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Celebrating Hatzalah

May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

Vol 18, No 18

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Serving LI’s Orthodox communities

The Jewish Star / Ed Weintrob

JEWISH Once again, several hundred members of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway communities turned out to salute and support the life-saving work of Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County, Sunday night at Sands Atlantic Beach. Kavod was given to Hatzalah’s tireless volunteers, and the loss last December of Dr. Richie Friedman, a longtime anchor of Hatzalah organizations in the metropolitan area, was sadly noted.

Fake history HowarD breSSler

istory may be open to interpretation, but not wholesale revision. Enter Rep. Rashida Tlaib and the tale of Palestinian Arabs as the benefactors of persecuted Jews. In 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a whirlwind of criticism over his claim that, at the time of their initial meet-

ing, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and national leader of Palestine’s Arabs, urged Adolph Hitler to exterminate the Jewish people, at a time when Hitler was still debating whether to undertake such a wholesale murder campaign or simply banish European Jewry from the domains he conquered. While Netanyahu’s chronology may have been inaccurate (and he ultimately backtracked on some of his statements), there should have been no debate over the fact that Husseini favored the extermination of the Jews, and that his genocidal views long predated the Holocaust or even Hitler’s rise

Don’t focus on whether the Shoah ‘calms’ Tlaib but on her lies about Israeli history and Palestinians’ historic wish to see Jews dead.

to power. Indeed, it was Husseini’s inflammatory, fallacious speeches contending that the Jews of Palestine were seeking to conquer the Temple Mount and attack the al-Aqsa mosque (an oft-recycled prevarication with a seemingly limitless lifespan, notwithstanding its baselessness) that led to the slaughter and mutilation of scores of Jews in Hebron in 1929 and the ultimate elimination of that millennia-old Jewish community. He spent the war years in Germany as Hitler’s guest, and sought to create an Auschwitz-style death camp near Tel Aviv, to do to the Jews of Palestine what Hitler was doing to the Jews of Europe.

usseini was not alone in his genocidal inclinations and his vehement opposition to a Jewish state — of any size — in any part of Palestine. While much of the Arab population of pre-1948 Palestine could fairly be characterized as being “caught up in events” surrounding the founding of the modern State of Israel — fleeing, or in some cases being forced from their homes, and not participating in open hostilities — many Palestinian Arabs took an active part in the violent attempt to prevent Israel from coming into existence ab initio, driven both by nationalism and the hope of sharing in the spoils of war. In See Fake History on page 19

Hasidim in Poland in a Polish photog’s eye By Eric Berger

Sponsored by the Polish Cultural Institute NY

When New York natives Duvid and Naomi Singer went to Poland about a decade ago and spent some time visiting the gravesite of a revered Hasidic rebbe, they spotted something unusual beyond the 30 or so Jews reciting Psalms in the Bobowa cemetery. “We were a little surprised to see this woman with a camera,” said Duvid Singer, who leads tours of Poland primarily for American Hasidic Jews, including Bobovers like himself. “We were kind of staring at her, and she came over to us and started asking questions.”

Hasidim gather for morning prayers at an old synagogue in Lancut. Agnieszka Traczewska

Naomi asked her if she was Jewish. She wasn’t. The woman turned out to be Agnieszka Traczewska, a Polish photographer and film producer working on a project to photograph Hasidic Jews visiting historic sites in Poland. The idea was to pay homage to the history of Jews in Poland — something most Poles today overlook, she said. “My education left me with unbelievable gaps, and one of the most significant gaps was the story of the Jewish nation, which lived with the Polish nation side by side for a thousand years and vanished in the Holocaust,” Traczewska said. The result of her decade-long effort is a collection of photos, titled “Returns,” that See Hasidim on page 6

Publisher pulls novel depicting an Iranian attack By Josefin Dolsten, JTA On April 16, Dzanc Books announced its latest release, The Siege of Tel Aviv, a novel that imagines an Iran-led attack on Israel that leaves the country decimated. Author Hesh Kestin, a former journalist who previously published two novels with the small independent press, said the book was inspired by his experience in Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Stephen King offered a glowing blurb. But a week later the Michigan-based nonprofit publisher announced it was axing the book amid a flurry of comments on social media, including from other authors published by Dzanc, alleging that the book is Islamophobic. The book “perpetuates harmful narratives regarding Muslims that we cannot support, as a house,” Dzanc’s publisher and editor in chief, Michelle Dotter, told JTA in an email. Meanwhile, Kestin, 75, who lives in Southampton, New York, but spent two decades in Israel and served in its army, denies the allegations and says nixing the book is an act of censorship. Kestin has received a $2,500 advance from Dzanc, which he will keep, and the publishing house said it is currently in talks with him to sell him remaining copies of the book. But Kestin told JTA in an email that he neither wants to pay for the books nor remove Dzanc’s name from them, which he says was another demand. The incident is part of a larger discussion in publishing and beyond about cultural sensitivity. As publishers hire “sensitivity readers” to ensure books do not contain inaccurate or stereotypical portrayals of minority groups, some say the focus on political correctness is stifling artists. They speak of a “cancel culture” in which publishers are quick to terminate books at the first whiff of controversy. The controversy surrounding The Siege of Tel Aviv started on April 16, when Dzanc tweeted about the book’s publication.

“Iran leads five Arab armies in a brutal victory over Israel, which ceases to exist … While the US and the West sit by, the Moslem armies take a page from the Nazi playbook — prepare to kill off the entire population,” Dzanc’s description read. That led social media users — including editors and writers, some affiliated with Dzanc — to say the book’s premise was Islamophobic. “This is obviously racist,” wrote Nathan Goldman, an associate editor at the leftist magazine Jew- Hesh Kestin says his book is ish Currents. Poet Cortney Lamar not Islamophobic. Charleston echoed his comments. “Sending love to all my Muslim because somehomies who have to face such an obvious affront how they’re to their personhoods yet again,” he tweeted. selling this Some critics took offense at the spelling idea that it’s all going to be settled peacefully,” “Moslem” — outdated but popular among some he said in a phone interview last week. right-wing critics of Islam — while others noted In 2016, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s suthe description misidentified Iran as Arab. preme leader, wrote on Twitter: “As I’ve said beThe book imagines a conflict similar to the fore, if Muslims & Palestinians unite & all fight, Yom Kippur War, except Iran takes charge when the Zionist regime will not be in existence in 25 its leaders call for Israel’s destruction, followed years.” Earlier this year, Iranian Foreign Minister by Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, as Javad Zarif said the Jewish state would end up well as Hamas and Hezbollah fighters. destroying itself. Whereas in 1973, when the U.S. came to IsKestin defends himself against Islamophobia. rael’s aid, in Kestin’s book the American presi“I served side by side with Muslim and Druze dent — and the rest of the world — watches idly soldiers in Tzahal for a period of 18 years, and I as most of Israel is decimated and 6 million Jews also served under Arab commanders twice,” he are crammed into a Tel Aviv ghetto with dwin- said. “And that’s one of the great secrets of the dling food and water supplies. The end looks IDF that sprinkled through it are Arabs — Musnigh until an unlikely group of people — Israelis lims and Christians. And not only that my family and Americans, Jewish and not — fights back. in Houston has a Muslim branch.” Kestin says the reason people were angry In his book, Kestin is clearly not too conwith the book has nothing to do with how he cerned with being politically correct. There are portrays Muslims. few sympathetic Muslim characters other than a “The fact is that I exposed the pan-Islamic Bedouin who rescues a stranded Israeli soldier dream of making Israel go away as a massacre and a Jordanian army general of Scottish origin and a genocide, and that’s what they don’t like who tries to convince his country’s king not to

immediately kill off the Jews in Tel Aviv. Several other characters also seem stereotypical. An Israeli pilot’s cross-dressing seems thrown in for shock value, a description of Israel’s prime minister is unnecessarily focused on her reproductive system and breasts, and a black U.S. pilot has an accent that at best reads as a clumsy attempt at African-American vernacular. However, these descriptions seem not to have bothered Dzanc enough to edit them out of the version it had been prepared to publish. Meanwhile, Kestin isn’t too upset about the drama, saying that other than distracting him from his next book, the outcome has been positive. He uploaded the first half of the book to his website and says he has sold thousands of digital copies after self-publishing the book on Amazon and is in the process of finding a way to print it. “I couldn’t buy this publicity,” he said. “I am very happy with the way it worked out.” Dotter said that Dzanc had been discussing various options with Kestin — including “a possible revision or re-release or delay” but wasn’t able “to reach an agreement.” That was, she said, “in part because it became clear that Hesh intended to run a campaign based on the controversy.” “We don’t believe in censorship,” the publisher said. “We chose to revert the rights to give the author the opportunity to keep the book in the marketplace without endorsing it or profiting from the sale of a book, which perpetuates harmful narratives regarding Muslims that we cannot support as a house.” The author sees the dialogue around his book as having raised a larger conversation. “Almost any book that can be written, people will find fault and that’s normal,” Kestin said. “But this book has raised a consciousness of people on the right side of history, which are the people who are for freedom of expression, who are for the values of fiction, and who are against censorship and even worse, self-censorship.”

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May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

1/7/2019 11:48:23 AM

From left: Rita Hagl-Kehl, German State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, spoke of her government’s investigation of the “shameful affairs at the Rosenburg”; Melissa Jackson, Justice of the Supreme Court, Criminal Term, NY County, spoke about her father William Jackson, chosen to be a judge at the Nuremburg Trials. Right: Pick up the phone and hear voices making excuses for why jurists participated in the Nazi regime, and recalling the good old times at the Rosenburg.

the years 1949 through 1989, and how members of the National Socialist Party resumed their jobs as jurists, continuing their persecution of minorities and delaying critical examination of Nazi injustice. It opened on Monday in the state Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan. It’s a powerful example of the German government shining a spotlight on its ugly past. Former Nazis made up a significant percentage of its Justice Department from the end of World War II through the early 1960s. These were brilliant lawyers and judges with dark pasts, who engaged in a quest to create statutes of limitations for murder and other war crimes, and to cover up the past. “The Rosenburg” became synonymous with the constitutional ministry where all laws for the country were drafted, enacted and enforced (similar to how Americans refer to “the Pentagon” instead of the Department of Defense). West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer,

who took office in 1949, had a clear objective to integrate the civil servants of the Third Reich with the new state, and this went into effect in 1951. All former civil servants of the Nazi state were given the right to reemployment, extended even to those who were part of the Gestapo or Waffen SS. Adenauer and his Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Walter Strauss, felt that people with proper qualifications, regardless of past affiliations, were desperately needed to build a new governmental framework. He paid lip service to vetting, but none actually took place in the 1950s. Only after Strauss had left the Ministry in 1965 was an inquiry held. Initially following the lead of the Allies and of West Germany, East Germany quickly lost the will to deal self-critically with the past. The Ministry of Justice found ways to exonerate and grant amnesty to its members with Nazi pasts. Prison terms of 6 months and fines of 5,000 Deutschmarks were cancelled in 1949, and in

1954, amnesty was granted to all who had prison sentences up to three years, and cleared anyone of wrongdoing who had done so for “political reasons.” This protected even members of the SS, the Gestapo, the SD, and Fuhrerkorps. In 1960, the Justice Ministry enacted a statute of limitations for Nazi crimes. This was not changed until 2011, only eight years ago, well after the reunification of East and West Germany in 1989. It was determined that anyone who had kept the death machinery operating during the holocaust was an accessory to murder, which is how Oskar Groning and Reinhold Hanning were convicted for their activities at Auschwitz. How did these criminals get away with serving as German jurists? How did they justify themselves? Here are some quotes from the exhibit: “The war was an exceptional situation.” “I was only involved to prevent worse things from happening.” “As a young person, I had no influence on my superiors.” “It would have been futile to try to persuade Hitler to give up his euthanasia programs.” The exhibit makes clear that the Federal Republic of Germany’s legislators followed the laws of the Nazi regime. Upon opening of the Justice Ministry in 1940, they invoked “the tradition of the Reich court” as their role model. Not surprisingly, persecution of Romani people, homosexuals, and those with significant brain disorders continued through the 1970s. The German government deserves much praise for bringing the evidence to light. The government’s own Independent Academic Commission investigated all the files found in the Rosenburg building and developed this exhibit to present the shameful findings. “The Rosenberg — The Federal Ministry of Justice in the Shadow of the Nazi Past” is free and open to the public through June, when it will move to Boston, and then Poland. It is in the rotunda of the NY Supreme Court, 60 Centre St. in lower Manhattan.

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The Jewish Star / Celia Weintrob

Review by Celia Weintrob Max Merten was a processor of enforcement law in Hitler’s Reich from 1938 to 1942. Ten years later, in 1952, he was employed by the Federal Republic of Germany’s Justice Ministry, housed in the Rosenburg villa in Bonn, West Germany’s capital. Merton, who was a war administration counselor in Nazi-occupied Greece, had fictionalized his past, styling himself as the rescuer of some 13,000 Greek Jews. In fact, he had extorted considerable assets from Greek Jews by making promises for their safety, and then signing off on orders to send 50,000 of them for “resettlement” to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, where most were murdered. Merten was so certain he would not be held accountable for his true actions that he returned to Greece in 1957. To his great surprise, he was arrested there and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment for war crimes. West Germany’s Justice Ministry then assigned an attorney on Merten’s behalf, who argued his case in Greece. Eight months later, Merten was handed over to Germany, where he was quickly released by the German judiciary and faced no criminal charges. Merten was not the only former Nazi employed by the Justice Ministry exonerated for his heinous actions. From the beginning of Germany’s new democracy in 1949, over half the jurists employed by young Federal Republic’s Justice Ministry had previously worked in the Nazi judicial system, and another 29% had been Reich storm troopers. Oddly, the number of Nazis grew — by 1973, the figures had risen to 76% and 33%. In 1963, the percentages were still as high as 55% and 22%, and it was these former Nazis who were largely positioned in leadership posts. “The Rosenburg – The Federal Ministry of Justice in the Shadow of the Nazi Past” is a cleverly designed, compact and compelling exhibit about

THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

In Germany in the ‘60s, Nazi judges still ruled

May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

Rabbi Jay Lyons, founder of the South Florida Jewish Cemetery, wants to persuade local Jews to choose traditional burial as opposed to cremation. Right: A team of Jewish men prepares a plot for burial at the South Florida Jewish Cemetery earlier this year. Photos by Ben Sales

Save the planet, don’t cremate: Jewish advice

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For UJA-Federation of NY

LAKE WORTH, Fla. — When Rabbi Jay Lyons prepares a body for burial, it feels like he’s in synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Lyons, along with other Jews charged with caring for the dead, will first strip the body of its clothes. The entire body is then bathed and wrapped in white shrouds. It’s watched over, uninterrupted, until burial. In Jewish tradition, the white garment is meant to mimic the dress of the Jewish High Priest on Yom Kippur when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Just like Jews on the Day of Atonement, Lyons said, the departed are about to present themselves before their creator. “The soul is about to go on this amazing final journey and basically have its final day of atonement,” he said in an interview at the new Jewish cemetery he founded here this year. “We’re very much aware of the fact that the body and soul are partners for life. The body is now useless, but in reality the soul isn’t just going to move on and cast it aside. The soul needs the body to be taken care of properly, even after death.” That’s the idea behind Lyons’ new venture, the South Florida Jewish Cemetery in Palm Beach County, which he advertises as both trendy and radically traditional: In an age when a majority of Americans opt for cremation, he is asking Jews to bury their dead the way Jewish tradition has commanded for millennia. But Jewish burial, he’s quick to add, is also green burial — a selling point for families who may not be religious but care about reducing their carbon footprint in death as in life. “From the environmental point of view, you’re preserving the land, you’re taking what could have been used for a crematorium and ensuring that it’s going to be a grassy, treefilled place,” said Lyons, 40, the Florida regional director for the national Jewish burial society, National Association of Chevra Kadisha. “There are plenty of Jews out there who are more concerned about the environment than about Jewish tradition.” As of 2017, a majority of people in the United States and Canada cremate their dead — up from around 28 percent in 2002, according to the Cremation Association of North America. But advocates of natural burial are also pointing to cremation’s environmental impact. One cremation releases more than 800 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and uses as much energy as a 500mile car trip, according to the Natural Death Centre, a British charity that advocates green burial. Hillside Memorial Park, a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles, offers a green burial option

in which no toxic or non-biodegradable materials or chemicals are used in preparing the body or casket. Options include an “ecofriendly” woven willow casket lined with natural unbleached cotton. West View Cemetery in Pittsburgh, associated with Rodef Shalom Congregation, has set aside an area for burials that comply with current standards for minimal environmental impact. The Green Burial Council in Placerville, California, offers certification programs for burial grounds, funeral homes and products. “You’re seeing a lot more interest, especially among the baby boomer generation, in returning to the earth as naturally as possible,” said Gail Rubin, a funeral planning expert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “And the funeral industry is seeing that as an opportunity to save their business model because they don’t make as much money with cremation.” Despite the religious taboo on cremation, more Jews appear to be opting for cremation, too. A cemetery manager and funeral director in South Florida agreed that they’ve seen local Jewish cremation rates grow to about 15 percent of all services from as little as 2 percent in the 1970s. Jews and others choose cremation because it’s much cheaper than traditional burial, said Laurie Dockler, general manager of Menorah Gardens & Funeral Chapels, northwest of Miami. She estimated that cremations cost $5,000 to $10,000, as opposed to $15,000 to $20,000 for a traditional burial. Lyons’ cemetery is hoping to compete with cremation on cost as well as values. Lyons charges $3,600 for the plot and burial, not including a monument, which can cost anywhere from $800 to a bit more than $4,000. The cemetery is a project of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha, which provides resources to Jewish burial societies and advocates traditional Jewish burial. Lyons is trying to keep the costs low by operating as a nonprofit with a budget of $4.5 million, which comes mostly from Orthodox donors in See Planet on page 21

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force of 120,000 soldiers, backed by air and naval firepower assets, should Iran resume its nuclear program or attack U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria or at sea. At this stage, Iran appears to be pursuing a phased approach limited to sending warnings. But it is a dangerous new development which is prone to rapid escalation, even if unintended. With no one blinking at this stage, Israel will need to be on high alert for Iranian proxy attacks. Whether from Syria, Lebanon, or Gaza, Iran has the ability to drag Israel into the fray.

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Analysis by Yaakov Lappin Recent developments in the Persian Gulf demonstrate that Iran has made a strategic decision to respond to escalating U.S. pressure by threatening the ability of Arab Sunni states — rivals of Iran, allies of America — to export oil to the world. The message to the Trump administration is clear: If Iran can’t export oil, neither will its neighbors — and so the entire global market is at risk of disruption. This is a direct response to the ever-tightening sanctions on Tehran. Recent U.S. steps include Trump’s decision in April to cancel sanction waivers to eight countries that purchase Iranian oil. Recently, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iranian industrial metals. Last month, the State Department classified its Islamic Republican Guards Corps (IRGC) — a major player in Iran’s regional power projection, terrorism network and inside Iran’s economy — as a terrorist organization. The decision by Iran to retaliate must have been approved by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and has already been translated into action on the ground, with two attacks on oil sites in recent days. The first occurred the UAE, in which four commercial ships were damaged in sabotage attacks by an oil-tanker hub near the Straits of Hormuz — a major international oil artery that Iran has threatened in the past. The second took place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, targeting oil facilities near the Saudi capital of Riyadh with explosive drones. It is safe to assume that the IRGC is behind both attacks, even if its role in the second was limited to passing on instructions to Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran maintains a large network of terrorist proxies throughout the region, allowing it to hit targets while maintaining plausible deniability. Its targeting of these sites is no coincidence, as Tehran is particularly enraged by Saudi pledges to keep the oil market steady. On April 24, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “owed their existence to Iran” because Iran had refused to help former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invade. The speech was part of a rebuke of those Gulf states for their willingness to assist American sanctions. Iran’s actions are not limited to the Gulf. It also imposed an ultimatum on the European Union, giving it 60 days to rescue the 2015 deal and demanding that Europe allow it to bypass American sanctions. To make clear that it is serious, it declared that it would stop limiting stockpiles of low-enriched uranium, which the deal limits to 300 kilograms, and heavy water (which can be used to produce plutonium). It is threatening, in essence, to walk away from the nuclear deal if the Europeans cannot shield it from sanctions. So far, E.U. leaders have made do with calling on Iran to refrain from any dangerous steps. Ultimately, Iran is telling the United States that it will not succumb to pressure. Washington wants to drag Iran back to talks in order to come up with a better nuclear deal, as well as address Iran’s aggressive conduct in the Middle East. This approach was summed up last year by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his 12 demands of Iran, which include ending support for its network of terrorist proxies and an end to its ballistic missile program. The Iranians are signaling that they have no intention of going down that route, even if Pompeo’s demands represent an “opening position” in Trump’s bargaining tactics. Meanwhile, America is flexing its own military muscle, both through the mobilization of a carrier strike group to the region and through media reports. This includes Monday’s New York Times report describing how Trump’s security team are weighing the sending of a massive U.S.

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THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

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Hasidim...

Hasidim withstand a downpour during a visit to a Jewish cemetery in the Polish town of Krynica Gorska. Right: Yaakov Lemmer, a Hasidic cantor from Brooklyn, cleans off a tombstone at a cemetery in Jasliska, Poland. photos by Agnieszka Traczewska

Jews about 11 years ago, when she traveled to the small Polish town of Leżajsk while Jews were there for the yahrzeit of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, a famous Hasidic leader who died in 1786. Thousands of Jews travel to Poland each year for the occasion. A Jewish friend had told Traczewska that she might find the gathering interesting. But her friend also warned her: “For a woman with a camera, it’s not the easiest.” But Traczewska was deliberate, taking care to dress modestly and approach her camera-shy subjects gently to win their trust. Traczewska eventually earned access and made friends. Naomi Singer introduced her to other Hasidim on trips, and more often than not they acquiesced to being photographed. The photographs in Traczewska’s collection are not limited to Poland. She won second place in the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest for her image of two 18-year-olds in Jerusalem following a wedding ceremony for their arranged marriage. Yaakov Lemmer, a Hasidic cantor from Brook-

lyn, connected with Traczewska after seeing her photos on Facebook. She took photos of Lemmer using a branch in an effort to clean off some illegible letters on two tombstones at a gravesite near where his grandparents lived. He thought one of his ancestors might be buried there. Lemmer said he was particularly moved by a Traczewska photo of a puddle reflecting a family standing outside the gates of the Auschwitz extermination camp. He said the reflection illustrates the memory of the Holocaust. In the book, Traczewska used photos of Duvid Singer looking out the window of a Jewish center in Katowice, Poland, and his written reflection on how he and his father, a native of Poland who fled before World War II, traveled back to the country. “My father, after reciting the Kaddish not heard in these parts for nearly 60 years, turned to me and with tears in his eyes, asked me not to allow their memory to be erased,” wrote Singer, who in 1996 started leading about four trips each year to Poland. Traczewska has developed close friendships

with the Singers as well as other Hasidim. Her speech is now peppered with Yiddish terms, as she describes how she “schlepped” on countless trips from her Krakow home to take photos in towns like Bobowa, Lelov and Radomsko — all once the homes of eponymous Hasidic dynasties. Ultimately, Traczewska said, it was curiosity that really compelled her to acquaint herself with this community that once was such an integral part of Poland. Despite their much different life circumstances, hailing from two different worlds that coexisted long ago, the photographer and the Hasidim were able to find common ground. Traczewska was even allowed to photograph intimate moments of prayer. She said the process that led to the exhibition was beautiful, and the connections she forged with her subjects opens a door for hope. “Eleven years ago, if someone had told me this would be possible, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Traczewska said. “I felt like I had an obligation to my people to educate them, and toward Hasidim who shared with me so much trust and the obligation not to fail this trust.”

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Continued from page 1 Traczewska turned into a 208-page book. The collection is being exhibited as well at sites ranging from European cultural festivals to the U.N. headquarters in New York. The book focuses on the thousands of Orthodox Jews who make pilgrimages to Jewish sites in Poland each year. We see men lighting yahrzeit candles and praying in former synagogues and outside in the rain. Everyday scenes show men smoking cigarettes and chatting at the edge of a cemetery. The goal was to “visualize their spiritual connection to” the Jewish sites, Traczewska said. Even though the men in the photos often live in insular communities and typically are cautious toward contact with women outside their immediate family, they not only spoke with Traczewska but also flocked to her photo exhibits and asked her to autograph their copies of her book. Traczewska’s work has been featured at synagogues and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. The photographs in an exhibit titled “Bracha — A Blessing: Back to the Polish Shtetls” have been presented all over the world. In January, they were on display at the United Nations in New York at a show organized by the Consulate General of Poland there in cooperation with Poland’s U.N. mission. The opening included a stirring performance by a cantor that seemed to leave both Jews and non-Jewish Poles in the audience deeply moved. “She’s extremely charismatic and found this niche that no one else has covered, that no one else was interested in,” said Naomi Singer, who runs Heritage and Discovery Eastern European Trips with her husband. “Perhaps people were interested in the cemeteries, but those were the dead, whereas she was interested in those who were returning.” Traczewska first connected with Hasidic

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May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

By Josefin Dolsten, JTA It’s glitzy. It’s kitschy. It’s like a musical Olympics or American Idol on steroids. Welcome to the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual pageant in which all of Europe (and some of its neighbors) send national representatives to compete for the best forgettable pop song and most unforgettable outfits. The competition is huge in Europe and beyond, yet many Americans know little about it. And this year it is being held in Tel Aviv. We break down the music fest for you — including why Israel is a part of it and the controversy about this year’s contest. What is Eurovision? Founded in 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is a musical competition mainly for European countries. Though there’s no cash prize, the 42 countries that compete take it quite seriously. Some 186 million viewers tuned in for last year’s finale. Each country holds its own internal contest to pick its act for the general competition. All the countries then get together for a series of televised rounds, culminating in a glam-filled finale featuring performances by the top 26 entries. Since 1973, countries have been able to sing in any language — previously they could sing only in one of the country’s official languages — and most entrants today perform in English. Each country is given points to award an entry; countries cannot vote for themselves. After the performances, viewers vote on their favorites by phone or on a mobile app. Those votes make up 50 percent of each score — the rest come from a professional jury. The country with the most points wins the contest. In lieu of prize money, the winning country gets to host the competition the following year. For the winning artists, it’s an opportunity for exposure, though many of them end up as one-hit wonders. Why is Israel in the Eurovision? Participating countries must be members of the European Broadcasting Union. Though the organization is mostly made up of European countries, it’s not limited to the continent. The Israel Broadcasting Authority was a member from 1957 to 2017, when it shut down and was replaced as a member by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp. Cyprus, Armenia, Morocco and Australia are among the other non-European competitors. Since joining the contest in 1973, Israel has won four times, plac-

The logo of the Eurovision Song Contest displayed during the 2019 NurPhoto via Getty Images national selection show in Kiev in February.

ing it in a fourth-place tie with the Netherlands for the most wins. (Ireland is in first with seven.) The Jewish state took home its first gold in 1978 with Izhar Cohen’s version of “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” a song about childhood love sung in Hebrew pig Latin, then followed up the following year with the sunny “Hallelujah,” which went on to become a Jewish classic. Israel won again in 1998 with “Diva,” a poppy ode to female beauty sung by the transgender star Dana International. Last year it snagged the top prize with Netta Barzilai performing “Toy,” a quirky pop hit that features clucking chicken noises over looped vocals and English lyrics. Where in Israel is the contest being held? The 64th edition of Eurovision will be held at Expo Tel Aviv, in the city’s north. This will be the country’s third time hosting. Israel declined after the 1979 victory, citing financial constraints. Israelis were overjoyed with Barzilai’s win last year, as it ended a 20-year drought. The Israeli government had insisted initially on holding the contest in Jerusalem — the host country typically has the event in its capital city — but relented eventually following the controversy over the U.S. recognition in 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and a subsequent fear of boycotts. Tel Aviv is also Israel’s secular cultural capital.

This year, singer Kobi Marimi will represent Israel with the song “Home,” a heartfelt ballad about self-discovery and homecoming. What’s the controversy all about? Europe’s pro-Palestinian left has made it a priority to boycott Israel. Only days after Israel won, two Irish EU representatives called for boycotting the Jewish state. In Iceland, more than 27,000 people signed a petition calling for a boycott of the event, but the country’s national broadcaster said it would still participate. A group of 50 British artists, including Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, also signed a letter to the BBC urging the broadcaster to ask that the contest be held elsewhere. But Israel has its share of defenders, too, among them the pop queen Madonna, who will be performing at the contest. Last week, more than 100 artists — among them Sharon Osbourne, Gene Simmons and Stephen Fry — denounced the calls to boycott. And earlier this year, France’s contestant said even death threats would not deter him from performing in the Jewish state. There was conflict, too, over what day to hold the competition. The Shalva Band had to drop out of the competition to represent Israel because some of its members are Sabbath observant and thus would not be able to participate in the contest’s final dress rehearsals on Friday night and Saturday. The finale is held Saturday evening. And there are security issues. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets into Israel over the weekend, and the Israeli army retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. By Monday morning, however, a cease-fire was in place and it appeared that the situation had largely returned to normal. Despite the various issues, Israelis are excited about the Eurovision festivities. “In terms of excitement, the level is only second to Mount Sinai,” joked Eytan Schwartz, CEO of the tourism initiative Tel Aviv Global. How can I watch it? Viacom’s Logo channel aired the finals last year in the U.S. and brought in 74,000 viewers, but the company isn’t broadcasting it this year. However, American fans need not despair: Eurovision will be livestreaming the contest on its official YouTube channel. The semifinal was scheduled to be held May 14 to 15, and the finals on May 18. All shows begin at 10 pm Israel time (3 pm Eastern time in the United States).

THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

A Eurovision tale of the tape: What’s it all about

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May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

The JEWISH STAR

Wine & Dine

Very best uses for a sweet pea Kosher Kitchen

Joni SCHoCKett

Jewish Star columnist

eas. Just say the word, and kids run for cover. Peas are the food that people love to hate. I hated them. My kids hated them. My mother hated them. And then my dad began to grow them in his backyard garden, and I discovered an entire new world of peas. These spring peas were nothing like the olivegreen mush that came from a can, or the tasteless kind that came frozen in a box or plastic bag. The peas my dad grew were sweet and delicious. I used to come home from school, pick a dozen pods, and eat the peas under the weeping willow trees next to the garden. They were amazing! I loved them, and my dad had to increase the size of the pea patch the next summer so he could get at least a few into the house before we ate them! I introduced my kids to fresh-from-thevine peas as soon as they were old enough to eat them safely. They loved them and would sit with me and shell them, which gave us a chance to talk and laugh and snack on the fresh sweet peas. Pulling the string and opening the pod to see how many peas there were was fun! Because peas are a cool weather crop, now is the perfect time to buy fresh sweet peas at their very best. Use them the day you buy them for optimal sweetness. One cup of peas has 117 calories and 7 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, and 97% of a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth of vitamin C. Frozen peas are almost as good as fresh, but canned peas are loaded with sodium and sugar and have very few of the nutrients found in the fresh variety. If you or your family members have avoided peas, go to your local farm stand and buy some peas in the shell. Then sit the kids down, shell them while you talk and learn to love this very healthful springtime treat. Peas Plus Chickpeas and More in a Bowl (Pareve) 3 cups baby kale leaves 1 to 2 large celery stalks, sliced 1 to 2 large carrots, shredded 1 roasted beet, shredded or diced 1/2 cup fresh green peas 1 cup sugar snap peas, strings removed 1/2 cup cucumbers, sliced and cut in half 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, to taste (I start with 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press 2 to 3 Tbsp. tamari sauce, to taste 2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 to 2 tsp. Sriracha sauce, to taste 3-1/2 Tbsp. corn starch 1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 Tbsp. canola or safflower oil Optional: Any seeds or nuts you like, such as sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, peanuts or cashews. Any veggies or fruits you like, such as edamame, roasted yams or butternut squash, sliced apples, berries, etc. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Blanch the peas for 30 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl to cool. Repeat with the sugar snap peas and place in another bowl, rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside. Wash and thoroughly dry 3 cups of baby kale leaves. Toss with a small amount of the Asian Ginger Honey Salad Dressing and divide between two bowls. Thinly slice the celery and divide between two bowls. Dice or shred the carrots and beet using a medium shredding disc or grater and place on the two bowls. Add the cucumbers. Add a bunch of the sugar snap peas to each bowl. Add any additional vegetables that you like. Place the sugar, apple cider vinegar, tamari sauce, tomato paste, Sriracha sauce, and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until well combined. Heat until just bubbling, stirring often. Place 1-1/2 Tbsp. of the cornstarch in a small bowl or cup and add 3 Tbsp. of cold water. Stir to combine, until smooth. Pour into the sauce mixture and cook until it bubbles again and thickens, 2 to 4 minutes. Set aside. Place the remaining cornstarch in a small bowl and add the drained chickpeas. Toss to coat. Heat a small skillet and add the canola oil. When shimmering, add the coated chickpeas and cook until golden, shaking the pan gently to turn the chickpeas. When golden on all sides, place on a paper towel to drain. Season with salt and pepper and, if you like, a bit of cayenne. Add the chickpeas to the salad and drizzle the sauce over the chickpeas and sugar snap peas. Sprinkle the peas over both bowls. Serves 2. Asian Ginger Honey Sesame Dressing (Pareve) 3 small cloves garlic, finely minced 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely minced 3/4 cup canola or olive oil or mix of both 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil 1/3 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup tamari, soy or low-sodium soy sauce 4 Tbsp. honey 1/4 cup water Optional: Add 1 tsp. finely orange zest for another layer of flavor. Place the garlic, ginger and 2 Tbsp. of the oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth. Use a rubber spatula and scrape the

mixture into a container large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the honey. Place the honey in a small glass jar and a microwave for about 30 to 60 seconds until melted. Pour into the container and shake well to mix. Taste and adjust ingredients. Make about 2 cups. Spring Pea Soup (Pareve or Dairy) 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1-1/2 cups sliced leeks, white and pale green part only 3 shallots, finely minced 1/2 to 3/4 cup diced celery 5 to 6 cups vegetable broth, or half-broth,

half-water 4 cups fresh shelled English peas (you can use frozen) 3 Tbsp. minced flat leaf parsley 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Garnish: Basil oil, snipped chives Heat a large soup pot and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the leeks and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Add the celery and mix well. Cook, over medium heat, until the vegetables are softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the stock and heat until it starts to simmer. Add the peas and cook at a strong simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the peas are soft. Add the parsley and thyme and simmer for another minute or two. Turn off the heat. Puree batches of the soup in a blender until desired consistency. Pour the pureed soup into another pot. Place the pot in an ice water bath

to cool the soup down as quickly as possible to retain the green color. Season as desired. Add cream or sour cream or crĂ¨me fraiche as desired. Garnish with snipped chives or a drizzle of olive or basil oil. Serve hot or cold. Lemon Roasted Potatoes with Parsley Pesto and Peas (Dairy) 2 lbs. baby golden potatoes such as Yukon Gold 6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided 1/4 cup water Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 clove garlic 1/4 cup chives, finely minced 1/4 cup basil leaves 1/4 cup parsley leaves 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish 3 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, more for garnish 2/3 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed and blanched Additional chives and Parmesan for garnish. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes in half and place in a bowl. Add half the olive oil, half the lemon juice and the water and toss to coat. Pour into a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the potatoes are tender and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to at bowl. Place the garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mince. Add the chives, basil, parsley, hazelnuts, and Parmesan and pulse to mince. Add the remaining lemon juice and the olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Pour over the hot potatoes, add the peas, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with more chives and Parmesan and serve. Serves 4 to 6.

9 THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

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May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

Cheers to the mother of all worriers Who’s in the Kitchen

JudY JoSzeF

Jewish Star columnist

t started out as a normal Monday morning. I came down to the kitchen, made myself a cup of coffee and began to read the newspaper. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my daughter’s pocketbook. “Oh my goodness,” I thought. “She left it here yesterday and didn’t realize.” I tried to call her; it went to voicemail. Well, she would figure it out as soon as she got ready to leave. Her purse had her wallet in it. Can’t go very far without it. I went upstairs to shower and was sure I’d see a text from her when I got out, but I didn’t. It was now after 9 am, she had to have noticed. She would be at work already. I thought it odd. I texted her and got no response. OK, I thought, she’s busy at work, she’ll text me later. But wouldn’t she want to confirm that she had left it at my house? I called her husband just to check that everything was OK. He didn’t answer either. I texted him and asked him to call me. He didn’t. Now I was really nervous. The last I’d spoken to her the night before, she had been in an Uber with her husband and dog. Could it have gotten into an accident? Her ID was in her pocketbook, and often her husband doesn’t carry his. Maybe there was a gas leak in their apartment overnight! I’m not sure why I was so panicky. I am not one of those overprotective moms. When my firstborn was a baby and the pacifier fell, I would wipe it off and give it back (memo to my son and daughter-in-law: I would never dare do that with my granddaughter; no worries). It just made no sense that she hadn’t called to check if she’d left her bag. I tried to calm myself down. But another hour went by, and I still hadn’t heard from my

daughter. I texted a friend of hers who works in the same school and asked if she was in today. No response. Then I got a call from her husband. I breathed a sigh of relief. He explained that she had taken a vacation day because she had an appointment, and that she was probably sleeping or in the shower and had missed the calls and texts. I was embarrassed at how ridiculous I was. I tried to explain how I’d come to the conclusion that they had either gotten into a horrible Uber car accident or overcome by gas fumes. Although it had sounded plausible when it played out in my mind, it now sounded ridiculous. My son-in-law, being very laid-back and easygoing, chuckled and assured me all was OK. My daughter might be another story. I told her she would understand when, G-d willing, she becomes a mother. Which reminded me of my mom, and how nervous she used to be when my friends and I went out. Mind you, this was a group of 10 to 12 people, and we were probably 17 at the time, but no matter where we went, if it was at night she was always nervous, always waiting up until I returned and always wanting to know our exact plans. If we were going ice skating in Coney Island, I would have to tell a little white lie that one of the parents was coming with us. I told her I was 17 and she didn’t have to worry. She responded that every day in the newspaper there was another picture of a young woman murdered somewhere and that I had to be really careful. Trying to make light of her nervousness, I would find a flattering picture of myself and tell her that if G-d forbid something happened, could she please make sure that this was the photo that ended up in the newspaper. She didn’t think it was funny. I wish she was still here with us today. I would apologize, because she was right all along. It doesn’t matter how old you are — your child is always your child, and you always worry about them! A great recipe came to my mind as I was

writing this article — a bit time consuming, but worth the effort. Flambéed Pear “Purses” with Caramel Sauce and Ganache By Charles from Five Euro Food For the purses: 2 pears (ripe) 3 sheets filo pastry 1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar 1-1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (for brushing) 3 Tbsp. brandy For the caramel sauce: 3/4 cup sugar 3-1/3 oz. heavy (whipping) cream 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter For the ganache: 3-1/2 Tbsp. dark Chocolate 3-1/2 oz. heavy (whipping) cream Start by peeling, coring and finely chopping the pears. Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan and add in the chopped pears and 1-1/2 Tbsp. of sugar. Cook through for a couple of minutes until the pear juice starts to form a syrup with the sugar. At this point, pour in the brandy and allow to sizzle vigorously for a couple of seconds before setting it alight with a lighter or match. Allow to burn out, shaking the pan every few seconds. Melt the remaining butter for the purses, either in a pan or by placing in the microwave on high power for a few seconds. Cut the filo pastry sheets in half widthwise so you get 6 pieces. Layer them on top of each other, brushing the top of each bottom sheet with butter before placing a new sheet on top. Once all three sheets are in place, brush the top again with butter.

Preheat your oven to 425F. Meanwhile place half of the cooked pear mixture into the center of the pastry sheets. Bring the corners together and press gently at the top to form a small pouch or bag shape. Brush liberally again with butter and place onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat the process again for the second purse and then place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until a rich golden brown. While the purses are baking, place the sugar for the caramel sauce into a pan and melt over

a medium heat, stirring all the time. When the sugar has completely melted down to a rich brown sauce, add in the cream. At this point the sauce will froth up a lot, so watch and stir well. When the bubbling has subsided, add the butter and stir until melted. Set aside and allow to cool. Next, melt the chocolate in another pan over a medium heat, stirring all the time until completely melted. When ready, pour in the cream and stir well to blend. Place the purses onto serving dishes and serve the sauces with them. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar if desired.

Restaurant scene is a triumph of Israel tourism edWin blaCK

Jewish Star contributor

srael’s adversaries in the BDS movement thought they could starve Israel through economic warfare that included even its food sector. Many remember the furor over SodaStream, Sabra hummus, ordinary fruits and vegetables, as well as Israeli cuisine. But as far as the Israeli restaurant scene is concerned, “BDS” stands for only one thing: “Breakfast, Dinner and Sweets.” Across the country, Israeli restaurants sizzle with celebrity chefs and horizon-expanding culinary wizardry. Decades ago, Israel’s culinary scene was largely defined by omnipresent falafel, shawarma and pizza stands, tomatoes and cucumbers sliced with endless variation, carrot juice vendors, over-glitzed coffee and pastry bars, and truck stop-style roadside eateries offering spiced Moroccan-style salads in drab arrays. Sameness without sophistication were the main flavors. All that’s over. In recent years, highly trained and innovative (if feisty) chefs have been opening one trendy restaurant after another. Now hip dining spots can be found just about everywhere — from hotel rooftops with majestic views to disused warehouses, converted old homes, tight alleys, rooftops, seaside balconies, hilltop niches, spots overlooking the seashore, a hillside, or even a wall — and the sometimes just the cramped space between two other cramped spaces. “Israeli cuisine” is an undefinable fusion-onsteroids of 150 or so indigenous and immigrant

cuisines that have left their traces on an unrestrained determination to reimagine past foods for the palate of the future. Most ingredients are obtained within a 15-minute to 60-minute drive, meaning unparalleled same-day freshness. Unchained, yet somehow tethered to a Jewish and regional past, today’s Israeli cuisine blends European, Arabic and Asian traditions in a visual audacity that erases taste borders. Israeli celebrity chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Eyal Shani and Michael Solomonov have burned their stamps on kitchens worldwide. Almost 200,000 people work in the restaurant industry, about half of them waiters, which has created a teeming industry. Restaurants mean employment to immigrant workers, average Israelis and Palestinians who have embraced the Israeli economy. Trendy restaurants are a national pastime and uplifting social force. Ironically, with all the dining fervor, today there are fewer restaurants in Israel today than a few years ago. The high cost of doing business and the compulsion to achieve excellence has squeezed many restaurants out of business. Moreover, the cost and tribulations of official koshering is steep, and too often simply an unnerving pressure. Many restaurants now forego kosher certification. Most impacting, recent tax rulings on employee pensions and tips have squeezed the entire industry. About one-third of restaurants close within their first year. Margins are carpaccio-thin. Asaf Lees, co-owner of Sucre Ltd. restaurant group, quips, “Opening a restaurant in Tel Aviv today is almost impossible without the power of suppliers.” Nonetheless, Israel still offers more than 6,200 listed restaurants at present, about 1,400 of which are in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem has a full

stock of many of the rest. Any shortlist of recommended eateries will be immediately assailed for leaving out 100 other recommended restaurants. But … three of Tel Aviv’s best restaurants are operated by one company, Sucre Ltd., which combines celebrity chef flamboyance and leveraged buying power to succeed. All three require two to three weeks to secure a table. At the top is Kitchen Market, housed above a farmer’s market at Tel Aviv’s north port. Noisy and crowded, the establishment is overseen by celebrity chef Yossi Shitrit, who appears on his own popular culinary TV show. Less cacophonous is the restaurant Mashya, located in a small hotel near the beach. Also under Chef Yossi’s baton, it offers a more distilled environment, Mashya’s presentations just as style-revising. The third Sucre eatery is Onza, a raucous inside-outside Turkish eatery dropped into an alley in Jaffa’s flea market area (the wonderfully named Shuk Hapishpeshim). Here the platters are sumptuous, and the music loud and rhythmic. Jerusalem is also packed with must-try places. Atop the Mamilla Hotel with a spectacular view of the Old City is its Rooftop Restaurant. And the dignity and diplomatic history of Jerusalem is reflected in the unparalleled Shabbat lunch every Saturday at the King David Hotel. Probably the most memorable eating experiences are squeezed together in the Machane Yehuda market. This ramshackle and vivacious convergence of food and all portable things sold in stalls was first established during the Ottoman Empire. You can purchase and often sample every type of exotic spice, olive, vegetable, meat or fish, cheese, bread, halvah, candy or pastry in a crowded atmosphere made electric with the unmasked pulse of Israel. On Friday afternoons,

it is jam-packed, and much of the fresh produce is offered at lower prices so that it sells before Shabbat. One of Machane Yehuda’s best eateries is Azura — breakfast and lunch only — which serves supremely sumptuous Turkish and Oriental dishes in basic surroundings. Nearby behold Machneyuda, Israel’s wildest, most in-crowded and sought-after restaurant, which requires five to eight weeks for a table — that is, if they answer the phone and don’t lose the reservation. Culinary mastery and innovation combine with loud music and an edge-ofthe-world canteen atmosphere. If you order the insane dessert thing, prepare for shock sweets. See it here — no here … OK, try here. Finally, there are many emirs in Israel’s restaurant scene. But only one sultan — Uri Buri, a simple cafe hidden on a dark corner at the far northern Akko coast. It is acclaimed as Israel’s culinary mecca, recognized by gourmands everywhere. Guru founder Chef Uri Jeremias, sporting a massive white beard cascading down to mid-belly, is worshipped for the purity, simplicity, freshness and inherent power of his seafood creations. Celebrity chefs and food aficionados alike make the 90-minute pilgrimage north of Tel Aviv to this tiny stone structure to be reminded that where food meets the soul, the elusive human quintessence can be faintly, if fleetingly, discerned. Whether one dines at the simplistic hummus cafes of Haifa or the exquisite Michelin-endowed concept restaurants of Herzliya, an inescapable conclusion accompanies the fare: Food is good for peace. Peace is good for food. No one makes war while enjoying a good meal. Edwin Black is the author of IBM and the Holocaust.

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Teach our childre n well 5 Towns conferenc e told: Deliver Tora with joy to h • 6 Tamuz, 5777

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19 • Vol 16, No

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note remarks that opened the fourth While Torah is nual an- passed down way for the mesorahforever true, the ideal tive Five Towns Community Collaboraaccording Conference on to be conveyed the time, emphasizing to the middah of children — and Sunday. “What is the Torah how an everlastingto our that the primary of Torah and the kids need now?” ingredent needed in Yiddishkeit is embeddedlove he asked. “What today’s chinuch simcha. their beings — worked in 1972 is in necessarily changes won’t work today.” Twenty-six speakers, “You’re still talking over time. Rabbi Weinberger, about what rebbetzins, educators, including rabbis, for you in 1972 and insisting thatworked d’asrah of Congregationfounding morah ers and community leadwhat should work lecturers that’s Woodmere Aish Kodesh in and mashpia at sue that challengeeach addressed a key isMoshe Weinberger, for your kid,” Rabbi the YU, reminded families and parents Shila”a, said in key- that Torah and educators in attendance frum communities. The event, schools in will not be received the Young Israel hosted at of Woodmere, if it’s not was orgaSee 5 Towns Rabbi Moshe hosts on page Weinberger, of 15 Kodesh in Woodmere, Congregation Aish delivered keynote

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Presenting their topics, from left: Baruch Fogel of Rabbi Touro College, “Motivating our children to motivate themselves”; Reb-

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Presenters at Sunday’s conference, from left: Elisheva director of religious Kaminetsky, SKA kodesh, “Empoweringguidance, limudei choices”; Rabbi

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betzin Shani Taragin, 7:53 • Torah columns Tanach coordinator and mashgicha 6:46 pm, Havdalah nika, and Morah”; ruchanit at Midreshet Towns candles Rabbi • Five rah V’avodah, Ephraim 5777 Congregation Polakoff, don’t”; “Miriam: Meyaledet, To• 24 Elul Bais 15, 2017 Rabbi Jesse Horn Tefilah, “Teens Meiech • Sept. technology: What and kotel, of Yeshivat HaNitzavim-Vayeil you know and ognize your bashert”; what you and “Helping children balance ideology Rabbi Kenneth pleasure”; Esther of Congregation Hain Wein, “How to Beth Shalom, rec- A-OK to “When it’s say yes.”

tice?”; Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, d’asra, Young mora Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, “Raising successful children”; Rebbetzin Lisa Septimus, yoetzet hala-

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Star the loss, By The Jewish to remember Cedarhurst pausedmiracles of 9/11, at the the n on Sunday. the heroism, and commemoratio village’s annual Rabbi Shay Schachter of WoodIn his invocation, of the Young Israel the Master and (top right photo) pray that G-d, all the strength mere said, “we world, grant us Creator of the to stand firm together against of and the fortitude of extremism, of bigotry, all forms of terror, and of all evil that can be hatred, of racism, forms in our world.” who found in different obligation to thosenever solemn a have “We 11th to injured on Sept. died or were said Mayor Benjamin but we also forget what happened,” “We saw evil, Weinstock (bottom). America.” of best survivor saw the (middle), a 9/11 78,” reAri Schonburn Fate of “Miracle and waitand author of that day. He was called his experiences on the 78th floor when elevators ing to change hit. Chief the first plane hurst Fire Department Lawrence-Cedar the playing of saluting during victims. David Campell, 9/11 names of local Taps, read the

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to an — we believe investiture speech Delivering his Wilf Campus in at YU’sThe Newspaper of our Orthodox communities Berman, with many assembly of 2,000 ty, Rabbi Dr. Ari values that personify YeWashington Heights, in by livestream, that of the “five more listening spoke of the Rabbi Berman the five central “Five Torot, or institution.” teachings, of our believe in Tor“We do not just Chayyim — Torat at Emet but also and values must that our truths he said. live in the world,” teachings, YU’s other central Adam,” “Torat he said, are “Torat Tziyyon, the Chesed,” and “Torat Torah of Redemption.” formal cereFollowing the community parmonies, the YU street fair at an “InvestFest” Am- tied street fair on Amsterdam Avenue. 11 was a along at the “InvestFest” See YU on page Star

Jewish of Yeshiva UniversiVayera • Friday, November 3, 2017 • 14 Cheshvan 5778 • Luach page By The president 21 • The fifth Torah columns pages 20–21 VolSunday 16, No 41 said •on

At declaration’s centennial, a source of joy and derision

ceremony, YU’s new president, after the investiture for a selfie. sterdam Avenue who happily posed sought-after celebrity

To British, Palestine just another colony Viewpoint

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or the Palestinians, the year zero is not 1948, when the state of Israel came into being, but 1917, when Great Britain issued, on Nov. 2, the Balfour Declaration—expressing support for the establishment of a “Jewish national home” in Palestine. So central is the Balfour Declaration to Palestinian political identity that the “Zionist invasion” is officially deemed to have begun in 1917—not in 1882, when the first trickle of Jewish pioneers from Russia began arriving, nor in 1897, when the Zionist movement held its first congress in Basel, nor in the late 1920s, when thousands of German Jews fleeing the rise of Nazism chose to go to Palestine. The year 1917 is the critical date because that is when, as an anti-Zionist might say, the Zionist hand slipped effortlessly into the British imperial glove. It is a neat, simple historical proposition upon which the entire Palestinian version of events rests: an empire came to our land and gave it to foreigners, we were dispossessed, and for five generations now, we have continued to resist. Moreover, it is given official sanction in the Palestine National Covenant of 1968, in which article 6 defines Jews who “were living permanently in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion” as “Palestinians”—an invasion that is dated as 1917 in the covenants’ notes. As the Balfour Declaration’s centenary approached, this theme is much in evidence. There is now a dedicated Balfour Apology See Cohen on page 22

Dealer on Long

Sukkah To Abbas Largest and Hamas, it was ‘original sin’

Ben Cohen

t was a minor news story when it broke in the summer of 2016. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced he was suing Great Britain over the Balfour Declaration, issued on Nov. 2, 1917. But as we observe the centennial of the document this week, it’s important to understand that although his lawsuit was a stunt, Abbas was serious. More than that, the symbolism of his See Tobin on page 22

Corbyn boycotts B’four event

Britain Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn— who in 2009 called Hezbollah and Hamas his “friends” — said he would not attend a dinner commemorating the centennial of the Balfour Declaration. Prime Minister Theresa May she would attend “with pride” and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would be her guest. “We are proud of the role we played in the creation of the State of Israel and we will certainly mark the centenary with pride,” May said. “I am also pleased that good trade relations and other relations that we have with Israel we are building on and enhancing.”

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IsraAID brings relief to U.S. disasters

By Ron Kampeas, JTA Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and WASHINGTON — For 17 years, the then the wildfires in northern California. Israeli NGO IsraAID has been performPolizer recalls that he was wrapping ing search and rescue, purifying water, up a visit to IsraAID’s new American providing emergency medical assistance headquarters in Palo Alto on Oct. 8 and and walking victims of trauma back to was on his way to a flight to Mexico to psychological health in dozens of disas- oversee operations after a devastating ter-hit countries. No 25 earthquake there when he got word of • Vol 16, But no season has been busier than the wildfires. “I literally had Luach page 19 9:15 • to do a Uthis past summer and fall, its co-CEO Yo- turn,” he said Havdalah this week in an interview 8:07 pm, tam Polizer said in an interview — and ting Candleligh at the Israeli embassy in Washington. Polizer spoke with the exhilaration of an executive whose team has come through a daunting challenge. “We’re the people who stay past the ‘aid festival’,” he said, grinning, describing the See IsraAID on page 5

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Towns nowhere more than in the United States. 5777 • Five Tamuz, “The last few months have been un2017 • 20 believable,” he said, listing a succession • July 14, Parsha Pinchas of disasters that occupied local staff and Niveen Rizkalla working with IsraAID in Santa Rosa, Calif., in volunteers since August: Hurricane Harthe wake of deadly wildfires there. vey in Texas, Hurricane Irma in Florida,

Join 201 olim SEE PAGE 27

Leah in sec-t. (with mom of Woodmere for Girls in Cedarhurson Feinberg photos School said. More ar-old Elishevah at the Shulamith now there,” she The Jewish Star / Ed Weintrob trip” and a student out. Thirteen-ye came from year-long had been home. magic “on a 30 as olim, to come ond photo) love for Eretz Yisroel Nefesh B’Nefesh’s left Israel of my land. Jonawho flew promised Her parents her family’s journey fulfill “Part was she said. Long Islanders aliyah to the for a enough to flight page 16. through Al’s charter the smiling in” and making he’s waited long will follow,” to do this it’s time, NBN’s El to Israel the first some of “all said she’s wanted family, friends, “Hopefully, everyone t of boarding boarding the move Here are on July 3, going Hills (left) and was land, said excitemen olim, for others Shpage 16 through on July 1 carpet ride of Kew Gardens While the olim on emerged the promised of the and her school, from teaching See. 201 carpet to Her love of Israel for many than Yehoshua holy land, — he retired palpable time. visits to the the dream

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between the impure and the pure, between right and wrong. The Sixth Commandment says: “Thou shalt not murder.” It does not say “thou shalt not kill.” There are many examples of moral killing, and Israelis are forced to confront them virtually every day: killing to protect the Jewish homeland from attack or killing to prevent an innocent person from being murdered are just two examples. The spiritual leaders at Sixth & I, both of whom are on the J Street Rabbinic Council, have responded to criticism of their program by saying that of course they support Israel. But words are cheap. The fact that they have not scheduled any programs to celebrate Israel’s 71st anniversary, but hosted this Israeli-Palestinian memorial program, is telling. That the program was sponsored by the New Israel Fund (NIF), an NGO that funds organizations that demonize Israel, supports anti-Israel boycotts and delegitimizes Israel, is even more telling. Both J Street and the NIF constantly insist that they are pro-Israel, but rarely, if ever, support actions taken by Israel to defend its people or find anything praiseworthy to say about America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East. The spiritual leaders at Sixth & I Synagogue stated that their memorial program was designed to end conflict in a just and peaceful way. They have not explained how equating victim and aggressor accomplishes that. They have not explained how equating right and wrong makes for a more just and peaceful world. Carol Greenwald is the treasurer and Robert Samet is the chairman of Coalition of Pro-Israel Activists.

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s Israelis took refuge in bomb shelters (again), and Palestinians celebrated in the streets as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets flew overhead, one of the oldest synagogues in Washington — the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue — spread the calumny that Israeli victims and Palestinian aggressor are one and the same. On the evening of May 7, when Jews around the world commemorated Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day), which honors the memory of the thousands of heroes who have died defending the Jewish state, Sixth & I — a “nondenominational, non-membership, non-traditional Jewish synagogue” in downtown Washington — sponsored a very different memorial event: the “Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony” for Israeli and Palestinian “victims” of the Israeli/Arab conflict. This alternative Memorial Day requires the Jewish community to mourn its tormentors, threatening to destroy a commemoration that expresses our unity in respect and gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we could live. Among the Palestinian dead that Sixth & I believes we should mourn are terrorists, suppliers of terrorists, enablers of terrorists, those who celebrate terrorists, and those who do nothing more than quietly approve of and vote for terrorists. The program at Sixth & I placed Palestinian aggressors on the same moral plane as their martyred victims. Would Sixth & I hold a ceremony honoring the memories of the 9/11 terrorists together

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with their victims? Honoring the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists who educated, trained and equipped the 9/11 terrorists and have since died fighting our soldiers in Afghanistan? After all, they, too, left families behind. When Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is executed, should we mourn him, too, along with his victims? What about the Nazis who died fighting the Allies in World War II? Would Sixth & I hold a memorial ceremony for them on Remembrance Day? What on earth is the matter with us? What kind of demons are the leaders of Sixth & I trying to exorcise? What this synagogue is doing is akin to what the young Jewish miscreants in IfNotNow did when they recited Kaddish for Hamas terrorists. Arabs have started every war against Israel in the past 71 years, and Palestinian Arabs have perpetrated countless terrorist attacks against civilians. More than 24,000 Israeli Jews have given their lives to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel and safeguard it for all Jews. We are the recipients of this gift that is Israel — this gift that came at such a heavy price. he hundreds of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip last weekend were fired at civilian targets with no military objective, and thus constituted war crimes. To equate the Israeli victims of such attacks — both those who died fighting to protect their country and those who died because they were not able to make it to bomb shelters in time, and those who died trying to murder Israelis, or who in some measure celebrated, encouraged or enabled the murder of Israelis — is depraved. Judaism is all about making distinctions:

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By Ron Kampeas, JTA WASHINGTON — It’s not an unfamiliar frame for describing the rise of the new nationalism: There’s a bad wind blowing through the West, and nothing less than democracy is at stake. What makes it especially unsettling for Beate and Serge Klarsfeld is that they have lived through it before — and spent a subsequent lifetime trying to make sure the “bad wind” did not return. “There is a bad wind in Europe and democracy is losing its influence,” Serge Klarsfeld told the JTA last week, just before he and his wife received the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Elie Wiesel Award for their lifetime of hunting Nazis and forcing Europe to confront its past. In their final years, the Klarsfelds have taken to arguing that the best means of preventing the return of anti-Semitism and corrosive prejudice is protecting institutions like the European Union. The rise of nativism in the United States and Europe, the persistence of anti-Semitism and a number of high-profile anti-Semitic attacks — these elements do not surprise the couple. They take the long view: Live long enough, said Serge Klarsfeld, who is 83 (Beate is 80), and what went around will come around again. “It’s an atmosphere like the beginning of the ’30s, and the authority of the state is at stake,” Serge Klarsfeld said. “We are sorry to see each Saturday the Gilets Jaunes,” the populist “yellow jacket” movement demanding increased economic benefits in France, he said. Some of its followers include nativist and anti-Semitic elements “on the streets with anti-Semitic slogans against Jews coming from the extreme right. You see people with the hand like a Hitler salute, publicly.” They also are not surprised by white supremacy’s resurgence in the United States, nor the murderous attacks carried out by white nationalists, most recently on a synagogue in the San Diego area last weekend. “There was always the Ku Klux Klan,” Serge Klarsfeld said. “There were very many violent actions against Jews and black people, against others, it cannot disappear in a few decades.” Explicit anti-Semitism and to a lesser degree racism fell out of favor after World War II, but always existed below the surface, the couple agree. “Anyone who wants to find an enemy finds an enemy in the Jew,” Beate Klarsfeld said. The Klarsfelds have accrued multiple national awards over the decades. They are perhaps best known for tracking down Klaus

societies were ill prepared for assimilating other cultures; a decline of Holocaust education; interference by China and Russia, which are inimical to a unified Europe; and the pan-European ultranationalist movement promoted by Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former adviser. They also blame a generation of Europeans who took progress for granted. And they say the erosion of trust in democratic norms comes from three directions: the left and its anti-Zionists; the right and its ultranationalists; and Islamists who live among the migrant communities. “It has to be done much more,” Beate Klarsfeld said of Holocaust education, particularly among the migrant young. “It’s not the priority today to work with the youth.” Her husband adds, “The young generation never suffered from wars, hunger, they never suffered from losing their families, they don’t know what is war, they see war on TV, in other countries. They don’t understand the risk of losing democracy and losing the European Union, which is the protector of Jews.” In a separate interview with Agence France Presse, Serge Klarsfeld took aim at Trump. “I have not heard President Trump take a strong position against the far right here, whereas in France, in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, leaders of states always have a firmer response,” he said. “Either he fails to see the danger or he doesn’t believe it is dangerous.” Speaking to JTA, the Klarsfelds acknowledge an anomaly: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraces the very authoritarians they hope to defeat in the next parliamentary elections. And Trump, who has worked closely with Netanyahu on Middle East policy, also has derided the international institutions the Klarsfelds say preserves security for Jews. “We are grateful to President Trump for what he did for Israel, and we understand that Israel has diplomatic reasons for allies in Eastern Europe, authoritarian regimes like Poland and Hungary,” Serge Klarsfeld said. But the cross-European institutions are critical, he said. “Europe, it’s a continent that has only known wars for centuries and centuries and for 70 years you have no more wars.” The Klarsfelds are resigned to the fight to preserve that peace, even if it outlasts them. “You never know what will happen after you disappear, you never know whether your side will be victorious or not,” Serge Klarsfeld said. “You can leave a legacy to help others.”

Beate and Serge Klarsfeld pose before receiving an award from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Ron Kampeas

Barbie, the notorious “Butcher of Lyon,” in Bolivia. They also exposed Kurt Lischka, who served as chief of the Gestapo in Paris. As the publisher of a recent joint biography, Hunting the Truth, puts it, “they were born on opposite sides of the Second World War”: Beate to a German father who served in the Wehrmacht, Serge to a Jewish father who was deported to Auschwitz. (In 1986, the couple got the Hollywood treatment, portrayed by Farrah Fawcett and Tom Conti in a well-received made-for-TV film.) The Klarsfelds are using the influence they have accrued through their lifetime of work to help the institutions they say have protected Jews and other minorities. They have published ads in France urging votes for the pro-European Union parties in the next European Parliament elections at the end of May. “The fight against anti-Semitism is not the priority,” Serge Klarsfeld said. “The priority is the defense of democracy to defend the republican state of France and democracies in other states in Europe.” Democratic institutions, and the expansion of the European Union after the breakup of the Soviet empire, is what has kept the peace for seven decades on a continent wracked for centuries by war. In a back-and-forth dialogue, the Klarsfelds list the elements they say have eroded attachment to the European Union among Europeans: a resentment of the flood of migrants after the 2011 Arab Spring, particularly in Eastern Europe, where homogeneous

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THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

Famed Nazi hunters say it feels like the 1930s

May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

Parsha of the Week

Rabbi avi billet Jewish Star columnist

Sanctifying the name of G-d

fter introducing us to the concepts of not bringing an animal as an offering before it is eight days old, and after telling us that the animal and its parent (Rashi distinguishes between the animal’s mother and father) cannot be slaughtered on the same day, the Torah tells us that we must keep G-d’s commandments. And — “You shall not desecrate My holy name, and I should be sanctified among the children of Israel” (22:32). In the Sefer HaChinuch, the author divides this verse into two commandments, one against desecrating G-d’s name (“making a chillul Hashem”), and one promoting the sanctification of the same (“making a kiddush Hashem”). He depicts the desecration of G-d’s name on three levels: the first involves violating a very serious commandment when enemies are pushing one to do so; the second involves violating a sin that is just meant to cause anger or angst (such as lying in court); and the third is simply not behaving in a way that gives people a good flavor for Jewish people and therefore for the G-d we claim to represent — such as promising to pay someone and not following through quickly. Rabbeinu Bachaye describes chillul Hashem as one of the most serious violations a Jew can commit. Even Yom Kippur does not atone for the desecration of G-d’s name! However, Rabbeinu Bachaye does give a way to atone for what one has desecrated, and that is the second half of our verse. Sanctify G-d’s name in a manner opposite the method and form of desecration — that overturns the desecration of G-d’s name. Proverbs 16:6 notes that with “kindness and truth sins can be atoned for…” Bringing the example of Chananya, Mishael and Azariah from the book of Daniel, he notes, quoting the Sifra (9:4) that sanctification of G-d must come from a place where one is not expecting anything, but on the contrary, is ready to die for one’s beliefs. The reason Chananya, Mishael and Azariah are viewed as they are is because they were not expecting to be saved from a fiery furnace. They were ready to give up their lives rather than submit to the heresies in which they were being forced to participate. abbi Yaakov Kamenetzky asked an interesting question on this subject: how could people in the Middle Ages, Crusades, and Inquisition, who gave up their lives for G-d’s name, justify taking the lives of their children as well? The children were not obligated to give up their lives at that age! He answered that had the children been spared, they would have been taken by their enemies (assuming they would not have been killed) and would have been raised in a manner equivalent to a forced conversion, which would be a desecration of G-d’s name — Jewish children being raised against the holy teachings of the Torah.

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Five Towns times from the White Shul

Jewish Star columnists: Rabbi Avi Billet of Anshei Chesed Congregation, Boynton Beach, Florida, mohel and Five Towns native; Rabbi David Etengoff of Magen David Yeshivah, Brooklyn; Rabbi Binny Freedman, rosh yeshiva of Orayta, Jerusalem. Contributing writers: Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of United Hebrew

Congregations of British Commonwealth; Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive VP emeritus of the OU. to contact our columnists, write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com

Don’t just live life — love it From Heart of Jerusalem

Rabbi biNNY FReeDMaN

Jewish Star columnist

any years ago, when I was in high school, my mother arranged for me to get a ride to school once a week with one of the teachers. We lived in Manhattan, and as the high school I attended was in Riverdale, having a ride that morning saved me a good hour I would have spent on public transportation. It also meant leaving our apartment at 7:30 am instead of 6:30, for which I was understandably grateful. (In retrospect, I’m not certain the arrangement was purely practical, as the teacher would regularly engage me in a variety of Torah topics and philosophical questions.) One morning as we were driving up the West Side Highway, a car barreled down an entrance ramp and slammed into our car. Thrown across the highway, the teacher managed to regain control as the engine sputtered off, and we pulled back onto the shoulder behind the offending vehicle. I waited in the car while he went off to exchange information with the other driver. Fortunately, no one was injured. When he came back to the car, I silently prayed it would not be able to start, as I had a test I was not ready for and there was no better excuse than being stuck on the highway with a teacher! Alas, after a couple of turns, his car started. After a tentative moment, we resumed our drive up the highway, albeit with the engine making some funny noises and significant body damage to the front right corner of the vehicle. The teacher had been in the middle of a funny story when were interrupted, and as soon as we were driving safely, he picked up where he had left off. I could not believe he was just resuming his story. After a few minutes I could not contain myself and blurted out, “Aren’t you upset your car got creamed? The whole front of your car is messed up and you now will have to go to the garage … aren’t you the least bit upset?” I don’t remember most of what I learned in high school, but I still remember his response: May we never be faced with the challenge of giving up our lives for G-d’s name. But would we be prepared to do so? Every time I see Jews fighting over ideology, politics, life choices, I wonder if we have lost sight of the bigger picture. We are in this Jewish life together, we all have the same job to sanctify G-d’s name, and when we forget that, we cause fighting in our own ranks, which is a bigger chillul Hashem than the chillul Hashem we think we are preventing. Let us remember that the enemies of the

“Look, I can be upset he creamed the front of my car, or I can be happy about it; but either way, the front of the car will still be destroyed, so I might as well be happy!” here is a fascinating thought worth noting in this week’s portion of Emor. Hashem tells Moshe: “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them, [each of them] shall not become impure amongst his people” (Vayikra 21:1). Rashi, noting the obvious repetition of the command to speak, quotes the Talmud (Yevamot 114a), which explains it to mean that the kohanim must also pass this on to the younger children, who are also obligated not to become impure. The problem with this explanation is the text implies that it is all meant for the adults. Why would we take this to refer to teaching the children? Rav Moshe Feinstein, in his Darash Moshe, notes that the word used twice for speaking here, “emor,” is a warmer, softer form of speech, as opposed to “daber,” which also means speak, but harshly and more directly. This is the tone one is meant to use with children. The first usage of the word refers to Moshe’s instructing the kohanim in the limitations they will need to accept upon themselves, something difficult to accept and thus best given over softly and warmly. The second time the verse repeats the enjoinder to speak, it is referring to the kohanim themselves being responsible to pass this along to their children as well. It’s not easy to teach children limits, and sharing the idea is a better strategy than merely issuing a command. Furthermore, Rav Moshe deduces that the second usage implies that the kohanim must have a positive feeling towards the mitzvot. In fact, he points out, even if your children see you are willing to sacrifice for Torah, that is not what will connect them to tradition. What really impacts our children is when they see we love it. “Precisely when children hear their parents say that mitzvot are not a sacrifice at all, we sim-

ply love them and they enrich our lives and fulfill us, which is when the children are receiving a good education” (Darash Moshe, Emor pg. 97). ow many of us wish our kids would love learning more, but neglect to ask ourselves how much we love learning? How often do we wish our kids would be more scrupulous about wearing tzitzit, saying blessings, or even keeping Shabbat, without considering whether our kids are seeing us enthusiastic about them? If I had to choose the factor that impacted me the most Jewishly growing up, it would without hesitation be the unbridled enthusiasm many of my teachers, and especially my parents, had for Jewish learning, Shabbat, and mitzvot. Our children will learn far more from what they see us do and how we do it than they ever will from what we say. The things that really last in life are the things we love, and while there are no guarantees, the degree to which we love what we do will have the most impact on the next generation’s values. If we want our children to love Shabbat, they have to see us loving Shabbat. If they perceive Shabbat as a chore that forces us to give up sports games and cell phones, why would we expect them to want to do it? But if Shabbat is filled with moments and experiences we love and the enthusiastic energy permeates the home, who wouldn’t want that as a part of their life? This is not to say there is no value in carrying on with the things we need to do even when we don’t want to do them. We are not talking about living life; we are speaking of the possibility of elevating our experiences to loving life. Nike, the bastion of Western consumer culture, has taught us to Just Do It. Judaism says don’t just do it: Love doing it! The allusion to the kohanim, who are meant to be our role models, tells us the same. And my teacher, with his one simple comment, shared with me an ideal: it wasn’t just about living life, it was about loving life. Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem.

If they perceive Shabbat as a chore, why would they want to do it?

Jewish people think our very existence is a chillul Hashem. They think the state of Israel is a chillul Hashem. They think a chassid wearing chassidic garb is a chillul Hashem. They think a Jew owning a bank is a chillul Hashem. They think a Jew asking for rent to be paid on time is a chillul Hashem. Obviously, these kinds of thoughts from people who hate Jews no matter what are irrelevant to the discussion. Our job is to be good, honest people, to represent G-d honorably. If we are not doing that, then we are certainly desecrat-

ing G-d’s name in the eyes of those who may want to judge us favorably. Those who hate us don’t need an excuse. We should go above and beyond our emotions to remember that strife and hatred towards our fellow Jews is the biggest chillul Hashem we can commit. We give fodder to those who want to see us and our G-d as undeserving of respect. We owe it to ourselves and to G-d to rise above internal strife. Issues can be discussed, compromises can be reached. But hating another Jew is desecrating G-d’s holy name.

Torah

Rabbi david eTengoff

Jewish Star columnist

ne of the most prominent segments of our parasha is known as Parashat HaMoadim, the Section of the Festivals. Its 44 verses comprise the 23rd chapter of Vayikra and serve as an encyclopedic presentation of the biblically-based festivals. It begins exactly as we would expect: “And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The L-rd’s appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]’” (23:1-2). Following the words, “these are my appointed [holy days],” we would naturally anticipate a listing and exposition of the moadim,

beginning with Pesach and concluding with Sukkot. Yet the next verse inexplicably refers to Shabbat: “[For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the L-rd in all your dwelling places”(23:3). This is followed by the introduction that we originally expected: “These are the L-rd’s appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you [i.e. the Sanhedrin] shall designate in their appointed time” (23:4). ashi, based on several Midrashic passages, notes the inclusion of Shabbat in the midst of the moadim and asks: “Why does the Sabbath [designated by G-d,] appear here amidst the Festivals [designated by man, the Sanhedrin]?” His answer is a classic example of rabbinic analysis: “To teach you that whoever desecrates the Festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he has

desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever fulfills the Festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath [and his reward is as great].” In Rashi’s view, the placement of Shabbat at the outset of our chapter is meant to convey the singular import of the moadim by noting their close equivalence to Shabbat. Rabbi Nissan Alpert zt”l was one of the great roshei yeshivah of Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan and perhaps the most celebrated student of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. In his posthumous work Limudei Nissan, Rav Alpert presents a deep insight regarding the connection between Shabbat and the moadim that informs our understanding of Rashi’s gloss: “[The reason why Shabbat appears before

Shabbat is the ‘mother’ of the festivals.

Time management and the Jewish year Rabbi siR jonaThan sacks

ime management is more than management and larger than time. It is about life itself. G-d gives us one thing above all: life itself. And He gives it to us all on equal terms. However rich we are, there are still only 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and a span of years that, however long, is still all too short. Whoever we are, whatever we do, the single most important fact on which all else depends is how we spend our time. “The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty years,” says Psalm 90, and despite the massive reduction of premature deaths in the past century, the average life expectancy around the world, according to recent United Nations figures, is 71.5 years. So, concludes the Psalm, “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom,” reminding us that time management is not simply a productivity tool. It is, in fact, a spiritual exercise. Hence the following idea, which sounds simple but isn’t: do not rely on To Do lists. Use a diary. The most successful people schedule their

most important tasks in their diary. They know that if it isn’t in there, it won’t get done. To Do lists remind us of what we have to do, but not when. They fail to distinguish between the important and the urgent. They clutter the mind with trivia and distract us when we ought to be focusing on the things that matter in the long run. Only a diary connects what with when. hat is what the Jewish calendar is about. It is why this week’s parsha is so fundamental to the vitality of the Jewish people. It sets out a weekly, monthly and yearly schedule of sacred times, extended in Parshat Behar to seven- and fiftyyear schedules. The Torah forces us to remember what contemporary culture regularly forgets: that our lives must have dedicated times when we focus on the things that give life a meaning. And because we are social animals, the most important times are the ones we share. The Jewish calendar is precisely that: a structure of shared time. We all need an identity, and every identity comes with a story. So we need a time to remind ourselves why we are who we are. That happens on Pesach, when we re-enact the founding moment of our people as they began their long walk to freedom.

Orthodox Union

lthough many of his adherents deny it, he definitely had an anti-Semitic streak and was, at least for a time, sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Yet he was one of the major psychological theorists of the 20th century, and I personally have found his insights into the human mind both fascinating and practical. His name was Carl Jung, and he introduced two terms into the field of psychology that eventually became part of our everyday language. It was he who distinguished between the “introvert” and the “extrovert.” I confess that I have always been so troubled by Jung’s anti-Semitism that it was difficult for me to use of the concepts of introversion and extroversion without feeling that I was somehow betraying my people. But his ideas make such great sense that I have come

when we live them, not just when we know them. That is why they have to be in the diary, not just on a To Do list. As Alain de Botton points out in Religion for Atheists, we all know that it is important to mend broken relationships. But without Yom Kippur, there are psychological pressures that can make us delay such mending. If we are offended, we may not want to show other people our hurt. It makes us look fragile, vulnerable. And if we are the offending party, it can be hard to admit our guilt. As he puts it: “We can be so sorry that we find ourselves incapable of saying sorry.” That Yom Kippur exists means there is a day in the diary on which we have to do the mending — and this is made easier by the knowledge that everyone else is doing so likewise. In his words: “It is the day itself that is making us sit here and talk about the peculiar incident six months ago when you lied and I blustered and you accused me of insincerity and I made you cry, an incident that neither of us can quite forget but that we can’t quite mention either and which has been slowly corroding the trust and love we once had for one another. It is the day that has given us the opportunity, indeed the responsibility, to stop talking of our usual business and to reopen a case we pretended to have put out of our minds. We are not satisfying ourselves, we are See Time on page 16 obeying the rules.”

found way. The second attitude, extroversion, is characterized by an outgoing and accommodating nature that adapts easily to a given situation, and that quickly forms attachments to others. Furthermore, Jung insists that there is neither a pure introvert nor a pure extrovert. Rather, each of us contains a combination of introversion and extroversion in varying proportions. his week’s Torah portion is Parshat Emor, at the center of which is Vayikra 23. This chapter describes the Sabbath and all the major Jewish festivals in rich detail. Indeed, it constitutes the Torah readings for many of these holidays. What is remarkable is that the chapter opens with the phrase “These are My festivals,” but then first lists the Sabbath, Shabbat, as if it too was a festival. Only afterwards does it go on to Passover and the rest of the holidays on the calendar. It seems the Sabbath too, though it occurs every week, is a festival. Yet we know that there are important basic differences between Shabbat and the other festivals. For starters, the Sabbath was

ordained as a special day at the very beginning of creation and was ordained as such by the Almighty himself. The festivals, on the other hand, did not begin until Jewish history began, millennia after the creation; and their sanctification, at least in ancient times, depended upon the declaration of a human court. There are further distinctions between the Sabbath and the festivals, between Shabbat and Yom Tov. On Shabbat, objects may not be carried from private to public domains. On Yom Tov, with the exception of Yom Kippur, there are no restrictions upon transporting objects from one domain to the other. On the Sabbath, all manner of creative work is forbidden, even the cooking and baking of Sabbath food. During the festivals, again Yom Kippur excluded, cooking and baking fresh food for the holiday is not only permitted, but encouraged. he 20th century sage and rabbi of Dvinsk in Latvia, Rabbi Meir Simcha, was intrigued by these and other contrasts between Shabbat and Yom Tov. He saw the Sabbath as being primarily a private time, a time for the individual to be alone and engaged in spiritual introspection. After all, the Sabbath did not depend upon other humans but was See Introvert on page 16

Modern society is ‘geared to distract us from death.’

Introvert and extrovert Rabbi dR. Tzvi heRsh weinReb

We need a moral code, an internalized navigation system to guide us through the wilderness of time. That is what we celebrate on Shavuot, when we relive the moment our ancestors stood at Sinai and made their covenant with G-d. We need a regular reminder of the brevity of life, and the need to use time wisely. That is what we do on Rosh Hashanah, as we stand before G-d in judgment and pray to be written in the Book of Life. We need a time when we confront our faults, apologize for the wrong we have done, make amends, resolve to change, and ask for forgiveness. That is the work of Yom Kippur. We need to remind ourselves that we are on a journey, that we are “strangers and sojourners” on earth, and that where we live is only a temporary dwelling. That is what we experience on Sukkot. And we need, from time to time, to step back from the pressures of work and find the rest in which we can celebrate our blessings, renew our relationships, and recover vigor of body and mind. That is Shabbat. oubtless, most people — at least, most reflective people — know that these things are important. But knowing is not enough. These are elements of a life that become real

to utilize and apply his teachings, setting aside his anti-Jewish sentiments. Over the years, I have developed the somewhat ornery habit of “cleansing” Jung’s dichotomy by applying it to Jewish texts, heroes, and institutions. This week’s column is an example of this habit. The popular mind stereotypes the introvert as a shy, withdrawn, and even antisocial individual whose difficulties with others make it hard for him to adjust to society. On the other hand, the extrovert is stereotyped as a gregarious, friendly, and outgoing person, one who gets along with all his fellows. However, Jung’s understanding was far more nuanced and complex. As he explains it, there are two fundamentally human attitudes. The first, introversion, is characterized by a hesitant, reflective, retiring nature that keeps to itself, remains somewhat distant from others, and is autonomous in a very pro-

Sabbath did not depend on other humans.

15 THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

Shabbat and the moadim

the festivals] is to emphasize that it is the mother of all the moadim, and the holiness of these [appointed] times flows from Shabbat. By way of explanation, this means that it is possible to extend the holiness of Shabbat to the other moadim. It is as if Hashem said, ‘I have sanctified the Shabbat, now, I give you [the Jewish people] the power and the permission to consecrate the rest of the appointed times.’ Moreover, just as it is the purpose of the Shabbat to cease from the creative activities of the workweek through complete and total [spiritual] relaxation in order to draw near to Hashem, so, too, this should be our orientation on the other moadim. In other words, our actions and behaviors on these days should be aimed at strengthening our faith and trust in Hashem” (Parashat Emor, page 50). Rav Alpert teaches us four important lessons regarding the special connection that obSee Shabbat on page 16

May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

Finding the sedra’s sparks Kosher Bookworm

AlAn JAy GerBer

Jewish Star columnist

n his highly spiritual introduction to this commentary on the weekly Torah parsha, the author, Rabbi Pesach Siegel informs us of the following: “The name of this sefer, ‘Sparks of the Sedrah — Ohr Eliyahu,’ means a great deal to me. The Talmud is replete with the mention of Eliyahu’s name. Specifically, we are told that Eliyahu will be the one who will solve all the perplexing mysteries that were left unanswered. Eliyahu is the prime candidate for such a role. He is the one who bridges two worlds. He never dies. He was not buried. He is at the same time an angel and a man with a physical presence. There are some secrets of the Torah that can be revealed in a natural process by a Torah student, but there are mysteries that can only be brought into this world by someone who can reach into the heavenly realms and bring them down into our lowly existence. “Thus the actual ‘fire’ is in the heavens. We

connect to this fire by the illumination of the ‘sparks’ that emanate from the fire and pierce our world.” This teaching goes to the heart of the author’s spiritual message to us, his readers, and now also his students. abbi Pesach Siegel was born and bred in Chicago, Illinois and studied in the high school, beis midrash and kollel divisions of Telshe Yeshiva for twelve years, receiving his semicha. His mentors were Rav Mordechai Gifter, Rav Chaim Stein, and Rav Avraham Chaim Levin, all of blessed memory, and Rav Chaim Dov Keller, sheyichyeh. He was active in Project S.E.E.D. the summer kiruv program of Torah Umesorah, for six years. In 1986, Rabbi Siegel and his family made aliyah and moved to Har Nof in Jerusalem. For the next twenty years he merited to learn by Rav Moshe Shapira zt’’l. For the past twenty-five years, Rabbi Siegel has been teaching in yeshivot geared to post-high school American students, starting out in Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim in Moshav Beit Meir and presently at Yeshiva Tiferet in Bayit Vegan in Jerusalem. His published works include a sefer on Mesechet Makot and the book under review in this essay, Sparks of the Sedrah, published by Adir

The Jews stood in the way.

Introvert... Continued from page 15 initially proclaimed in Divine utter solitude. Shabbat did not allow for easy commerce from private to public places and did not encourage cooking meals for guests. In psychological language, Shabbat caters to the introvert within us. It is consistent with the attitude of introversion, which prefers silence and solitude over socialization and interpersonal interaction. The festivals, on the other hand, depend upon other human beings for their very existence. Absent the proclamation of the human Jewish court, there is no festival. The barriers between private and public domains that are so characteristic of Shabbat disappear during the festival. Entertaining guests during the festival is so important that it permits cooking and baking even late on the festival day. In psychological language, Yom Tov is designed for the extrovert within us. Festivals are the time when our attitudes of extroversion have their opportunity to be fully expressed. Given the origin of the concept of introversion/extroversion in the mind of a person who failed to honor the Jewish tradition, it

gives me a special pleasure to utilize it as a way of elaborating upon the deep insights of a proud and pious Jew, Rabbi Meir Simcha. I would conclude with yet another example of the “introversion” of Shabbat and the “extroversion” of Yom Tov. The key emotions of Shabbat are kavod, dignity, and oneg, personal delight. Both of these typify the introvert’s experience. Yom Tov is characterized by a different emotion entirely. That is the emotion of simcha, joy, an emotion best experienced, and arguably only possible, in the company of others. It is because the human being is a complex combination of the attitudes of introversion and extroversion that we can understand why there is both a weekly Sabbath and a yearlong series of festivals. We need times to nurture our autonomous selves, and we need the opportunities for contemplation and reflection that the Sabbath offers. But we also need times to connect to others in the context of joy and celebration, opportunities that the festivals amply provide. No wonder, then, that our Torah portion insists upon including the Sabbath, the “introvert,” among the “extroverted” festivals. It is the complex combination of the two attitudes that bring about the spiritual harmony that our Torah advocates and which is the essence of the complete person.

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Press this year. Rabbi Siegel lectures frequently, and much of his content can be seen on Torah-Box.net and Torahanytime.com Sparks of the Sedrah, according to the author, is a journey into the depths of Torah where, based on the teachings of Rav Shapiro zt’’l, Rabbi Siegel attempts to resolve difficult questions gleaned from the weekly Torah readings, “weaving together seemingly unrelated threads and coming out with a magnificent tapestry of understanding — and invites the student/reader to join in this spiritual journey.” I present to you below a brief example of this method for your learning pleasure, culled from the chapter titled, “Twelve Loaves To Feed Twelve Tribes.” *** “There are two things that stand out about Egyptian culture: First, it was paradise on this earth. Every pleasure and wish was found therein. Second, through the power of kishuf [magic, here referring to forces of impurity], the Mitzriyim [Egyptians] seemed to be able to control their

own destiny by bending nature to their will. “The sum total of their culture was the opposite of everything the Hashem wished to reveal in this world…” Further on we learn of the following: “They were attempting to draw the world away from its Creator, but the Jews stood in the way.” This teaching draws us into a deeper appreciation of the central events that govern our religious faith unto eternity, that being, the Exodus experience that plays itself out in the holy writ, in our daily ritual observances and in our weekly and festival calendars. Consider the following: “Shabbos, in particular, is the antithesis of the Egyptian belief system. By observing Shabbos, we attest to Hashem’s mastery over creation. We acknowledge that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all existence.” And further on, we come to learn the following: “On Har Sinai it was revealed that Hashem is not merely the strongest of all powers, but rather, He is everything.” The above is but a small sampling of teachings that make this book so special and a great lead into the Shavuot holiday.

Shabbat... Time... Continued from page 15 tains between Shabbat and the moadim: 1. Shabbat is stated before the moadim because it is the “mother” of the festivals. 2. The holiness of the moadim extends directly from the holiness of Shabbat. 3. Just as Hashem consecrates Shabbat, the Jewish people are given the power and permission to sanctify the festivals. 4. The purpose of the moadim is similar to that of Shabbat; namely, we should utilize the holy moments of both the Shabbat and the festivals to strengthen our faith and trust in the Master of the Universe. parallel approach toward solving our problem was offered by the leading 14th-century Talmudist and posek Rabbi Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, known as the Maharil. He offers a beautiful kabbalisticallyinfused explanation as to why Shabbat precedes the Torah’s discussion of the Moadim: “We find in the Zohar (Emor 95:1): ‘Shabbat is called kodesh (holy) but not mikra kodesh (holy occasion). Yom Tov (a festival day), however, is called a mikra kodesh [by the Torah].’ [Yet] there is a contradiction here! It states in Parashat Emor: ‘[For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion (mikra kodesh); you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the L-rd in all your dwelling places.’ Shabbat is also called a mikra kodesh! “This seeming contradiction, however, can be explained in the manner that we have already written: Yom Tov receives [holiness] from Shabbat. This means that within Shabbat, there is an aspect of Yom Tov to enable Shabbat’s [holiness] to positively flow into Yom Tov … Now we understand why Shabbat is called mikra kodesh — in order to allow Shabbat’s [holiness] to flow into and affect the Festivals” (Likutei Maharil, Devarim). In my estimation, the Maharil’s answer to our question is the most spiritually edifying of all. He teaches us that the moadim, though consecrated by man, are nonetheless infused by the holiness of Shabbat. Therefore, each festival day has the potential to draw us closer to our Creator so that we may experience the sanctity of Shabbat on yet another level. With Hashem’s help, may we merit to feel G-d’s presence every Shabbat, every Yom Tov, and every day of our lives.

Continued from page 15 We are obeying the rules. We are following the Jewish calendar, which takes the most important truths about our lives and, instead of putting them on a To Do list, writes them in the diary. hat happens when you do not have that kind of diary? Contemporary Western society is a case study in the consequences. People no longer tell the story of the nation. Hence national identities, especially in Europe, are almost a thing of the past — one reason for the return of the Far Right in countries like Austria, Holland and France. People no longer share a moral code, which is why students in universities seek to ban speakers with whom they disagree. When there is no shared code, there can be no reasoned argument, only the use of force. As for remembering the brevity of life, Roman Krznaric reminds us that modern society is “geared to distract us from death. Advertising creates a world where everyone is forever young. We shunt the elderly away in care homes, out of sight and mind.” Death has become “a topic as taboo as sex was during the Victorian era.” Atonement and forgiveness have been driven out of public life, to be replaced by public shaming, courtesy of social media. As for Shabbat, almost everywhere in the West the day of rest has been replaced by the sacred day of shopping, rest replaced by the relentless tyranny of smartphones. Fifty years ago, the most widespread prediction was that by now everything would have been automated. The workweek would be down to 20 hours and our biggest problem would be what to do with our leisure. Instead, most people find themselves working harder than ever, with less and less time to pursue what makes life meaningful. As Leon Kass recently put it, people “still hope to find meaning in their lives,” but they are increasingly confused about “what a worthy life might look like, and about how they might be able to live one.” Hence the life-changing magic of the Jewish calendar. Philosophy seeks timeless truths. Judaism, by contrast, translates truths into time in the form of sacred, shared moment. So whatever you want to achieve, write it in the diary, or it will not happen. And live by the Jewish calendar if you want to experience, not just occasionally think about, the things that give life a meaning.

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euma Eldar of The Voice of Israel radio has passed away. She truly was the voice of Israel. I was raised on her melodious voice. For early risers, her brother was equally famous for the Shema Yisrael he daily and dramatically read on the radio. I can still remember Reuma’s sonorous radio voice as she pronounced each and every Hebrew word that left her mouth with exactitude and perfect diction. Her Hebrew accent was not a typical one you might hear on the street or even in school; with her Yemenite background, she was able to pronounce difficult letters, such as ayin or chet, authentically. Her grammar was flawless, down to smallest details. She set the standard for the language of Israeli broadcast. For 40 years, every hour on the hour, before she broadcast the news, Reuma’s signature opening line was her famous timekeeping. Before she uttered a word of news, she framed it by telling the exact time. Reuma was the voice of the nation, but she was also its clock. There was a little quirky timekeeping piece of old-school Israel, or maybe even up to the era of the smartphone. I am not referring to military time, or anything like that. If I am wrong, and this service of which I am thinking is not a relic of the past but is in fact still available, I will be charmed. It was called hashaon hamedaber, the talking clock. You’re probably picturing a cuckoo clock — it’s not that either. It’s much simpler. Basically, if you wanted to know the exact time of day, you would dial 155, and a woman’s voice, in perfect Hebrew diction, would tell you the exact time. I can still hear it in my head: “The time is three twenty-seven. I repeat, the time is three twenty-seven, hasha’ah shalosh esrim v’sheva, ani chozeret, hasha’ah shalosh esrim v’sheva.” Believe it or not, there were times when I relied on her. I was one of those holding out on getting a smartphone, so it’s not like I constantly had an electronic device with the time automatically updated. So every once in a while, if my clock stopped and I hadn’t had a chance to get a new battery, I called Reuma on 155. Honestly, I just loved her soothing way of telling the time. And she was always absolutely one hundred percent reliable. She was like the Greenwich of Israel, by whom all clocks were unofficially checked or set. nce a friend of mine was over when I dialed 155. She was overcome with surprise: since there was an extra charge to dial 155, she said, why didn’t I just dial information at 144 and just ask them? A good idea, to be sure. But no way was I going to give up on hearing Reuma Eldar tell the time in perfect Hebrew. Like a little game I played with myself, after I’d hung up, I would repeat Reuma’s articulate and pleasant timekeeping in my head. A little detail, but if you would ask someone on the street “Excuse me, do you have the time?” (another relic of the past, as now we all check our phones), and it was, say, 1:35, they’d probably give their answer as,

Little Israel is one big hotel.

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Blood libel by NBC’s Richard Engel Politics to go

Jeff duNetz

Jewish Star columnist

ere we go again with the modern version of the ancient blood libel — the false stereotype claiming that warlike American Jews or the militaristic state of Israel controls American foreign policy. Anybody who truly believes that must have been in a cave during the Obama administration. NBC News’s chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel seems to be one of the cave dwellers. It’s unsure whether he was trying to slander President Trump, or Israel, or was just being reckless. Last week, when the Department of Defense announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group were being redeployed to the Persian Gulf in response to unspecified “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, Richard Engel, who has a Jewish father, reported that Trump is trying to lure Iran into war, and implied he is doing so on behalf of Israel. In his May 6th report Engel said, “U.S. officials tell NBC News the threats targeted multiple locations and at the aircraft carrier’s deployment was preplanned but moved up. But in Iran tonight, officials are trying not to take what they see as America’s bait. In February, Iran’s foreign minister told me the Trump administration is looking for war.” Is Engel suggesting that we should believe the foreign minister of the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism over our own American Secretary of State? He continued, “So there is this collision, international collision against Iran. The U.S. is part of it. Israel is part of it. So it has a lot of people in the region concerned when they see the United States moving this firepower into the Middle East just after Netanyahu secured his political future. People are wondering, is this real, or is the U.S. looking for some sort of provocation for other reasons?” Netanyahu? Other reasons? Engel is obvious-

“Echad…” But Reuma’s grammar was always perfect, so she would say, “hasha’ah achat…” Achat, not echad. Such a small thing, but it was a pleasure! Lest I mislead you into thinking that I am the grammar police (or have any competence in grammar at all), let me disabuse you of this notion pronto. But in my own way, I carry an appreciation for that well-articulated flawless grammar or literary expression. The other funny thing about this phone line was that if you put in a request for a wakeup call, it would call you at the requested time, a personal

ly making the false suggestion that the reason for the carrier redeployment is Israel and/or pressure from American Jews. In fact, the fact that the U.S. wanted to move the carrier group into the Persian Gulf and put pressure on Iran is rumored to be one of the reasons Israel agreed to the ceasefire with Hamas on Sunday. Netanyahu was slammed in some Israeli political circles for prematurely agreeing to the ceasefire, but if anything, the Prime Minister complied with the request of President Trump, not vice versa. Engel’s report sounded like Pat Buchanan wrote it. After George W. Bush invaded Iraq, Buchanan wrote an article called “Whose War?” that blamed the action on several mostly Jewish public figures such as Bill Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz, Max Boot, and Richard Perle. According to Buchanan, those Jews were, “colluding with Israel to ignite wars and destroy the Oslo Accords. We charge them with deliberately damaging U.S. relations with every state in the Arab world that defies Israel or supports the Palestinian people’s right to a homeland of their own.” Buchanan went on to say, “For whose benefit these endless wars in a region that holds nothing vital to America, save oil, which the Arabs must sell us to survive? Who would benefit from a war of civilizations between the West and Islam? Answer: one nation, one leader, one party. Israel, Sharon, Likud.” Bush did consult with then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but contrary to Buchanan’s fantasy, Sharon strongly urged Bush not to invade Iraq, arguing that if American forces deposed Saddam Hussein, it would be disastrous. Sharon told Bush, “Iran, a far more dangerous player, will be rid of its principal enemy and free to pursue its ambitions of regional hegemony.” His prediction was correct. ngel’s suggestion that Israel is trying to push the U.S. into war with Iran is simply a modern blood libel, blaming the carrier fleet move on Jews or Israel. He owes Israel, Jews across the world, and President Trump an apology. After he apologizes, Engel should seek advice from Ken Timmerman, author, war corre-

alarm. It’s the little things that, even as advanced as Israel is, have a personal touch. It makes one feel as if little Israel is one big hotel, with a national concierge desk that will give you a wakeup call. Believe it or not, I made use of this service too. Maybe only a few times, but I did. With my aversion to alarm clocks, I didn’t own an alarm. I’ve developed some kind of internal clock and can rely on myself to wake up on my own each morning. Still, there were those rare crucial early meetings or flights, where I needed an ironclad way to wake up at a specific time. With the nine-hour time difference between Denver and Israel, often-

spondent, and an expert on Iran. Timmerman is one of the half-dozen real experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the U.S. today. He’s the former President of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran (iran.org), regularly meets with Iranian dissidents overseas, and has lectured on Iran at the Pentagon’s Joint Counter-Intelligence Training Academy, JCITA. Timmerman explains that the reason for the deployment of the U.S. carrier group into the Persian Gulf, as well as Pompeo’s trip to Iraq last week, was recent intelligence that Iran was planning “imminent” attacks on U.S. persons or U.S. assets in Iraq. The Iran expert wrote on Thursday that the Iranian intelligence came from a defector. On April 19, a respected Iranian internet news agency reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader had just fired the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) after “classified documents and information leaked to Israel and the U.S. regarding Iran’s nuclear program and secret missile bases.” The fired intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Ali Nasiri, was said to have taken refuge in a U.S. embassy or consulate in a nearby Persian Gulf state, where he turned over sensitive documents and intelligence information to the Americans. “Nasiri is arguably the highest-ranking IRGC official ever to have defected to the West or Israel. As intelligence chief, he had access to the darkest secrets of Iran’s nuclear weapons development program. He knows where the long-rumored secret uranium enrichment facilities were located because his men were in charge of guarding them.” The increased pressure on Iran had nothing to do with warlike American Jews or a militaristic Jewish state controlling foreign policy, as Engel intimated. It had everything to do with a defector from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Mind reading is not a skill of mine. It is impossible to report whether Engel was making a statement about Israel or Jews, or, because the Mueller report cleared the president of collusion, an illusion that Trump is beholden to a country other than Russia. Whatever his reasoning, Engel’s report was both inaccurate and hurtful.

times I relied on my mom to call and wake me. But there were also those times when I used this quirky national Israeli wakeup service. Formal timekeeping is so passé. Forget about grandfather clocks that chime the time on the hour and bring awareness of the passing day. People barely wear watches these days, let alone call a telephone service line to hear the exact time. Reuma Eldar’s voice was not only Kol Yisrael, “The Voice of Israel” — hers was also the voice at the other end of the line on 155, a timepiece of a time gone by. Copyright Intermountain Jewish News

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Lapid is overreaching on Polish anti-Semitism Viewpoint

BEN COHEN

ver the last year, Yair Lapid, the co-chair of Israel’s opposition Blue and White Party, has made several outspoken statements about Poland, Polish anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Each time, his message has been the same: Poland is denying the complicity of ordinary Poles in the Nazi extermination of the Jews; contemporary anti-Semitism in Poland is reflective of a hatred of Jews going back centuries; any Israeli politician who refuses to recognize this reality is dishonoring the victims of the Holocaust. All of this has taken place against the background of a government-led offensive in Poland aimed at establishing an unmovable doctrine: that the 3 million Polish Jews murdered during World War II are the responsibility of the Germans alone; Poles suffered as much as the Jews did from German occupation; Poles tried to protect Jews whenever the opportunity allowed. Legislation approved by the Polish parliament in 2018 effectively makes it a crime to

discuss Polish collusion with the Nazi regime. Lapid’s emergence as the loudest voice in Israel to oppose Polish revisionism is based partly on his having grown up in a family that was scarred, like nearly everyone else’s, by the Holocaust. Like most of us, he takes the Holocaust personally. But there is also a political calculation involved. Lapid’s nemesis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has looked vulnerable on the issue of Poland, having been criticized by, among others, Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer for allegedly compromising the integrity of the Shoah for the sake of a closer strategic relationship with the nationalist government in Warsaw. Lapid’s point was inadvertently demonstrated by Netanyahu himself last February. In an offhand attempt to prove that Poland wasn’t really policing discourse around the Holocaust as zealously as some were suggesting, Netanyahu told reporters in Warsaw that no one disputes that “Poles cooperated with Nazis.” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Marowiecki promptly announced that he

would boycott a summit in Jerusalem the following week involving Israel, Poland and three other central European countries. ince then, the anti-Semitic atmosphere in Poland has worsened. A common claim in the media is that Jews are invoking the specter of Polish guilt as a prelude to forcing Poland into passing a law restituting the individual assets of Polish Jews that were stolen during the war — an act Polish nationalists would regard as a treacherous abandonment of the principle that Germany, and Germany alone, was responsible for the fate of the Jews. Then there were Easter celebrations two weeks ago — an eerie reminder, as Jews around the world celebrated Pesach, of how persistent the presence of anti-Semitism in Poland is, from ordinary rural folk all the way to the upper echelons of the Catholic Church. In the town of Pruchnik, a group of adults and young children dragged an anti-Semitic effigy of Judas through the streets, while Catholic Bishop Andrzej Jeż dedicated his Holy Thursday ser-

There is little reason for Jews to feel positively about Poland.

mon to blaming alleged Jewish control of the media for stories of sexual abuse in the Church. So there is little reason for Jews to feel positively about Poland at the moment, and doubtless there are many in our community who endorse Lapid’s latest attacks on Poland’s war record. In an interview with a Polish news outlet, Lapid made the following comments. “Poles cooperated in creating and running extermination camps,” he said. “Poles handed over Jews to the Germans and thus sent them to death.” Later on, he continued: “There were many Polish Righteous Among the Nations who saved Jews, and we are grateful to them for all time. But can you pretend that there were no Polish helpers in the extermination camps? Of course, they were!” And finally, there was this: “It is no coincidence that the Nazis created their center of extermination in Poland. They knew that the Polish population would help them.” Some of these statements can be illustrated with historical documentation — for example, the betrayal of at least 60,000 Jews to the Gestapo by their Polish neighbors. But the more dramatic claims made by Lapid have little basis in truth, and repeating them only damages the fight against Polish historical revisionism. See Lapid on page 21

Israel’s existence is root of Palestinian conflict JONatHaN s. tOBiN

uch of the discussion about Israel and the Palestinians revolves around one question: Why does the conflict continue? Most of those who offer answers, especially veteran Middle East “experts” who have been advocating for and helping to promote the peace process for decades, spin a complicated tale in which Israel’s unwillingness to make concessions is put forward as just as much, if not more, responsible for the lack of peace than Palestinian intransigence and terrorism. But though the region’s history during the course of the last century is complex, the answer to the question is actually quite simple. The conflict continues because the Jewish state exists. That’s a daunting thought as Israelis spend Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) watching fireworks and enjoying barbecues and other

holiday activities. It would be much easier to think that the conflict, which Israelis can’t evade because they spend the day right beforehand marking the solemn observance of Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day), when those who fell in defense of their nation and victims of terror are remembered. The two days are not something that can be neatly cordoned off. ut while it might be easier to live with if the ongoing struggle could be merely blamed on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supposed hard line or something else that might be remedied by the people of Israel, the truth is that the endless debate about how best to advance the cause of peace essentially boils down to a single equation. As long as the Jews are celebrating the rebirth of their sovereignty in the land of Israel, peace won’t happen. It won’t happen until their Palestinian neighbors come to grips with the fact that this fact will never be reversed. This is easily forgotten amid much of the rhetoric heard from those who say that Israelis are sliding away from democracy by electing leaders American liberals don’t understand or like. However, the events of the past year,

during which weekly “Marches of Return” have continued along the border with Gaza aimed at promoting the idea that the last 71 years of history can be erased, are a reminder that in the eyes of the Jewish state’s opponents, what is going on there is a zero-sum game. That’s a grim reality that a clear majority of Israelis have accepted. The fourth consecutive victory of the Netanyahu-led Likud Party coalition reflected the Israeli people’s rejection of those who have failed to comprehend the consequences of failed attempts to trade land for peace. That grim equation in which peace is not merely a difficult problem, but also out of reach, is the sort of thing that leads some Jews to despair. The notion of a generational conflict continuing for another generation is hard to bear. So perhaps it’s understandable that some prefer to cling to myths about settlements being the cause of conflict or shortsighted Israeli leaders missing opportunities for peace. To many, the fact that Israel can’t solve the conflict with a bold conciliatory stroke or even a long negotiating process leaves them feeling helpless. It also contradicts some of the precepts that the

Cory Booker needs a history lesson stEpHEN M. FlatOw

ew Jersey Sen. Cory Booker seems to think that America has been supporting the creation of a Palestinian state pretty much since time immemorial. He made his latest comments in an interview with David Axelrod on his podcast, “The Axe Files.” Axelrod was former President Barack Obama’s chief campaign strategist, and Palestinian statehood was a central plank in Obama’s ideology. So it’s no surprise that Axelrod would ask Booker a question slanted in favor of that goal. But Booker is well-educated on Israel affairs, and should have known better than to give such an absurd and false answer. This segment of the podcast discussion began with Axelrod asking Sen. Booker what he

thought of the fact that “some young members of the House, of color, have raised concerns about the Palestinians, about Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.” Axelrod’s wording was an outrageous distortion. The “young members of the House” to whom he is referring are Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They are not “concerned about Israeli policy.” They oppose Israel’s existence. Omar has repeatedly made openly anti-Semitic comments, accusing American Jews of being loyal to Israel and paying members of Congress to support Israel. Tlaib has said again and again that she wants to see Israel eliminated and replaced by “Palestine,” which, of course, would have an Arab majority. She calls it “the one-state solution.” For the Jews, it’s the no-state solution. Both Omar and Tlaib proudly support the BDS movement, whose goal is to destroy Israel. In any event, Sen. Booker tried the maneuver that is standard practice among many liberal critics of Israel these days. He told Axelrod: “Some

of the harshest critics of Israeli policy right now are Israeli Jews.” In other words, “those Jews are attacking Israel, so I can, too.” That is a completely disingenuous argument. Israel just had an election, and 90 percent of Israelis voted for parties that oppose creating a Palestinian state. The only parties running that called for a Palestinian state, aside from the Arab candidates, were the leftwing Labor and Meretz parties. They won a combined total of 10 out of 120 seats. xelrod then took the interview from bad to worse. He asked Sen. Booker “whether or not the opportunity for the two-state solution that’s stood for a generation has a future.” “Stood for a generation.” That’s the kind of deliberately slippery language that Palestinian statehood advocates use to legitimize their demand. In other words, “this has always been American policy, so it should still be American policy, and anybody who deviates from it is a dangerous extremist.” See Booker on page 21

early Zionists clung to, in which they felt that they could determine events, rather than being forced to depend to some extent on the actions of others. Nevertheless, this should actually serve to remind us not only of the incredible nature of Israel’s achievements during the last 71 years, but also that its ability to thrive isn’t dependent on the goodwill of the Palestinians. n a matter of seven decades, the Jewish state has risen from a poverty-stricken backwater to the status of a First World economy and a regional military superpower. And it did so despite the predictions of doom and gloom. Prior to 1948, Zionists were told that there was no way a Jewish state could be created. As Israelis are now often reminded, the numbers and time itself were against them. The staying power of anti-Semitic hate fueled resistance to the Zionist project then as it does now. But in spite of that, in spite of the refusal of the Palestinians to accept territorial compromise, Israel has gone from strength to strength. What is needed on Yom Ha’atzmaut is not a day of cheering for modern Israel, though it deserves plaudits for its economic achievements, military valor and vibrant culture. Rather, what is called for is an appreciation of how extraordinary the mere fact of its existence is in the context of Jewish history. Its rebirth and ability to defend itself and thrive in the face of continued hate and terrorism is something previous generations of Jews would have considered a miracle. It’s also something that was achieved by the determination of the Jewish people to persevere, no matter the obstacles and opposition. Like any human creation, Israel is imperfect and faces problems. But what its people have done in the last 71 years is something few rational people would have imagined possible. In our own time and with our own eyes, we have seen 71 years of miracles as the Jewish state survived, thrived and enriched the lives of all Jews, even if they resided elsewhere. That should give us confidence that problems that seem impossible to surmount will be overcome, as they have been throughout the last seven decades. Though the very fact of its existence continues to spur the enemies of the Jewish people to go on fighting, it is no reason to despair or to succumb to the lies of those who slander it. To the contrary, Israel’s strength and survival in the face of continued opposition is even more reason to celebrate. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS.

Continued from page 1 this respect they followed the lead of the Arab League, which expressed clearly to the United Nations Palestine Commission that League members intended to do everything in their power to preclude the United Nation’s proposed Palestine partition plan (which would have created both Jewish and Arab states) from coming into effect. Indeed, the United Kingdom’s representative to the Palestine Commission lamented that: “The [British] Government of Palestine fear that strife in Palestine will be greatly intensified when the Mandate is terminated, and that the international status of the United Nations Commission will mean little or nothing to the Arabs in Palestine, to whom the killing of Jews now transcends all other considerations. Thus, the Commission will be faced with the problem of how to avert certain bloodshed on a very much wider scale than prevails at present. … The Arabs have made it quite clear and have told the Palestine government that they do not propose to co-operate or to assist the Commission, and that, far from it, they propose to attack and impede its work in every possible way. We have no reason to suppose that they do not mean what they say.” However, truth is, as they say, the first casualty of war, and a fortiori with a war that spans generations. With regard to the ArabIsraeli conflict in general (and the PalestinianIsraeli dispute in particular), that is particularly true, and unfortunately truth is not the only such casualty. n fact, while the Palestinians have several legitimate gripes — enough that they do not need to invent other ones — their leadership and media have shown a talent for concoction so extensive and ingrained that it has merited its own term: Pallywood. It involves staged confrontations and pretend casualties, the inflation of supposed atrocities and the most outlandish of claims. Mossad trained sharks? Check. Poison gas supposedly used against Palestinians? Check. Purposeful flooding of Gaza? Check, complete with the opening of non-existent dams to do so. Stripper death squads to entice Palestinian men and get near them so they can then whip pistols out of their underwear and execute young Arabs? You got it. Blood libels and canards of all sorts are de rigueur in the Palestinian press. So perhaps it should not be entirely surprising that a woman who prides herself on being the first Palestinian woman to serve in Congress, and who has been a routine critic of Israel and supporter of its enemies, should engage in yet another lie, and this one a massive distortion of history. Last week, in the wake of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, Rep. Rashida Tlaib made the following statement: “There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people’s passports. And just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them.” Now I am not one of the people claiming that Tlaib said she feels calmed when she thinks of the Holocaust. That’s not what she said, not what she meant (although G-d only knows what goes through her head), and it is not even necessary to invent such outrage here. No, what’s so outrageous about Tlaib’s statement is its utter distortion — indeed, reversal — of history. he foundations for Jewish statehood in Palestine were laid well before the Holocaust, and the legal bases for doing so were set forth in the Palestine Mandate, which was formed to allow for the creation of a Jewish National Home and the “close settlement” of Jews within

the boundaries of Palestine (which included not only what became Israel proper, but also Judea and Samaria). That the Jews of the world needed and deserved a “safe haven,” and that that haven should be located in their historical homeland, was well-settled by the time Hitler rose to power several years before the Holocaust. The Holocaust, therefore, did not lead to the recognition of Jewish rights to self-determination or the need for a “safe haven” for world Jewry, but simply amplified the immediacy of the need for it. Tlaib’s pride in the supposed role her ancestors purportedly played in the rise of modern Jewish statehood and the salvation of European Jewry post-Holocaust also simply and brazenly miscasts — even reverses — the role Palestine’s Arabs played. As described above, Palestinian

the words of the Secretary General of the Arab League, to be one of “extermination and momentous massacre” against Palestine’s Jews. But by no historical revisionist gymnastics can the consequences of those positions and that conduct be twisted into Ms. Tlaib’s fantasy that Palestinian Arab suffering was on behalf of the Jews. No, Ms. Tlaib, your ancestors did not provide a safe haven for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust or nobly sacrifice and suffer to accommodate persecuted Jews. They did everything in their power to prevent that haven from existing during the Holocaust or coming into existence in its wake. Howard Bressler is a resident of West Hempstead. He is author of Wrong Conclusion, No Resolution: United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334’s Erroneous Conclusions on the Legality of Israeli Settlements in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, and The Layman’s Guide to Surviving Cancer: From Diagnosis Through Treatment and Beyond (Langdon Street, 2014).

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19 THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

Fake history...

Arab opposition to the notion of a Jewish state was not only vociferous but particularly brutally violent. Moreover, it was Arab opposition to Jewish immigration to Palestine, violence and rioting (the 1936-1939 Arab revolt) that led the British — who were charged under the Palestine Mandate with the legal obligation to facilitate the entry into and settlement of Jews in Palestine — to issue their notorious 1939 “White Paper,” significantly restricting the entry of Jews into Palestine at exactly the hinge of history at which a safe haven was so desperately needed by them. Through those actions, Palestinian Arab violence and intransigence, coupled with British duplicity and flouting of international law, condemned to death perhaps millions of European Jews who had no place else to go. Many of Palestine’s Arabs suffered as a result of the war that Arab states, with Palestinian Arab involvement, launched against the fledgling state of Israel. It was a war that was intended, in

May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

Ukraine, 5 years on: Mixed blessing for Jews By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA KIEV, Ukraine — Walking on the scorched and scarred sidewalks of this capital city’s main square five years ago, Eduard Dolinsky felt hopeful and proud. A member of Kiev’s large Jewish population and a longtime activist for its causes, Dolinsky had hoped that the bloody street fights of the Maidan Revolution would free his country of its rampant corruption and dependency on Russia – two of the main issues that sparked the unrest. Despite sorrow for the lives lost and damage sustained in the fight between protesters and police, Dolinsky, 49, was proud of the unity and dignity on display at Maidan. That square was gave its name to a revolution in which students braved live ammunition and police savagery in the winter of 2014. Its potholed sidewalks — protesters had pried out the tiles to hurl at police — hosted a barricaded tent city full of music, self-sacrifice and vindication when the fight finally ended with the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych that year. But at the height of the euphoria, Dolinsky spotted a portending sign. “From day one, they were celebrating Stepan Bandera, and it surprised me,” Dolinsky, who runs the Ukrainian Jewish Committee group, recalled Monday. Bandera was one of numerous Ukrainian collaborators with Nazi Germans, including SS volunteers and mass murderers of Jews and Poles, who are now celebrated as anti-communist heroes in Ukraine and by its government. The glorification of Bandera at Maidan marked the beginning of a trend. Streets have been named in this city for Bandera and other collaborators. In 2015, a law passed making it illegal to insult the memory of any anti-Soviet fighter declared a national hero, including war criminals. In Lviv last year, hundreds of men marched wearing the SS uniforms of Ukrainian collaborators in a city-approved event. At least three Ukrainian municipalities in recent years have unveiled statues for Bandera’s deputy, Yaroslav Stetsko, who during the Holocaust openly called for “the extermination of the Jews.” Coinciding with a “resurgence of virulent anti-Semitism in Ukraine,” as the Simon Wi-

Anti-government protesters in Kiev’s Maidan Square listen to an address from then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, on Feb. 22, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images. Right: Participants in the March of Dignity gather in Kiev’s Maidan Independence Square for ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the Maidan Revolution that led to the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovic, on Feb. 22, 2015. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

esenthal Center defines it, the glorification of Jew killers has divided Ukrainian citizenry and its Jews and exposed the country to unprecedented criticism abroad. It has made many locals, including Dolinsky, uncomfortable in their native country. “It has become a problem not only for Ukrainian Jews but for the society this issue polarizes,” said Tzvi Arieli, a 39-year-old Jewish translator and father of two from Kiev, who fought during the revolution against police. Arieli saw his income halved following the revolution, which triggered a territorial conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a country with more landmass than California and a population of 45 million. Amid fighting in secessionist provinces held by Russian-backed rebels, the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, has lost two-thirds of its value against the dollar. Still, Arieli said Ukraine is better off than before the revolution “because it put the country on a path, not an easy path, toward true independence and lower corruption.” On the revolution’s fifth anniversary, though, some Ukrainian Jews are feeling cautiously optimistic again following yet another change in leadership: Vlodymyr Zelensky, a Jewish actor, won a landslide victory in an election last month against the post-revolution president, Petro Poroshenko, whose crit-

ics say pandered to nationalists and failed to uproot corruption. A self-deprecating comedian who has spoken critically of the celebration of Nazis, Zelensky is giving local Jews and liberals hope for change in a society that is more sharply divided than ever by language, ethnicity, religion, ideology and socioeconomic gaps. The fact that Zelensky’s Jewish origins, on which he spoke openly during the campaign, played no major role in the elections was held up as evidence of Ukraine’s immunity to antiSemitism during the Kyiv Jewish Forum last week. A two-day event devoted to discussing various aspects of Ukrainian Jewry, the conference was a rare show of unity by a fractious community deeply divided on many issues, including on how to respond to the glorification of Nazis. “How many of us would have thought that Ukraine would become the least anti-Semitic country in Europe?” asked Boris Lozhkin, president of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, the group that hosted the event. Prime Minister Vlodymyr Groysman is Jewish too, making Ukraine the only country in the world except Israel where both positions are occupied by Jews. “It shows that Ukraine is on the right path,” said Yaakov Dov Bleich, a chief rabbi

of Ukraine. Meylakh Shoychet, the Ukraine director for the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, is less certain. “Zelensky hasn’t said anything concrete on how he gets this country’s economy moving forward,” said Shoychet. “He’s inexperienced and I think that there’s a good chance he will fail.” If that happens, Shoychet said, it could unleash anti-Semitism because Zelensky is Jewish. But to Elan Carr, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, the “absence of anti-Semitic rhetoric during the campaign is a miracle, a stunning fact that shows how far Ukraine has come,” he said during the conference. Lena Liebiedieva, a 42-year-old Jewish mother of one from Kiev who works for an international airline, said she feared that Zelensky’s vagueness veils a willingness to put Ukraine back in Russia’s sphere of influence. That, she said, “would be a return on everything that was achieved at Maidan.” Before Maidan, Liebiedieva said, she did not trust the courts and police. “Now I feel confident about the judiciary, that it won’t take money, and I think of the police as working to protect me,” she said. Liebiedieva said she feels safe as a Jew in See Ukraine on page 21

Who are the Jews of Ukraine? By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA KIEV, Ukraine — Jews have lived in Ukraine for such a long time that their arrival here predates even the first recorded use of the country’s name. Starting in the ninth century, Jews began settling between Uzhgorod and Lugansk — respectively the westernmost and easternmost cities of what is now Ukraine, a landmass four times the size of New York state with 45 million residents. Historically, though, Jews haven’t had an easy life in Ukraine for most of that time. In the 17th century, thousands were brutally butchered by the Cossack army of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Nonetheless, the area saw an influx of Jewish immigrants in the 18th century, when it became part of the Russian empire’s Pale of Settlement — a zone in which Jews were allowed to settle. Ukraine’s relative proximity to Moscow made it a preferred destination for Jews. By 1939, there were no fewer than 1.5 million of them in Ukraine. One was Sholem Aleichem, one of the world’s greatest Yiddish writers. Another was Chaim Nachman Bialik, often seen as Israel’s national poet. Golda Meir, Israel’s only female prime minister, was born in Kiev. Zeev Jabotinsky, the ideological father of Israel’s Likud party, was from Odessa. Ukraine, which today has anywhere between 60,000 to 360,000 Jews depending on who’s

counting, also became a huge spiritual center for Hasidic Judaism. It is dotted with the graves of luminaries, from the Baal Shem Tov, the father of Hasidism, in Medzhybizh to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s grave in Uman, where 30,000 followers gather annually for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. So profound was the impact of Jews on Ukraine that Yiddish was one of three state languages on the paper currency of the Ukrainian People’s Republic — an attempt at independence from Russia that lasted four years until 1921. The Nazis and their collaborators — local and foreign — murdered about a million Ukrainian Jews, nearly all of them in killing pits. One of the pits, Babi Yar in Kiev, was so massive that it was filled with the bodies of more than 30,000 victims within two days. After the fall of communism, many thousands of Jews left for Israel and the United States. But many thousands stayed in Ukraine, setting in motion a cultural and religious revival

Women at a Shabbat reception at the Halom Jewish Community Center in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sept. 8, 2017. Cnaan Liphshiz. Left: Children play musical instruments during the celebration of Hanukkah at the Kharkiv Choral Synagogue, in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, on Dec. 5, 2018. Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

that has braved adversities like the 2014 revolution and recession. The success is thanks in part to the highly intellectual and activist character of this Ashkenazi, post-Soviet community. Kiev has several Orthodox communities and a Progressive one. It recently received an American-style Jewish community center. And it has several Jewish cultural clubs for young adults. Odessa, which has Ukraine’s second-largest Jewish community, also has two JCCs and two Jewish book clubs in addition to a Jewish museum and Limmud FSU Jewish studies festivals

that are usually booked to capacity. Even more remarkable is the Jewish community of Dnipro in the country’s east. Once a closed-off military city under communism, it has become something of an unofficial capital for Ukrainian Jewry due to the efforts of locally born oligarchs. In 2012, they built a 22-story cultural and business center called Menorah — the largest Jewish community center in Europe — at a cost of $100 million. The building is shaped like the candelabra for which it is named.

Ukraine... Continued from page 20 Kiev and that the issue of glorifying Nazis “is about the past, in the past, not a part of everyday life that affects me in any way.” There is no consensus, though, on whether Ukraine actually has made any great strides in the fight against anti-Semitism. Last year, Israel’s government singled out Ukraine as a regional trouble spot in its annual report for 2017 on anti-Semitism. “A striking exception in the trend of decrease in anti-Semitic incidents in Eastern Europe was Ukraine,” the report said, adding that the approximately 130 anti-Semitic attacks recorded there in 2017 was double from 2016 and surpassed the tally for all the incidents reported throughout the entire former Soviet Union. Also, in 2018, more than 50 members of the U.S. Congress condemned Ukrainian legislation that they said “glorifies Nazi collaborators.” It is “particularly troubling that much of the Nazi glorification in Ukraine is government-supported,” they wrote. One leader of Ukrainian Jewry, Josef Zissels of the Vaad group, dismissed the report as amateurish and suggested the Congress members’ letter was the result of Russian lobbying. Zissels’ comments drew ire from counterparts across the Russian-speaking world. Some see a link between the glorification of Nazis and Ukraine’s anti-Semitism problem.

Planet... Continued from page 4 the area and across the country. The cemetery has eight employees. By keeping the entire process natural, the cemetery limits its emissions. Graves are dug by hand, and the monuments are small enough (plain gray tombstones about 3 feet high) that they can be carried by hand truck. Bodies are not embalmed, per Jewish tradition, and are buried in plain wooden coffins without concrete vaults, such that everything is biodegradable. While the cemetery looks like an empty green field, Lyons plans to pave paths for golf carts for those who need assistance reaching graves. His staff has buried 32 people to date and reserved some 160 plots. In total, the 15acre cemetery can hold about 15,000 plots. On a weekday earlier this year, a team of four Jewish men in T-shirts and jeans prepared a plot for burial the next day with no machinery in sight. “We basically say, forget about the concrete box, forget about the 10-ton claw,” Lyons said. “We’ll dig by hand. It takes a little longer, not much, but it’s a nicer way of doing it. We’re doing everything by hand, everything very lovingly.” A longtime local funeral director, Keith Kronish, said that the South Florida Jewish Cemetery is making traditional burial affordable for observant Jewish families. But he does not expect it to put other local Jewish cemeteries, which allow for both interment and cremation, out of business. “There are always people that want the palatial appearance that other cemeteries can provide — they like the bling,” said Kronish, who runs Kronish Funeral Services in Boca Raton. “What the South Florida Jewish Cemetery is doing is saying, ‘Here’s an alternative.’ A lot of people like that.” Rubin likewise does not expect his take on traditional Jewish burial in and of itself to have mass appeal for American Jews, who are largely not Orthodox and often live in a different city than their parents. “We’re losing the meaning behind the ritual and the benefits of it,” said Rubin, who is not Orthodox and volunteers with her local chevra kadisha. “I don’t know how many people are going to drop everything, get on a plane and take advantage of this traditional burial if you’re not Orthodox. I don’t know how many people are going to want to play by those rules.”

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Continued from page 4 But it hasn’t “stood for a generation.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower didn’t call for creating a Palestinian state. Neither did John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush. Neither did Bill Clinton nor Jimmy Carter ever publicly call for a Palestinian state while they were president. The first president to publicly call for a Palestinian state was George W. Bush in 2002, though he conditioned it on Palestinians electing new leadership and permanently abandoning terrorism. Needless to say, Palestinians never met those conditions. The first president to call for creating a Palestinian state without preconditions was Barack Obama.

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Continued from page 18 o one denies that there was a powerful anti-Semitic political movement in Poland between World War I and World War II, as was the case in much of Europe. But when the Nazis occupied Poland, they digressed from normal practice by directly administering the country. As a result, there was no Polish equivalent of Pétain in France or Quisling in Norway. Nor did you find Poles serving in the SS, as was the case with Ukrainians or Lithuanians. Nor was there a Polish pro-Nazi paramilitary, like the Ustaša in Croatia or the Arrow Cross in Hungary. Yet Lapid claims nonetheless that the Polish nation bears the lion’s share of Holocaust guilt. The idea that the Nazis situated the six main extermination camps in Poland solely because of the country’s native anti-Semitism is fanciful and needlessly insulting. The reasoning in Berlin, if one can call it that, was based on strategic considerations. Poland had the largest single population of Jews on the continent, 2.9 million — in other words, about half the total number of Holocaust victims — of whom died in the extermination camps built and managed by Nazis in the country where they lived. By Nazi standards, this was very efficient. Secondly, Poland’s relatively advanced rail system and its central location in Europe influenced the Nazi extermination planners. Finally, the trains that carried Jews to the slaughter had to leave from somewhere else before arriving at one of those extermination camps in Poland. The trains came bearing Jews from Paris, Amsterdam, Budapest, Salonika and all other points of the compass; cities and towns where neighbors saw their Jewish fellow citizens dragged from their homes and schools to be herded to their deaths in Poland. Why are the Poles guiltier for watching the victims arrive than are the Dutch or the Greeks who watched them leave? The fact that it is Poland that has chosen to weaponize the Holocaust during its current nationalist resurgence doesn’t license us to be cavalier with the truth, to make vague or inaccurate statements, or to repeat falsehoods that can be simply disproved. The moral high ground is always where the truth can be found.

Booker…

Sen. Booker answered Axelrod: “I worry about this administration. You hear the president’s comments; he doesn’t even seem to understand the history of that commitment to a two-state solution… ” Clearly, Cory Booker is the one who needs to understand the history. He needs to understand that the idea of unconditionally creating a Palestinian state is a recent invention, and the idea that it is longstanding American policy is a falsehood ginned up by advocates for “Palestine.” Sen. Booker also needs to have a look at the map. The “two-state solution” he has embraced would mean reducing Israel to an absurd width of just nine miles at its midsection — narrower than Washington, DC. Rendering an American ally indefensible is not good for America, Israel or the cause of Mideast peace. Let’s hope Booker and his aides read up on this subject a bit more before he speaks about it further. They might be surprised by what they find.

21 THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

Lapid...

“When the government says it was basically all right to kill Jews a few decades ago, it’s not surprising that some people assume it’s OK to target them now,” Dolinsky said. A 2019 survey of 900 Ukrainian Jews — the largest in 15 years — shows that they are divided on the anti-Semitism issue. In Kiev, 21 percent said it has decreased, 17 percent said it has risen and 36 percent said it has not changed. But in smaller cities, 31 percent of the respondents to the survey by the EuroAsian Jewish Congress said anti-Semitism has increased and 12 percent said the opposite. The bleak reading of reality by Dolinsky and others is in stark contrast to the hopeful analyses of other observers, including Yale historian Timothy Snyder. “Ukraine looks much, much better today than before Maidan,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in January. “In the intervening five years, good things have happened, just not enough of them,” with problems in the rule of law being the country’s main problem. “As to whether the revolution has produced more anti-Semitism, I think the answer to that is clearly no,” Snyder said, adding that the phenomenon there is “basically within European norms, I would say.” “I don’t think there’s anything happening in Ukraine that is not happening in the rest of the world.”

22 May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779 THE JEWISH STAR

The JEWISH STAR CAlendar of Events Send your events to Calendar@TheJewishStar.com Deadline noon Friday • Compiled by Rachel Langer Wednesday May 15

Night of Heroes: Friends of the Israel Defense Forces 8th Five Towns & Greater South Shore event at the Sands of Atlantic Beach. Honoring Malky & Jay Spector, and Judith & Zoltan Lefkovits. 7 pm. 1395 Beech St, Atlantic Beach. 646-274-9661; FIDF.org/FTGSS2019. Women of Wonder: Emunah’s evening of inspiration and celebration, honoring the accomplishments of Shimi Adar, Orly Gottesman, Kim Heyman and Yael Schulman. For men and women. 7:30 pm. 35 E 21st St, ground floor, Manhattan. EmunahWOW.org; 917-287-5846. $180.

Sunday May 19

Jewish Nurses: Annual conference of the Orthodox Jewish Nurses Association. Workshops on many topics including Jewish issues in the field. CME. credit; breakfast and lunch. 227 West 60th St, Manhattan. Register at JewishNurses.org. Madraigos: Five Towns annual breakfast to benefit Madraigos, a nonprofit organization supporting teens, young adults, and their parents. Hosted by Dovid and Chavie Klein. 9:30 am. 183 Harborview North, Lawrence. 516-371-3250. 5 Towns 5K: Tenth annual 5K. Run or walk to support Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans at North Woodmere Park. Kids FunRun at 9:30 am; race begins at 10. Register online at 5towns5k. org. Sharsheret Luncheon: Chai Anniversary of Sharsheret: Your Jewish Community Facing Breast Cancer. Honoring Shari & Nathan J. Lindenbaum, Dr. B. Aviva Preminger, and Racheli Bloom Poleyeff. 10 am. 100 Frank W. Burr Blvd, Teaneck. RSVP at sharsheret.org/benefit. Greek Jewish Festival: Celebrating the unique Romaniote and Sephardic heritage of Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue. Authentic kosher Greek food and pastries, live music, dance, synagogue tours, outdoor marketplace. 12 pm to 6 pm. 280 Broome St, Manhattan. Kulanu Fair: Face painting, crafts, rides, games, raffles, carnival booths, and more at Andrew J. Parise Park in Cedarhurst. Kulanu is a nonprofit organization serving children with disabilities in our community. 12:30 to 5 pm. KulanuKids.org. Book Signing: Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County presents “While There’s Life: Poems from the Mittelsteine Labor Camp (1944-1945),” by Ruth Minsky Sender. 3 pm. 100 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove. RSVP 516-571-8040 or info@hmtcli.org. $10 suggested donation. YIW Dinner: Young Israel of Woodmere’s 59th anniversary dinner banquet will be honoring all the members, former and current, of the YIW Community Security Service team. 6:30 pm. 1395 Beech St, Atlantic Beach. YIWoodmere. org/dinner. $250 per person.

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Women’s Leadership Summit: OU Women’s Initiative invites female lay leaders who are impacting schools, synagogues, and other community organizations to connect, develop, and grow. Presenters include Erica Brown, Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, Leslie Ginsparg-Klein, Allison Josephs, and Chani Neuberger. Space is limited. MAY Dinner: Mesivta Ateres Yaakov annual dinner. Honoring Mr. & Mrs. Avi Dreyfuss, Dr. & Mrs. Yechiel Berkowitz, celebrating the Class of 2009, dedication of the Bahn Otzer Haseforim in memory of Dr. Saul Bahn. 7 pm. 1395 Beech St, Atlantic Beach. RSVP Dinner@AteresYaakov. com or 516-374-6465.

Tuesday May 21

Beth Sholom: Sisterhood annual supperette.

Guests of honor Molly Lilker and Carol Small; also honoring Tammy Schreiber with Service Award and Chaya Miller with Special Recognition Award. 5 pm boutiques; 7:15 pm dinner.

Wednesday May 22

YIW Supperette: The Young Israel of Woodmere Sisterhood is proud to announce spring supperette honorees Tova Brown, Enid Gooldstein, and Roberta Warren. Save the date!

Thursday May 23

Women and the Holocaust: Remember the Women Institute and Congregations Ansche Chesed present an evening of premieres of dramatic readings about women and the Holocaust. 7 pm. West 100 St between Broadway and West End Ave, New York. RememberWomen.org. $10.

Sunday May 26

Memorial Day Parade: Cedarhurst-Lawrence Community Memorial Day Parade, down Central Ave to Cedarhurst Park. Special Guest: Gad Elbaz. 10 am. Begins Rockaway & Central Ave, Cedarhurst. 516-295-5770. Cross River Open: Jewish community tennis US Open’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. One day, four tournaments — men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles — followed by Grand Slam Kosher Foodie Experience. Benefiting Our Place. 516-512-4494.

Tuesday May 28

Darchei Kollel Dinner: 14th anniversary dinner for Kollel Tirtza Devorah, affiliated with Yeshiva Darchei Torah. 6:30 pm. 129 Elmwood Ave, Brooklyn.

Thursday May 30

FD Dinner: Familial Dysautonomia NOW Foundation hosts its 17th annual dinner honoring Jolyn & Lane Sparber. Support research that will drive better treatments and cures for patients with this Ashkenazi Jewish genetic disease. 6 pm. 775 Branch Blvd, Cedarhurst.

Monday June 3

Beth Sholom Dinner: 67th Annual Testimonial dinner to support Beth Sholom of Lawrence. Guests of Honor Phyllis & Philip Kerstein; Lifetime Service Award Pilar & Richie Olmedo. 6 pm. 390 Broadway, Lawrence. 516-569-3600 ext. 21.

Tuesday June 4

White Shul Dinner: 97th annual dinner, honoring Rabbi & Rebbetzin Motti & Avigayil Neuberger, celebrating Rabbi Neuberger’s installation as associate rabbi. 1395 Beech St, Atlantic Beach. 718-327-0500; info@whiteshul.com. Gesher Dinner: Celebrating 7 years of educational leadership at Gesher Early Childhood Center and inaugurating the Gesher Grandparents Dividend Fund. Ari & Chanie Friedman are guests of honor; Kesser Shem Tov Award to Ilan & Haviva Kranz. 7:45 pm. 410 Hungry Harbor Rd, Valley Stream. 516-730-7377; dinner@gesher-ECC.org.

Friday June 7

Yarchei Kallah: Celebrate Shavuos with RIETS president, roshei yeshivah, rebbeim, faculty at the Stamford Hilton. World-class presenters with shiurim and lectures on a variety of levels. Families welcome. 1 First Stamford Pl, Stamford. 347-443-2353.

Sunday June 23

Israel Concert: Long Island’s Celebrate Israel Concert at Eisenhower Park. Featuring a performance by The Shuk! 7 pm. Henry Chapin Lakeside Theater, Parking Fields 6 & 6A, Westbury. 516-433-0433.

23 THE JEWISH STAR May 17, 2019 12 Iyar, 5779

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