates voice strong support for Israel at conference

By Sam Sklar was given the amazing opportunity by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee to travel to Washington, D.C., and attend the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference this March. During my time at the conference, I learned many new and surprising things. What really made my trip special was seeing the presidential candidates speak on behalf of Israel. Most of the presidential candidates were there and each delivered informative speeches. I even got to see Senator Marco Rubio up close! We also got to hear many speakers and see presentations by Israeli organizations before and after each keynote speaker. These inspiring presentations in between the candidates’

Sam Sklar and Daniel Nissan

talks enhanced the entire experience. Each candidate gave their opinion on a variety of subjects ranging from the controversial Iran nuclear deal to their future plans involving Israel “when” they get elected. Different candidates had positions but were all met with applause. It’s amazing how the subject of Israel can bring everyone together. Republicans and Democrats united in their support of Israel. This was an amazing experience

continued on next page

Jessica Zelitt, Gabriella Hazan, Sam Sklar, Max Lerman, Sarah Levison, Sydney Hanan, Allison Davis, Tomer Nissan, Daniel Nissan, Andrea Eiffert, Caroline Colburn, Mackenzie Grace

The Jewish News is a monthly nonprofit newspaper supported by generous readers, committed advertisers and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

The AIPAC Policy Conference...continued from previous page and I can’t thank the Federation enough for all it did to sponsor me. Sam is an 11th-grade student at Pine View School.

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June 2016

FEDERATION NEWS

ADVERTISING SALES Robin Leonardi PROOFREADERS Adeline Silverman, Harold Samtur, Bryna Tevlowitz, Deb Bryan, Sandra Hayden, Stacey Edelman MIMI AND JOSEPH J. EDLIN JOURNALISM INTERNS Phoenix Berman, Jessica Zelitt MISSION STATEMENT: The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee strives to be the source of news and features of special interest to the Jewish community of Sarasota-Manatee, to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions in the Jewish community, and to communicate the mission, activities and achievements of the Federation and its Jewish community partners. OPINIONS printed in The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee, its Board of Directors or staff.

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My awesome AIPAC experience

By Daniel Nissan his March I had the privilege to represent The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee as a Young Ambassador at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. There, I learned that the mission of AIPAC is to strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship, inspiring pro-Israel activists of all genders, races, ages and religions to be active politically and build strong relationships with their members of Congress. Where do I begin? Whether we were darting around the conference center (aka “The Village”), or learning about the presidential candidates and their political agenda regarding Israel, I was constantly learning about and exploring my Jewish heritage. I learned from various AIPAC representatives and staff about many issues developing in the Middle East, such as Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s turbulent relationship with its neighbors. One of my many breakout sessions involved a panel of individuals recalling their first trip to Israel. They emphasized Israel’s diverse culture, technology and people. Listening to them reminded me of when I was in Israel attending the Alexander Muss High School. The session made me yearn to return to Israel to experience more. Being surrounded by 18,000 people who share similar values and beliefs is inspiring and awesome. Even when a group of protesters provoked us, we stood together as one and did not let them affect our high spirits. The conference was a phenomenal experience and I encourage high school students in the Sarasota-Manatee area to go to an AIPAC event. You won’t regret it! Daniel is an 11th-grade student at Riverview High School.

Passing along AIPAC policies to the local teen community

By Gabriella Hazan was fortunate to attend the AIPAC Policy Conference this year with eight other young leaders from Sarasota through scholarships provided by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. At the conference, we learned about the current situation in the Middle East, American politics, Israeli politics and, especially, the importance of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. As president of our local United Synagogue Youth chapter, I was excited about all the ways I could share what I learned with my USY colleagues. USY had an Israeli disco the weekend following the conference, to which Jewish teens from Sarasota-

Jessica Zelitt and Gabriella Hazan

Manatee were invited. For the first 30 minutes, those of us who attended the AIPAC Policy Conference helped share what we learned with our fellow Jewish teens. We first explained the mission and importance of AIPAC, and then we summarized AIPAC’s legislative agenda. The legislative agenda is what we lobbied our congressmen to vote for. Currently the agenda includes: responding to Iran’s regional aggression; supporting direct negotiations and not imposed solutions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and supporting security assistance for Israel. After explaining the issues and importance of each, we invited everyone to sign a leadership statement that reads: “Student leaders in Sarasota and Manatee counties support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and strongly oppose the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.”

USY is also bringing this leadership statement to high schools and encouraging students to sign it. Once we’ve collected enough signatures, we’ll send the statement to our congressmen and encourage them to support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship with their votes. I hope to continue involving AIPAC’s mission in future USY programs and other Jewish teen programs in Sarasota in order to raise awareness and support. Gabriella is an 11th-grade student at Pine View School.

My experience lobbying on Capitol Hill

By Jessica Zelitt ne of my favorite experiences from the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference was having the opportunity to lobby on Capitol Hill. Lobbying is one of the main ways AIPAC involves itself with the U.S. government and it was one of the main focuses of the conference. To prepare for our lobbying meeting, we met with the other delegates from the Sarasota area and planned what we were going to say to Vern Buchanan, based on the three areas of AIPAC’s legislative agenda. I was selected to speak on one of the points, sharing my experience of hearing one of the engineers who created the Iron Dome system talk about Israel’s security. On the last day of the conference, we took a bus to Capitol Hill with other AIPAC delegates. We made our way to the Rayburn House Office Building and hurried through security. Once I got into the building, the whole experience was surreal. I saw committee meeting rooms, and so many offices of different members of congress. Once it came time for our appointment, I was so excited to share my love for Israel with my representative in congress. The entire group settled into the room and we began our presentation. I was amazed by how Congressman Buchanan really listened to what we had to say, asking us questions to clarify what he heard. Overall, this experience was one I

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FEDERATION NEWS The AIPAC Policy Conference...continued from previous page will never forget. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to lobby again in the near future. Jessica is a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School.

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Daniel Nissan, Caroline Colburn, Gabriella Hazan, Jessica Zelitt, Mackenzie Grace, Max Lerman, Sam Sklar

How music touches lives and promotes social change

By Sarah Levison ’m going to be honest: I’m not crazy about politics. However, I knew the annual AIPAC conference had much more to offer. During my time at the conference I was able to

Allison Davis, Sarah Levison, Sydney Hanan

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to learn and perform. It was an honor to be among the 18,000 people who were showing their support for Israel. AIPAC allowed me to find new meaning in my connection with the land of Israel. Sarah is a freshman at Florida State University.

have a greater understanding of different types of relationships. I was able to reconnect with colleagues and friends I hadn’t seen in years. I was also able to witness, firsthand, the work that is put into building a strong relationship with the United States and Israel. Likewise, I discovered a way to connect my passion – music – and my religion. At the conference, I attended a session called “Sulamot: Music for Social Change.” In English, “sulamot” translates to a musical scale or a ladder to climb up. This session matched my major perfectly. I am studying music therapy at Florida State University, and to discuss this topic on a global scale was incredibly informative. Sulamot has been a program for six years now and it partners with the IDF, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Tel Aviv University School of Music. The program goes to areas with underprivileged and neglected children and introduces them to different instruments and music. Some of these children had never heard a lullaby before. The program has more than 1,200 children playing in 18 orchestras. Their teachers report that there is a positive change in their behavior as a result of this program. It’s also a great way for children from different backgrounds and religious beliefs to come together

By Caroline Colburn ne of the first things we experienced at the AIPAC Conference was a busload of people who had just arrived in the United States from Africa. They came for the conference, as well! It was interesting to see the diversity of races, ages, religions and political views of those attending the policy conference. At any given session there might be 10-year-old kids, high school students, college students, people in their 30s and 40s, and senior citizens. Many of the sessions we attended were panel discussions, and the range of topics was as interesting as the perspectives of the people asking the questions. In the general sessions the political diversity was especially evident. While the presidential candidates who attended spoke, many candidates received standing ovations for their remarks regarding their positions on Israel. One of the sessions I attended was about LGBTQ policies in Israel. The room was so packed, some people had to stand! There were people of all ages, races, religions and sexual orientations there – each interested in learning about Israel’s stance on LGBTQ inclusion and the progress the Knesset is making. The whole experience was amazing, but the diversity at the conference was something unique that could not

Caroline Colburn

be experienced anywhere else. I extend my thanks to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for providing me with the opportunity to attend the AIPAC conference. Caroline is an 11th-grade student at Out of Door Academy.

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June 2016

FEDERATION NEWS

Gerry Daniel turns 100 By Federation Staff

erry Daniel, Sarasota resident cluding our Federation, the Union for and lifetime board member Reform Judaism, Hebrew Union Colof The Jewish Federation of lege, Temple Beth Israel and more. He Sarasota-Manatee, will celebrate his has been honored for his philanthropic efforts by organizations such as the 100th birthday on Monday, June 6. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he emigrated American Reform Zionist Association, to Israel in 1936 and to the American Jewish Comthe U.S. in 1949. With mittee, and the Sarasota his wife Ruth (z’l), in Jewish Housing Council, 1991, he helped to create just to name a few. Beit Daniel Synagogue “Quite early,” he said, and Community Cen“I developed a drive to build ter in Tel Aviv and later a business career that played Mishkenot Ruth Daniel a decisive role in my life. Hostel and Community With my beloved wife Ruth, Center in Jaffa, both of we were not only partners which now serve thouin business but also shared our love for the State of Issands of Israelis and visitors. rael. Reflecting now, family Gerry Daniel is the greatest gift I’ve been Gerry divides his time between Chevy Chase, Marygiven. I am blessed with two children, land, and Sarasota, where he is active six grandchildren, and three greatin many causes. He has served on the grandchildren who have become the boards of a variety of organizations, incenter of my life and love.”

Mensch of the Month: Earl Gordon By Kathy Brooks

hose of us who are synagogue and Kallah Scholar. leaders know that once in a This year, Earl has co-chaired the while there is a person who not Rabbinic Search Committee, a job reonly towers above the rest, but is the quiring the patience, diplomacy and “go to” person, not only for many ontact for which he is known and regoing activities but when especially spected. He is always willing to listen, challenging situations arise. Such a in a non-judgmental manner, to the person at Temple Beth opinions of others, and Israel is Earl Gordon, our never shirks the more “Mensch of the Month.” tedious details that When Earl completothers may ignore. ed his term as president With a background of Temple Beth Israel, as a systems analyst at he never entertained the IBM, Earl has taught thought that he would step courses on computaway – that he had done er applications, has more than his fair share taught Dale Carnegie on behalf of the congrecourses, and currently gation. Hardly. Earl has is a court mediator and never stopped working arbitrator in his home for Temple Beth Israel. town of Vestal, New Earl Gordon He is the current co-chair York. He and his wife of TBI’s Michael B. Eisenstat MiniElana have been part-time residents of versity of Judaism. In this capacity, he Longboat Key for 26 years, and he is seeks out, schedules and introduces the a trustee of the Bay Isles Association presenters who participate in this stimhere. ulating adult education program. Earl When asked for a quote regarding often holds the role of gabbai at SaturEarl, one friend said, “He is always glad to help you.” day morning services, and continues to serve as a TBI board trustee and as our The reason? A quote from Earl well-informed parliamentarian. He is Gordon: “It’s the right thing to do!” also an important member of the TemKathy Brooks is the president of Temple’s Speaker’s Committee, helping to ple Beth Israel on Longboat Key. select our annual Scholar-in-Residence

“These we honor” Your Tributes ANNUAL CAMPAIGN

IN HONOR OF Victor Levy Barbara and Dennis Gahry IN MEMORY OF Dr. Norman Foxman Ruth and Lee Shafer

BOB MALKIN YOUNG AMBASSADORS

MAZEL TOV Caryn and Michael Arbor Patti and David Wertheimer Beverly and Ray Broth Patti and David Wertheimer Gayle and Ken Frank – Son’s Bar Mitzvah Inna and Gerry Sideman Sandy and Burt Frank – Grandson’s Bar Mitzvah Inna and Gerry Sideman Ruth and Ahron Haspel – Grandbaby Aviva Rebecca and Rich Bergman

Randi and Robert Landman – Granddaughter Inna and Gerry Sideman Bryna and Howard Tevlowitz Fran and Lewis Weber Patti and David Wertheimer Patti and David Wertheimer – Granddaughter Sue and Alan Loring

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Join us at

TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM

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in june

All Are Welcome! Come Join Us!

ONGOING PROGRAMS Morning Minyan

Sunday-Friday, 8:00am – 9:00am

TEMPLE TALK

Chat with our co-presidents about the exciting changes happening at TBS!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 Men’s Club Minyan Breakfast HAPPY HOUR Wednesdays 9:00am

SHABBAT SERVICES Fridays, 6:30pm Saturdays, 9:00am

Shabbat Shaboom

Saturdays, 10:30am – 12:00pm

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OFFICE HOURS Monday–Closed Tuesday–Friday 9am – 3:30pm

5:30–7:00pm (1st Wednesday each month)

SUNDAY, JUNE 19

COFFEE HOUR 9:30–11:00am (3rd Sunday each month)

UPCOMING EVENTS FRIDAY, JUNE 3

6:30pm &

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

9:00am Ephram Edelkind Bar Mitzvah

SHAVUOT SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Chug Ivri (Advanced Hebrew) Thursdays 10:30am – 12:00pm

8:00pm – 10:00pm Shavuot Service & Study with Delicious Surprise 10:00pm – 7:00am Shavuot All-night Study at Rabbi Werbow’s House

PROGRAMS WILL RESUME IN FALL – KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR DETAILS!

9:00am – 12:00pm Shavuot Service

Paver Religious School Classes will resume September 11th – registration information will be available soon Introduction to Reading Hebrew A Cup of Joe and the Five Books of Mo Shmooze & Brews with Rabbi Werbow

SUNDAY, JUNE 12

MONDAY, JUNE 13

9:00am –12:00pm Shavuot Service with Yizkor, at approximately 11:00am, open to the community

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 6:30pm &

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

9:00am Emma Hershorin Bat Mitzvah

FRIDAY, JUNE 24

6:30pm &

JUDAICA SHOP HOURS

ONLY Wednesdays in June 10am – 2pm **We will be closed during renovations July-mid August; we will have Tallitot and Mezuzot available.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25 9:00am Noah Neitlich Bar Mitzvah

IDELSON LIBRARY You can check out books, using our self-checkout, any time the office is open, provided there is not a meeting in the Library. **The Idelson Library will be closed during renovations July-mid August.

TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM 941-955-8121

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June 2016

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Is Israel a theocracy or democracy?

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• SRQ Chamber of Commerce • SRQ Visitors Center • Selby Public Library • Newsrack across from Hollywood 20 • Ringling Post Office • St. Armand’s Circle • Bayfront Park • Nellie’s Deli • Villa Grande • JFCS • Gulf Gate Library • Einstein Brothers Bagels • Landings Racquet Club • Publix @ Landings Plaza • Silverstein Institute • Lakehouse West • SRQ Memorial Hospital – Outpatient • Morton’s Gourmet Bakery • Art Building • Bahia Oaks Lodge • Health Complex East Ave • Kobernick Anchin/Benderson • Fruitville Library • Temple Emanu-El • Temple Beth Israel • Temple Beth Sholom • Temple Sinai • Chabad of Sarasota LAKEWOOD RANCH & BRADENTON

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By Marden Paru, Dean, Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva

onstantly under siege by nearby Muslim states that wish to see Israel wiped off the map, there is an internal struggle and debate going on within the State of Israel and with global Jewry over the issue of theocracy vs. democracy. From the outset in 1948, dominion over the religious life of Jews in the new Jewish State of Israel was assigned to the Chief Rabbinate by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. With marriage, conversion, kashrut, burial and other Jewish rites, the supervision was placed in the hands of very right-wing religious zealots. Ever since, tranquility has eluded the sparring factions along the religious continuum. Secular Israelis (Chilonim) clash and disparage the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) rabbis who control the spiritual life of the nation. Are accommodations underway that may imperil the control of the rabbis? Is the march toward religious pluralism still at play? The sense of disenfranchisement by liberal Jews worldwide has been expressed by both religious leaders and active adherents of the liberal streams of Judaism. The lack of religious uni-

ty and pluralism has turned off many Jewish tourists in a way that affects diaspora attitudes toward Israel, Israeli philanthropy and tourism itself – the latter being one of the most important industries in the State. Many feel there is something very wrong with Israeli citizens of a liberal or secular persuasion to have to flee the country in order to have a Reform, Conservative or civil marriage ceremony performed. Cyprus, for example, is a popular, nearby option. The State of Israel recognizes marriages performed outside its territory as valid, but does not do the same for liberal-stream marriages which would be conducted in Israel proper. Does that make sense? The qualifications for being recognized as a “Jew” – for purposes of legal matrimony in Israel – operate at a different standard for marriage than for immigration under the “Law of Return.” Is that even reasonable? It is no wonder that animus toward the Chief Rabbinate is at an all-time high among Israelis. For years, many of us have followed the struggle and fight for women’s religious rights at the Kotel

By Betty Zaret, Pines of Sarasota

id you know that one out of three adults age 65+ falls each year and yet about half of those falls are preventable? Take the first step to minimize your risk for falling. Locate an innovative falls prevention and balance program that can provide an assessment of your risk and offer recommended action steps to help you prevent a preventable fall. A good falls-risk assessment will include diagnostic and treatment de-

vices that provide fast, accurate and objective data that assess your need for preventive therapy. If you are at a low risk for falling, there are proactive steps you can take to maintain your balance. If you are at moderate or high risk for falling, there are options for you and your physician to consider in order to restore your balance. If physical therapy is suggested, work with your therapist and your primary care physician to develop an individualized and customized program

her mother and manager, but also a Holocaust survivor.

Program co-chair Maxine Goodheim and actress/producer Audrey Landers

Make sure to tell your friends and neighbors!

The Sisterhoods came together in the spirit of community and friendship. Members from all Sisterhoods sat intermingled to form new relationships. During the lovely luncheon, each Sisterhood representative had the opportunity to speak about their Sisterhood, the activities they participate in, as well as the mitzvahs they do to help the community they live in throughout the year. On each table were beautiful handmade centerpieces similar to a British High Tea, and hostesses were assigned to each table. The Sisterhoods hope this wonderful event will happen annually!

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that addresses your specific areas for needed improvement. If you’re interested in learning more about fall prevention, please attend the Club Fed Red, White and Bingo event on The Federation Campus (580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota) on Tuesday, June 28 at 12:30 p.m. For more information about the event, please contact Amy Goodman-Rizzo at the Federation at 941.706.0033 or arizzo@jfedsrq.org.

When we understand your priorities, we can make them ours. Whether you’re looking to buy a house, a vacation home or an investment property, or you’re ready to renovate or remodel, your home is an important asset that should be part of your overall financial strategy. Speak with your Merrill Lynch financial advisor today about access to financing options to help you pursue the home — and lifestyle — you’ve always imagined.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 25 Rabbi Huntting leads his last Shabbat service and Torah Discussion at Temple Sinai Join Rabbi Geoff Hunting at 10:00 a.m. as he leads his final Shabbat and Torah Discussion at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota. For more information, contact the temple office at 941.924.1802.

MONDAY, JUNE 27 Opening day for Chabad of Sarasota’s Camp Gan Israel Chabad of Sarasota’s Camp Gan Israel summer camp continues enriching children’s summer vacation while intertwining fun with lots of Jewish pride. Sports, karate, swimming, challah making, silly dress-up days, arts and crafts, and field trips are all integrated into the two special weeks of outstanding programming for Camp Gan Israel campers. Campers will be enthralled by the activities, trips and ru’ach (Jewish spirit) that continues to spark Jewish pride way beyond the two weeks of summer camp, which take place at Chabad of Sarasota, 7700 Beneva Road. Camp dates are June 27 - July 8. Camp hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The cost is $175 per week. Scholarships are available on a first-come first-served basis. For more information, call the Chabad office at 941.925.0770.

“American Jewish Military History: Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars” American Jews continue to display incredible bravery in today’s military battles. David Bernstein ranked fifth in his class at the United States Military Academy, and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for risking his life in Iraq under extreme enemy fire in an effort to rescue one of his fellow soldiers. Although suffering from a mortar wound, Bernstein extracted the driver to safety, directed the security of his objective, and repulsed the enemy forces before succumbing to his wounds. Join us at 11:00 a.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Cost: $7 per adult; $3 per student; healthy kosher refreshments with vegan options and discussion materials included. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Perfect your smile in a spa-like environment. Top quality dental services, from implant restorations, to veneers, crowns, onlays, inlays, dentures, whitening or a simple cleaning in a calm, stress-free environment. Dr. Ruth Rojas is a skillful, compassionate dentist and prosthodontics specialist. She counts on a magnificent team that, since 2001, has been committed to delivering personalized and exceptional service to the Sarasota community.

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June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

Operation Barbarossa and the Shoah By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD

ne of my students at Florida Gulf Coast University once offered up the following bon mot: “On a scale of one to invading Russia in winter, how bad is your idea?” Funny, yes, but in the light of history it is a bittersweet question. This month, exactly 75 years ago, both AdDr. Paul Bartrop olf Hitler and Josef Stalin were confronted by the reality that lay behind it. On June 22, 1941, the offensive code-named Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of the Soviet Union – was set in motion. It was the largest military invasion in history, and took place along a 2,900 kilometer front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Germany’s armies numbered 3,200,000 men in 151 divisions, with 3,350 tanks, 7,184 guns and 1,945 planes. Accompanying them were military forces contributed by Germany’s allies, with 40,000 Italian troops alongside of 18 Finnish, 14 Romanian and 2 Hungarian divisions. This was intended to be the start of a European crusade not only to rid the world of communism, but

also to reestablish the very foundations upon which European civilization (as understood by Nazism) rested. Nearly two years earlier, on August 29, 1939, Hitler and Stalin had agreed to a pact of mutual non-aggression, which had paved the way for the Nazi attack on Poland on September 3, 1939. That arrangement was now overturned, with the German dictator reinforcing his oft-proclaimed role as the savior of Europe against Bolshevism. The initial campaign objectives of Operation Barbarossa were soon realized, but the Soviet Union did not suddenly capitulate as Hitler had anticipated. This led to it dragging on beyond the ten weeks originally intended. After this, new campaigns and objectives had to be devised, while at the same time the Nazis had to confront Soviet counteroffensives together with the onset of colder weather – leading to my student’s satirical question above. As the year lengthened, German and allied troops were severely hampered by heavy rains in October, which turned the roads to mud. November and December saw severe frosts, and in some places the temperature dropped to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Hitler and his military planners, expecting the

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THE UROLOGY TREATMENT CENTER

Winston E. Barzell, M.D., FACS Alan R. Treiman, M.D., FACS Kenneth J. Bregg, M.D., FACS Joshua T. Green, M.D., FACS Robert I. Carey, M.D., PhD, FACS Daniel M. Kaplon, M.D.

Diplomate of the American Board of Urology 1921 Waldemere Street, Suite 310, Sarasota 5350 University Parkway Suite #207, Sarasota

campaign to be over before winter, had not provided for adequate winter clothing for the troops, and by the spring of 1942, with no progress made toward victory, Hitler turned his attention away from Moscow to capturing the oil fields in the southeast instead. In one area, however, progress – if it is not too much of an abuse of language to employ that word (and it probably is) – had been made. Prior to Barbarossa, on June 6, 1941, Hitler issued a proclamation known as the Kommissarbefehl (Commissar Order), in which he directed that any Soviet cadres and political leaders captured would be summarily executed. By extension, within the Nazi conception of communism, this included all Jews, regardless of age, sex, social position or political opinion. Those designated to carry out this grisly work were known as Einsatzgruppen, or Special Action Groups. In reality, these were mobile death squads which accompanied the German military in its assault on Russia. Divided into four groups – A, B, C, D – their task eventually became the total annihilation of all Jews in the areas to which they had been allocated responsibility. Group A, the largest with a force of approximately 1,000 men, operated in the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; Group B (650 men) operated in Belorussia and outside of Moscow; Group C (700 men) operated in Ukraine; while Group D (600 men) operated in the Crimea and the Caucasus. Three of the four group leaders had earned doctorates from respected German universities. Operating together with members of the German army as well as local collaborators, it is estimated that between 1941 and 1943 the Einsatzgruppen murdered more than a million Jews. It is their actions that have since

come to be labeled (by French Holocaust scholar Father Patrick Desbois) as “the Holocaust by bullets.” Various means were adopted for their murderous behavior, but most frequently they are remembered through operations in which they gathered together the Jews of a town, village or locality and machine-gunned them to death in large open pits or through utilizing natural formations such as ravines or valleys. Often, the killing would take an entire day, with whole families forced to await their turn within earshot of the shooting. This process was often quite inefficient and psychologically disturbing for many of those repeatedly undertaking the murders. In order to get around this, and in hopes of finding a more clinical way effecting killing on a mass scale, mobile gas vans using carbon monoxide poisoning were ultimately introduced both to remove the intimacy of contact and to sanitize the process. The German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, marked the beginning of what some have termed “The War of the Century.” By 2016 we have come a long way, and what we know now, no one knew then. Of one thing we can be certain, however. The invasion that began 75 years ago this month would see brutal slaughter take place on a wholly unprecedented scale. The Jews were the victims, and we know who the perpetrators were. And, during the war, the rest of the world, even while trying to defeat Hitler militarily, was something of a bystander – and that, perhaps, was the essence of the tragedy. Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. He can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu.edu.

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he HOLOCAUST SPEAKERS BUREAU offers teachers a unique opportunity to expand their students’ classroom experience. We have a large number of Holocaust survivors who reside in this community. They are very motivated to visit school children and give their eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust. Also available are speakers who were hidden children, those saved through the “Kindertransport,” resistance fighters, refugees, as well as World War II camp liberators.

THE WOMEN’S GIVING CIRCLE, or Ma’agal Nashim, is a group of passionate and caring women in Sarasota-Manatee who are committed to making a difference in the lives of women and children in need or at risk in Israel.

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June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

A slave museum and the March of the Living By Elyse Warren

n a recent Smithsonian article, “Inside America’s Auschwitz,” Jared Keller wrestles with the shadows of America’s riddled past with racism after a visit to Louisiana’s Whitney Plantation Slavery Museum. The museum, which opened in December 2014, marks the first museum in the nation to be recognized as a slave museum. The museum pays homage and bears witness to the history of slavery and crimes against humanity committed against the slaves who were forced into labor at the former indigo, sugar and cotton plantation. The memorialization and pedagogical design of the tours conducted at the museum break from the confines of the conventional history lesson given in the classroom or at other plantations. The focus is placed on providing the visitor the opportunity to understand the slave experience and remove, as Keller notes, the veil of the Gone With the Wind view of America’s southern plantations. The experience disillusions the visitor from the romanticism associated with the grandeur of the planation homes and provides a narrative that cannot only educate, but act as a change agent within the visitor when they conclude their experience. This thoughtful design mirrors the experience of visiting sites of atrocities committed during the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, specifically the renowned pedagogy and reconciliation constructed through Germany and Poland’s memorialization of the Holocaust. Thanks to the generous support of The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee and Dr. Barry and Mrs. Anne Stein, I participated in the March of the Living (MOL) in 2011 with five

other high school students from Sarasota, and witnessed the concentration camps in Poland and traveled to Israel. Reflecting on the experience, I can still vividly remember the sensory details of visiting the concentration camps and ghettos in Poland: the stench of the rotting wood of the barracks in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the scraped walls of the cattle car at the Lodz Ghetto, and the cold, sterile, space of the gas chambers at Majdanek that were stained with an effervescent turquoise blue from the Zyklon B chemicals. All the details wove together the prisoner experience in the concentration camps into the fabric of Holocaust memorialization and memory. In particular, visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps manifested a poignant experience of walking through endless barracks and fields which evoked a painful feeling of absence. The absence was augmented by comfort and support from peers and the humbling ability to walk through the space with survivors to learn from their testimony. However, the experience would not have been whole without the strong use of narrative and contextualization provided in the education by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Center and the staff we had on the MOL. To better understand the role of education and how a nation tries to reconcile with a fraught past, I took my passion from the MOL trip and visited Poland again during a studyabroad program in college the following year. I took the experience of the MOL trip and applied it to my studies of how Germany and Poland reconcile the memory of the Holocaust through education and memorialization. Stay-

K’zohar Ha-Ivrit Torah By Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin

esach is behind us. We are now in the midst of counting the days toward the holiday of Sha-vuot, which will be celebrated on the 6th of Sivan of the Hebrew calendar. In ancient times, Sha-vu-ot was a major holiday. The biblical roots of Sha-vu-ot were agricultural (Ex 23:16; Dt 16:915), yet, with the years, Jewish tradition added Dr. Rachel Dulin a significant historical importance to its celebration. Traditionally Sha-vu-ot marked the day Israel received the Torah on Mount Sinai (Brachot 48). Also, according to tradition it was the day God made the convenant with Noah never to bring a flood again to destroy humankind (Jubilee 6). In the spirit of celebrating matan Torah, “the giving of the Torah,” let us briefly discuss the meaning of the word Torah in Hebrew and its significance to Jewish culture. The word Torah carries many meanings: “Law” (of Moses), “The Pentateuch,” “doctrine,” “dogma,” “instruction,” “custom,” “manner,” “theory” and “system.” The word is derived from the root, y.r.h, which means “point out,” “instruct” and “teach.” Accordingly, in biblical times, Torah usually referred to the instructions and teachings of the faith of Israel (Gen 26:5; Dt 4:44). However, with time the meaning of Torah expanded to include the entire Bible (Rosh Ha-Shannah 4:6). In Talmudic times, Torah expanded even further to include the “written Torah,” that which was given by Moses and the “oral Torah,” the interpretive lore and law transferred through the years by rabbinic

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tradition (Shabbat 31). In Modern Hebrew, to-rah received yet a wider meaning. Now to-rah also means “a theory,” “a methodology” and “the sum total of the knowledge and information gathered for a certain field of study.” So, the study of medicine is called to-rat ha-re-fu-ah, literally “the to-rah of medicine or healing.” The study of physics is called “torat ha-phy-si-cah.” The study of psychology is called to-rat ha-ne-fesh, literally “the to-rah of the soul,” and to-rat ha-me-di-nah, “the to-rah of the state,” is the Hebrew name for political science. Also, Torah is at the center of many Hebrew phrases. Here are but a few examples. Sefer Torah is the “Scroll of the Law,” and Simchat Torah is the rabbinic holiday centered on the joy of the annual Torah reading in the synagogue. Ben Torah, “son of Torah,” is a person versed in Judaism – a scholar. Din Torah is “Jewish law” and Talmud Torah is the “study of religious law and lore.” And so it stands to reason that the phrase Torah hee O-rah, “the Torah illuminates” (M’gilah 16), is a sentiment universal to Jewish culture. This idea is also encapsulated in the phrase tovah to-rah mi-kol se-cho-rah, literally, “Torah surpasses any holdings of merchandise” (based on the Sim-chat Torah liturgy). As for me, this phrase can be understood universally to include all fields of study and knowledge, religion and science equally. I wish all of our readers a holiday filled with the light of Torah and with the joy of study. Chag Sha-vu-ot Same-ach. Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor of biblical literature at Spertus College in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Hebrew and Bible at New College in Sarasota.

to heart the moving mission of the museum. The article by Keller is his call to recognize and draw parallels to how America may learn valuable lessons from Germany, Poland or even Rwanda in reckoning with past centuries. While the two atrocities mentioned have different context and history, they both speak to the call for “never again.” We serve as stewards to the next generation, as the phrase L’dor Vador emphasizes. Echoing a note left at the slave museum, fostering and encouraging the movement to provide enriching educational experiences, whether through the March of the Living or a slave museum, will help ensure that the future generation knows and will not forget the past.

ing in Oswiecim, where AuschwitzBirkenau is located, helped me understand more fully the role pedagogy in education, as Keller commented, helps to build understanding and reconciliation with the past to ensure that “never again” reigns absolute. Paralleling Keller’s experience at the slavery museum, I felt a call to action when I left Poland after the March of the Living and again when I studied abroad. It was a discovery in terms of sense of self, belonging and meaning not only to Judaism, but to Israel and preserving the history for the next generation to bear witness. Keller noticed the same call expressed in a tour group of young African-American students who took

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June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

Music of the Mizrahi Jews: They just want to dance! By Arlene Stolnitz

ears ago, back in the “old country” – by that I mean the “real” upstate New York – my husband and I were invited to the Bar Mitzvah of our neighbor’s son. The family were Iranian Jews who had emigrated to the U.S. back in the early ’90s. Many of their customs as Jews were quite different from ours. I noticed from the Arlene Stolnitz start the cultural differences between our families. The Bar Mitzvah party, however, was an event I shall never forget! Especially the music which was very oriental and exotic in nature. My husband and I stood by the sidelines as we listened to the band which had been imported from New York City. I had never heard music such as this before. Looking back, I now know that it was Mizrahi music. I knew nothing about such music at the time. The music was sensuous, suggestive and vibrant, similar to Middle Eastern or belly dancing. Suddenly, one of the guests approached me and invited me to dance! At first I declined, as I had no idea how to dance to these rhythms, beautiful but completely strange to me. However, my persuasive partner prevailed and I finally consented. He showed me how to use my hands and arms expressively as he led me around the dance floor. When he introduced a handkerchief to the dance, my husband looked on, aghast, not believing what he was seeing! I will always remember this experience. That was many years ago, and to-

day Mizrahi music is a big part of the music industry of Israel. It has influenced the contemporary music world and is loved by Israelis in every age group. It was not always the case, however. Mizrahi music refers to a genre of music that combines European, North African and African elements. Usually performed by Israelis of Mizrahi descent, it is mostly sung in Hebrew or Arabic. Spontaneous in nature, it combines aspects of Arabic, Turkish and Greek music. After World War II, there was a mass influx of Jews from Arab countries who performed songs in Hebrew but in Arabic style using traditional Arabic instruments such as the oud, kana and darbuka. Every community arrived with its distinct musical sound. As Iraqis, Moroccans, Egyptians and Persians mixed, they exchanged musical sounds resulting in a fusion of music. Other influences were also included such as American rock, Indian movie music, French and Italian pop, Russian-inspired songs and Chassidic music. But initially it started early on with music from Oriental or Mizrahi Jews. Popular at weddings and birthday celebrations, the music is melodic with simple lyrics about love or heartbreak, betrayal, loss and sorrow. The national government during this early period attempted to restrict the playing of Mizrahi music because it was not considered “authentic” to Israel, mirroring the discrimination of Mizrahi Jews of the time. However, the popularity of the music continued to escalate through exposure on local radio stations and cassette tapes, popular at the time. Eventually, as the struggle

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of Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews eased, so did the acceptance of their music into the mainstream of Israeli music. Some of the most interesting singers I have found on YouTube include Zohar Argov, known as “HaMelekh” (“King of Israeli Music”), and Ofra Haza, his counterpart known as “Queen of Mizrahi Music.” Argov was a Yemenite Jew best known for his song “Haprach Begani.” (This is a good example of the kind of music and dancing I wrote about earlier). Dubbed the “Golden Voice,” his life ended too early due to drugs and other influences of the music industry. Haza, an Israeli-born Yemenite Jew, known for her exotic beauty and extraordinary voice, was from a poor neighborhood of Tel Aviv. She soared to fame at the age of 19 when she soon became an award-winning Israeli pop star. In the musical The Prince of

Egypt, she was the voice in the song “Deliver Us” as well as in the small role of Yoheved. She is best known for her song “Im Nin Alu” (“If the Doors Are Locked”), sung at Yemenite celebrations for centuries. She died in 2000 at the age of 42 due to AIDS-related pneumonia. Other singers worth checking out are the beautiful vibrato voice of Sarit Hadad, and the unique vocal styling of Eyal Golan. All can be found on YouTube. Happy listening! Arlene Stolnitz, founder of the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, is a member of the Jewish Congregation of Venice. A retired educator from Rochester, New York, she has sung in choral groups for over 25 years and also sings in Venice’s Chorale (formerly Exsultate!). Her interest in choral music has led to this series of articles on Jewish folk music in the Diaspora.

Izzy White? – A novel by Barry E. Wolfe By Barry E. Wolfe

1959 was $213 per year, and I was able want to take you back to a most peculiar time in the history of race to win an academic scholarship. So I relations in our country, a time of chose Howard because it was inexpenhope and a time of despair. It was long sive and I was searching for a cure for my own racist attitudes. At Howard, after slavery, the Civil War, ReconI became the first Caucasian member struction, and the establishment of the of the varsity basketball team, and as Jim Crow Laws, but long before America elected its first African-American such, had the sad honor of getting food for the entire team from a southern president. It was just a few years before restaurant that refused to serve them. I the rise of the Black Power Movement was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and and a few months before the first four brave black students sat in at the Woolgraduated 8th in my class. But there I also found psychology, which evolved worths in Greensboro, North Carolina, into a fulfilling career as psychotherato protest racial segregation. pist, professor and researcher. I matriculated at Howard UniverThat journey is the subject of my sity in the city in which I was born and debut novel, Izzy White?. The novel raised; a segregated city that was also is based on my story, but it is a novel. the nation’s capital. In many respects it Not everything in it actually happened. was a time not unlike today. Some events actually took place, but I Who am I? I am a short (5'6"), have creatively altered them. The novwhite, Jewish man who attended a priel begins in 1958. And because of the marily African-American university at 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown a critical moment in our nation’s hisvs. the Board of Education, the schools tory. I wasn’t the only white or Jewin Washington, D.C., had begun to ish student at Howard at that time, but desegregate. School desegregation althere weren’t many of us. The identity lowed me to interact with Negro teenquestion, however, obsessed me during agers for the first time. my time at Howard: Who am I? and Izzy’s journey at Howard is emoWhat was I doing at Howard? These tionally provocative and confusing, questions kept shifting and changing filled with humor and heartbreak. The throughout my tenure as a student at novel exposes the laughable, terrifying Howard. I was asked these questions and ultimately sad impact of segregathousands of times by both Negroes tion on both Negroes and Caucasians, (the term of preference back then) and and shines a bright light on many of whites. the same issues that still plague us toBut there was another question day. It is a thoughtful meditation on so interconnected with the first two that they all felt interchangeable: “What kind of country is the United States of America?” It was critical to my understanding of who I was, to learn whether our country could live up to its pretentions – “that all men are created equal.” I was also aware that I harbored a number of prejudicial attitudes about Negroes. I learned these from television, This photo appeared in the Howard school newspaper, The Hilltop, movies and through oson May 27, 1963. Barry Wolfe (far right) was initiated into the mosis from my pals, university chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, along with 16 other students. race, identity and commitment that parents and peers. None of these was will stimulate your brain while tugging based on experience. How could it at your heart. Izzy White? is an educabe? We all lived a segregated existion for both the protagonist and the tence based on the blueprint of white reader. It is available at Amazon.com supremacy. And yet I came to admire in both paperback and Kindle versions the melodious harmonies of black voor you can buy it directly from me cal groups, which eventually became (www.barrywolfephd.com). I am also known as doo-wop music, the stylistic available for speaking engagements freedom of teenage black dances and about the book and my time at Howard dancers, and the exuberant creativity of University. Negro basketball players. Barry E. Wolfe, Ph.D. is a Sarasota Was I very idealistic? Yes, but also resident. practical. Howard’s tuition in the fall of

June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

New biography reveals the true “person of the book” Book review by Philip K. Jason, Special to The Jewish News

g l The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire, by Laura Claridge. Ferrar, Straus, and Giroux. 416 pages. Hardcover $30.00.

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Mann, John Updike, Julia Child, Carl Van Vechten, James M. Cain, Willa Cather, John Hersey, Raymond Chandler, H.L. Mencken, William Shirer, Dashiell Hammett, Langston Hughes, Wallace Stevens and Elinor Wylie. Beyond the list is Laura Claridge’s energetic and alluring recounting of their various relationships with Blanche. Blanche Wolf Knopf died in 1965, shortly after her company’s fiftieth anniversary. Unlike her parents, who were buried in Brooklyn’s Salem Fields Cemetery affiliated with Temple Emanu-El (where funerals for friend George Gershwin and father-in-law Sam Knopf were held), Blanche chose the incineration route. While leaving, perhaps, some aspects of Blanche’s outer and inner lives their mystery, Laura Claridge has provided as many facts and insights as anyone needs to understand and admire the industry, creativity and courage of her subject. At the same time, she has masterfully set Blanche Knopf into an exciting milieu – the American publishing industry from WWI to the first glimmers of a war in Vietnam. We have here a spellbinding tale of shifting tastes and hard-won survival in the literary world. Next time you think about “People of the Book,” think about Blanche Wolf Knopf. Philip K. Jason is Professor Emeritus of English from the United States Naval Academy. He reviews regularly for Florida Weekly, Jewish Book World, Southern Literary Review, and other publications. Please visit Phil’s website at www.philjason.wordpress.com.

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ewish people like to call themselves “People of the Book.” 0 Since this proud appellation is dself-applied to many Jews who have little interest in “The Book” (the Torah), it seems only t proper to recogf nize the fact that the heart and soul of the Knopf publishing house was f Blanche Knopf, A even though her w husband’s full name, Alfred A. s Phil Jason Knopf, was the -company name. Blanche, a brilliant sand dedicated genius, was a totally seccular Jew. As was Alfred. Books were Blanche’s religion. Laura Claridge’s biography effusively explores the implications of Blanche’s unique accomplishment, one fully against the time in which she was born and raised with respect to women’s roles and opportunities. Born in 1894 to Julius and Bertha Wolf, she and Alfred Knopf had planned to launch a publishing house even before their marriage in 1916. The prenuptial agreement obtained verbally from Alfred was that husband and wife were to share equally in all aspects of this venture. That equal sharing did not happen, and so the marriage was troubled from the start. For fifty years, Blanche suffered from being slighted – not always silently. Though he knew better, Alfred always played the role of the mastermind, positioning Blanche as a fortunate assistant. But nothing could have been further from the truth. He took advantage of her, and she put on the best face that she could, building a reputation as a remarkable judge of talent and as a businesswoman who could bring that talent into the Knopf fold.

as her ardent hospitality to these writers when they visited her in New Putting on the best face included York or elsewhere. She developing a personal style in bearing, developed an extended clothing and all aspects of appearance family of writers (and and expression. The Knopf offices and editors and agents and residences (except for those exclucooperating publishsively Alfred’s) also reflected her iners) that brought her imitable taste. She even designed the greater emotional reborzoi colophon for the Knopf imprint. wards than did her Blanche created herself, driven by the family of record. need for acceptance and the desire to Knopf became a prove her worth. As a party-thrower, prestige house, and it didn’t lose that Blanche had few peers. Artists, comaura even when, many decades afposers, performers, intellectuals – they ter its founding, it was absorbed into all showed up at her events, and she at Random House (the proliferation of theirs. mergers and imprint swapping in the There are many painful episodes publishing industry is ongoing). in Claridge’s analysis of how and why For all of its successes, its many Blanche made her choices and how award-winning titles (including a pile she dealt with the consequences of of Nobels and Pulitzers), Knopf had those choices. Throughout, Claridge’s very few blockbuster bestsellers. It did, understanding, empathy however, establish an and sure-handed use of enviable and lucrative her sources make Blanche backlist – titles that come alive. sold well year after One consequence of year and hardly ever the more or less agreedwent out of print. That upon “open marriage” that was the whole point of emerged from Blanche’s careful selection: not shattered expectations was the short run fad, but her series of affairs, often rather the book with with prominent figures in the long future. These the arts. floated the boat, as did But that’s not the having many titles seLaura Claridge (c) Marion Ettlinger fun part of delving into lected by the Book of Blanche’s life. The fun part is watching the Month Club and the Literary Guild her build the firm, making things hapBook Club. pen, often in spite of Alfred’s interferHere is very short list of authors ence or indifference – or hostility. published by Knopf during Blanche’s From the beginning, the Knopf enlifetime, either original titles or first terprise imagined itself as a sort of bouEnglish translations: Sigmund Freud, tique establishment dealing in refined Albert Camus, André Gide, Jean-Paul literary sensibility. Early on, Blanche Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Ilya Ehbegan to build their list by getting perrenburg, Mikhail Sholokhov, Thomas mission to publish English translations of established and up-and-coming European writers. Laura Claridge details Blanche’s scores of trips to Europe to meet and court her favorites, as well

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June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

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18 The one at NYC’s Kosher Deluxe is immense 19 Clark’s Smallville sweetheart 20 What New York venue did Sid Bernstein secure for the Fab Four in 1965? 23 Anti-Semitic type? 27 The name of his “Paradiso” comes from Hebrew 28 Part of Eugene Levy’s “SCTV” 29 Worker of many miracles in Kings II 34 Velvet finish, for certain yarmulkes 35 Faisal and others 37 Gets ready to empty the gefilte fish jar 39 Who of the Fab Four married two Jewish women? 43 Network for Einstein 44 Calendar for September, not Tishre 46 Ends of Yom Kippur and Passover? 49 Where to find soc.culture.jewish 51 Like Jewfro hair 52 Purim seudah, e.g. 54 Dead Sea sectarian 56 What was the nickname for Fab Four manager Brian Epstein? 61 Glycogen Storage Disease Type ___ (disorder found among Ashkenazi Jews) 62 Tool used by one of Sheldon Adelson’s croupiers 63 God told him to go “to the Land that I will show you” 68 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not___ upon your understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) 69 How a menorah might be marked at a yard sale 70 Beatle___ 71 They might just sit and watch at a seder 72 Jacob’s wives each had one 73 See 1-Across

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D f H M v i Editor: YoniGlatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Solution on page 25M D Across Down 1 With 73-Across, who of the Fab 1 Like a brisket before it’s a brisket l A Four has a stepfather and wife of 2 Freud’s ego Jewish descent? 3 Chelsea Mezvinsky, ___ Clinton m 6 One of two in Tishre 4 Sound from the dog that bit the catF 10 Dozen in the priestly breastplate that ate the kid my father bought m g 14 Jon Stewart humor quality for two zuzim c 15 Beverly Sills bit 5 Like “The Fat Jew” 16 Tennis star Nastase who 6 1980 film set at a performing arts o complained of “too many Jews” in high school with music teacher i b 1976 Mr. Shorofsky 17 Not one of the four questions at 7 Bay ___ Jewish Healing Center a W the Seder (San Francisco medical clinic)

June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

Stars of David

Interested in Your Family’s History?

mBy Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist Editor’s note: Persons in BOLD CAPS are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of the column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism – and don’t identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish. The Tribe at the Tony Awards The Tony Awards, for excellence in the Broadway theater, are being broadcast on CBS on Sunday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m. Following are the Jewish nominees in all but the technical categories. But at the top I have to point out an interesting, and some might say remarkable fact. Remember the controversy that this year’s Oscars didn’t have one black acting nominee? Well, this year’s Tony nominees include two Jewish and black acting nominees. I can’t say African-American, because one is Afro-Brit. The first actor is DAVEED DIGGS, 34, who is nominated for best featured actor in a musical (Hamilton). He plays Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette. Diggs was invited to hear an early version of Hamilton by composer/writer Lin-Manuel Miranda and was cast in a major role. Diggs grew up in Oakland and Berkeley, California, the son of an AfricanAmerican father and a white Jewish mother. (His father works for the San Francisco city transport agency and his mother is a retired university psychologist.) Last July, Daveed told Broadway. com: “I went to Hebrew school, but opted out of a bar mitzvah. My mom is a white Jewish lady and my dad is black. The cultures never seemed separate – I had a lot of mixed friends. When I was young, I identified with

being Jewish, but I embraced my dad’s side too.” Hamilton, the musical, has earned a record 16 Tony nominations. It’s based on a 2004 biography by RON CHERNOW, now 67. Chernow, who describes himself as ‘Jewish, but more in the breach than in the observance,’ covers Hamilton’s Jewish connections in his book. “Yes,” Chernow writes, “Hamilton’s non-Jewish mother was married to a Dane named Lavien; but there’s no evidence Lavien was Jewish. Hamilton’s father was a nonJewish Scot and Alexander grew up on a West Indian island, where he was tutored by a Jewish woman and once recited the Ten Commandments for her in Hebrew. As an adult, Hamilton defended Jews from the bigoted attitudes of the day – like ‘all Jews’ were untruthful.” The other “Jew of color” is actress SOPHIE OKONEDO, 47. She is nominated for best lead actress in a play. She plays Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of a man falsely accused of witchcraft in the current hit revival of The Crucible by the late ARTHUR MILLER. Okonedo is the daughter of a white English Jewish mother and a Nigerian black father. Her father was out of her life early on and she was raised by her mother. Okonedo was raised Jewish and recently told a UK TV show: “I feel as proud to be Jew-

Ten years of doing a Jewish celebrities column has turned Nate Bloom (see column at left) into something of an expert on finding basic family history records and articles mentioning a “searched-for” person. During these 10 years, he has put together a small team of “mavens” who aid his research. Most professional family history experts charge at least $1,000 for a full family tree. However, many people just want to get “started” by tracing one particular family branch.

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Send Nate an email at nteibloom@aol.com, tell him you saw this ad in The Jewish News, and include your phone number. Nate will then contact you about doing a “limited” family history for you at a modest cost (no more than $100). No upfront payment. ish as I am to be black.” Among other honors, Okonedo got a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for The Hotel Rwanda (2004) and a Tony award (best featured actress in a play) for A Raisin in the Sun (2014). Interesting side note: Co-starring in The Crucible is TAVI GEVINSON, 20, as Mary Warren, the oldest of the girls who accused adults of being witches. Gevinson is a phenom who started a hot style blog (2008) that morphed into the highly popular Rookie magazine in 2011. She can act, too. Her father is an American Jew and her Norwegian mother is a Jew-by-choice who teaches Hebrew. The growing diversity of the Jewish community is personified by Diggs, Okonedo and Gevinson. The other Jewish acting nominee is ALEX BRIGHTMAN, 29 (School of Rock), who is nominated for best leading actor in a musical. School of Rock is nominated for best musical. Its nominated score was written by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist GLENN SLATER, 48.

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Also in acting is Danny Burstein, 51, who is nominated for playing Tevye in a new revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Burstein has said contradictory things to the press about his background, but it is pretty clear he has no ‘recent’ Jewish ancestry (his stepfather, whose last name he bears, was Jewish). Unquestionably Jewish is HOFESH SHECHTER, 36, an Israeli dancer and choreographer who is nominated for his choreography for Fiddler on the Roof. He began as a dancer with the famous (Israeli) Batsheva Dance Company. His choreography for Fiddler gives credit to the original choreography by the late, great JEROME ROBBINS. P.S.: Lin Manuel and his wife aren’t Jewish. But she loves Fiddler on the Roof, and at their 2010 wedding, Manuel (aided by many talented friends) sang “L’Chayim/To Life.” It is such a well done and joyful version that you really HAVE to see the YouTube video entitled “Vanessa’s WedENJOY • Fresh ding Surprise.” Just enter the title.Pita B

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June 2016

JEWISH INTEREST

BDS 101 – What’s a Zionist to do? By Jessi Sheslow

DS, also known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel movement, was started in 2008 by a man named Omar Barghouti. He was born in Qatar and raised in Egypt. He moved to Israel where he then went on to study at Tel Aviv University from which he holds a Master’s degree. Jessi Sheslow The BDS movement calls itself a “non-violent pressure on the Israeli government to end Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestine.” It has gained an immense amount of traction and notoriety among college students as it is popular to some student groups on hundreds of college campuses (example: Columbia University, University of Michigan and University of Southern California) around North America. Student groups such as the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association, to name two, hold regular events in the middle of campuses which include “Israel Apartheid Week” and “Die-Ins.” “Israel Apartheid Week” often times has a large wall mimicking the security barrier in Israel with posters and signs spreading factually incorrect information and emotional anecdotes about events that happen in the region. “Die-Ins” are popular because there is not much planning or money needed to achieve great success. Any number of students, between 10-30, will gather in a popular part of a campus and simultaneously fall to the ground providing an impactful image of “dead Palestinian” bodies on the ground. The BDS movement’s main objective is not to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

If it was, they would equally criticize Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Both groups brutalize Palestinians who work toward peace with Israelis, are homosexual, or who speak out against the government. Omar Barghouti has said many times in the public arena that he believes in a one-state solution, the end of Israel being a self-governed state, which would fulfill a popular BDS chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The main objective of the BDS movement, as seen by its events and behavior, is to make a lot of noise with lies about Israel and the Jewish people to impressionable young college students. Don’t be fooled by its “Human Rights” chants. Boycotting Israeli companies and di-

vesting from companies that do business within Israel proper or even the West Bank hurt the Palestinians FIRST AND WORST. They have no interest in the rights, wellbeing of, or peace for the Palestinians, and no interest in dialogue with opposing views. So why do you need to know this? As Jews we need to stand together against a hateful, destructive and malicious movement. Our next generation is being hit hard by passionate and uninformed “activists.” If you have students in or on their way to college, talk to them about Israel’s rightful place in the world. Talk to them about Jewish self-determination without fear of persecution or extermination. Talk to them about the Jewish historical and ances-

tral right to that land. Talk to them about the British Mandate. Talk toI them about the nearly one million JewS ish refugees who lived in neighboring Arab countries and were driven out,B ending up in the only place that would take them in: Israel. Provide them with a strong and secure Jewish identity. Honor our legacy as a people of culture, mo-t rality, innovation, family and faith, andg stand against the bigotry of the Boycott,t Divestment and Sanctions movement. t For more information about howc you can get involved, please contacti me at 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedt srq.org. a Jessi Sheslow is the Director of Community Relations at The Jewish Fed-G eration of Sarasota-Manatee. y a

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June 2016

ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD

Why do hikers in Israel keep stumbling upon ancient relics? In Israel, you don’t have to be Indiana Jones to make exceptional archaeological ﬁnds. Some of the most exciting recent discoveries were made by accident. By Abigail Klein Leichman, ISRAEL21c, www.israel21c.org, April 4, 2016

ast December, an Israeli boy was hiking with his family near Tel Beit Shemesh when he spotted the head of an Iron Age fertility goddess figurine. The Israel Antiquities Authority expressed its gratitude to eight-year-old Itai Halperin with a certificate of good citizenship and an invitation to him and his classmates to tour the IAA archive and participate in a real dig. In January, seven-year-old Ori Greenhut stumbled across a 3,400year-old statuette while scampering up an archaeological mound at Tel Rehov.

Ori Greenhut and the figurine he found (photo by Miki Peleg/Israel Antiquities Authority)

He, too, got a certificate and a class presentation from IAA regional archeologists. Accidental finds are not at all rare in Israel, where archeological treasures lurk in abundance underground and underwater. “Israel is a very small country, intensively settled over thousands of years, and there are 37,000 registered archeological sites, so almost everywhere you have the potential to find things,” says Yardenna Alexandre, an IAA research and field archaeologist stationed in the Jezreel Valley. But it seems the random discoveries have been coming fast and thick lately. In February, six friends on a recreational dive in the Mediterranean coast off Caesarea chanced upon a trove of nearly 2,000 gold coins from the 10th century Fatimid Caliphate. The IAA

Divers recently chanced upon a huge cache of gold coins off the coast of Caesarea (photo courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority)

stated that it is the largest cache of old coins ever discovered, and praised the divers for having “a heart of gold that loves the country and its history.” The following month, kibbutznik Laurie Rimon was hiking in the North when she happened upon an extremely rare gold coin minted by Roman Emperor Trajan in 107 CE. “There does seem to be a concentration of finding things over the past year,” Alexandre tells ISRAEL21c. “There may be several reasons aside

Laurie Rimon with the coin she found (photo by Samuel Magal/Israel Antiquities Authority)

from coincidence.” She explains that when former politician Yisrael Hasson became chairman of the IAA in December 2014, he placed a priority on community involvement and educational programs to engage the public, especially schools, in archeological activities such as digfor-a-day events. “Antiquities and archeology are much more prominent in the media today, and that brings awareness,” says Alexandre. “Hiking is very popular in Israel, and people may have been finding things and keeping them, whereas now they see that we encourage them to follow the law of turning them in.” By law, antiquities belong to the state and may not be hoarded, sold or traded. The certificate of good citizenship, the tours and media attention all are well-deserved incentives to do the right thing, she adds. “As a government organization, we haven’t got funds for giving rewards, but we want to educate people and make them feel this is part of their heritage whether they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim.” Doing the right thing Rimon, finder of the rare coin of Trajan, tells ISRAEL21c that friends from the United States saw her story covered on TV news and talk shows. In addition to Israel, she granted interviews to reporters from Irish National Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Company and the BBC and Hufﬁngton Post. “A lot of people said I did the right thing by turning it in, while others said, ‘Why didn’t you just pocket it?’ I’m not the sort of person who would have sold something like this, but I’m sure there are tons of stuff people find and don’t turn in,” says Rimon, a native of Connecticut who moved to Kibbutz Kfar Blum in 1973. She does wish she had time to show the coin to her family before giving it up. But everything happened very quickly, she relates. “I have hiked with a group called Mike’s Hikes in the eastern Galilee every Wednesday for the past 11 years,” she tells ISRAEL21c. “On March 2, during our usual hike, I sat down for a break among the ruins and when I got up I saw something shiny. At first I thought it was 10 agorot,” Israel’s smallest denomination. “When I showed it to a few of the others, they said, ‘Laurie, it’s gold, it’s ancient, it’s real, you’re a millionaire!’ We caught up with our guide, Irit ZukKovacsi, who took a picture and mailed it to a tour guide who knows old coins. He texted her back that it’s real and it’s rare. He approached the IAA and sent back more details. But it didn’t sink in what a treasure it was.” Rimon’s phone soon started ringing. Not realizing it was the IAA, she ignored several calls and text messages. “So they called Irit and she told them where we were.” Nir Distelfeld, an inspector with the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery, met up with the hikers near the Jordan River. “I pulled the coin out of my pouch to show him, and I said, ‘I guess I have to give it to you, don’t I?’ They’d already ordered photographers for 9 o’clock the next morning,” says Rimon. The following day, Rimon and Distelfeld, other IAA experts and a camera crew spent three hours at the site. Her experience was documented on film and the area was scoured, unsuccessfully, for further finds. “Perhaps someone stole it from somewhere else and dropped it there,”

Rimon speculates. “It was so shiny it looked like it was minted yesterday.” Call the IAA Distelfeld praised Rimon for handing over the “extraordinarily remarkable” coin. Her hiking group was rewarded with a tour of the coin collection of the IAA in Jerusalem, which is not open to the public. “It is important to know that when you find an archaeological artifact it is advisable to call IAA representatives to the location in the field,” he added. “That way we can also gather the relevant archaeological and contextual information from the site.” The IAA website (www.antiquities.org.il) lists phone numbers for the north, south, central and Jerusalem regions. Items turned over to the IAA go into its storerooms and become available to researchers. “For example, the figurine found by a boy in Tel Rehov was given to Prof. Amihai Mazar, who excavated at the site, and he will include it in his published report,” says Alexandre. “It’s more complete than other figurines he’s found in years of excavation.” Alexandre notes that it is illegal to look actively for archeological finds without a license. Last July, an anonymous person left a bag at the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Beersheva

The stolen ballista balls and the accompanying note left at the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures (photo by Dalia Manor)

containing two valuable relics he had found 20 years earlier. The accompanying note said, “These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit. I stole them in July 1995 and since then they have brought me nothing but trouble. Please, do not steal antiquities!” “He had a conscience that he was doing something wrong,” comments Alexandre. Abigail Klein Leichman is a writer and associate editor at ISRAEL21c. Prior to moving to Israel in 2007, she was a specialty writer and copy editor at a daily newspaper in New Jersey and has freelanced for a variety of newspapers and periodicals since 1984.

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June 2016

ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD

BRIEFS ISRAEL’S POPULATION ON INDEPENDENCE DAY 8,522,000

Israel’s population on Independence Day stands at 8,522,000, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on Monday, May 9. There are 6,377,000 Jews (74.8%), 1,771,000 Arabs (20.8%), and 374,000 non-Arab Christians and others (4.4%). Since Israel’s last Independence Day, there were 195,000 births and 36,000 immigrants. There are 14.3 million Jews worldwide, 43% of whom live in Israel. (Yaron Druckman, Ynet News)

ISRAEL’S ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

Israel’s economic prospects are looking a whole lot better than Europe’s

and that of most member countries of the OECD, says Adam Reuter, CEO of risk management firm Financial Immunities. Looking forward, Israel has an “enormous demographic advantage.” The 34 OECD member states have an average median age of 42 while Israel’s median age is 31. In the crucial 20-34 age group the OECD is set for a 14% drop, while Israel is headed for a 28% gain. Other areas where Israel has an edge include its technological advantage. Israel is among only eight countries that launch satellites into space; Israel is the world leader in R&D employees per capita and first in business expenditure on R&D; first in cyber security; and second in scientific research. Then comes Israel’s global edge – its export-oriented focus; generations of immigrants from around the

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Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva PRESENTS JUNE COURSES

ISRAEL: THEOCRACY OR DEMOCRACY MONDAYS 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM Starting June 6 (Eight Weeks) Constantly under siege by nearby Muslim states who wish to see Israel wiped off the map, there is an internal struggle going on within the State of Israel over the issue of theocracy or democracy. From the outset in 1948, dominion over the religious life of Jews in Israel was handed over to the Chief Rabbinate by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. With marriage, conversion, kashrut, burial and other Jewish rites, the supervision is in the hands of very right-wing religious zealots. Secular Israelis (chilonim) clash and disparage of the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) rabbis who control the spiritual life of the nation. Are accommodations underway that may imperil the control of the rabbis? You are invited to study this topic in depth. Instructor: Marden Paru; fee $60.

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS TUESDAYS 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM Starting June 7 (Eight Weeks) Not many students have studied the Book of Proverbs (Sefer Mishlei). It is a biblical book consisting of a collection of moral maxims. Chapters 1-9 include an introduction and depiction of wisdom. Chapters10-22 are ascribed to King Solomon and consist of a collection of sayings. The remainder consists of wit, riddles, the sayings of King Lemuel and a poem praising a virtuous wife. This text study will include commentary and discussion. Students will need to bring to class a Tanach (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) with a modern English translation. Instructor: Marden Paru; Fee $60.

TIKKUN OLAM – A WORLD IN NEED OF REPAIR FRIDAYS 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM June 10 (Eight weeks) The concept of “Tikkun Olam”—literally meaning “repairing the world”—is a Jewish value that goes back to Revelation at Mt. Sinai. It is a phrase we are hearing more and more as the world turns its attention to global warming, hunger, war and environmental ecology. It also can refer to social action and justice. Join a lively discussion on this concept and its growing importance in this generation. All materials are included. Instructor: Marden Paru; fee $60.

Inquire about multi-course discounts. Scholarships are also available. Classes are held on the Campus of The Jewish Federation, 580 McIntosh Rd. in Sarasota. To register or seek more information, please contact Marden Paru, Dean and Rosh Yeshiva at 941.379.5655 or marden.paru@gmail.com. Please make checks payable to the Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva and mail to Marden Paru, 5445 Pamela Wood Way #160, Sarasota, FL 34233. NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS: The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs. The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency. It is funded, in part, by a grant from The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

world with their knowledge of cultures and languages and global networks of connections. Israel is also undergoing revolutions in three major fields: water, where Israel now has a surplus due to investment in desalinization; energy, where Israel is set to achieve independence and to become a gas exporter; and transportation, where massive investment is bringing the periphery closer to the center. Moreover, while the world is experiencing a net loss of jobs due to automation, Israel’s hi-tech industry is creating new professions and new jobs. (Ilan Evyatar, Jerusalem Post)

ISRAELI NGO ESTABLISHES TEAMS OF LIFE-SAVING FIRST RESPONDERS WORLDWIDE

United Hatzalah/United Rescue is training neighborhood first-responder volunteers in cities across North and South America, Europe and India. Founded in 2006 in Israel, United Hatzalah’s 3,000 volunteers have treated 1.6 million people. The organization also sends humanitarian-aid teams to disaster areas around the world. In recent years, cities in Brazil, Panama, Argentina, India, Lithuania, New Jersey and Michigan have asked the Israeli NGO to help them set up similar systems to get aid to victims of accidents and illness within three minutes. “In Israel we have Christian, Muslim, Druze and Bedouin volunteers alongside Jewish volunteers,” says Dov Maisel, UH director of international operations. “We are a nonprofit NGO teaching people how to save people, no matter who they are or where they are.” (Abigail Klein Leichman, israel21c)

NATO UPGRADES TIES WITH ISRAEL AMID MOUNTING REGIONAL THREATS

NATO has upgraded its ties with Israel amid mounting instability in the Middle East. Israel will now be able to open offices at NATO headquarters in Brussels and complete a credentialing process for its representatives, Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said. While Israel is not a member, it signed a security agreement with the alliance in 2001, is an associate member of the NATO parliamentary assembly, and has taken part in joint military exercises. (David Wainer, Bloomberg)

OHIO TO PURCHASE $50 MILLION IN ISRAEL BONDS

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announced April 28 that his office is purchasing $50 million worth of Israel Bonds. Since taking office in 2011, Mandel has made four purchases of Israel Bonds totaling more than $167 million. Every Ohio treasurer since 1993 has invested in Israel Bonds, as have more than 80 state and municipal public employee pension and treasury funds, according to the state treasurer’s office. Israel Bonds are an attractive investment option for state and municipal public funds because they are dependable and yield a competitive interest rate. “For 64 years, Israel has paid every penny of interest and principle,” said Thomas Lockshin, executive director of Ohio and Kentucky for the Development Corp. for Israel/Israel Bonds. (Ed Wittenberg, Cleveland Jewish News)

PEACE WITH ISRAEL IN EGYPTIAN TEXTBOOKS: WHAT CHANGED BETWEEN THE MUBARAK AND EL-SISI ERAS?

One chapter of a new textbook published by the Egyptian Education Ministry for the 2015-2016 school year is devoted to the peace treaty with Israel. A comparison of the new book with previous textbooks reveals that the book is more firmly supportive of peace with Israel, particularly based on the approach that it is a necessary condition for improving Egypt’s economic situation. The book mentions Israel as a partner in “friendly” peace relations, and a picture of Prime Minister Menahem Begin appears alongside that of President Anwar Sadat. The book makes less mention of the wars with Israel and the Palestinian problem than in the past. These are significant changes that can have a positive effect on the idea of peace with Israel among Egypt’s young generation. (Ofir Winter, Strategic Assessment-Institute for National Security Studies)

MARKING THE HOLOCAUST - IN MISSISSIPPI

In 2009, teachers Susan Powell and Melissa Swartz at Horn Lake Middle School in Mississippi realized that many of their students had “never heard there was a Holocaust.” The teachers opted to encourage personal involvement by collecting 1.5 million pennies – one for each child who perished in the Holocaust. After three years of collecting, the pennies weighed in at more than four tons. In March, child survivor Friderica Beck Saharovici told the students at the opening of the Unknown Child Holocaust Memorial/Park in Horn Lake, “I was a first-grader when all the Jewish children were thrown out of the public schools for no other reason than being born Jewish.” The centerpiece for the memorial/park will be a life-sized sculpture by Canadian-born sculptor Rick Wienecke, now an Israeli citizen. He explained that the child in the piece is leaning against the inside of a crematorium door in a fetal position with his hand (in his mind) reaching through the door in Auschwitz and clutching a small plot of ground, the Land of Israel, the only place where he knows he will be safe. Mississippi native and architect Doug Thornton has designed the memorial/park, which will include towering Star of David walls holding each of the collected pennies. Saharovici concluded, “By preserving the memory of the Holocaust and its moral lessons, we tell the world that such atrocities should never happen again to Jews or to any other people in the world. I don’t want my past to become anyone else’s future.” (Diane A. McNeil, Jerusalem Post)

ISRAELI 4-MINUTE MALARIA DETECTION KIT BROUGHT TO INDIA

U.S.-based medical devices firm Becton, Dickinson and Co. recently said it will introduce a malaria detection method developed by Israel’s Sight Diagnostics Ltd. in India, which will make a diagnosis in just four minutes. In 2013, 880,000 cases of malaria were reported in India with over 128 million tests performed. Malaria testing is mandatory on all blood donations. (Viswanath Pilla, Live Mint India)

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June 2016

ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD

Briefs...continued from previous page

HAPPY IN ISRAEL

According to the World Happiness Index, Israel is the 11th-happiest country in the world, which means its citizens are happier than those in the U.S. (13th place), the UK (23rd , France (32nd) and Italy (50th). In addition, our country was named the fourth-best place in the world to raise children in the 2015 Family Life Index poll. A recent report by the Health Ministry reveals that Is-rael’s suicide rate ranks second-lowest -among 28 European countries, and sthe suicide rate among Israeli Arabs is -lower than that of Jews. k Every person who lives in Israel tplays a role in building and strengthfening our relatively young state, and nplays a role in the continued survival -of the Jewish people and in the conctribution which our nation gives to the world. I believe that this sense of purpose and meaning is what feeds dthe feeling of happiness and satisfacmtion among Israel’s citizens, despite the many challenges which we face. (Dov sLipman, who served in the 19th Kneslset with the Yesh Atid party, and is dierector of public diplomacy in the vice chairman’s office of the World Zionist tOrganization, Jerusalem Post) a sPOLL: AMERICANS -SYMPATHIZE MORE l

WITH ISRAEL

As has been the case for decades, the American public expresses more sympathy toward Israel than the Palestinians – by 54% to 19%. d Among Millennials (born after e 1980), 43% report sympathizing more t with Israel, while 27% are more symd pathetic to the Palestinians. s The share of this group sympathizing with the Palestinians has risen s from 9% in 2006 to 20% in July 2014 n to 27% today, while the share sympathizing with Israel has changed little. e Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) and those in the Silent generation (born a 1928-1945) sympathize more with Ise rael by about four-to-one. Generation Xers (born 1965-1980) I sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians by roughly three-to-one c (54% vs. 17%). (Pew Research Center) g

also plus up funding for procurement and co-production of the David’s Sling medium- and long-range air defense system from $37.21 million to $150 million and the Arrow 3 Upper Tier Missile Defense System from $55.8 million to $120 million. Israel traditionally receives significant congressional plus-ups from the administration’s budget request for cooperative missile defense programs. Over the past 10 years, Congress has appropriated $1.9 billion more than was originally requested by the administration. In 2016, the president requested roughly $150 million and Congress enacted $488 million for Israeli missile defense funding. Lawmakers said that Israeli and U.S. national security are strongly linked and that Israel’s missile defense innovations are significant to the U.S.

Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle Solution to puzzle on page 20

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-The U.S. House Armed Services Comsmittee would boost funding for Israeli hmissile defense programs by nearly g$200 million above the level requested fin the president’s defense budget, according to the chairman’s mark-up of the fiscal 2017 defense bill. The comtmittee would bump the funding for -Tamir interceptors for the Iron Dome -air defense system from $42 million frequested in the president’s budget to $62 million. The committee would

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June 2016

COMMENTARY

The BDS movement is anti-Semitism at its worst By Rabbi Howard A. Simon, co-Chair of The Robert and Esther Heller Israel Advocacy Initiative

t is time for all Jews, all fair-mindrealities of BDS? Expose it for what it ed people, and all supporters of Isis: today’s anti-Semitism and anti-Israel programs aimed at destroying Israel rael to stand up in protest against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, and her people. Colleges and univeralso known as the BDS movement. We sities that condone or sponsor hate need to realize that the BDS movement speeches must be exposed for what is an international campaign they do and what their to urge hatred of and nongoal is regarding Israel support of Israel and the Jewand her people. Alumni ish people. The goal of this of these schools need cause is pure and simple – to speak out in opposithe destruction of Israel. tion to what presidents, How do the purveyors of deans, faculty memthis hate hope to attain their bers and hate-driven goal? students are doing on the campuses of these They want to first boycott all Israeli goods, Israeli proschools. Speech that fessors, Israeli professional promotes the hatred Rabbi Howard A. Simon people and the accomplishments that of Israel must be attacked for what it Israel exports to aid other countries. is: blatant anti-Semitism at its worst. The second goal of BDS is to expand Boards of directors of such schools the growing anti-Israel campaigns should be contacted and told that such that take place today in colleges and acts cannot and must not be condoned universities in the United States and in the classroom, the auditorium or on throughout the world. campus grounds. The leadership of these schools need to hear that their What are we to do when facing the

What do you think? The Jewish News wants to know!

alumni will not financially support an institution that advocates the hatred of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. A second response from the Jewish community should be “Buy Israeli.” The BDS movement wants all people to refrain from purchasing Israeli goods of any kind. We can fight this with our pocketbook. Use the hashtag #BuyIsraeli on social media and purchase Israeli products. Urge your friends to do the same. Tell them the facts about BDS and why it is so important for us to take a stand against the hatred of our people. The days of the “sha shtil” philosophy are long gone. We are no longer silent. We protest, we send letters to the editors of newspapers, we march on behalf of our people and, if we truly care, we will “Buy Israeli” to combat the actions of the BDS supporters. BDS will not just go away. It needs to be faced head on and identified regarding what it is: anti-Semitism at its

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Letters must include the author’s name, full address and daytime phone. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for length and/or accuracy. Letters do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee or its advertisers. We cannot acknowledge or publish every letter received.

COMMENTARY BRIEFS THE WORLD DODGED A BULLET IN SYRIA THANKS TO ISRAEL

I well remember the day in spring 2007 when I got an urgent call from Vice President Cheney. The head of Israel’s Mossad, the late Meir Dagan, had just been in to brief Cheney and President Bush. He revealed compelling evidence that in the Syrian desert east of Damascus, near the town of Al-Kibar, North Korea was covertly building a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. It was more or less a replica of the North’s own reactor at Yongbyon. Making matters worse, Al-Kibar was perilously close to completion. Options for getting rid of it would narrow considerably once operations began and the reactor went “hot.” For its part, the U.S. intelligence community had totally missed Al-Kibar. The fact is that the U.S. dodged a bullet in Syria – and, it’s worth stressing, all courtesy of the Israelis. Not only did they discover Al-Kibar in the nick of time. They also carried out the attack that was almost certainly the only means of ensuring the reactor never went hot. Just imagine the nightmare that the world would have faced if, on top of everything else in Syria, we were also dealing with the nightmare of the Islamic State getting its hands on a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. (John Hannah, Foreign Policy)

THE ISRAEL THAT ARABS DON’T KNOW

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited me to visit Israel as part of a delegation of Europeanbased Arab journalists. Arab media coverage of Israel continues to be characterized by a lack of clarity and misrepresentation, making it difficult for Arab citizens to truly

understand the country. Do the Jews in Israel actually hate Arabs? My visits to places of worship were not stopped by either the Israeli army or police force, as they have been rumored to do. I visited the University of Haifa, considered a model and reflection of Israeli society. Within its walls, students of Jewish, Arab, Druze and Circassian origin study together. I also visited the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel, where the elders recalled the experience of Druze integration into Israeli society and informed me that they now preferred to call themselves Israelis instead of Arab citizens of Israel. They hold Israeli citizenship, enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, and are treated as full citizens with equal rights. Ben Gurion Street in Haifa is filled with Arab cafes and restaurants, identifiable by the songs they play and their customers’ conversations. I struck up discussions with various restaurant patrons and employees regarding life in Israel, and these Arab Israelis informed me that in Israel, the law is equally applied to everyone without distinction or discrimination. I heard the call to prayer from mosques in various cities – a religious expression that is banned in Europe. I saw Christians with crosses who had no fear of exposing their identities, a marked contrast to some neighboring states. I saw Baha’i gardens the like of which exist nowhere else in the world. I saw, without exaggeration, a bright flame in a pitch-black region, a society composed of so many different yet coexisting segments and components. (Ramy Aziz, an Egyptian journalist based in Europe, Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

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worst. The world will not call for an end to BDS. We Jews have to do this. We have to do it now. Become educated regarding what BDS is and how it spreads its vile hatred. Where you see the reality of BDS, protest, rise up against it and urge all lovers of Israel to follow your example. Together we can win this battle. For the sake of Israel and the Jewish world we must win this battle. Join the cause now and stand up for our people and Israel. Rabbi Simon serves as co-chair of the Heller Israel Advocacy Initiative and is the author of the recently published book, Atlantic City: Winners and Losers. For more information about the Heller IAI, visit www.sarasotaloves israel.com or contact Jessi Sheslow at jsheslow@jfedsrq.org or 941.343.2109.

The gift of free choice

Send an email to jewishnews18@gmail.com.

Rabbi Mendy Bukiet Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch

s a child and until today, the advent of the holiday of Shavuot fills me with excitement. It’s one of the easier holidays to celebrate. You are allowed to eat whatever you like, wherever you like, and it is just two days. And when you factor in the scrumptious cheesecakes, heavenly ice cream, and blintzes dripping with cheese, no holiday can come close! With all the culinary distractions, it may be easy to overlook the commotion that transpired in heaven when Moshe made his grand entrance to receive the Torah to bring it back to his people, the Jewish nation, waiting down below. The commentaries explain that Moshe was confronted by the angels. They protested the giving of the Torah, the most precious spiritual treasure, to a corporal world of temptation and lack of self-control, not to mention the lack of spirituality. Moshe was flummoxed, and turned to G-d, hoping that G-d would silence the angels. G-d refused to respond, instead instructing Moshe to rejoin the angels’ complaint. Moshe turned to the angels and stated: “For the very reasons that you think that we should not have this precious gift, that is specifically why the Torah needs to be revealed to the physical world.” To expound, if G-d desired a world

of perfect angels, he would have created a spiritual world of perfection. Yet G-d created a world of many imperfections inhabited by humans with an abundance of imperfections. The teachings of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, explain that G-d desired humans to perfect that which he created. G-d endowed us with the gift of free choice so we as humans can choose which path we would like to travel, that of good or evil, improving the world, or G-d forbid, the opposite. This is what Moshe responded to the angels. Since we in the physical world, through our free choice, are able to transform the physical world from mundane to holy, from evil to good, therefore it is specifically incumbent on us to refine, perfect and elevate this physical world. For that we need the Torah, our guiding light, to teach us how to elevate this material world we live in to a G-dly world. Moshe took this even further and explained that not only do we have the power to perfect and elevate the physical world below, we can also create change and elevate the spiritual world. That can only be accomplished from this world of humans, who, albeit imperfect, are gifted with free choice. This year, Shavuot begins on Shabbat, June 11. When we are eating all those delicious dairy foods, let’s try to remember that we can elevate this world, even the ice cream we eat. When making a blessing on that ice cream, we elevate it from a physical creation to also a spiritual creation. We are validating Moshe’s claim to the angels of why specifically the Jewish people were gifted with the Torah. Let’s make a difference this holiday and use our free choice wisely, making decisions that will elevate the world spiritually and make a world of difference.

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June 2016

COMMENTARY

Dissent shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean incivility By Jerry Silverman, President & CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America

he language is painful to hear, particularly coming from fellow Jews. Knesset Member Moshe Gafni called Reform Jews â&#x20AC;&#x153;a bunch of clowns who stick a knife in the holy Torah.â&#x20AC;? MK Yisrael Eichler criticized an Israeli Supreme Court decision allowing non-Orthodox Jews to use public mikvaot, likening it to permitting a â&#x20AC;&#x153;mentally ill personâ&#x20AC;? to â&#x20AC;&#x153;come to the operating room and decide the rules of medicine and force the hospital to have an operation by whatever way works.â&#x20AC;? Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin called Reform Jews â&#x20AC;&#x153;a dying worldâ&#x20AC;? that would assimilate and disappear in another two or three generations. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen women who were holding liberal prayer services at the Kotel pelted with rocks and debris, and the police who tried to protect them called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nazis.â&#x20AC;? The scars of such invective are often longer-lasting than physical wounds, searing into our consciousness. The language also betrays something about the speakers and provocateurs, that they seem to have forgotten Jewish teachings about courtesy and civility, beginning with the Torah commandments to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Love your neighbor as yourselfâ&#x20AC;? (Lev. 19:18) and â&#x20AC;&#x153;You shall not hate your sibling in your heartâ&#x20AC;? (Lev. 19:17), and including the Pirkei Avot guidance to â&#x20AC;&#x153;judge every person favorablyâ&#x20AC;? (1:6). Rather than judging favorably, these critics of liberal Judaism and its adherents are speaking harshly of others without any true understanding themselves of non-Orthodox Judaism; they ignore that even Jewish practice as they know it has evolved throughout the centuries. As just one example,

look at photos of the Kotel in the 1800s and early 1900s â&#x20AC;&#x201C; youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see no mechitza to separate men from women. That was a later addition. Because of compromises that the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism were willing to make, that mechitza will remain, and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and mixed prayer groups will have a separate prayer space on the southern end of the Western Wall, ensuring that the Kotel remains a symbol of Jewish peoplehood, however individuals define that peoplehood. But will we also be able to separate hate speech from political speech? Sadly, we saw similar, sometimes even harsher, vitriol during the debate over the Iranian nuclear agreement, with some Jews not even wanting to go to their local Shabbat services lest they get into an uncomfortable debate on the accord. Rabbis have shared that speaking about Israel from the pulpit has become difficult due to the polarization of congregants. In fact, a Jewish Council for Public Affairs report found that nearly half of the 500 mostly Conservative and Reform rabbis surveyed â&#x20AC;&#x153;hold views on Israel that they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t share publicly, many for fear of endangering their reputation or their careers.â&#x20AC;? Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, suggests in a recent blog that, rather than being fearful of taking a stand on an important political situation, Jewish leaders and organizations should instead take a position and â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just as in the Mishnah â&#x20AC;&#x201C; also present an opposing view. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Very simply,â&#x20AC;? Kurtzer writes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Publish the dissent. Make the decision, make the case for it, and then publish the dissenting viewpoint or viewpoints.â&#x20AC;? Publishing the dissent, he explains,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;gives voice to the losing arguments and to those articulating them, and signals confidence, humility, and a wholesale embrace of the dissenters, even in light of the failure of their dissent to become policy.â&#x20AC;? We need to be open to listening to one another no matter what background or opinions one has. I worry most that we have lost the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;love they neighbor as thyselfâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is unless you practice or you share similar standings on issues. A record 18,000 attended AIPACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent policy conference, more than half of them non-Orthodox. Would the political parties and those speaking out against the non-Orthodox movement rather those thousands instead had stayed home? I doubt it. Israel is a promise to all Jews, a gift for all Jews everywhere, not based on where you reside or what you think.

Many Orthodox movements understand this, and have found great success in reaching out to non-Orthodox Jews â&#x20AC;&#x201C; discussing, sharing, debating and educating on the big and small issues of the day. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid and too few Orthodox leaders have condemned some of these remarks, but more needs to be done. We are too small a people for those unwilling to recognize liberal Jews as part of the Jewish people to close the shtetl gates to our love of Israel. We will come to Israel, and we will continue to push to celebrate the good and to be there in crisis. To those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to listen and sling arrows, we say: Put down your arrows, come to the Shabbat table and have a dialogue. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debate and argue, but letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stop with the awful tone.

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June 2016

COMMENTARY

Europe: Do the right thing on Hezbollah By David Harris, CEO, AJC, April 27, 2016

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early three years ago, the European Union finally overcame its longstanding resistance and addressed the issue of adding Hezbollah to its terrorism list. The good news is that the 28 member states, prompted by the determination of Bulgaria, which experienced a deadly Hezbollah attack the year before, and Cyprus, which arrested a Hezbollah operative scouting out sites, took action. The bad news is that the EU opted to bifurcate Hezbollah and place the “military wing” on the terrorism list, while leaving its “political wing” off it. If ever there was a distinction without a difference, this was it. Don’t take my word for it. None other than Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s Lebanon-based chief, said as much, stressing that no one could divide his organization. Mocking the EU’s decision, Nasrallah asserted: “A government [of Lebanon] without Hezbollah will never be formed. Just as a joke, I propose that our ministers in the next government be from the military wing of Hezbollah.” It’s not often that I agree with Nasrallah, but on this occasion – give him his due – he was right about the EU illusion that there are two Hezbollahs. The European argument focuses on the claim that Hezbollah is also a “legitimate” political party in Lebanon, runs in elections, and has members in the government. Thus, to blacklist Hezbollah in its entirety denies those who vote for its candidates their basic rights, in addition to jeopardizing the fragile stability of the Levantine country. Indeed, immediately following the 2013 decision, EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton explained: “We want to be clear, too, in support for political parties of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon. We’ve made the distinction clear.” The problem with this line of defense is that it fails to acknowledge the obvious. First, Hezbollah may run in elections, but that is just a not-so-subtle way of taking advantage of a democratic system to gain power. Second, Hezbollah wants it both ways – being in the political system, while maintaining its own military forces outside the system’s control. As such, Hezbollah has long been a state within a state, endangering Lebanese

sovereignty and security. And amazingly, until now it has succeeded with this two-pronged strategy. Third, no matter how one slices and dices the rhetoric, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and all its component parts – not some, but all – lend support to the lethal ideological thrust and aims of the group. That’s precisely what a Dutch General Intelligence report concluded, when it declared: “Hezbollah’s political and terrorist wings are controlled by one coordinating council.” The same study added: “The Netherlands has changed its policy and no longer makes a distinction between the political and terrorist Hezbollah branches.” (Alas, the EU has not followed the Dutch decision.) What are the group’s aims? It doesn’t take a secret agent to figure them out. Rather, it only requires an examination of Hezbollah’s actions over the years. From joining with Syrian President Assad and Iranian forces in perpetrating mass murder in Syria, where the death toll is reportedly approaching 500,000 after five years of conflict, to slaughtering, in earlier years, Americans and French in their embassies and military compounds; from calling for Israel’s destruction to plotting attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide, including the deadly assaults on the Israeli embassy and AMIA building in Buenos Aires; and from killing opposition politicians to holding civilian populations in Lebanon as hostages, Hezbollah has not exactly been opaque about its overarching goals and preferred methods. In fact, it’s been so glaringly apparent that, in addition to the United States and Canada, the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – and the members of the Arab League have recently labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group. GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani did not mince words when he accused Hezbollah of carrying out “terrorist attacks, smuggling weapons and explosives, stirring up sedition and incitement to chaos and violence.” He added that the group’s actions posed a direct threat to “Arab national security.” Mind you, no false distinction was made between “military” and “politi-

cal” wings. So we have the remarkable situation that the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Israel, the GCC and the Arab League all agree on the true nature of Hezbollah, yet the EU stands oddly apart, clinging to the apparent belief that it can tame Hezbollah’s behavior when, in reality, no such evidence exists. Isn’t it high time for the EU to finish the work on Hezbollah it began with its initial decision in 2013? This important step would significantly hamper Hezbollah’s ability to operate freely in Europe by empowering governments to shut down the group’s organizing and fundraising efforts within EU borders. Terrorism poses a threat to us all. In responding, we need to be clear-eyed, resolute and unflinching. Hezbollah is what it says it is – a doctrinaire, violent group rooted in Shiite Islam. No effort to pretend otherwise will succeed. No belief that it will change its spots because we’re ready to meet them halfway can work, not when it comes to non-negotiable beliefs and faith. Again, look no further than Hassan Nasrallah’s own words: “Whoever wants to forcefully disarm the Resistance – and I have said this more than once – we will chop off his hand, behead him, and get rid of his soul. We are that determined.” In the past, some European countries tried to deal with terrorists operating on European soil by appeasing them with light prison sentences and early releases from jail, pursuing shady backroom deals, pretending their motivating “grievances” were “legitimate,” or simply hoping the problem would magically go away. In recent years, though, given the tragic events that unfolded, Europe should have understood that these strategies don’t work. And with that understanding ought to come the inescapable realization that, yes, terror is terror. In that spirit, yes, Hezbollah is Hezbollah. There are not two Hezbollahs, just one. And that one Hezbollah, in its entirety, ought to be placed on the EU terrorism list soonest. For more information, visit www.ajc. org.

T e

The AJC West Coast Florida office, located in Sarasota, can be reached at 941.365.4955.

Commentary Briefs...continued from page 26

ISRAEL ACTS AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER TO AMERICA

The annual U.S. investment in Israel – erroneously defined as “foreign aid” – has yielded one of the highest rates of return on U.S. investments overseas. At a time when the Pentagon is experiencing draconian cuts in its defense budget, Israel has been the most cost-effective laboratory for U.S. defense industries, sharing with the U.S. unique intelligence, battle experience and battle tactics. Israel’s Air Force, which flies American-made aircraft, shares with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. manufacturers real-time, daily operational maintenance and repair lessons derived from Israel’s daily battle experience. For example, the plant manager of General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-16, asserted that Israeli lessons have spared the manufacturer 10-20 years of R&D, leading to over 700 modifications in the current generation of the F-16, “valued at a mega-billion dollar bonanza to the manufacturer.”

Similar lessons have been shared with the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps and the U.S. manufacturers of tanks, armored personnel carriers, missile launchers, missiles, night navigation systems, and hundreds of additional military and homeland security systems manufactured by the U.S. and utilized by Israel. According to Gen. George Keegan, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence chief, the value of intelligence shared by Israel with the U.S. – exposing the air capabilities of adversaries, their new military systems, electronics and jamming devices – “could not be procured with five CIAs...The ability of the U.S. Air Force in particular, and the Army in general, to defend whatever position it has in NATO owes more to Israeli intelligence input than it does to any other single source of intelligence.” In 2014, Gen. (ret.) Chuck Krulak, former Commandant, USMC, stated: “The U.S. battle tactics formulation at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas – the intellectual Mecca of the U.S. Army – is based on the Israeli book.”

Recently, Israel’s Air Force developed a groundbreaking method of identifying, repairing and preempting cracks in old combat planes, such as the F-16, using ultrasound machines, and promptly shared that information with the U.S. Air Force and the manufacturer. Instead of grounding planes for six months and preoccupying hundreds of mechanics, the Israeli-developed system requires two weeks and only a few mechanics, yielding significant economic and national security benefits. Israel is the only stable, reliable, predictable, capable, democratic and unconditional ally of the U.S. Israel constitutes a critical obstacle to Islamic imperialism, enhancing the security of the U.S. and its Arab allies. Unlike Europe, Israel is able and willing to flex its muscles. Thus, Israel acts as a special strategic partner to America. (Yoram Ettinger, inFocus Quarterly Jewish Policy Center)

For daily news stories related to Israel & the Jewish world, visit www.jfedsrq.org.

June 2016

FOCUS ON YOUTH

GFA students shine on the red carpet during Sarasota Film Festival

n early April, the students of GFA, a Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, walked the red carpet during the student showcase – called Hollywood Nights – of the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF). The students enjoyed their star turn before seeing short films they produced on the big screen. Over the course of this school year, Josh Jacobson, SFF’s Director of Education, visited GFA every week to teach the kids about the art of filmmaking. The students learned about film theory, analysis, critique and digital production. The students wrote, created and produced several short original pieces, including two short films that were screened during the festival. Upon arrival at Hollywood Nights,

the students were greeted by Jacobson. After personalizing their own VIP badges, they were ushered on to prepare for their red carpet debuts. A sea of parents, patrons and paparazzi lined the red carpet, snapping photos and cheering the kids on as they walked the carpet and entered the theater for the premier of their student films. “This was such a phenomenal opportunity for our students, not only to learn about film theory and critique but also to be able to roll up their sleeves and create their own works, from imagination to technical elements to the final product on the big screen,” said GFA head of school Dan Ceaser. “We are so grateful to Josh Jacobson and all at the Sarasota Film Festival for

inviting us to be a part of this incredible program.”

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2542 17th St. • Sarasota, FL 34234 email: info@catdepot.org GFA students Caim Strickland and Nicholas Cino on the red carpet during the Sarasota Film Festival

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www.thinkingcenter.com Educational Intervention Reading & Language Training for Students Megan Meese displays her festival pass during the Hollywood Nights festivities at the Sarasota Film Festival

Math Tutorials & Reteaching Goldie Feldman Academy middle school students at the Sarasota Film Festival

Temple Emanu-El families enjoy “Shabbat Shalva”

emple Emanu-El Religious School parents, grandparents and children enjoyed an innovative family education experience on April 3. Entitled “Shabbat Shalva,” meaning Sabbath of Wholeness, the program featured six hands-on learning stations focused on the significance and celebration of Shabbat. Families rotated through each station and concluded the morning not only inspired to celebrate Shabbat more fully but with beautiful handmade objects to help them do so!

The special morning, expertly chaired by Alicia Zoller, with support from Religious School Chair Dr. Michelle Mallitz, began with greetings from Rabbi Brenner Glickman and Director of Education Sabrina Silverberg. Rabbi Glickman spoke about Ahad Ha’am’s famous statement that more than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews – and encouraged families to embrace the spirit of Shabbat by refraining from work and everyday activities, unplugging, and spending special and holy time together.

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Temple Emanu-El Religious School student Miriam Baram shows off her challah cover

featured prayers, singing and informal intergenerational socializing. Temple Emanu-El Religious School is currently enrolling children in grades kindergarten through seven as well as for its outstanding post-B’nai Mitzvah Confirmation class. For more information, please call 941.378.5567.

Afterwards, families had the opportunity to review Shabbat traditions at a lighthearted intergenerational game of Shabbat Bingo; learn how to braid challah; paint challah covers; craft a set of Shabbat candles from colorful beeswax; decorate candle holders; and create “stained glass” kiddush cups. Every family was able to take home a set of Shabbat supplies as well as a beautifully-braided loaf of Temple Emanu-El Religious School families have a great challah dough. The morning also time at the “Shabbat Shalva” challah-braiding station

GFA – A Hershorin Schiff Community Day School

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June 2016

FOCUS ON YOUTH

The Gan at Temple Sinai reaches a milestone

he 10th anniversary year has been a stellar one for The Gan at Temple Sinai. In the fall, parents, temple members, and members of the Sarasota community celebrated the preschool with the Illumination Ball at the Polo Grill in Lakewood Ranch. The theme, Champagne & Chaps: Kickin’-

up Our Spurs for The Gan, brought everyone together for this festive celebration. Donned in country chic attire, everyone danced the night away to the live band playing pop-country tunes. The line dance instructor called out the steps. And the silent auction was a huge success.

Drew, Jen and Alexa Scharf enjoy the yummy food catered by Webber’s Hot Dogs at The Gan’s 10th Anniversary Carnival

In March, Temple Sinai’s 25th Anniversary Gala honored the temple and our school and its Directors with a celebratory evening at Michael’s On East. Finally, a family event took place in April. The Gan Circus was a good time for all ages! There was a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, car-

Skate, Risa and Jett Segal take a quick break from playing games to snap a photo at The Gan’s 10th Anniversary Carnival

nival games and prizes, arts and crafts, and a delicious barbecue. What a terrific event to round out the ten years that The Gan at Temple Sinai has been…Growing Minds, Strengthening Bodies, and Nurturing Souls!

Kelly Engel and Nazare Edelson have a blast dancing the night away at The Gan’s 10th Anniversary Gala

Wrapping up another great year with USY By Gabriella Hazan

RQUSY, the USY high school youth group sponsored by Temple Beth Sholom, has wrapped up the school year, and we finished strong. Several members recently attended the Maccabeats concert in Orlando with their families. We had an awesome time singing and dancing

along with our favorite Jewish a cappella group. A bonus was saying “hi” to our Jewish friends in Orlando whom we have met through USY conventions. Our final event was our annual Party Bus. We had many teens join us April 30 to go out for pizza – especially

nice after Passover – and ride go karts at Livingston’s Amusement Center. Everyone had a blast and can’t wait for the Party Bus next year. I can’t believe this year is already over! As USY President, I had an amazing time planning and participating in all the events. I know that USY

GFA students harvest, donate food to All Faiths Food Bank

n April, third and fourth graders at GFA, A Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, harvested vegetables and donated them to the All Faiths Food Bank “Sprout” program. Through the Sprout Mobile Farm Market truck, individuals and families in need get fresh fruits and vegetables. This event was in support of the Food Bank’s annual Campaign Against Summer Hunger.

GFA third-grader Andrew Blessit chose to donate sunﬂowers to All Faiths Food Bank so that its clients could enjoy something pretty to look at

Students, with the guidance of horticultural instructor Andrew Noune, harvested vegetables such as kale, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, green beans, fennel and carrots, then washed the produce and loaded it onto the Sprout truck. After the harvest, the food was driven down to St. Nathaniel’s Episcopal Church in North Port, where it was distributed to clients of the Food Bank. “Our students are fortunate to have the opportunities afforded us through the organic garden – they help to grow food from seeds to table for their own lunches as well as for those in need,” GFA head of school Dan Ceaser said. “As a Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, tikkun olam – repairing the world – is integral to our mission. In addition to being provided with a strong academic setting, our students are taught to value and protect the environment, and care for those who could use a helping hand.”

TEENS

In attendance during the harvest were Ed “Papa” and Betty “Mimi” Rosenthal, who have been the sponsors

will be in good hands next year, but I look forward to continue to play an active role in the chapter. I can’t wait to see you at our kickoff event! If you’re in high school and would like to join the fun, please call the Temple Beth Sholom office at 941.955.8121.

of the “Papa Ed and Mimi Rosenthal Organic Kibbutz Sustainability Garden and Outdoor Classroom” since 2010.

Students with All Faiths Food Bank staff member Ryan Beaman, who manages the Sprout program, after loading the truck with produce grown in GFA’s garden

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June 2016

LIFE CYCLE ANNIVERSARIES

65 Aaron & Meg Kestenbaum Temple Emanu-El 65th Dr. Alan & Bunny Shuman Temple Emanu-El 60th Kenneth & Joan Kaye Temple Emanu-El 60th Leonard & Merle Nelson Temple Emanu-El 60th Philip & Sandra Zemmel Temple Emanu-El 55th Louise & Stanley Issokson Temple Sinai 55th Elinor & Herbert Krasow Temple Sinai 55th Clare & Richard Segall Temple Emanu-El 50th Geraldine & Leonard Drexler Temple Sinai 50th Rabbi Richard & Ellen Klein Temple Emanu-El 50th Dr. Richard & Elaine Sager Temple Emanu-El th

45 Judy & Dr. Jerry Fleischer Temple Emanu-El 40th Richard & Arlene Franco Temple Emanu-El 35th Debbie Van Praag & Stanley Goldsmith Temple Sinai 30th Dr. Bruce & Lori Dorman Temple Emanu-El 30th Candice & David Miller Temple Sinai 25th Michael & Nicole Duke Temple Emanu-El 20th Stuart & Stacy Bayer Temple Emanu-El 20th Faye & Stanley Lipkins Temple Sinai 10th Larry & Jan Chulock Temple Emanu-El 10th Anne & Michael Katz Temple Sinai 10th Alicia & Nicholas Zoller Temple Emanu-El th

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Max Alter, 91, of Longboat Key, April 27 Leslie J. August, 91, of Lakewood Ranch, formerly of Miami, FL, April 2 Robert A. Cohen, 83, of Longboat Key, formerly of Brooklyn, NY, March 30 Michael Gilbert, 79, of Sarasota, April 6 Harvey William Gleeksman, 72, of Sarasota, March 7 Robert Leffert, 85, of Sarasota, formerly of Rochester, NY, April 18 Ted Shears, of Sarasota, formerly of Fairport, NY, April 19 Elaine Spivack, 76, of Sarasota, formerly of NYC, April 12

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