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Parsha Shemot • January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 • Five Towns Candlelighting 4:41 pm, Havdalah 5:50 • Luach page 21 • Vol 16, No 3

Stop the insanity!

The Newspaper of our Orthodox communities

LIers rally against UN, France

By Ed Weintrob After last month’s United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, and in anticipation of a new anti-Israel assult at this week’s “peace” conference in Paris involving 70 countries and international organizations,

Israel’s friends were called to action, staging two demonstrations in Midtown Manhattan.

On Wednesday, students from Midreshet Shalhevet and Rambam Mesivta high schools, two Five Towns institutions with long traditions of

Rabbi Hershel Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere greets Boro Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind at Thursday’s protest outside the French mission to the U.N. in Midtown Manhattan as Avi Posnick of StandWithUs looks on.

Ed Weintrob / The Jewish Star

pro-Israel advocacy, massed in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside the U.N. (See story on page 16.)

The next day, several hundred protesters from throughout the tristate area, including many Long Islanders, congregated on Second Avenue across from the French mission to the U.N. to demand the the U.N. “target Islamic terror, not Israel.”

“By showing up here today we are sending a message to the world that we will not be silent as the U.N. and member countries continue to spread lies against Israel,” said Avi Posnick of StandWithUs. Posnick is a graduate of Rambam Mesivta.

“Four weeks before his departure from the White House, [President] Obama has intentionally and maliciously chosen to ignore the ever-present, always imminent and daily dangers facing Israelis by imposing a new threat to Israel,” said Lauri Regan of EMET (the Endowment for Middle East Truth).

“What part of ‘from the river to the sea,’ ‘free free Palestine,’ ‘long live the intifada,’ and ‘go back to the ovens’ do Obama, [U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha] Power and [Secretary of State John] Kerry not understand?”

See LIers rally on page 3

Students from Midreshet Shalhevet High School in North Woodmere demonstrated outside the United Nations last week. See story on page 16.

Super Bowl LI goes kosher in Cedarhurst

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be Cedarhurst resident Aryeh Kunstler.

“The location is befitting a Super Bowl type celebration — a sports bar, very exciting and welcoming for a Jewish music environment,” Segal said.

The show will be taped before a live audience at 9 pm on motzei Shabbos Jan. 28. Everyone is welcome, Segal said, but since space is limited it would be best to come early — and hungry.

Kunstler, a hot ticket on the Jewish music scene, recently arranged and sang 130 songs featured on the new NCSY iPhone Bencher App. “The idea is that you can listen to the app during the week and learn the songs, then introduce them at the See Halftime on page 3

Nachum Segal during a broadcast last year.

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By Celia Weintrob When Lady Gaga enters NRG Stadium in Houston for the halftime show on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, she’s likely to be showing way too much and using language that could turn your bubbe’s cheeks red. But for footballloving frum Jews, there’s a choice.

It will be the fourth Super Bowl during which Jewish radio superstar Nachum Segal will play mashgiach, hosting a Kosher Halftime Show on the Nachum Segal Network (NSN).

And for Super Bowl LI (that’s 51 in Roman numerals — or maybe LI stands for Long Island), Segal’s bringing the show home, to the Courtside Grill in Cedarhurst, where the headliner will

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Ed Weintrob / The Jewish Star

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Starring Aryeh Kunstler accompanied by the EvanAl Orchestra WHERE: Courtside Grill 602 Central Ave, Cedarhurst, NY WHEN: Saturday Night January 28, 2017 at 9:00pm Live Performance

The show will air on February 5th, 2017 on the Nachum Segal Network nachumsegal.com and on the NSN App

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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LIers rally…

Continued from page 1 Reiterating the Jewish link to Jerusalem, Regan quoted Eli Wiesel as calling it “much more than a city, it is what binds one Jew to another. When a Jew visits Jerusalem for the first time it is not the first time, it is a homecoming.”

“And what do Arabs do when they enter Jerusalem,” Regan

Halftime…

Continued from page 1 Shabbos table,” he said. “It’s mostly me, my guitar, and a bunch of overdubs of my voice.

There are 40 hours of studio time in those 130 songs, and we have another 15 or 20 to add. I’ll be adding more popular tunes.”

Segal, who’s “always looking for someone innovative and somewhat different among Jewish artists,” said he’s found a winner in

continued. “They drive cars and trucks into Jews, they carry knives looking to stab Jews, and they singularly focus on denying Jews the right to live anywhere in Israel and pray at our holy sites.”

“How many more lives need to be taken before the world learns and unites around one clear message — terrorism against Israel is always wrong and must always be opposed,” said Rabbi Mark Wildes of the Manhattan Jewish Experience. “There are no legitimate reasons to target and kill civilians and soliders on leave. Resolutions condemning settlements are just a distraction.”

“The truth is that the U.N. has been and always will be an anti-

Kunstler. “He’s very popular, especially among young people,” he said.

Kunstler said his three or four number set is not yet final but would be a combination of his own original music and some popular songs.

“I’ve had a relationship with Nachum Segal for years — I love being on his show.”

The Jewish Star asked Kunstler which team — the Pittsburg Steelers or the Green Bay Packers — he was rooting for, but he wouldn’t bite.

“I’m really more of a hockey fan,” he said.

Last year’s Kosher Halftime Show was

Ed Weintrob / The Jewish Star

Semitic institution that the U.S. should defund and from which the U.S. should disassociate,” Regan said. “The truth is that the Palestinian people have absolutely no interest in the peaceful solution to the conflict leading to a two-state solution.

“Golda Meir spoke the truth when she stated that peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us. But the most important truth is that Israel, with the support of all of us standing here today and a new [American] government ready to repair the damage inflicted over the past eight years, will survive, continue to flouish and forever remain the homeland of G-d’s chosen people.”

taped at the Doghouse in Teaneck, which Courtside Grill co-owner Joey Hoenig said “is a great place — I’ve been there many times.”

Courtside Grill, at 602 Central Ave, “was designed as a sports restaurant that also has a bar, it’s more spacious that the Doghouse,” Hoenig said. “I think they are looking for something new and fresh that everyone is talking about.”

Segal said reaction to his Kosher Halftime Shows has been “only positive” and that “people appreciate the message.”

The broadcast can first be heard during the Super Bowl, and thereafter at anytime on NSN’s digital channels.

Last month, Segal pulled the plug on terrestrial radio and his programming can now be heard only on the NSN app, at NachumSegalNetwork. com, or by phone on a “listen line” that remains popular with some older listeners.

The switch to all-digital “surpassed all of our expections,” he said. “We are being lauded for [moving] people to a platform that’s very easy to hear and which will get better and grow.”

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Demonstrators on Second Avenue, opposite the French mission to the United Nations, last Thursday. Musicians energized the crowd, playing behind a photograph of the latest victims of terror in Israel.

January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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OU ‘Torah in the City’ draws 1,500 to Citi Field The Orthodox Union facilitated an energized discussion of “Torah in the City” on Sunday, drawing close to 1,500 men and women from throughout the tri-state area to Citi Field in Flushing Meadows.

The full day program of halacha, hashkafa, tanach and Israel, was orgazined by OU’s incoming president Moishe Bane.

The OU has announced plans to expanding its Torah education programming to serve the broader community through similar future events.

The diversity of Jews present at Sunday’s event was extraordinary, the OU said.

“Torah in the City” featured more than 30 speakers, both men and women, including scholars, educators, activists and others at the forefront of contemporary Jewish life. Speakers included Rabbi Shalom Rosner, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Charlie Harary, Raizi Chechik, Rabbi Yonasan Sacks, Rabbi David Fohrman, Nechama Price, Rabbi Hayyim Angel, Rabbi Steven Weil, and Shira Smiles, among many others.

“With this event we begin to expand the OU’s outreach to Jews from all walks of life on the importance of Torah study as a means to become closer to G-d,” said Bane, a prominent New York attorney at Ropes & Gray, and a longtime OU layleader. “It is a significant step in charting a path to further Torah study in engaging and meaningful ways.”

Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul-General of Israel in New York, recited a prayer for peace in Israel during a communal prayer session.

“I came today to learn Torah,” he said. “As a New York Jewish resident, I came to be uplifted and inspired. It’s very strengthening to see that in New York City, with so many events and things to do, Jews come and learn Torah together.”

“We look forward to having more of these events, focusing on pure Torah learning, on an annual basis as well as smaller local events,” said Allen Fagin, CEO of the OU. “We see this as the core of what we are as an institution.”

The day-long event was preceded by an OU board convention, which passed several resolutions (see story below).

Torah in the City lectures will be uploaded to the OU Torah.org website over the next weeks.

OU resolutions eye Jerusalem, BDS, anti-Semitism, UN

From left: Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan; Raizi Chechik, principal of HALB’s Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett Bay Park, discussing women and Torah transmission; and Rabbi Yonasan Sacks, rosh yeshivah of Touro’s Lander College for Men, discussing family planning, at the Orthodox Union’s all-day “Torah in the City” event at Citi Field on Sunday.

Meir Kruter

From left: Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, prolific author of halachic books which apply halacha to modern life and founder of the Halacha Education Center which uses cutting edge technologies to devellop innovative educational curricula for Jewish studies, discussing Israeli soliders under fire; and Rabbi David Fohrman, CEO at Aleph Beta Academy, whose topic was “Bringing Chumash Alive for Your Kids.”

Meir Kruter

From The Orthodox Union On Sunday, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, at its 118th Anniversary convention at Citi Field, adopted Resolutions expressing positions on a range of critical issues. The Resolutions included the following:

50th anniversary of reunification

This year — 5777/2017 — marks the 50th anniversary of the miraculous events of the “Six Day War.” During Israel’s war of self-defense, with G-d’s help, the Jewish people fought for and returned to the ancient cradle of our nation. Jerusalem must forever remain the spiritual, cultural and political center of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The Orthodox Union is mandated to undertake all efforts necessary to secure and maintain Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of the State of Israel, including pushing for the United States’ Embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Security Council Resolution 2334

The Orthodox Union repudiates United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted on Dec. 23, 2016, which, among other things, refers to Jerusalem and parts of the Biblical homeland as occupied Palestinian territory. The Orthodox Union will strenuously advocate for revocation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

Anti-Semitism in the University

The Orthodox Union is gravely concerned by the dramatic upsurge of anti-Semitism in North America and around the world.

We have seen marked increases in physical and verbal anti-Semitic assaults, which, regrettably, are enabled and legitimized by the internet and social media. The Orthodox Union shall explore initiatives through which the organization can provide appropriate support and leadership to the greater Jewish community in North America and throughout the world in battling this latest manifestation of the world’s oldest form of hatred.

Combating anti-Israel BDS

The OU resolved to continue to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses by speaking out against the Boycott, Di-

From left: Allen Fagin, CEO of the Orthodox Union, opened the day-long event; Rabbi Steven Weil, senior managing director of OU, discussing Torah engagement and setting priorities; and Avital Chizhik Goldschmidt, adjunct professor at Yeshiva University.

Meir Kruter

vest and Sanctions against Israel movement. This has been a growing issue on college campuses across the country, and the Orthodox Union shall continue to raise awareness and address anti-Semitism in academia and on campus. The OU also calls upon all professional academic associations, as well as all institutions of higher learning, to publicly and explicitly reject boycotts, divestment and sanctions.

Supporting our synagogues

The synagogue is a central component of Jewish communal life. Historically, the OU has been a synagogue-based organization, premised on the belief that the synagogue is a gateway to a meaningful and fulfilling spiritual life for the individual and that it can be an epicenter of communal activism. The Orthodox Union shall strengthen its relationship

with Jewish communities and synagogues throughout North America by providing shared resources, shared programming ideas, and shared solutions to some of the complex challenges facing Orthodox Jewish communities today.

The Importance of Jewish unity

The Orthodox Union recognizes the primacy of achieving Achdut amongst the Jewish people and that we must take affirmative steps to mold communal behavior and uproot any negative traits or beliefs that may lead some to respond or act in manners that are inappropriate. The Orthodox Union shall act as a leader within the Jewish community by fostering relationships across the spectrum and convene gatherings that reinforce the notion that, as Orthodox Jews, we have far more in common that unites us than divides us.

in and opiate epidemic that has taken many lives, and Narcan has already saved hundreds of lives, according to numerous reports.

Rabbi Perl devoted a segment of his Chanukah telethon to raising awareness of the opioid epidemic, and to caution frum viewers that their families and friends are not imune.

On Dec. 14, Rebecca Glassman of West Hempstead spoke at a gathering in Woodmere that confronted the issue of adiction in the Orthodox community. Her son, Aryeh Nathan Glassman, died from a heroin overdose in May. She addressed a packed, largely Orthodox, audience.

Aryeh was one of 93 people in the Orthodox Jewish community in the metropolitan area to die of an overdose or a substance

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The Jewish Star Rabbi Anchelle Perl, like many of his fellow Chabad shaliachs, knows a thing of two about attracting attention to a good cause (think Chanukah menorahs in public spaces).

The cause on Rabbi Perl’s agenda right now is a matter of life and death throughout Long Island, including in its Torah-observant communities.

“There is a heroin epidemic here on Long Island,” said Rabbi Perl. “It’s impacting our communities.”

On Thursday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 8:30 pm, Rabbi Perl will host free Narcan training at Chabad Mineola, 261 Willis Ave. in Mineola.

The training, given by Chas Thompson, fire commissioner of Lido Point Lookout and an EMT for 37 years, is free and open to anyone over age 18.

Narcan is a drug that reverses the effects of heroin or opioid overuse. The program will be introduced by a woman who saved her son from an overdose by using Narcan.

“You will be trained to react to an overdose and administer the antidote that can save a life,” reads a promotion for the event.

“Research has shown that with basic training, non-medical professionals such as friends, family members, or even concerned bystanders, can administer Narcan and save a life.”

“Rabbi Perl pleads with you, come SAVE A LIFE,” the promotion says.

“Our goal is to make it ‘kosher’ to become an overdose responder,” Rabbi Perl said, “and more importantly, through this program, to build a caring community that is aware of and responsive to the problems of heroin and [which] supports individuals and families who struggle with addiction.”

Nassau County continues to battle a hero-

shiva from nursery aleph as a three year old, through the 12th grade. He was given all of the things that parents give their kids including love and emotional support. He was cherished from the time he was born even through adulthood and through his addiction.

“How did my son, the product of an Orthodox family, educated in a yeshiva, become an addict? After all, doesn’t drug abuse only exist in the outside world? How can this happen to us? As far as I was concerned, drug addicts came from public schools and the inner cities, broken homes, and homes where there is abuse. Drugs were found in poverty stricken areas like the slums, and areas where there is a lack of education.

“We know that drug use has become rampant abuse-related incident such among the yeshiva stuas a vehicular accident since dents. I was told by several September of 2015, accordmothers that they were ing to Rabbi Zvi Gluck, aware that students were founder and director of leaving school during lunch Manhattan-based Amudim, breaks to use drugs and Rabbi Anchelle Perl an organization that helps somehow no one was the young people overcome sexual, physical and wiser. Why weren’t the teachers, administrasubstance abuse. tors and parents on top of this?

“The stigma attached with addiction is “Drug addiction does not discriminate beno longer being brushed under the rug, the tween the races, religions or genders. It afturnout here shows the tide is turning,” said fects us all in one way or another.

Rabbi Gluck. “I do not know of a yeshiva high “Many in the Orthodox community don’t school in our [Orthodox Jewish] community believe it could happen to them. Sadly, my that doesn’t have drugs in it.” family is an example of the fact that it can.”

“Ari was brought up in an Orthodox home, To reach Rabbi Perl, call 516-739-3636 or not unlike many of the people here,” Glassman email rabbiperl@chabadmineola.com, ot visit told the Woodmere crowd. “He attended ye- chabadmineola.com/narcan.

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Rabbi Perl tackles opioid addiction on Thursday

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Thinking about Redemption, and coming home Rabbi binny FREEdman The hearT of jerusalem

I

n the year 1263, Raymond de Penyafort of Spain challenged the Jewish people to a debate. As the Church’s representative, he chose a Dominican friar named Pablo Christiani, a Sephardic Jew who had converted to Christianity, to represent them. The Jewish community came to no less than the Ramban himself, to represent them.

The Ramban (Nachmanides, Rav Moshe ben Nachman) was the undisputed great leader of his generation. (His now-famous commentaries on the entire Torah and Talmud established him as one of the greatest scholars in Jewish history.) He agreed on condition that he be allowed to respond in the debate. The Church was relying on the fact that the Jews would be hesitant to incur the wrath of the Church by responding to Christiani’s suppositions, but King James of Aragon, in whose presence the debate took place, granted the Ramban free speech.

Afterwards, the Church published its version of the debate which suggested the Jews had no answers for Christiani’s contentions.

So the Ramban published his own version demonstrating the fallacy of the Church’s position. For this act (the Church at the time controlled the printing presses; publishing anything against the Church’s wishes was a crime punishable by death) the Church wanted to sentence the Ramban to death.

However King James of Aragon commuted the sentence instead to exile. Thus, the Ram-

ban was forced to leave Spain forever.

So where does a Jew who is exiled go?

The Ramban made his way to Israel, eventually coming to Jerusalem in 1267 where he lived out the last years of his life. The Jewish community of Jerusalem at the time was so small, legend has it that on the day he arrived the Ramban was the tenth man for the minyan for afternoon prayers.

So if you were to ask a Spanish Christian in 1267, he would have told you the Ramban was living in exile, in Jerusalem.

Yet the Ramban’s writings clearly suggest he believed he had at last come home.

He had actually left the exile in Spain! So where is exile and where or what is “home”? his week, in parsha Shemot, we begin the story of the Jewish people. Yaakov’s family journeys from the land of Israel to ancient Egypt, and under the protection of Joseph, now the viceroy of Egypt, makes their home there to escape the famine that is ravaging the Middle East.

So … are they now in exile? Joseph settles his family in the land of Goshen, and gives it to them as a possession (an “achuzah,” see Bereishit 47:11), but the brothers describe it more as a place they have come to dwell in (ibid 47:4: “La’gur ba’aretz banu”) but not necessarily to settle in (as opposed to Yaakov settling the land of Israel, ibid. 37:1).

Indeed the word lagur, related to the word ger (a stranger) reminds us of the

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prophecy given to Avraham: “Ki ger yehiyeh zaracha be’eretz lo’ lahem” (“Your offspring one day will be strangers in a land that is not for them”) (ibid 15:13). G-d promises that Avraham’s offspring, the Jewish people, will be enslaved in that land that is not theirs” but will one day return to the land that Hashem has given (ibid. v. 18).

Yaakov and his children to join Joseph in Egypt and seem to settle quite comfortably in the land of Goshen which they are given to “possess.” Don’t they remember the promise G-d made to Avraham that the good times will not last?

Rav Adin Steinsaltz in his Chayei Olam suggests that there are two realities: chutz la’aretz, which is a geographic term referring to any place that is outside of Israel, and galut or exile which seems to occur when we are actually oppressed. Yaakov and his sons do not feel they are in galut because they are allowed to feel they are quite at home; they (think they) possess their own land (Goshen), are allowed to pursue their own occupation as shepherds (conveniently forgetting or ignoring the fact that the Egyptians (ibid. 46:34) abhor shepherds) and live apart from the host Egyptians in their own (mini-Israel) land of Goshen. rue galut, it seems, begins when one begins to feel oppressed, but it is a gradual process, and by the time the Jews realize how much trouble they’re in it’s too late.

Indeed the Torah tells us that the pharaoh

Judaism encourages us to take a journey and exit the things that hold us back, the ‘narrow straits of servitude’ that Egypt represents.

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eventually subjugates the Jews “be’pharech” (Exodus 1:13), which Rashi explains to be hard, back-breaking labor. But the midrash, in a play on words, suggests it also means be’peh rach (with a soft tongue), gradually seducing the Jews deeper and deeper until it is too late.

It may even be that the Jews began to feel truly at home in Egypt, given their relationship with the viceroy, perhaps enjoying Egyptian culture while becoming immersed in Egyptian society and contributing to the Egyptian economy and social structure. Nevertheless, one thing is clear from the text: they are about to suffer a rude awakening.

A new pharaoh arises in Egypt who has no love for the Jews nor any recognition of their contribution to Egyptian society, and the comfortable lives of the children of Israel gradually descends into a spiral of agony and horror, until they find themselves at the lowest strata of a slave society.

The enslavement of the Jewish people and the morass of evil that ensues begins with one specific occurrence: “And a new King arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Shemot 1:8).

How could a king of Egypt have no knowledge of who Joseph was? How could a pharaoh living in the time immediately following Joseph’s death pretend he does not know who Joseph was? How could the Egyptian people allow such a convenient “amnesia” take place, considering all the good Joseph had done for Egypt in saving it from seven years of famine and ensuring its survival as the Empire of the time?

Make no mistake about it: this is not just an ancient phenomenon. The Holocaust began because an entire society did not feel any sense of See Thinking on page 21

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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SNCH survey highlights public perception of flu South Nassau Communities Hospital A third of workers who have the flu still report to work, according to a new public health survey of New York metro area residents, even though many are aware that the sometimes-deadly disease can easily spread.

Men — 50 and older — were more likely to report to work with the flu, the survey found, with 37 percent reporting that they had gone to work despite having a flu diagnosis. By contrast, 28 percent of women 50 or older reported that they went to work with the flu.

About 93 percent said they are aware that the flu is spread person to person, and 66 percent said they knew that the flu could be fatal. Yet, just 57 percent of those surveyed said they had gotten the flu shot. Some 33 percent of all respondents reported that they had gone to work with the flu at least once.

A total of 600 adults in New York City and

on Long Island were reached by phone last month as part of the newly commissioned South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll. The survey was conducted as part of the hospital’s mission of improving education around critical public health issues.

“The South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll is meant to shine a light on public health issues that deserve more attention,” Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

“The more information the public has about issues like the flu, the better prepared they will be to protect themselves and members of their families.”

According to Dr. Adhi Sharma, South Nassau’s chief medical officer, the flu causes thousands of hospital visits that could be avoided with simple preventive measures, like getting the flu shot, washing hands frequently and staying at home when sick.

“Our ultimate goal is educate the public about health issues so they can take better care of themselves and seek out appropriate medical care when needed,” Dr. Sharma said.

“For your health and the well-being of your co-workers, stay home if you have the flu!”

Those with the flu can infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and between five and seven days after becoming sick, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, South Nassau’s Department of Medicine chairman and the hospital’s epidemiologist. Young children and those with weakened immune systems might be able to infect others for an even longer time, added Glatt, who is also a spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America.

The New York State Health Department last month declared the flu to be widespread in New York state, with confirmed cases in 39 counties and all boroughs of New York City As of Dec. 28, 658 flu-related hospitaliza-

tions were reported in New York, according to the health department.

About two-thirds of people surveyed agreed that people should get flu shots every year, while 16 percent said they didn’t think they were necessary. Only 57 percent of those responding, however, said they had received one.

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“While you can get the flu, even if you receive the flu vaccine, it is still a very good idea to get the flu shot,” Glatt said in a statement, adding that it is not too late in the season to get one. “The flu shot — while not effective in all cases — is the best preventative measure we have.”

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By Shannon Sarna, Nosher via JTA My 4-year-old, previously meatball-loving child has recently decided, in fact, she does not like meatballs any longer. Or tomato sauce. My husband does not like spaghetti squash. And I am trying to cut back on my carbs just a smidge.

In short, dinner is becoming harder and harder to coordinate. So when I made sweet and sour meatballs for the first time recently and they were devoured, I knew we had a winner.

That is, until my daughter decides she doesn’t.

I served these meatballs with simple roasted spaghetti squash for myself, and some rice for my husband and daughter, so everyone was happy.

Variation: If you want to cut the sugar in this recipe, you can reduce to 2 tablespoons brown sugar, replace with honey or stevia. If you want to remove a sweetener all together, try pureeing 1 whole peeled carrot in a food processor. While sauteing the onion, add the pureed carrot to add natural sweetness.

Special thanks to Kosher By Gloria for inspiring this story.

Ingredients: 1 spaghetti squash For the sauce: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion 2 garlic cloves 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 1/4 cup brown sugar OR 1 tablespoon ste-

via OR 2 carrots, peeled and pureed in food processor juice of 1/2 lemon 1 teaspoon fresh orange or lemon zest 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1 cup water or broth (vegetable or beef broth) For the meatballs: 1 pound ground beef 1 egg 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Directions: To cook the spaghetti squash: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a fork, prick the squash all over. Place on a baking sheet and cook 30-40 minutes until soft. Allow to cool slightly. Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, discard. Using a fork, remove the spaghetti squash flesh.

This step can be prepared 1-2 days ahead.

To make the sauce: Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Cook onion 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, brown sugar (or sweetener or honey), lemon juice, citrus zest, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook on low while preparing meatballs.

To make the meatballs: Mix together bread crumbs with cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper. Add ground beef and mix gently. Add 1 beaten egg and mix until full incorporated.

Using the palm of your hands, gently roll tablespoon-sized meatballs, taking care not to pack too tightly or “smush.” If you want to be more precise, use a cookie scoop to measure.

Place all the meatballs in sauce and simmer on medium-low heat for 45-50 minutes, covered.

Serve warm with spaghetti squash, rice or noodles.

Shannon Sarna is the editor of The Nosher.

Gefilte: Making a Jewish classic great again

Judy Joszef who’s in the kitchen

Judy’s off this week

York Times, Atlantic, and Gastronomica.

Jewish food writer and cookbook author Leah Koenig, whose latest book is 2015’s “Modern Jewish Cooking,” praised “The Gefilte Manifesto” for digging “deep into our Ashkenazi ancestors’ recipe boxes.”

“It pulls out time-tested favorites and lost gems, and finds ways to make them taste at once fresh and innovative, and utterly authentic,” Koenig told JNS.org.

Indeed, whether it is old country sour cream, schmaltz and gribenes, summer beet borscht, beef kreplach, sweet lokshen kugel with plums, spiced herring in oil, smoked whitefish gefilte ter-

rine, chopped liver pate, blintzes, or wine-braised brisket with butternut squash, “The Gefilte Manifesto” screams out with its authors’ passion to contemporize classic Jewish cuisine.

“Gefilte is not just about your bubbe,” they write. “It is not about kitsch or a foodie revolution. Gefilte is about reclaiming our time-honored foods and caring how they taste and how they’re sourced. It is about serving a dish with pride, not simply out of deference to hollow convention. It is about taking food traditions seriously and reclaiming the glory of Ashkenazi food—what it has been and what it can be.”

Any Fish you wish!

Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern, authors of “The Gefilte Manifesto.”

Lauren Volo

job working for [cookbook author] Joan Nathan,” Alpern told JNS.org. “I did recipe testing for her, and she got me a job in a pastry kitchen and on a food truck. Then I crossed paths with Jeffrey and we both were super on fire about Jewish foods.”

After hitting it off, Yoskowitz and Alpern would go on to launch The Gefilteria.

Raised in New Jersey by parents who loved Ashkenazi culture, Yoskowitz attended a Jewish day school and became well-versed in traditional Jewish cuisine from a young age.

“My dad took me to the Jewish delis and kinisheries and the Jewish food institutions of New York when I was a child,” he said. “I was always interested in food and even studied the kosher food industry for my senior thesis [at Brown University]. When I graduated I became a farm fellow and moved to Adamah Farm, a Jewish organic farm.”

At Adamah, Yoskowitz became a pickle apprentice, falling in love with the art of lactofermentation—a style of pickling and preserving that does not involve vinegar and is the classic style of making the Jewish deli pickle.

Pickling helped Yoskowitz discovered the wisdom that is inherent in Jewish cooking.

“Not only does the pickle have a lot of flavor, the method of making it relies on a natural occurring bacteria—acidophilus, what’s in yogurt— which is very good for your digestion and is probiotic,” he said. “Growing up eating a pastrami sandwich with a full sour pickle next to it, wow, it’s the best way of helping digest that fatty pastrami sandwich. That’s when I learned this tradition has a built in wisdom to it. This inspired me.”

“It was an awakening, where food comes from, the experience creating it,” Yoskowitz added. “Then I got into writing.” Now an entrepreneur, consultant, cook, and public speaker, Yoskowitz’s writings have been published in the New

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By Robert Gluck, JNS.org Having paid their dues on the Brooklyn food scene, emerging young chefs Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz are on a mission to reclaim and revolutionize Ashkenazi cuisine.

The millennial duo’s mission starts with their book, “The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods.”

Alpern and Yoskowitz, featured in Forbes’s “30 Under 30” list for food and wine in 2014, are drawing praise from prominent chefs. Mollie Katzen, bestselling author of such vegetarian cookbook classics as “The Moosewood Cookbook,” “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest” and “The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation,” said the new cookbook from Alpern and Yoskowitz “beautifully manages to frame traditional Ashkenazi cuisine with perfect twists and newness.”

“It’s no small feat to retain the character of an old, emotionally held culinary culture while imparting fresh life to the standards,” Katzen said. “Jeffrey and Liz nailed it, not only with outstanding recipes but also with history and stories and context, impeccably written. The passion of yet another generation carries it forward; we Jewish mothers can be collectively entranced, inspired, and proud.”

“The Gefilte Manifesto” includes recipes for pantry staples, pickles, breads, soups, dumplings, lighter side dishes, deli sides and specialties, main courses, desserts, and beverages, as well as a chapter on “choosing your own leftover adventure.”

In 2011, Yoskowitz, Alpern, and Jackie Lilinshtein founded The Gefilteria, a food venture whose mission is to adapt classic Eastern European Jewish cuisine to the values and tastes of a new generation. The initiative launched a reimagined brand of gefilte fish and started hosting pop-up dining events.

As an undergraduate student at McGill University in Montreal, Alpern baked challah out of her home and sold it because there was no kosher bakery in her neighborhood.

“I fell in love with baking and cooking big meals and Jewish holiday cooking, and after university I worked on a magazine and then got a

THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777

Sweet & sour meatballs with spaghetti squash

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Birthrighters optimistic despite awful UN vote eliana rudee

T

wo days into my first Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, during which I led a group of 40 Americans around Israel, I heard the news of the Obama administration’s unprecedented refusal to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policies.

As an American immigrant to Israel who has many times heard President Barack Obama reaffirm the unbreakable alliance between the U.S. and Israel, the news was a bitter reminder of his administration’s hypocrisy as well as the U.N.’s disproportionate condemnation of Israel, a trend that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon himself has acknowledged. But even more than hypocritical and disproportionate, in insinuating that settlement expansion is the greatest barrier to peace in the Middle East, the U.S. and U.N. have disengaged from historical reality and integrity.

On the day of the Security Council vote, my Birthright group visited the Lebanon-Israel border, where we learned about the thousands of Hezbollah rockets aimed at Israel. “But don’t worry,” our lecturer said, “Hezbollah is much too busy fighting in the Syrian conflict to start a war on this border.”

A few days later, we visited the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza, where we spoke with a resident of Sderot, a southern borderarea city that has endured tens of thousands of Hamas rockets over time. Hamas’s new strategy, we were told, is to dig tunnels toward

The recent Birthright trip led by Eliana Rudee

Israel’s civilian population. Yet Israel continues to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, even as Hamas’s terrorist government neglects that territory’s residents.

In the evening, we spent time with members of Israel’s Bedouin population, a peaceful Muslim group with full Israeli citizenship and even some enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces. A senior member of the Bedouin community posited that the Bedouins are peaceful because they educate their children for peace.

“Our children learn that we approach our enemies from the front—to talk—rather than stabbing them in the back,” he explained.

Finally, we learned the history of the conflict and the many times Israel offered land for peace, only to be greeted with the three “no’s”—no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel. Most importantly, we heard of all the times we would have had peace by now if settlements were

truly the obstacle to peace.

While all of this would leave many pessimistic and burned-out trying to convince the world of the Jewish people’s right to its homeland, the change I witnessed in the 40 Americans during the 10-day journey kept me optimistic.

The Birthright organization’s goal is to foster the connection between Diaspora Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state, and I have no doubt that this is exactly what Birthright—which to date has brought more than 500,000 Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26 on free 10-day trips to Israel—is doing. Even before the end of the trip, it became clear that a life-changing experience was the norm for participants. By the end of the trip, some who had never stepped foot in Israel were hoping to extend their visit, and participants with no previous Jewish experiences were engaging in serious discussions about Jewish continuity and life.

In the most meaningful moment of the trip,

our group of Americans stood together with Israeli soldiers on top of the Masada historical landmark as we recalled the ancient story of our ancestors choosing self-agency—even if it meant taking their own lives. Our tour educator led us to the edge of the Masada fortress, where we shouted into the distance “Am Yisrael Chai!”— the Jewish people live!—and our voices echoed back in a phenomenon that truly sounded like the voices of our ancestors returning our cry.

After most of the Americans began to descend Masada, a few Israeli soldiers lingered to shout “ad matai” into the distance, waiting for the echoes. The common phrase “ad matai— meaning “until when”—reflects Israel’s wish that in the future, its army will be obsolete. Israel’s enemies will lay down their weapons and the mandatory military draft will end. Parents will stop needing to send their children into war, not knowing what will become of their homeland or of their children.

Unlike my Birthright group, our ancestors on Masada did not descend the mountain. But Masada did not truly fall if the young people of Diaspora and Israel remember the story and continue to fight for self-determination of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.

The sounds of Masada will forever echo in my mind and heart—the cries of my Israeli peers for the end of conflict, and Masada crying back. It has been thousands of years since our ancestors gave their lives at Masada, but the war against the Jewish people continues unabated in the U.N. I can only pray for the day when the Israeli people’s cries for peace will echo throughout the world.

Eliana Rudee is a fellow with the Haym Salomon Center news and public policy group.

In Beit Shemesh, field of dreams for US players

By Yocheved T. Kolchin, JNS.org On an unseasonably warm Friday in early January, the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” drew more than a hundred baseball fans to an empty lot in the center of Beit Shemesh, a small town nestled in the hills outside Jerusalem. In a country where Little League Baseball is unheard of and Cracker Jack snacks are nonexistent, this was no typical weekend in the Jewish state. Jan. 6 marked the groundbreaking for the new Beit Shemesh Baseball Complex, which will be Israel’s fourth major baseball field.

The excitement was palpable. Many in the crowd were recent immigrants to Israel, a significant portion of whom had arrived in July and August on Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah agency charter flights. The groundbreaking ceremony featured a mix of Israeli and American culture. Like all baseball events, this one started with the singing of the national anthem — but this time it was Hatikvah instead of The Star Spangled Banner. Many of the speakers addressed the audience in English, and those who spoke in Hebrew had a translator on hand. Children sported baseball caps and t-shirts featuring American teams as well as local Israeli teams.

“Until now, this was a game I didn’t really understand,” admitted Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbol, “but baseball teaches us that we need to work together.”

Peter Kurz, manager of Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) Project Baseball initiative and president of the Israel Association of Baseball (IAB), also emphasized baseball’s ability to unite. The sport brings together old and new immigrants as well as secular and observant Israeli Jews.

Project Baseball focuses on building state-ofthe-art baseball and softball fields across Israel.

The project also supports teaching baseball to Israeli youths through little leagues, summer camps and clinics. The Beit Shemesh baseball complex will encompass 5 acres of land and will include a full-size baseball field, in addition to two smaller fields for youth games, enabling 60 to70 children to play at the same time. The complex will also fea-

Members of the team representing Israel in the World Baseball Classic and the rest of their delegation visiting the Tel Nof Israeli Air Force base near Rehovot.

Daniel Bar-On

Ike Davis, formerly of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, signs autographs for fans at the Jan. 6 groundbreaking for Israel’s new Beit ShemYocheved T. Kolchin esh Baseball Complex.

tournament in Seoul, South Korea, in March. The players, who were making a weeklong visit to Israel, are eligible to represent the Jewish state at the WBC because the competition allows players who are eligible for citizenship of any particular country to play on that country’s team. When Team Israel player Ty Kelly was introduced, the audience broke out in cheers of “Let’s Go Mets!”

After the speeches, children surrounded the players for a chance to talk to them and get their autographs. Noam, age 11, is an Orioles fan from Baltimore who made aliyah in August and was excited to meet the Team Israel members even though no Orioles players were present. When asked what his favorite thing about baseball is, he responded, “I like all of it, but mostly the diving and getting dirty!” Mitch, a father whose children were busy collecting autographs said, “It’s a tremendous honor to have a baseball field in our city. It’s great for my kids to have an outlet and meet other kids.”

According to the IAB’s Peter Kurz, the dream of building a baseball field in Beit Shemesh began 11 years ago, but only gained traction in the last year and a half amid the efforts of JNF to raise funds for the field and awareness for the sport in Israel. Kurz described Beit Shemesh as the perfect place to build a baseball field because it is home to many American immigrants who love the sport.

Haim Katz, Kurz’s predecessor as president of the IAB, can’t wait for the new field to be built.

“The first time we played a baseball game in Israel was at Amphi Field in Modi’in,” he said.

“The field was on a 40-degree slant, so one time my son hit the ball straight over the center fielder’s head and it rolled down past the foul line.”

Many things have changed since the construction of that field in Modi’in, and in nine months, American Israelis living in Beit Shemesh will be able to enjoy their native country’s pastime in their new homeland.

ture dugouts, batting cages and a bike path. The complex is expected to be completed by this fall.

Eric Michaelson, JNF’s chief Israel officer, said Project Baseball helps the children of recent immigrants acclimate to life in Israel. “This initiative gives children who have made aliyah a taste of home and an opportunity to get close to their Israeli peers,” he said. “Children and their families who make aliyah will have the opportunity to sign up for JNF’s Project Baseball before they arrive.”

When shovels were raised for the groundbreaking, Mayor Abutbol shared a metaphor that fit JNF’s well-known reputation as a tree-planting organization. “Just as when you plant a tiny seed and a great tree grows from it, here we are planting this small ball,” he said while raising a baseball in his hand, “and a great field will grow.”

The master of ceremonies introduced 10 current and former American-Jewish Major League Baseball players who will represent Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) international

Bomb threats won’t Choose Hunter derail vitality ofDouglas JCCs Vice president, JCC Association of North America

A bomb threat is never inconsequential, but 16 in one day is inconceivable — at least until last Monday, when 16 Jewish community centers in nine states received calls threatening a bomb.

While the bombs turned out to be hoaxes, the calls themselves were not. They were designed to create a kind of disruptive terror in places that serve as visible community hubs of activity.

If there was a method to the callers’ madness, it was one meant to strike at the heart of normalcy and everyday activities, to sow uncertainty and fear in places we love and feel most safe.

JCCs handled the situation professionally, taking the advice of security staff and local law enforcement and executing well-rehearsed safety plans.

JCCs were able to do this seamlessly, working together with police and reopening by the end of the day. It is a testament to the professionals who work at these community institutions across the country, and the millions of people who walk through the doors of JCCs every day and depend on them as safe spaces to gather, learn, play and find meaning.

The safety of local JCC members is always the top priority. We work closely with the Secure Community Network (SCN), established in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to address security concerns in the Jewish community. SCN has a close relationship with the Department of Homeland Security, and that partnership becomes critical in situations like this.

Unfortunately, all Americans and faith-based groups, not just Jewish organizations, recognize that this is our reality — that today, any public space or gathering may be a target. Just this week, we are reminded of the 2015 massacre at a Charleston church that left nine dead with the

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sentencing of it perpetrator. And far too regularly Muslim communities in America confront threats, hate letters and other anti-Muslim bigotry, abuse and even violence. The FBI figures for 2015 showed an overall increase of six percent for hate crimes. According to the report, released in November, acts against Jews still top the list, comprising 51.3 percent of all hate crimes.

None of us wants to think of this as the new normal. And none of the JCCs targeted this week do. They are all back at work, doing what they do Keep yourthose home warmer best — serving who come looking for community. Each JCC seeks to model within its walls inthewinter and cooler in wider ones kind of community they wish their — both Jewish and general — will summer with select, be. Values we embrace such as welcoming guests, treating all with respect and dignity, doing right by people insulating Hunter Douglas and understanding the communal responsibility shades. thearesmart in raising theThey’re next generation universal. JCCs understand that the well-being of the Jewish and beautiful way to help people is based on interaction between diverse groups Jews, and that we benefit, lowerofyour energy bills.and benefit from, our larger communities. No threat of terror will change that.

The JCC movement was founded a century ago this year. The impetus was to support the needs of the Jewish community, many new immigrants and first generation Americans, who were learning just what it meant to be an American.

As Jews, though, they weren’t always welcome in institutions designed broadly for the community, and JCCs were there to serve their cultural, social and recreational needs.

In the 100 years since, JCCs have evolved to meet not only Jewish needs, but to serve their communities more broadly. Informed by Jewish values, they are warm and welcoming to all.

This commentary was abbreviated for space.

THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777

Commentary by David Posner

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

16

JEWISH

STAR SCHOOLS

January 20, 2016 • 22 Tevet 5777 • Every week in print and online at TheJewishStar.com • Send news and photos to: Schools@TheJewishStar.com • Weekly deadline: Monday 5 pm

Rambam and Shalhevet stand for Israel, again

By Jeffrey Bessen Editor, Nassau Herald

Decrying the persecution of Israel and the global ineffectiveness of the United Nations, students and faculty from Rambam Mesivta High School in Lawrence and Midreshet Shalhevet High School in North Woodmere protested for more than two hours at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in Manhattan last Wednesday.

Taking an active role in rallies on global issues has been a part of Rambam’s educational mission since the school was established in 1991, said Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, rosh mesivta.

“To take part in rallies like this is very important in today’s self-centered world and it extends the educational message to teach students, who will be tomorrow’s leaders, about the world at large,” said Rabbi Friedman, adding that Rambam graduate Avi Posnick is now the managing director of StandWithUs, a leading pro-Israel education and advocacy organization.

Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi Yotav Eliach, Rambam’s principal, pointed to two U.N. resolutions passed in recent months that they believe were intended to weaken Israel, along with a listing of global massacres in which millions were killed where the U.N. failed to intervene to help end the bloodshed.

First in October, UNESCO (the United Nations Senior Benji Kattan speaks as students from Hammarskjod Plaza last Wednesday. Adults in stead Councilman Bruce Blakeman (beneath Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Rambam Mesivta High School in Lawrence the crowd included activist Dr. Paul Brody of megaphone). Girls from Midreshet Shalhevet identified Jerusalem and the Temple Mount as exclu- protested against the United Nations, at Dag Great Neck (left of center) and Town of Hemp- High School also demonstrated (photo page 1). sively Muslim sites. The U.N.’s Security Council Prince attended the protest because he feels the world followed up with Resolution 2334, labeling the doesn’t respect Israel as well. “It’s not fair and I’m upset about Western Wall as “occupied territories” held ilit,” he said. legally by the Jewish state.

A member of the StandWithUs team leadership commitBetween 1949, four years after the U.N. was tee for Long Island, Woodmere resident Rachel Fishbein, 17, founded, and the present, critics of the U.N. a Shalhevet senior, said she has always possessed a love for have pointed out that there have been 15 inIsrael and wants to defend the Jewish state. stances of worldwide mass killings by either “I’ve learned how to combat anti-Semitic comments and governments or the result of civil wars, where want to go to a college with a diverse student population,” the United Nations has not taken action. she said. “When I’m older, I want to move to Israel and work Each year the U.S. provides roughly $8 bilwith StandWithUs.” lion in mandatory payments and voluntary conA verson of this story appears in this week’s Nassau Herald, tributions to the U.N. and its affiliated organizathe secular newspaper serving the Five Towns. tions. The largest portion of this money — about $3 billion in 2015 — went to the U.N.’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, more than that contributed by 185 other countries combined “A question someone has to ask himself or herself is, ‘What are they doing’?” Rabbi Eliach said. “It’s time to say enough and talk about serious alternatives to the U.N.” Students from both Rambam and Shalhevet Midreshet Shalhevet High School students Sarah Austin, Zahava Fertig and Rachel staunchly believe that Israel is persecuted by a Fishbein prepare to rally in defense of Israel against its enemies.

Jeff Bessen majority of U.N. members. As Rambam students her older brother Benjamin, Sarah Austin, 15, a Shalhevet prepared for Wednesday’s rally, several shared their opinions.

The Rambam and Shalhevet student-faculty protest junior from Long Beach, said she took part in the rally to Interested in politics since he was 11, Rambam senior Noah pointed out that the U.N. has failed in its mission, as voice her concerns.

Schwartz, 17, said he has learned the importance of stepping up set down in its charter. Its main purposes: maintain“You have to understand what [the U.N.] is doing to Isto be part of the solution. “I’ve had the desire to be involved,” ing worldwide peace and security; developing relations rael — they are delegitimizing another country and we have Schwartz said, “so when I go to college and I’m on campus I among nations; and fostering cooperation between nato make a stand,” Austin said. “If a bunch of high school stucan try my best to make a difference.” He noted the U.N.’s longtions in order to solve economic, social, cultural or hudents are standing up for Israel certainly middle-aged people standing history of being anti-Israel and the recent rise in antimanitarian international problems. can do it.”

Semitic rhetoric on college campuses throughout the U.S. A partial list of wars and mass killings after the U.N. Zahava Fertig, 17, a Shalhevet senior from Woodmere, Fellow senior and rally organizer Josef Silverstein, 17, was founded in 1945. said her passion for Israel is strong. said his peers want to send the U.N. a message that there are Syrian Civil War ........................... 500,000 since 2011 “Israel is surrounded by enemies and they do so much people who oppose the recent resolutions and the persecuDarfur .......................................... 500,000 since 2003 while they are combating these enemies,” said Fertig, alludtion of Israel.

Congo ..................................... 3.8 million since 1998 ing to the technological advances and business successes of “We are taking a stand against the treatment of Israel,” Bosnian War .............................100,000 1992 to 1995 Israeli companies. “Imagine how much they could do if they Silverstein said, noting that in 2014 and 2015, the U.N. Rwanda ................................................. 937,000 1994 didn’t have to worry about fighting.” condemned Israel 31 times for perceived acts of aggression Iran/Iraq War ...................... 1.5 million 1980 to 1988 Zvi Orlow, 17, a senior from Queens, Adam Schwartz, while well-recognized human rights violators North Korea Sudan................................... 1.9 million 1983 to 2005 15, a sophomore from Lawrence, and Solomon Prince, 14, and Syria were cited only once each.

Uganda .................................... 300,000 1971 to 1979 a freshman, also from Queens, all expressed concern about “The rally is important because the U.N. has constantly Ethiopia .................................. 2 million 1962 to 1992 how the world treats Israel. shown aggression against Israel and singled them out,” said Tibet ......................... 1.2 million since 1950 by China “It seems that the Jewish state is held to a double stanTuli Weiss, a 17-year-old senior from West Hempstead.

China ...................................... 40 million, 1949–1975 dard,” Orlow said, referring to the resolutions.

“I definitely have learned that it’s important to show up North Korea ................................ 3 million since 1948 “The world is a dangerous place,” Schwartz added, “and and take a stand,” Weiss said. if we don’t stand up for Israel, who will?”

Stirred to think more about Israel and its global role by

Worldwide genocides since 1949

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TWiTTER.com/jEWiSHSTARNy

HAFTR kids learn that science is everywhere HAFTR scientists discovered that you can learn about science anywhere, even on a bus!

Students in kindergarten, fourth and fifth grades explored microscopic organisms with the BioBus, a mobile science lab. The instructors were experts in their fields and introduced students to the world of microscopic organisms.

Younger students used a handheld microscope to explore microorganisms found in the world around them. Students inspected their shoes, their skin, the shapes found in their hair strands and the fibers of their uniforms. They used state-of-the-art microscopes, to observe movements of Daphnia, microscopic animals found in ponds and puddles across New York City.

Scientists in fourth and fifth grades, also observing through Daphnia, discovered how these singlecelled organisms work together inside the freshwater ecosystem. Looking at large screen video microscopes, students marveled at the wriggling and tumbling paramecia, amoeba and bacteria race across the slide.

Perhaps most amazing to students was that the bus operated on solar power and was heated even in this cold weather.

Pictured: Class 5D in front of the BioBus, and Daniella Assaraf at the microscope.

SKA reunion in Israel The Class of 2016’s Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls reunion in Israel took place on Jan. 2 The alumnae gathered in Michlalah for dinner with Head of School Helen Spirn and limudei kodesh teacher and Israel adviser Paghit Ralbag.

It was the first time the class had been together since leaving SKA and all were so happy to catch up with their former classmates.

There was much spirited schmoozing and hugging. Clips from the SKA Production and a video filled with divrei bracha from SKA faculty was shown to appreciative applause.

After the reunion, Mrs. Spirn and Mrs. Ralbag visited the seminaries that their students attend, speaking with SKA graduates and seminary heads to get a better grasp of the learning and student growth in the schools.

While your child is in school . . .

Help your community and your bottom line by selling advertising for The Jewish Star newspaper, website and specialty products.

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THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777

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Will Trump shake-up U.S. ties to Arab friends?

By Sean Savage, JNS.org The incoming Donald Trump presidency likely means a sharp break from President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. For Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries that have peace treaties with Israel and two of the most reliable U.S. allies in the Middle East, the Trump administration will provide new opportunities and challenges going forward on issues such as Islamic extremism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the status of Jerusalem.

Egypt

Oren Kessler, an expert on Egypt and deputy director for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank, said that despite Trump’s controversial statements on Muslim immigration to the U.S., he is surprisingly popular in Egypt, mainly due to the unpopularity of Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Clinton is seen [in Egypt] as a key player in an Obama administration that was too quick to abandon [former Egyptian President] Hosni Mubarak, a longtime [U.S.] ally, when protests broke out against him in early 2011,” Kessler told JNS.org.

Kessler added that the Obama administration’s reputation in Egypt was also damaged by its “cozy ties” with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamist political movement that is now designated as a terrorist organization in its home country. Frank Gaffney, head of the Center for Security Policy, has called the Muslim Brotherhood “the most dangerous group promoting the totalitarian and Islamist supremacist doctrine of sharia” law, according to the Washington Times.

When he was the head of Egypt’s military, current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi led the effort to topple the regime of President Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, in 2013. Obama invited Morsi, after he was newly elected, to the White House for a meeting, marking the first time a member of the radical Islamist group had received such an invitation.

“Many Egyptians also view the [Obama] administration as having been too harsh in responding to the military’s removal of the Brotherhood, and subsequent crackdown, a response that included withholding some [U.S.] military aid and Apache helicopters at a time that an insurgency was raging at full flame in the Sinai,” Kessler said.

Adel Guindy—the former president of Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based human rights organization that promotes equality for Coptic Christians in Egypt—echoed Kessler’s assessment, arguing that much of the perception on Trump’s reputation in Egypt has been shaped by the “anti-Trump” American media, but that Clinton and Obama have far worse reputations in the Arab country.

As such, Guindy said that El-Sisi has not

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Obama shake at the UN-hosted Leaders’ Summit UN/Kim Haughton on Countering Violent Extremism in 2015.

shied away from showing his preference for Trump, especially after their meeting last September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where Trump told El-Sisi that “under a Trump administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on.” Notably, in November, El-Sisi was the first Arab leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory.

“In general, it seems that El-Sisi thinks he can do business with Trump, who as a pragmatic leader would dwell much less on ‘annoying’ issues such as democracy, freedoms and human rights, and focus more on down-toearth stuff,” Guindy told JNS.org.

Since coming to power in June 2014, El-Sisi has waged a crackdown on Islamic extremism in Egypt, specifically targeting the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Islamic State-affiliated terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Additionally, last June, El-Sisi in a televised speech called for reforms within the Islamic religion to counter “fanaticism and extremism.”

Yet Guindy said El-Sisi has disappointed many Egyptian Christians due to his failure to fully combat Islamic terrorism. In mid-December, a bomb tore through Cairo’s main Coptic church during Mass, killing 25 people and wounding 49.

“The overwhelming majority of Copts strongly supported President El-Sisi and his efforts to stabilize Egypt through combating terrorism,” Guidy said. “However, their support has worn out as they have come to realize that their dhimmi-like situation (inferior status) under El-Sisi’s rule is actually no better, if not worse, than under Mubarak. Regimes come and go, but it seems that persecution of Copts is a quasi-permanent ideology of the Egyptian state.”

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Jordan

The reaction within Jordan to Trump’s victory was mixed. A strong U.S. ally, Jordan’s King Abdullah naturally congratulated Trump, expressing his “keenness to work with the new president to enhance bilateral relations and face various challenges, based on the strategic relations and common interests between Jordan and the U.S.” Yet within the Jordanian government, there are different views of Trump depending on the issue at hand, said Dr. Abdullah Swalha, director of the Center for Israel Studies in Jordan (CIS).

“For example, Trump represents a historic break from U.S. policy towards the Middle East. His focus on defeating ISIS (Islamic State), the most significant threat to our region, would receive full support from our people,” Swalha told JNS.org.

“They think that Trump is ready to use all the power necessary to eliminate ISIS, and he will not waver in the war against it,” he added.

On the other hand, he said some Jordanians view Trump’s controversial comments on Muslims “as a gift to ISIS.” “His anti-Muslim discourse helps ISIS recruit more fighters and win more sympathizers,” Swalha said.

Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is also concern among Jordanians that the Trump era will mean a more favorable U.S. approach to Israel that could alienate many in the Arab world. Swalha said Trump’s outspoken support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, “especially settlements and holy sites,” could “put the [Jordanian] government in a very difficult position.”

Cairo, Jerusalem and Washington

Under El-Sisi, Egypt and Israel have grown closer as they grapple with mutual terrorism threats from the Sinai and Gaza. Yet the recent United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements challenged the positive tenor of Egyptian-Israeli ties, while also providing insight into Trump’s future role.

The resolution was originally sponsored by Egypt, but the Egyptians withdrew it on the day of the vote, reportedly due to pressure from Trump and Israel. Other Security Council members renewed the resolution a day later and it passed 14-0, with the Obama administration declining to use U.S. veto power to block the measure.

FDD’s Kessler told JNS.org that he found Egypt’s sponsorship of the U.N. resolution “extremely bizarre” given the increasingly warm Israeli-Egyptian relations.

“Ties between Egypt and Israel are closer than ever before, as the Israelis provide crucial assistance to Egypt in securing the Sinai Peninsula and the border with Gaza. Diplomatically, Israel and its friends have encouraged Wash-

King Abdullah of Jordan addresses the Leaders SumUN/Rick Bajornas mit on Refugees at the UN in 2016.

ington to be more invested in the relationship with Egypt,” Kessler said.

Kessler said the “only scenario” that makes sense to him is that “Egypt believed—or perhaps was told—that Washington wouldn’t wield its usual veto against anti-Israel Security Council resolutions, thereby allowing Cairo to push through this resolution and portray itself at home and around the Arab world as the champions of the Palestinians.”

Although Egypt’s involvement with the U.N. resolution may have been a setback for Egyptian-Israeli relations, many believe trilateral Israel-Egypt-U.S. ties will improve under Trump.

“Middle East analysts widely believe that the coming of the Trump era would mean that their relationship would grow even stronger, forming a sort of Washington-Cairo-Jerusalem alliance,” Kessler said.

Jordan and Jerusalem

The future of American-Jordanian relations may take a different route, especially if the U.S. goes ahead with plans to relocate its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Al Momani recently warned of “catastrophic” consequences if Trump moves the U.S. embassy, telling the Associated Press that Mideast countries would likely “think about different things and steps they should take in order to stop this from happening.”

Since Israel took control of the eastern half of Jerusalem, which includes the city’s holy sites such as the Temple Mount and Western Wall, in the 1967 Six-Day War, Jordan has been permitted to retain a special role in administering the Temple Mount as part of the Islamic Waqf (religious trust). King Abdullah has strongly advocated for maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount.

CIS’s Swalha said moving the embassy could be a “nightmare” for the Jordanian government and the Arab world.

“Nobody can predict what will happen if [Trump] did it,” he said. “It could end up being a third intifada (Palestinian violent uprising) and creating upheaval in most of the Arab world.”

Since Congress passed the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which calls on the U.S. to move the embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the holy city as Israel’s capital, every sitting president has opted to sign successive six-month waivers delaying the move. Obama signed the latest waiver in December, meaning Trump’s will need to decide June 1 between another waiver or an embassy move.

Swalha believes that once Trump takes office and speaks with U.S. allies in the region, he will eventually decide against the move.

“My view,” Swalha said, “is that he will not fulfill his promise [of relocating the embassy] due to domestic and international reasons.”

19 THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777

South Nassau Communities Hospital Respite Room

A HAVEN FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

SOUTH NASSAU AND ACHIEZER RECOGNIZE THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THE LOCAL ORTHODOX JEWISH POPULATION AND ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE YOUR STAY MORE COMFORTABLE AND ENJOYABLE.

To highlight these efforts, we are pleased to provide the Kosher Pantry/Respite Room cosponsored by South Nassau and Achiezer.

This room offers a quiet haven for patients to relax, rejuvenate and enjoy a variety of kosher amenities provided exclusively for their use.

Thanks to Gourmet Glatt, the pantry is fully stocked throughout the week and has hot meals for Shabbos and Yom Tov. And with a MondayThursday 1:35 p.m. Mincha Minyan year-round on premises, and Young Israel of Oceanside

For more information about the Respite Room or our other services, call 877-SOUTH-NASSAU, visit southnassau.org or call Achiezer at 516-791-4444.

nearby (walkable within the Eruv), we can always help meet your spiritual and medical needs.

South Nassau also offers a convenient Shabbos elevator, and comfortable overnight accommodations are available year-round at our kosher Shabbat Hospitality House, which is complete with beds, linen, durable kosher food items and a refrigerator. Electric Sabbath candles are available. Access to the Shabbat Hospitality House is arranged through South Nassau’s Spiritual Care Program.

When you find yourself in our hospital, visit the new Respite Room located on the Ground Floor G Wing adjacent to the Volunteer Office, and see for yourself why more and more Jewish families throughout the area are choosing South Nassau.

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We’re working with doctors, nurses and our entire hospital staff to raise awareness of the sensitivities and sensibilities of Orthodox Jews; and we are working closely with our Rabbinical consultants to anticipate our patients’ needs before they arise.

January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

20

The Legacy of the Or Hachaim ALAn JAy Gerber Kosher BooKworm

R

abbi Chaim ben Moshe Attar, the legendary Or Hachaim, author of the famed Chumash commentary of the same title, was born in Sale, in the western part of Morocco, in 1696. Sale’s role in Jewish history is defined solely by the fact that it was the birthplace of the Or Hachaim.

From the biographical notes authored by the distinguished editor of the first English translation of the Or Hachaim, Eliyahu Munk, we learn of the following: “His family appears to have migrated there from Moslem Spain. The meaning of the name Attar is ‘spice-merchant.’ His principal teacher was his grandfather. The family was well-to-do and Rabbi Attar acquired a reputation as an embroiderer of repute. In 1732, while still a young man and in his hometown, he published a volume called ‘Chefetz HaShem’ on a variety of Talmudic subjects. He was forced to leave his home due to persecutions and went to Meknes. From there he went to Fez where he remained for a few years.

“There are many legends concerning the accomplishments of Rabbi Attar including one which purports that he said that the 42 commentaries on Vayikra 26:3, were divinely inspired. He acquired a reputation as a miracle worker, hence his title, ‘Hakadosh,

the saintly.’ Some apply this title merely to the work Or Hachaim. This commentary was printed in Venice, Italy, while Rabbi Attar was on his way to Eretz Yisrael.

“In 1738 Rabbi Attar decided to realize his desire to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael. His resolution was aided by a famine, which prevailed throughout Morocco at that time. He intended to found a yeshiva in Jerusalem.

“On his way to Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Attar arrived in Livorno, Italy, where he was appointed rabbi. He remained there for about three years and on the first of Av 1741, in spite of all the attempts to dissuade him from leaving, he set out for the Holy Land. He took with him 30 disciples [originally 150] planning to land in Alexandria and to proceed from there to Jaffa.

“The captain of the vessel decided to proceed to Acre instead. The group arrived there shortly before Rosh Hashanah, 1742. He remained there for about ten months. Rabbi Chaim Abulafia made strenuous efforts to persuade Rabbi Attar to move to Tiberias, however, in the end Rabbi Attar decided to move to Jerusalem where he died the following year.

“One of the most remarkable things about Rabbi Attar is that Chassidim related to him as if he had been one of their own, though Chassidism had only just begun when its founder, the Baal Shem Tov, received news of Rabbi Attar’s passing by mental telepathy.”

Another remarkable fact concerning the Or Hachaim is that he is the only Sephardi commentator in most editions of the Mikra’ot

Gedolot, a point that is little recognized today.

Two Chumash English editions of the Or Hachaim, one completed, the other just started, exist today.

The first, by Munk was published in five Englishonly volumes in 1995 by Lambda Publishers in Jerusalem and distributed by Urim Publications. Munk was born in Frankfurt on Main, where he was educated at the Samson Rafael Hirsch Realschule and the yeshiva of the late Rabbi Joseph Breuer, zt’’l.

He continued his education at the Rabbi Yochanan Cohen famed Gateshead Yeshiva in England.

Munk’s introduction to the first volume warrants your close attention for its careful analysis of Rabbi Attar’s method of commentary.

Recently, Artscroll released the first volume (Shemos) in its Or Hachaim Chumash series, with full Chumash text, a vocalized Hebrew text of the Or Hachaim commentary, and an English commentary. This commentary is also found in an elucidated form, an Artscroll scholastic trademark, which expands further upon the deeper meaning

of Rabbi Attar’s commentary. This elucidated form is further enhanced with detailed footnoting that gives the reader a profound understanding of the depth of the meaning of both the original text as well as that of the commentary. When completed, this series will surely further enhance the popularity of the Or Hachaim’s teachings as now being carried out by Rabbi Yochanan Cohen’s weekly Thursday Or Hachaim shiur in Cedarhurst’s Red Shul.

Note should be made of the role played by the following scholars in the development of this series: Rabbis Doron Beckerman, Nochum Brown, Aharon Meir Goldstein, Avraham Greenwald, Uriel Hinberg, Shmuel Kirzner, Zev Meisels, Avraham Morgenstern, Gidon Moskowitz, Moshe Yosef Ruvel, Moshe Rosenblum, and Yitzchok Deutsch.

Also, one geographic sidebar: In the Old City of Jerusalem there is a street named in memory of the Or Hachaim and on this iconic street, standing side-by-side, is the Or Hachaim Shul were he prayed, and the more recent Yeshivas Birchas Torah, a very special center for Torah learning which deserves your attention on your next visit to Eretz Yisrael.

My dream is to return to the mountaintop rAbbi Avi biLLet Parsha of the weeK

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n Monday I followed a custom I’ve undertaken to listen to a speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the day America has dedicated to him based loosely on his birthday, and in listening to his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech I heard him say this: “If I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, ‘Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?’ I would take my mental flight

by Egypt and I would watch G-d’s children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across, the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the Promised Land.

And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there.”

The significance of the timing of hearing this as we are embarking on our own journey through the book of Shmot is coincidental but should not be overlooked. King was talking about the incredible efforts he had seen in his own time of fighting against injustice and in doing so in a way that was transformational to the United States.

I agree with King that the Exodus is not

the time period in which I would like to live.

But as a Jew, my own wish is to experience Judaism in its ideal form, with a Temple on the Temple Mount. This is not a call for “change in the status quo” today (we’ll leave such an objective to G-d Himself). But were I to take that panoramic view through history with the opportunity to settle anywhere on the timeline, that is where I’d like to go. nd the truth is, this was really the dream of our Master Teacher, Moshe Rabbenu. Yalkut Shimoni (Devarim 823) says that “Moshe wanted to see the Temple, and G-d showed it to him, as it says

What will our own personal ‘Promised Land’ turn out to be?

A

[amongst the things in the land that G-d showed him] ‘and the Gilaad’.” Gilaad is a reference to the Temple.

In his commentary on Bamidbar 20, Or haChaim references the viewpoint that had Moshe entered the land and built the Temple, there would be no second thought against enacting G-d’s wrath against the Jewish people when they sinned. G-d saw what the Israelites might do in the future and considered that “if Moshe enters the land and builds the Temple, and G-d has cause to pour out His wrath against the Jews for their behavior, He will pour it out against them instead of against their Temple which Moshe will have built.” Should this come to pass, the Israelite nation will be wiped off the map.

The idea that Moshe will not enter the See My dream on page 21

The life of Joseph: A message for our time rAbbi dAvid etenGoff

T

he first five pasukim (verses) of our parasha Shemot present the names of the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel that came to Egypt: “And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Issachar, Zebulon, and Benjamin. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Now all those descended from Jacob were 70 souls, and Joseph was in Egypt.

Rashi asks two midrashically-based questions on the phrase, “and Joseph was in Egypt:”

“Did we not know that he [Joseph] was in Egypt?” and “What, then, does this teach us?”

The first question is rhetorical, whereas the second is an authentic query.

Rav Hezekiah ben Manoach answers Rashi’s latter question in a straightforward manner: “And Joseph was in Egypt: Regarding the other brothers the Torah employs the words, ‘habayim mitzraimah’ (those that came to Egypt). Joseph, however, was not among them, since he was there before they came; nonetheless, he is counted in their assemblage.

This, therefore, is the rationale as to why the Torah states, ‘and Joseph was in Egypt’.” (Chizkuni al HaTorah, Bereishit 1:5) Rashi’s response to this question is midrashically-infused: “But [this clause comes] to inform you of Joseph’s righteousness. The Joseph who tended his father’s flocks is the selfsame Joseph who was in Egypt and became

a king, wherein he maintained his righteousness.”

While Rashi stresses Joseph’s continued righteousness in the face of a pleasure-seeking Egyptian society, Midrash Shemot Rabbah focuses upon his unparalleled humility: “And Joseph was in Egypt: Even though Joseph merited the kingship, he never lorded this over his brethren and his father’s house.

Instead, just as he was initially insignificant in his own eyes when he was a slave in Egypt, so, too, did his self-perception remain after he became the king [of Egypt].”

In sum, based upon the combined readings of the Midrashim and Rashi, the Joseph who ascended the throne of the most powerful nation in the ancient world remained steadfast in his tziddkut (righteousness) and his anivut (humility).

I

n his Kedushat Levi, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev (the Berdichever) notes the ostensibly superfluous nature of the word “Egypt” in our phrase, “and Joseph was in Egypt.” After all, we have read chapter after chapter in the latter part of Bereishit wherein this was incontrovertibly the case. The Berdichever, therefore, suggests: “One needs to be particularly exact in determining why the text wrote “in Egypt” when, instead, it should have written, “and Joseph was there.” It appears to me that the proper understanding is that Joseph was in Egypt (he never changed his name). This was the case even though Pharaoh gave him the new name ‘Tzafnat Paneach.’ (41:45) Nonetheless, he never called himself anything other than Joseph, as is subsequently proven when Pharaoh, himself, declared, “Go to Joseph for he See Joseph on page 21

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We thank of democracy, American ideals religion or national origin. and fostered the very dangerous regardless of race, equality for all, We know that we are living in from without, are threatened from within, Almighty G-d: of these blessings and times, when all and unimaginable brutality, and violence, putby forces of terror the seeds of bigotry, hatred by those who sow our way of life at risk. a government ting our lives and Dear G-d: Help us to form strength; And so we pray, with sound strategy and steadyof compasus acts which will protectus with words of wisdom and safety peace and harmony, which will unite will thereby bring all of humankind. which and sion; America and to to our beloved and well-being Amen.

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By The Jewish Modern Orthodox tive on Israel policy,� perhaps go unopposed.

Billet Two of the leading vote and wins, might otherwise all else: The Talmud Five Towns, Hershelarticles “If she gets our opportunity to hold her “And this above rabbis in the an But there is reHain, published in we will have to our concerns.� full of disagreements. and Kenneth Intelligent up to the election who are is adversaries. accountable Rabbi Hain the days leading support for Hillon spect between about an election. “People like y in Israel’s cornerwho people may disagree we must which they expressed Trump and disagree. But and over Donald angry uncompromisingl ary Clinton the Green Line are do- We may strongly to get angry and become in the level of both sides of urged a moderation and secure Israel Clin- not allow ourselvesSee 2 rabbis on page 30 Mrs. want a strong advocating for discourse.

Hain, of Congregation ing a service in said. “If she is elected, After Rabbi wrote in the Rabbi Billet in Lawrence, and our ton,�

Beth Shalom that “our country, Jerusalem Post be fortunate to would Jewish community,as our next president,� have Clinton serve often in intemperate he was criticized, media channels. terms, in social of the Young Israel of defense Rabbi Billet, to Rabbi Hain’s Woodmere, rose post in which he disin a long Facebook of an election wake of cussed the complexity fought in the We’re not going campaign being of President Obama.� to suggest that vote for — of it’s unimportant urging their congrecourse, “eight dark years who you Hershel Billet, YouTube video in our community that does matter very much.

Hain (left) and in 2014.

Kenneth But opinions prefer to facilitate are mostly set, and Rabbis AIPAC conference at Theto Jewish attend the discussions rather gants Star we What we will say than without equivocation, thumb the scale. paramount to however, is this: our community’s It is interests that we Whoever wins tance, whoever the White House — and alsovote on Tuesday. wins the many of judicial races on state and local great importhe we in the Orthodox Election Day card — must legislative and be reminded that communities on responsibilities Long Island take seriously, that our civic we the actions of our elected officials,follow the races and monitor the issues we and that we will hold dear are respond if ignored Whether the issue is continuingor mishandled. (sometimes threatened) America’s long tradition of support for ish state of Israel, the security of the Jewlocation of state or insuring a fair shake for yeshivas in the aid, or facilitating alers who face discrimination hearings for in employment, Shabbos observconcerns, voting or a myriad other might be the easiest way — surest way — to let it’s Ultimately, Israel’sthe pols know we’re watching certainly the them. safety, along with shivas and the the solvency of success of our our yeparnasa, rests we each have a job to do. On with Hashem.

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The Jewish Star With fire trucks bers seeing action donated by the Young Israel of Woodmere and in The shul raised Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arson war, the YIW plans its mem$125,000 between to donate two more. enough, with a Friday JNF passing the envelopeUSA matching grant, to buy afternoon and Monday â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a $250,000 truck. to fund a second The Jewish Star Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s truck, and Rabbi late Hershel Billet told The YIW has beenTuesday that he expected that and when the rockets helping in the fire-fighting would happen. arena â&#x20AC;&#x153;since the started falling,â&#x20AC;? ed by the shul and Carmel fire, he said, with ment as they can two by individual members. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israelone truck previously donatget.

JNF developmentMissles can create more fire thanneeds as much fire equpia pyromaniac.â&#x20AC;? officer Ariel Kotler, AM on Monday, reporting from said Israel on JM in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not lookingthat he saw a YIW firetruck deployed the for kavod,â&#x20AC;? Rabbi el.â&#x20AC;? He said that Billet said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The last week. efforts would be goal is to help fires, who are numerous undertaken soon Israto assist and located in In an email to many communities. victims of the number of people YIW members of Monday, Rabbi injured and homes Billet pointed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;From time to the destroyed. large time we have â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now is one of those times. We been called to stand with Israel,â&#x20AC;? have always stood â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a tremendous he said. need for firefighting tall as a community.â&#x20AC;? have enough trucks ing that the trucks and many that they have equipment. Israel does not are antiquated,â&#x20AC;? being acquired he said, addare state-of-the-art.

To contribue, visit support.jnf.org/g oto/yiwemergenc y

/ Eric Dunetz

2016 â&#x20AC;˘ 2 Kislev

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Our heartfelt condolences go out to his dear wife, Judy, to his children, and to all of his extended family for this untimely loss. Robbie will forever serve for our community as the exemplary model of Chesed and Emes for the needy among our people for all time.

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Helene & Alan Jay Gerber and family wish to extend our deepest sorrow upon the untimely passing of our dear friend and leading Jewish community leader:

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Continued from page 20 Land is hinted to in the last comment of Rashi on the parsha, in quoting a Talmudic passage from Sanhedrin, that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now you will see what I will do to Egypt,â&#x20AC;? which implies, â&#x20AC;&#x153;But you will not see what I do to the nations of Canaan because you will not enter the land.â&#x20AC;?

And so we are left to ask, what period of time would we like to be in? Is this time and place in history we are meant to be in, and therefore should embrace even with its challenges? How about those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like election results?

For us, as Jews, what time would we like to be in?

King said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just want to do G-dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will.

And Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve looked over. And Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen the Promised Land.â&#x20AC;?

That was the conclusion Moshe came to at the end of his life: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to be satisfied with the life I was given.

But if we believe in a promise for the future that might perhaps give us an opportunity for a different kind of Jewish experience, what are we doing to help us get there? What will our own personal â&#x20AC;&#x153;Promised Landâ&#x20AC;? be?

May we merit to get there in our lifetimes.

permit no 301

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Continued from page 20 will tell you what to do.â&#x20AC;? (41:55) The principle that the Jews never changed their names is one of the three reasons why they were ultimately redeemed from Egypt. This, therefore, is the meaning of â&#x20AC;&#x153;and Joseph was in Egypt.â&#x20AC;?

In the Berdicheverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view, Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refusal to change his name is reflective of his unwavering refusal to assimilate into the powerful and beguiling Egyptian culture that surrounded him.

In his analysis of Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insistence upon being buried in the Land of Israel, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (the Rav) zatzal, underscores Rav Levi Yitzchakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conceptualization regarding Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unwillingness to change his name: â&#x20AC;&#x153;He [Joseph] did not ask a favor from his brothers, but he demanded it from the people as a community, as a nation. He wanted to be buried in Canaan like Jacob before him. He wanted to demonstrate the truth that no matter how high an office a Jew might hold in Egypt, no matter how famous and powerful and prominent the Jew is in the general society, his spiritual identity does not change. He belongs to the covenantal community.â&#x20AC;?

At this juncture, the Rav emphasizes that an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoroughgoing commitment to Judaism does not impede his ability or desire to serve his host country to the very best of his ability. At the same time, however, the nation that he serves must ever grant his right to pursue his Jewish identity: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, his steadfastness as a son of the covenant does not conflict with his political loyalty to the state he serves. But on the other hand, the state itself cannot demand from him that he give up his Jewish identity.â&#x20AC;? he Rav now proceeds to elaborate upon the enduring trans-historical message that Joseph bequeathed to all Jews living in the pre-Messianic era: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe we can commit ourselves at a political level to the state or the society in which we live and to the people among whom we live. We can commit ourselves to discharge our duty in the most perfect manner while not sacrificing our Jewish identity. Joseph had shown that. But at the same time that he was very loyal and steadfast as a citizen, his devotion as a citizen did not conflict with his determination to retain his Jewish identity.â&#x20AC;?

In a real sense, the Rav is teaching us that Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to integrate into the highest echelons of Egyptian government and society, while simultaneously maintaining an unswerving loyalty to his Jewish identity, is a roadmap to authentic Jewish living in our time. With the Almightyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help, may we ever continue to hearken to Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message and remain strong in our Torah commitment and observance, while striving to contribute as citizens of the countries wherein we reside. Vâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;chane yihi ratzon.

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Continued from page 6 gratitude towards a generation of Jews who fought in her defense in World War I. And we see this phenomena all around us today â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it is hard to imagine a Jew living in Iran, Syria or Venezuela not recognizing that they are not at home, and given the events of the past ten years, is France still home to the 500,000 Jews who dwell there?

On the one hand, tens if not hundreds of thousands, of French Jews seem to be exploring an exit strategy, whether that means buying homes in Israel or investing their savings in more liquid assets and not necessarily in French banks. And yet they are not voting with their feet, they remain in France hoping the winds will blow in a different direction and that France can still be home. n America, the Jewish community feels very much at home. And while the U.S. is chutz laâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;aretz, or geographically extant to Israel, its Jews do not feel at all that they are in exile.

One wonders where the winds of change will blow, and what it will take, as has ever been the case in Jewish history, for us to be reminded that the Jewish people only has one home , and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not Brooklyn.

On a personal level, as Jews, we mention the Exodus from Egypt every day; in fact multiple times a day â&#x20AC;&#x201D; when we say the Shema, make kiddush on Shabbat, say Birkat Hamazon, and so on. Do we risk becoming too comfortable with where we are, are we in need of a reminder that a little Redemption is a good thing?

We get stuck, distant from the person we thought once we could be, in exile from ourselves. Judaism encourages us to take a journey and exit the things that hold us back, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;narrow straits of servitudeâ&#x20AC;? that Egypt represents.

Perhaps this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parsha affords us all the chance to do some careful reading, and thinking, and maybe even acting and changing.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem.

My dream...

THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ 22 Tevet 5777

Thinkingâ&#x20AC;Ś Joseph...

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Why the Palestinian question won’t disappear Ben Cohen Viewpoint

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t’s been clear for a long time that there is little difference between the character of terrorist attacks in Israel and those in the West more broadly. Trucks ram into crowds—as they did in Nice, Berlin and Jerusalem. Terrorists blow up or shoot up nightclubs—as they did in Orlando, Tel Aviv and Bali. Knife-wielding Islamists dash into venues from shopping malls to police stations stabbing anyone in reach—as they did in Minnesota, Brussels and, yes, Tel Aviv.

Compared to 15 years ago, there is a much greater empathy with Israel’s existential position these days. European leaders like French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May have shown far greater readiness than even our own President Barack Obama to recognize that anti-Zionism is a form of antiSemitism, that the campaign to boycott Israel is founded upon hatred and that Israel lives in a neighborhood where every day, someone influential somewhere calls for its annihilation.

Sadly, this understanding doesn’t carry over into the workings of diplomacy. The last days of the Obama administration brought us the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which paves the way for imposing a solution outside the framework of direct IsraeliPalestinian negotiations, and the Jan. 15 Paris Mideast conference, at which no less than 72 countries, including the U.S., pulled up in the French capital to issue a statement so utterly divorced from reality that you can’t help laughing.

Leave aside the obvious objections: that this conference perpetuates the fallacy that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies at the heart of the Middle East troubles, or simply that the spectacle of 72 countries fixating on Israel—when neighboring Syria has been turned into a graveyard—is nauseating.

Look, instead, at the worldview expressed in the conference statement, a draft of which was distributed in advance of the conference. The tools for achieving and sustaining a “two-state solution,” it declared, are “economic incentives, the consolidation of Palestinian state capacities, and civil society dialogue.”

Alright then. Economic incentives: Forget about turning Gaza into a flourishing port city for as long as Hamas is running the place. Ignore the fact that Palestinian Authority (PA) corruption

and nepotism have concentrated immense wealth around Ramallah with no trickle to the rest of the West Bank. Disregard the rampant scale of organized crime in the West Bank, as documented by the Palestinian academic Ali Qleibo. Just carry on believing that pumping “economic incentives” will usher in a new era of peace.

Palestinian state capacities—this is an interesting one. It sort of, kind of, hints that we shouldn’t automatically expect a Palestinian state to be like, y’know, Norway, from the getgo. And there are two reasons for that. First, that the PA has been thieving billions of dollars in international aid money from day one of its existence. Second, apart from a few exceptions like Jordan and the areas under Kurdish control, Middle Eastern states—of the Sunni and Shi’a, Arab, Turkish and Persian variety—are little more than dungeons with flags on top of them. ut hey, that’s nothing that a bit of “civil society dialogue” can’t fix, eh? I don’t want to be unfair here, because there have been some wonderful efforts to encourage dialogue between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel, but for that approach to work, you need to first recognize the humanity in each other. What would actually get discussed at these dialogues, anyway? An Israeli asking a Palestinian, “Why are See Question on page 24

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, Oct. 28, 2015, in Geneva.

UN /Jean-Marc Ferré

Democratic voter support for Israel? Going, going…

Jeff Dunetz politics to go

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ccording to Pew Research, Democratic Party support of Israel has fallen off a cliff, dropping ten points (43 percent to 33 percent) in only nine months. The gap in support of Israel between the two political parties is now the widest since Pew started tracking this subject.

A little more than half of all Americans sympathize most with Israel versus 19 percent for the Palestinians and 19 percent answering “both or neither.” By political party, 74 percent of Republicans sympathize more with Israel while only one-third of Democrats feel the same way. This margin of 41 percent (74 percent to 33 percent) is the largest since Pew started tracking the numbers.

About a quarter of Democratic Party support of Israel has disappeared in the past

eight months. In April of 2016 the support of Israel was 43 percent and today it’s 33 percent. For the first time in history approximately the same percentage of Democrats sympathize with Israel as sympathizes with the Palestinians. Since July of 2014 support for the Palestinian side has gone from 17 percent to 31 percent.

The growth in sympathy for the Palestinians may be a result of eight years of Obama Administration venom directed at Israel, which became more ferocious around the period the Obama team was selling in the Iran deal. It may also be tied to the Democratic primary season where the surprising showing of Bernie Sanders caused Hillary Clinton pivot to the left, thus ceding party control to the its most extreme liberal wing which has been anti-Israel for years. s for the GOP, there has been a steady growth of support for Israel since 1978 when it was at 49 percent till today, where it stands at 74 percent.

In the case of the Democratic Party, the drop in support may just be a case of the

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numbers catching up with the policy. President Obama has proven to be the most antiIsrael president since the modern state of Israel was created in 1948.

During his first term, President Obama regularly announced anti-Israel policies, broke previous deals with the Jewish State, and publicly embarrassed the Israeli prime minister by leaving him and the Israeli delegation alone in a White House conference room for over an hour just to sit and stew.

The president surrounded himself with antiIsrael and anti-Semitic advisers, even including Al Sharpton, who led two anti-Jewish riots in NYC, and Robert Malley, who has not only written anti-Israel essays, but his dad was a close friend of Yasser Arafat. All this was made public, all this taught Democrats, especially liberal Democrats, that Israel was less than a full ally. Even worse (in the minds of some Democrats), Israel selfishly didn’t agree with the anti-Israel policies of President Obama. (A full list of the president’s offensives against Israel, too long to recount here, has been referenced in this column over

the years.)

Ever since the creation of the modern Israel in 1948, pro-Israel organizations have fought prevent support of the Jewish State from becoming a wedge issue, saying that it must always remain non-partisan. This strategy made sense when both parties supported of Israel. However, as the actions of the past eight years (and now the quantitative trends demonstrated by the Pew Research) has shown, the reality is that the Republican Party is strongly pro-Israel, while the Democratic Party is, well, not so much. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the major Jewish organizations cared as much for Jewish issues as they do for progressive political issues.

For those who believe that things in the party will change once Barack Obama is out of office in in a few days, remember that the leading candidate for chairman of the Democratic Party is the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, pro-Lewis Farrakhan, Keith Ellison. In other words, Democratic Party support of Israel is likely to worsen.

Alalysis by Ron Kampeas, JTA raught record on issues of race and antiSemitism? Check. Much-hyped meeting to get Benjamin Netanyahu’s hechsher?

Check.

Stirring speech at AIPAC to quiet the naysayers? Check.

Jewish validators galore? Check. Administration top-loaded with Jewish staffers?

Check.

Welcome to Inauguration Day 2009.

President-elect Barack Obama walked into the White House eight years ago with a Jewish profile that bears similarities to the one tucked away in Donald Trump’s baggage.

There are key differences, of course, and how Obama handled his relationship with the Jewish community could provide a blueprint for Trump as he goes forward – both in emulating Obama’s successes and avoiding his failures.

Obama’s presidency was one that thrilled majorities of Jewish voters with its portent of an American reconciliation that would set aside once and for all the intimations of alienation that have haunted non-Christians and non-whites since before the republic’s dawn.

It was also a presidency that often left the Israeli government and much of the U.S. Jewish establishment feeling shunned and shunted aside.

Obama could work a crowd: His galvanizing speech on “one America” at the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, thick with hope, threw into relief the one-note, warriorturned-peacemaker candidacy John Kerry was peddling.

The confident and youthful state senator from Illinois who walked onto the Fleet Center stage that July evening did not have to prove himself, as the actual party nominee, nearly two decades his senior, always seemed to be doing.

The America Obama described was not mired in the 1960s angst embedded in Kerry’s past both as war hero and then as war protester. It signaled a 21st century — one that now seems fanciful — where blacks and whites, Jews, Muslims and Christians, conservatives and liberals lived in mutually supportive harmony.

“We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America,” he said.

Obama, like Kerry, like every politician, started out talking about himself – but unlike Kerry, this Hawaii-born constitutional lawyer could handily pivot, almost imperceptibly, to talking about you, about everyone. bama could also work a Jewish room similarly, making his interlocutors feel as if he had lived among them forever. It was a skill he had cultivated as a community worker, and he worked it in the Jewish retirement homes north of Chicago as he ran for the U.S. Senate that year.

In those settings he said that his first name had the same meaning as “Baruch,” a knowing wink signaling that he knew his name was weird, just like his listeners’ grandparents and great-grandparents knew their names were weird. Not only that, Jan Schakowsky, a Chicago-area congresswoman who was already very much smitten with him, said then, “He pronounced Baruch impeccably.”

Obama was in similar form seven years later with his “Hineni” speech in 2011 to the Union for Reform Judaism’s biennial. It wasn’t just his repeated (and again, correctly pronounced) invocation of Joseph’s declaration to Jacob, or in how he again made the speech

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President Obama holds up Kylie Schmitter, 4, as Kylie’s sister Lainey looks on, at a White House menorah-lighting in 2013.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

about his listeners, reciting with emotion the contributions that Reform Jews had made to the civil rights movement.

His empathy, his facility for making everyone in a vast room feel like his best friend, was evident most of all in an impromptu aside when he shuddered remembering the short dress his daughter Malia wore to the first bat mitzvah she attended. Laughter, at first a low rumble and then in full force, rolled through the auditorium. Every Jewish parent got it. nd just as quickly as Obama could turn a Jewish room on, he could turn it off, chilling the air with an insensitive aside.

The cutting putdowns seemed to come from the same place as the moments of elation, from his unerring belief that he understood what his listener wanted, that he somehow knew you better than you knew yourself.

It was there in 2008, when he met with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, a community known to be more conservative than coastal Jewish communities. He defended himself from charges that he was distant on Israel and too cozy with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his pastor, whose expressions of sympathy for anti-Israel militants were transitioning then into blatant hostility toward Jews.

The meeting went well, and then, during a Q&A, Obama said, “This is where I get to be honest and I hope I’m not out of school here. I think there is a strain within the proIsrael community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you’re anti-Israel, and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel. If we cannot have a honest dialogue about how do we achieve these goals, then we’re not going to make progress.”

Some folks in the room said later that their jaws dropped (to be fair, others said the meeting went over well). The Likud was not then in power, but it was a major party in Israel, and as president he would likely have to deal with it. Indeed, his eight years in office almost wholly coincided with Likud-led governments.

More sensitively, saying the dialogue was not “honest” seemed to some derived from the toxic narrative prevalent in the post-Iraq War period that pro-Israel groups forced an unnatural foreign policy on the United States.

Remarkably, the contents of what was supposed to be an off-the-record meeting were leaked – by Obama’s camp. They thought the meeting was a success and they couldn’t wait

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to put out the word.

Similar charges of tone-deafness were leveled less than six months into his presidency when he met with Jewish leaders unsettled by burgeoning tensions with Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

In July 2009, at another closed meeting between Obama and Jewish leaders, Obama asserted that the policy of “no daylight” between the United States and Israel, which had prevailed under his two predecessors, had done no favors to either country.

The statement has haunted Obama’s relationship with pro-Israel activists — at least groups on the center and right, like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which tend to defer to Israel’s sitting government and dominate the American Jewish discourse on Israel. J Street and other groups on the left, it should be said, found his statement to be a bracing bit of truth-telling from a good friend.

More telling, however — and shocking to some of those present — was another, smaller moment: Discussing settlements, Obama grabbed the arm of his then-chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who is Jewish and has an Israeli father.

“Don’t think that we don’t understand the nuances of the settlement issues,” Obama said. “We do. We understand there is a profound political edge to Israeli politics. But Rahm understands the politics there and he explains them to me.” bama may have thought he was reassuring the room, telling them that one of their own was his right-hand man. Instead he was alienating many of them; what these folks heard was “I don’t need you.”

That perceived “I don’t need you” played out again and again for Obama throughout his relationship with the Jewish establishment, and with Israel, whose diplomats tensed every time Obama or one of his top aides reassured them that the Iran deal exchanging sanctions for a nuclear rollback was in Israel’s best interests.

In Obama’s speech at American University pitching the Iran deal in the summer of 2015, Israelis and many pro-Israel activists heard buzzwords that they felt were designed to marginalize them. Critics of the deal were “alarmists,” he said. “They’re just not being straight with the American people,” they

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“accept the choice of war.” He didn’t name AIPAC, but it was leading the lobbying against the deal.

It didn’t help that Netanyahu – and the pro-Israel establishment – at times seemed to go out of their way to reciprocate the dismissive posture. Netanyahu especially seemed to delight in marking Obama’s territory, in the Oval Office in 2011, lecturing a visibly furious Obama on the realities of the Middle East, and then in 2015 in a speech to Congress on the Iran deal that the Israeli leader had secretly planned with Republicans.

Then there was AIPAC’s sullen reluctance, in the run-up to the congressional vote on the deal in 2015, to meet with his top officials despite Obama’s invitation.

Yet Obama has often needed Jews — for advice, for support, for friendship and for inspiration — and has said as much. His first mentors politically were Abner Mikva, the judge and Democratic activist; Robert Schrayer, the Chicago philanthropist; Penny Pritzker, the hotel heiress who is now his commerce secretary, and Alan Solow, the lawyer and former Presidents Conference chairman who has fundraised for Obama from the start of his political career. Among the staffers closest to him and the first lady were David Axelrod, his top political adviser in his first term, and Susan Sher, Michelle Obama’s first chief of staff. bama throughout his political career has sought to close the circle of Jewish and black solidarity forged in the civil rights era and torn asunder as the communities drifted apart in the aftermath of the era’s successes. It takes a lot to bring an AIPAC crowd to its feet invoking anything other than Israel, and yet he did it in 2008 in his speech to the lobby’s annual conference.

“I would not be standing here today,” he said, if it were not for “the great social movements in our country’s history. Jewish- and African-Americans have stood shoulder to shoulder. They took buses down south together. They marched together. They bled together. And Jewish Americans like Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were willing to die alongside a black man – James Chaney – on behalf of freedom and equality.”

It was that bond, between Jews and blacks, Obama invoked in an interview last week with Israel’s Channel 2, seeking to explain why he allowed – for the first time in his presidency – the United Nations Security Council to vote for a resolution opposed by Israel, in this case condemning settlement in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. Asked about bigotry and its reemergence this U.S. election season, he said: “As an African-American, when I see those kinds of attitudes harden, I remember my history and I remember the history of the Jewish people.”

Obama’s voice was hoarse; he seemed at times during the interview to crumple. The night it was broadcast in Israel, he delivered his farewell in Chicago and wept. The promise Obama made in 2004 and 2008 of reconciliation seemed to dissipate in the wake of a profoundly divisive election, one in which the many Americas that he once described as coming together were retreating into silos.

How a president relates to a Jewish community has always been a function of how a president relates, period. Obama’s successes and failures with Jews are of a piece with autopsies of his presidency: He was an inspiration. He was aloof.

So what can the incoming president learn, writ large and small, from how Obama related See Bye, bye on page 26 to the Jews?

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THE JEWISH STAR January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777

Bye, bye Barack: Recalling how he won the Jewish vote without winning over the pro-Israel mainstream

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Can Israel move toward ‘one-state’ in Trump era?

By Ariel Ben Solomon, JNS.org In the aftermath of Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent speech defending the United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements and the Obama administration’s refusal to veto the resolution, Israeli political figures are increasingly mulling the idea of annexing the West Bank and implementing a “onestate solution” during the incoming Donald Trump era.

“The U.N. resolution destroyed any residual chance there might have been to achieve peace with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization),” Caroline Glick, an influential IsraeliAmerican columnist and senior contributing editor of the Jerusalem Post, told JNS.org.

“Now they (the Palestinians) have nothing to negotiate about, so they won’t—although I would argue that they wouldn’t have been willing to negotiate anyway,” said Glick, the author of 2014 book “The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East.”

Israeli Jews’ current mood appears to support such arguments. The latest Peace Index poll from the Israel Democracy Institute, published this week, found that 62 percent of Israel’s Jewish public supports continued settlement building in the disputed territories—including 89 percent of the political “right,” 83.5 percent of the “moderate right,” 45 percent of the “center,” 21 percent of the “moderate left” and 15 percent of the left. Regarding Trump, 69 percent of Jews expect the president-elect’s attitude toward Israel to be “friendly,” while 57 percent believe President Barack Obama was “unfriendly” to the Jewish state during his eight years in office.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the nationalist Jewish Home political party, has advocated for a Knesset bill to be introduced after Trump takes office Jan. 20 calling

Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett (center) speaks with Ma’ale Ad-umim Mayor Benny Kasriel before the start of a meeting in the Israeli set-tlement of Ma’ale Adumin on Jan. 2. Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

for Israel’s annexation of Ma’ale Adumim, a suburb located east of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

Bennet sees this as a first step in annexing all of Area C in the West Bank. Under the Oslo II Accord, Israel has full civil and security control over Area C, compared to the full Palestinian Authority (PA) control of Area A and split IsraeliPalestinian control of Area B. In November, Bennett said he believed Trump’s victory was “an opportunity” to finally abandon a “two-state solution” to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

“Trump’s victory is an opportunity for Israel to immediately retract the notion of a Palestinian state in the center of the country, which would hurt our security and just cause,” he said, adding, “This is the position of the president-

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elect, as written in his platform, and it should be our policy, plain and simple.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he supports the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes a Jewish state of Israel. Critics of a “two-state solution” to the conflict, however, note that the proposal is unrealistic because the

Question…

Continued from page 22 your preachers calling us sons of apes and pigs again?”

Maybe none of this matters anymore. Maybe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is right when he says that the Paris conference is the “final gasp” of a failed strategy. He has good reason, after all, to believe that, especially having heard the condemnation of Resolution 2334 from Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson.

Yet while the change of administration in Washington may strengthen Israel’s diplomatic position for the immediate period, and while the Palestinians will have to get to the back of the line in terms of international priorities, the Palestinian question itself will not disappear. In many ways, it will find its status enhanced.

To begin with, there’s the public domain.

And this brings us to something that the Europeans have never understood: The historic Palestinian strategy has never been about achieving statehood, but about preventing a negotiated solution in order to perpetuate the image of the Palestinians as the people to whom history has dealt the cruelest blow. It’s why the Palestinians make deliberately unrealistic demands, like the

Palestinians are unlikely to meet those conditions in the foreseeable future.

Glick told JNS.org that Israel now faces two questions: “The first is what to do with the PLO regime in Judea and Samaria (the Israeli government’s biblical term for the West Bank). The second is how to administer the area.”

“How Israel answers the first—now that it is clear that the PLO is not moderate and not a peace partner, but Israel’s enemy—will have implications for the second,” she said. “But make no mistake, the discussion is now what to do in the absence of a ‘two-state solution,’ not how to achieve a ‘two-state solution’.”

Demographic expert Yoram Ettinger, former minister for congressional affairs at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, dismissed the common concern expressed by “two-state solution” proponents that a “one-state solution” would jeopardize the Jewish character of Israel due to the Arab birthrate. Ettinger downplayed the latest statistics released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which claimed in a report titled “Palestinians at the end of 2016” that there are 2.97 million Palestinians in the West Bank and 4.88 million in the “state of Palestine.”

Ettinger, a member of the American-Israel Demographic Research Group, argued that the most accurate demographic research suggests Jews “make up 66 percent of the population in Israel and Judea and Samaria.”

More online “right of return”—a goal the Palestine Liberation Organization originally pledged to achieve through violence—and suing the United Kingdom for the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

In terms of building up public support around the world, it’s a strategy that has worked.

Hence, we can assume that if President-elect Donald Trump does a 180-degree turn on President Obama’s approach to the Israelis, the narrative of the Palestinians—ignored by America, facing 50 years of “occupation” under Israel— will become emblematic of public resistance to the foreign policies of the Trump administration. In the American context, the Democratic Party is now the most significant barometer of that process.

The Palestinians can also play power politics. They can carry on with their campaign to achieve membership in international bodies as an independent state. They can curry favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next stage of his conflict with the West. And they can insert themselves into domestic issues—rising anti-Semitism, the political culture on university campuses, the legality of boycotts—in a way that few other foreign policy issues can do.

As I said, Netanyahu may well be right about the last gasp of Obama’s strategy to secure Palestinian independence. But none of us should believe that these battles are over.

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org

J

11

and Eliyahu Raskin Mazel Tov to the families of Shaindy Holtzberg Weintrob from The Jewish Star • Ed and Celia

Continued from page 1

in Crown Heights with was born in Brooklyn and raised Bais Rivka and her brother and six sisters. She attended office assistant everyhas been, since graduating, the

one wants to hire. and mischief, was Eliyahu, a bright boy full of laughter the neighborhood’s born in Brooklyn Heights, and attended in fact, he was in the top-tier Kiddie Korner Preschool — at the United founding class. He continued his education and completed Lubavitcher Yeshivoth on Ocean Parkway, Heights. After two his schooling in Toronto and Crown he returned to his years as a junior shliach in California, outreach for CongreBrooklyn Heights roots and now does at Brooklyn gation B’nai Avraham through programming professionals.

Law School, and with local young Jewish B’nai Avraham This reporter interviewed excited Eliyahu. I briefly of guests about their recollections the comic book rabbi, caught up with Simcha Weinstein, snappy dresser, serious who blurted, “Eliyahu Raskin — dragged back into the doer … we love him!” before being sea of dancers. one of the shul’s After the bedeken, Penny Rosen, founders, shared her thoughts of Eliyahu. and have loved “I’ve known him since he was a baby, talk,” she said. “I was him dearly even before he could books to read to him often at the Raskin house, bringing mind, he easand Yankel. Eliyahu has such an inquisitive reading with me, and ily picked up on nuances. He loved Eliyahu prewell after the boys could all read themselves, ferred my voices for the characters.

Chalav Yisroel Swiss “I remember once finding some lunch, staking cheese, and Eliyahu coming for Shabbos cheese board so his out that block of Swiss on the marble brothers would not get it first. him a little, but it “My best memory might embarrass Bar Mitzvah age and is very sweet. He was approaching could sit longer no had to sit in the men’s section, could mitzvah, he gave me on my lap. The night before his bar world to me.” a last huge hug, which meant the I have alPenny added: “In addition to his intelligence, kindness to all.” ways been impressed by his innate chatted about her While refilling her drink, Sonia Beker warm wishes for the happy couple. guy and full of fun.

“Eliyahu was always a high energy his siblings and other He loved socially interacting with streak. He was fearkids, and had a benign, mischievous invincible and unless, loved to take risks, always feeling still quite small, he endaunted. I remember when he was his footing and fell, thusiastically climbed a tree, missed But his energy injuring his head and requiring stitches. by this mishap. level and zest for life were not diminished sensitive young “Today, Eliyahu is a warm, humorous, family and everyone man, full of good spirits towards his to his rabbis and teacharound him. He was a great asset his knowledge and ers in his studies, and he’s applying B’nai Avraham as excellent people skills at Congregation now very busy climba teacher and in outreach work. He’s great success and joy ing the tree of life, and we wish him truly love him.” in his work and in his marriage. We vigorous dance set, While cooling off from a particularly was the very first kid Naomi Weinberger noted that Eliyahu bar mitzvah. She also she ever heard recite a maimer at his a group to tap out a recalls him sneaking away at times from ping pong, played often tune on her keyboard. “And he loved be volleying and then, at our home,” she added. “You would from Eliyahu.” “wham!” — a slam and lots of giggling line-by-line each Fran Bast related the following story I’ll bet you this bantime her dance line passed by. "Fran:

Fran: I’ll bet you $10 ner won’t go up. Eliyahu: Yes, it will.

Beer delivered, it won’t. Fran: OK I owe you $10, Eliyahu. debt settled!” related by Sita Eliyahu’s good humor was laughingly — all this reportHess at the bar (just seltzer! Sheesh we were just getting ing makes a person thirsty): “When Sukkot dinner in their to know the Raskins, we went for Raskin boys have a tensuccah. During these dinners, the the evening in dency to sit in different seats throughout Adam drank more husband my As hosts. order to be good apt to do in the succah) throughout the evening (as one is seats and alternately Eliyahu and Yankel kept swapping calling both of was he sitting next to him. By mid-evening were far too gracious them Eliyahu. Eliyahu and Yankel just appreciated what to contradict him (or maybe they

• 20 Tevet 5776 THE JEWISH STAR January 1, 2016

10

be). I teased Adam an excellent drinking buddy he could about it for weeks! always been so warm “Eliyahu is a lovely person. He has up our succah last year. with us. He even delivered and set We wish him and Shaindy all blessings!” to relate her memoPamela Roth took the opportunity

ries over dessert.

Eliyahu had to “My son Josh remembers all the times as the Rabbi stood pick up Rabbi Raskin on his shoulders crazy faces. As for and waved his arms and Eliyahu made cheesecake assistant, me, I remember Eliyahu as my best in Shternie’s kitchen. baking cheesecakes for Shavuoth for the crust.”

He smashed the graham crackers Heights, on The couple will be residing in Brooklyn Clinton Street.

Celia Weintrob • 516-622-7461 ext 241 • CWeintrob@TheJewishStar.com

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January 20, 2017 • 22 Tevet 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

24

By Gabe Friedman, JTA Saul Kaye never wanted to be a “Jewish blues” player.

In his opinion, the Jewish music he had heard growing up in Northern California’s Bay Area ranged from “really bad to horrible.”

In 2009, he was touring as a rock musician, playing hundreds of shows a year with various bands at bars and clubs. And though he had never been very religious, he experienced a bad breakup and felt the need to do something spiritually “radical.”

So Kaye decided to take a Talmud course at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Israel. One morning, a fellow student approached him and left him with an intriguing prophecy.

“He says, ‘Saul, there’s a reason you’re at a yeshiva and you know who Muddy Waters is — you have to figure it out,’” Kaye said. “I let that marinate for a while and I thought: Why is there no Jewish blues music? It doesn’t make sense. Our people have suffered forever, and blues is about suffering, blues comes out of the slavery experience. How come no one has put this together yet?”

Eight years later, Kaye is now seen by many as the “king” of Jewish blues, having released four albums in the genre that range from twangy fingerpicking to more uptempo electric rock in the vein of B.B. King. He plays over 100 shows a year at synagogues, Jewish conferences and festivals across the country — that’s down from the more than 200 shows he was playing a few years ago, but that’s because Kaye is now a father of two.

Kaye is part of a growing trend of Jewish musicians who combine Jewish spiritual or religious lyrics with Americana music — an umbrella term that encompasses genres such as blues, bluegrass, folk and country, as well as a distinctly homegrown, old-fashioned American sensibility.

Since Jews were viewed as immigrants in the United States for a large part of the 20th century — and are still widely seen as an ethnic “other” in American society — Jewish music and Americana, at first glance, seem an unlikely mixture.

But in addition to Kaye, artists such as Nefesh Mountain, a husband-and-wife bluegrass duo from New Jersey, and Joe Buchanan, a convert to Judaism from Houston who plays James Taylor-esque country, are gaining in popularity on the national Jewish music circuit. Joey Weisenberg, a Brooklyn-based prayer leader and music teacher, has garnered praise for his modern bluesy, indie rockinspired takes on “niggunim,” or traditional Jewish melodies.

Saul Kaye has released four albums of Jewish blues.

These musicians are building upon the foundation laid by other artists such as Andy Statman (an Orthodox, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist who plays bluegrass with his eponymous trio), Jeremiah Lockwood (leader of the band The Sway Machinery who is also known for his virtuosic blues guitar playing) and Klezmatics co-founder Margot Leverett (whose group, Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, combines klezmer and bluegrass.)

Of course, American Jews have long incorporated spiritual music with the popular: In the 1960s and ‘70s, for example, Jewish music icons Shlomo Carlebach and Debbie Friedman turned prayers and Jewish melodies into folk songs that are still sung today.

But the signs are indicating that Americana could be having its biggest moment in the Jewish community right now. The trend follows a train of greater experimentation throughout the Jewish music world.

Over the past decade, Americana has seen a comeback in the broader pop music world. The British band Mumford & Sons, which plays a combination of bluegrass, folk and indie rock, has sold millions of albums worldwide since 2009. In 2010, the Grammys insti-

tuted a Best Americana Album award. And last May, Billboard began devoting an album chart to Americana and folk records.

“Jews have always taken popular music and brought it into shul because that brings people into shul,” said Kaye, who has also begun leading Shabbat services on his tours. “There’s been a resurgence in coming back to more organic music because it just resonates — wood and strings in a room is a physical feeling that you aren’t going to get from techno, dubstep, house, trance or whatever other million genres.”

In the end, American Jewish music and Americana music might actually be two sides of the same coin. While Jewish musicians brought their European influences with them when they immigrated to the U.S., they’ve been forging their own American musical style for nearly half a century, according to Mark Kligman, an ethnomusicologist at UCLA. “In the ’50s and ’60s, most of American Judaism was leaning towards trying to find its Americanness,” he said. “[Jews] took European elements — cantorial klezmer and other things — and started adapting those. By the time you have an American-born generation in the 1970s, around [the time of] Debbie Friedman … they wanted to have an American-born tradition.”

Still, for many, the juxtaposition is a bit unusual. According to Nefesh Mountain’s Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff, even after two years of using the term “Jewish bluegrass,” some people still laugh at it at first. “But what were doing is not goofy at all, it’s very soulful and very honest,” Zasloff said.

Joe Buchanan, a 40-year-old former human resources manager who grew up Christian in Houston, often recounts to his concert audiences how converting to Judaism resolved his self-esteem issues. Like Kaye, who produced Buchanan’s debut album a couple of years ago, he thinks that the country music he was raised on, along with other Americana genres, go well with Jewish culture.

“Americana is strong in storytelling, which is something that we’ve always been really good at as a people,” he said. “It’s a huge part of it; we’re always telling stories from the Torah.”

“If someone asked me how to describe Americana music, I would tell them: Imagine country music and rock and roll had a child, and it was raised by their uncle bluegrass, and their other uncle blues music and cousin folk came over and spent a lot of time — that child is Americana music,” he said. “That and Jewish storytelling is a natural fit.”

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‘Jewgrass’ music gets its moment in spotlight

25

Leading neo-Nazi blogger outed: Wife is Jewish

By JTA The founder of the popular right-wing blog The Right Stuff has resigned over the revelation that his wife is Jewish.

Mike Enoch, who also co-hosts The Daily Shoah weekly podcast, was outed over the weekend as Mike Peinovich, a website developer from New York. On the podcast, which has about 100,000 regular listeners, Peinovich as Enoch talked about killing Jews and spouted neo-Nazi invective.

The release of Peinovich’s personal details came after the identities of the other podcast panelists were made public earlier in the week by a rival website called 8chan.

Enoch was considered one of the three most influential figures in the “alt-right” movement along with Daily Stormer creator Andrew Anglin and Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist think tank.

The Right Stuff has popularized many right-wing memes, as well as the triple parentheses known as the echo symbol used by white supremacists and anti-Semites on Twitter to identify Jews.

Rome Shoah road race

A road race passing sites of Holocaust and Jewish remembrance in Rome will highlight events in Italy marking International Holocaust Memorial Day. The Run for Mem — short for Run for Remembrance: Looking Ahead — is scheduled for Jan. 22, five days before the observance of International Holocaust Memorial Day marking the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz. In some countries, including Italy, events take place in the days or even weeks surrounding the Jan. 27 date.

Sponsored by Italy’s main Jewish organizations, The Run for Mem will start and end in Rome’s historic Jewish ghetto, in a square now named for the deportation of Roman Jews to Auschwitz on Oct. 16, 1943. Billed as Europe’s first sport race past sites meant “to commemorate the Shoah and determine future direction,” the event has two routes – 10 kilometers for athletes, 3.5K for the general public. Both take participants past sites related to the Holocaust.

Participants will be encouraged to stop, read commemorative plaques and light candles. They will also meet with Shaul Ladany, an Israeli Holocaust survivor and champion race walker who survived the attack on Israe-

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briefs Corbyn: probe influence

Kushner a ‘natural’ to solve Mideast conflict

President-elect Trump reiterated that his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner could head efforts to broker a Middle East peace deal. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild and The Times of London published Monday, Trump was asked what role Kushner, husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, would play in his role as an unpaid adviser to his administration “Oh, really … Ya know what, Jared is such a good kid and he’ll make a deal with Israel that no one else can — ya know he’s a natural, he’s a great deal, he’s a natural — ya know what I was talking about, natural — he’s a natural deal-maker — everyone likes him,” replied Trump, according to a transcript of the interview in The Times of London.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the government to investigate “improper interference in our democratic politics,” after an Israeli Embassy official was recorded as saying he wanted to “take down” several British politicians who he deemed unfriendly to Israel.

The comments by Shai Masot, described

by Israel as a junior embassy employee, were made to a former aide to a British Conservative lawmaker during a meeting to discuss how to discredit anti-Israel lawmakers at a London restaurant and filmed by an Al-Jazeera journalist posing as a pro-Israel activist.

The recording was part of a four-part series aired by Al-Jazeera titled The Lobby, which the network says exposes how the Israel lobby influences British politics.

Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Mark Regev, personally apologized to British Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Duncan, one of the British politicians named by Masot. The British Foreign Office has said it considers the matter closed. Masot resigned after the recordings were made public.

DC shul visits Selma

li athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

President-elect Donald Trump reiterated that his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner could head efforts to broker a Middle East peace deal.

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild and The Times of London published Monday, Trump was asked what role Kushner, husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, would play in his role as an unpaid adviser to his administration “Oh, really … Ya know what, Jared is such a good kid and he’ll make a deal with Israel that no one else can — ya know he’s a natural, he’s a great deal, he’s a natural — ya know what I was talking about, natural — he’s a natural deal-maker — everyone likes him,” replied Trump, according to a transcript of the interview in The Times of London.

Neither interviewer, British Conservative Party parliamentarian Michael Gove nor Kai Diekmann, former chief editor of Bild, pressed Trump on Kushner’s qualifications for the Mideast negotiator’s role, but instead

asked what role if any Ivanka would play in his administration.

“Well, not now, she’s going to Washington,” Trump replied, “and they’re buying a house or something, but ya know she’s got the children, so Jared will be involved as we announced — no salary, no nothing. If he made peace — who’d be better at that then Jared, right — there’s something about him . . .”

Britain prevented the European Union Foreign Affairs Council from adopting the closing statement from the Paris peace conference.

Britain’s action on Monday, reported by Haaretz citing European and Israeli diplomats, followed a day after Britain refused to sign the closing statement at the conference.

Britain had sent a low-level diplomat as an observer to indicate its displeasure with the proceedings.

Australia also distanced itself from the closing statement and did not sign it.

More than 100 members of the Orthodox National Synagogue in Washington, D.C., traveled to Selma, Alabama, to visit the historic Reform Temple Mishkan Israel.

The Selma temple in Selma only has seven remaining members, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of the Orthodox National Synagogue said the purpose of the group’s visit was to “educate ourselves about the civil rights movement” in Selma, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked together across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 as a sign of religious solidarity.

The trip was timed to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Selma politicians joined the Jewish visitors for the Sabbath, eating and dancing the hora together before walking through the Selma neighborhood and hearing about its history.

Bye-bye...

tive promise of Zionism.

Was the Iran deal debate corrosive?

Obama invited Netanyahu to the White House in its immediate aftermath and launched the process that would deliver to Israel its biggestever defense assistance package. ot every attempt by Obama at reconciliation was successful. In the wake of the Security Council vote, Obama’s relationship with Netanyahu and standing among the most influential Jewish organizations is ending on a markedly sour note, probably unprecedented in U.S.-Israel relations.

For all their pronounced differences, Trump has endured a fraught courtship with the Jewish community that has echoes of Obama’s 2008 run: Trump has wondered aloud whether the U.S.-Israel relationship could use more “neutrality” when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians, and has weathered accusations that he is too cozy with actors who embrace ideas hostile to Jews.

Trump has retreated from some of the postures that unsettled the pro-Israel community.

The incoming president has met with Netanyahu, delivered a rousing AIPAC speech and left neutrality on Israel so far behind, he ap-

pears set to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. He has put forth an ambassador to Israel who is a gung-ho supporter of the settlements and an antagonist of the Jewish left.

But Trump is also adamant in his refusal to renounce counselors who, like Wright, have extolled racial and cultural divisions.

What was Obama’s relationship with the Jewish community? For the majority who voted for him twice, and for whom Israel ranks fairly low in their considerations as voters compared to issues like the economy and health care, he was an exemplar of their political views, their values and their hopes for the country.

As for Jews who prioritize Israel as voters and activists, he ranged from a good if sometimes standoffish friend to bitter antagonist, who at least according to Alan Dershowitz, “repeatedly stabbed Israel in the back.”

Of course, the degree to which any of those assessments stick depends on how Jews endure — or rejoice in — President Donald Trump.

The story of Obama and the Jews is not over yet. Ask again a hundred days into the Trump administration — and then again a thousand days in.

Continued from page 23 The answer may lie studded throughout Obama’s two terms, not in the dramas of the disagreements but in how he sought to overcome them. Jeremiah Wright? He stood by him, and then he did not, and when he abandoned him, Obama said candidly, he could no longer abide his pastor’s hostility to Israel.

The Likud? In Cleveland in February 2008, he cast the party as an obstacle to peace. That summer, visiting Israel, he sought out the party’s leader, Netanyahu, and pleased the Israeli opposition leader by soliciting his views on the dangers posed by Iran.

In Obama’s 2009 speech to the Muslim world, critics charged that his depiction of Israel relied too much on its role as a refuge for the Jews after the Holocaust and too little on the Jewish people’s ancient and historical relationship to the land. In 2013, he toured the country and sought out markers celebrating its ancient Jewish heritage and the redemp-

Britain spikes EU Paris OK

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