Toulouse-HAFTR connection Page 3 Kosher Bookworm: mitzvoth of Nissan Page 8 Who’s in the kitchen: potato kugel Page 13 One Israel Fund, dinner and beyond Page 16
THE JEWISH
STAR
VOL 11, NO 12 ■ MARCH 23, 2012 / 29 ADAR 5772 WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM
More’s at stake when you’re rooting for Israel
Lancman wants to be your landsman in Congress
By Juda Engelmayer We get excited over our sports teams, don’t we? We go to games and scalp tickets to get great seats. We buy hot dogs, peanuts and beer, and spend ridiculous amounts at the stadiums. We wear the jerseys; hang the pennants on our walls, and get custom license plates on to demonstrate our pride. We call in to radio shows or write in blogs opining over a player’s action or a referee’s call. We are loud, boisterous and passionate. There is little we won’t do, and few expenses we won’t incur. Yet, that is all we do, because we have no real say in how a team is managed, or which players are traded. For many Jews and Christian Zionists in America, Israel is the team we love. We rush to visit, bring planeloads of people, like a busload of children arriving at Yankee Stadium; if they’re from an influential school, they may even step onto the field to shake Derek Jeter’s hand. Zion-seekers with the right organization might get to the Knesset floor or be welcomed at the home of Israel’s president. We buy Israeli products, hang flags on our homes, and get passionate about her politics. Some write about it; others hold dinners to declare their solidarity and profess their beliefs — whether it is Peace Now or the One Israel Fund. Yet, unlike sports, where the outcome does not truly change lives, we are in a position to effect policies that impact the lives of the people who live in Israel. Whether AIPAC lobbys the Hill for money or support, or the former American Jewish Congress helps draft a proposed constitution for Israel, Americans are more than committed fans. They are pseudo-citizens, influencing events inside the country itself. In almost every case, for practically every western nation, their expats, or American-born kin feel some attachment to their native lands, but they do not get actively involved in the internal politics of those countries. Israel, however, carries a different set of rules; but is it right? I wrote a piece questioning whether Israel was worth our blood, sweat and tears, and one comment it engendered hit me hard. It wasn’t about the article’s overall point, it questioned my use of the term, “our.” An Israeli pointed out that it was indeed, neither my blood, nor my sweat, but allowed me the tears of empathy. Well taken, it left me unsettled. My brother, visiting from his home in Modi’in, Israel, told me that there are increasing feelings among Israelis that Americans interfere with what should be internal policies, like interlopers doing more harm than
By Karen C. Green Rory Lancman is convinced he can make a difference in Washington. The New York State Assemblyman has thrown his hat in the ring for the seat being vacated by Rep. Gary Ackerman in the Sixth Congressional District. “I’ve been instrumental in producing legislation in Albany on issues that are directly translatable to Congress, ” asserts the Queens
Democrat — issues such as homeland security , economic opportunities, tax fairness, reining in public college tuition and leveling the playing field between banks and homeowners in foreclosure proceedings. Lancman is quick to point out that his steadfast record of Israel advocacy bolsters his strength as a candidate in a newly drawn district that has strong Jewish roots and affiliation. He is proud to mention
that he facilitated a forum with the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center at Queensborough Community College concerning the anti-Semitic roots of the delegitimization movement and its use of boycotts, divestment, lawfare (using lawsuits to stifle pro-Israel debate) and sanctions. The Libel Terrorism Protection Act that he was instrumental Continued on page 3
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Shabbat Candlelighting: 6:53 p.m. Shabbat ends 7:55 p.m. 72 minute zman 8:24 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Vayikra Parshat HaChodesh. This Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
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Artists 4 Israel’s Graffiti Banner was the backdrop for One Israel Fund’s Annual Dinner held March 14, at Bridgewaters at the South Street Seaport. Photos and stories on page 16.