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Korach • June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 • Torah columns pages 18 –19 • Luach page 18 • Vol 17, No 23

The Newspaper of our Orthodox communities

Israel-Diaspora divide sharpens over Trump

Cedarhurst parties with Kulanu It was all fun and games on Sunday, with the annual Kulanu Fair in Cedarhurst Park supporting a favorite Five Towns organization. With face-painting, rides, games, a petting zoo and food, the day’s cloudy drizzle failed to dampen the excitement of the community’s children.

The Jewish Star / Ed Weintrob

By Ron Kampeas, JTA WASHINGTON — Israeli Jews and members of the non-Orthodox American Jewish majority disagree on much — developments in Judea and Samaria, religious pluralism, even the degree to which they are “family.”

Now we can add Donald Trump to the mix.

Twin polls of Jews in Israel and the U.S. published by the American Jewish Committee on Sunday uncovered divides on all these issues, but an especially stark one about perceptions of the American president.

Asked if they approved of Trump’s handling of the U.S.-Israel relationship, 57 percent of American Jews disapproved while 34 percent approved. Among Israeli respondents, the divide was 77 percent approved while 10 percent disapproved.

That gap extended to perhaps Trump’s best known Israel related policy, moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

American Jews were statistically evenly split, with 46 percent supporting and 47 percent opposing. Israeli Jews were overwhelmingly in favor, 85 percent to 7 percent opposing.

There are areas of agreement as well, on the importance of a thriving Israel and a thriving Diaspora to the Jewish future,

and on whether being Jewish is a matter of religion or ethnicity.

“The surveys reveal sharp differences of opinion between the world’s two largest Jewish communities on President Trump, U.S.-Israel relations, and Israel’s security and peace process policies,” the AJC said. “On Jewish communal issues, such as Jewish religious equality in Israel, the surveys confirm fissures between American Jews and Israelis, though, at the same time, the data show a degree of commonality in opinions about the vitality of both the Diaspora and the State of Israel and their significance for the future of the Jewish people.”

There’s also a small bright light for Trump stateside: American Jews still overwhelmingly See The Trump divide on page 23

Friedman in DC to prep peace plan The United States Ambassador to Israel, Long Islander David Friedman, has been called back to Washington to help the Trump administration prepare to present its forthcoming Middle East peace plan.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem confirmed that Friedman had returned to the States, saying that while in DC, Friedman would be meeting with State

Department and White House officials.

Friedman had been set to attend the American Jewish Congress Global Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday, but was forced to cancel his attendance at the last minute after being called back to the U.S. for urgent discussions on the peace process, according to AJC donor Jeffrey Aronson.

Upon entering the White House last

year, President Trump vowed to broker “the ultimate peace deal” between Israelis and Palestinians, though the prospect of a deal seems unlikely in the region’s current climate.

In December, Palestinian leaders said they were rejecting the U.S. as a peace broker after Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and later relocated the U.S. embassy there.

Metamorphosis at YOSS While it may be a big word for preschoolers, talmidim at Yeshiva of South Shore’s Early Childhood Center got to experience metamorphosis firsthand, welcoming caterpillars to their classrooms and observing their transformation into butterflies.

Bernie’s betrayal of Israel is a Dem timebomb Commentary by Jonathan S. Tobin There was a time when what the socialist representing Vermont in the Senate said about Israel didn’t matter much. But the days of Sen. Bernie Sanders being an irrelevant eccentric are long gone. His surprisingly tough challenge to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries made him the darling of the party’s progressive wing.

That alone would have elevated him to the status of a senior statesman. But with the Democrats essentially leaderless as they begin planning for a 2020 effort to avenge their demoralizing loss to President Trump, Sanders is making little secret of his desire for another try at the White House. Though

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Bernie Sanders on May 25, 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty

he will face a host of a host of other potential challengers, including many who will seek to steal from him the mantle of the candidate of the party’s grassroots, it still sets up Sanders to be a formidable contender in 2020, as well as someone who is viewed as a party spokesman on a range of issues.

That’s why when Sanders publishes videos on his official Twitter account denouncing Israel and its defenders, and presenting the “right of return” as a reasonable Palestinian demand and essentially exonerating Hamas for the ongoing violence at the Gaza border, attention should be paid. Whether this is just a sign of the senator’s personal extremism or, as other more sanguine political See Bernie’s betrayal on page 23

Regal biblical ‘tekhelet’ returns to modern Israel

By Eliana Rudee, JNS A new exhibit exploring the mysterious color tekhelet, a vibrant blue dye mentioned 49 times in the Torah and later chosen as the central color of Israel’s national flag, has opened at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.

The source of the color tekhelet was a mystery for nearly 1,500 years until identified by archaeological evidence from around the eastern Mediterranean coast.

The tekhelet exhibit, launched in honor of the 70th anniversary of the modern state of Israel, narrates the quest for the biblical color “yearned for by mankind throughout generations.”

“Its sacred meaning took root in Jewish history when the Israelites were commanded to cover the Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle utensils with tekhelet dyed cloths, and to tie tekhelet threads to the corners of their garments as a reminder of G-d and his commandments,” curator Yehuda Kaplan explained.

The origin of the color was only recently identified by marine biologists and Talmudic researchers, who discovered the source — murex snails indigenous to the Mediterranean shores near Haifa.

The fade-resistant pigment from a glandular secretion of murex snails was likely used in ancient times by early peoples of the Near East, applied to textiles for the biblical blue. The color mirrors the stone lapis lazuli (called sapphire in the Bible), imported from Afghanistan to the ancient Near East, and prized for its heavenly color of G-d’s throne and footstool.

Archaeological evidence for the tekhelet industry, dating back to 15th century BCE, includes remains of crushed murex shells and potsherds bearing remains of the dye, in addition to small pieces of dyed textiles discovered in Syria and documents from the same time pe-

riod mentioning the color.

Tekhelet textiles became prized commodities in the ancient world, as unique expressions of royalty and divinity.

“The large number of snails required for their production and the complex manufacturing process, together with their beauty and resistance to fading, made textiles dyed in blue and purple into luxury items identified with royalty and divinity,” said Kaplan.

It is described as the pure color that made up the High Priest’s robe and the thread used

in his headdress, as well as the color used on tzitzit to remind the Jewish people of G-d and his commandments.

“The decline of the tekhelet dye industry [and along with it, the skill required to produce these dyes] after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE led to the disappearance of the blue thread from the tzitzit,” said Kaplan.

Dr. Baruch Sterman, author of The Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color Lost to History and Rediscovered, also noted at a Jerusalem press conference ahead of the

exhibition opening, “During Roman imperial control of the region, using tekhelet was made a crime of treason punishable by execution, and the knowledge of how to make it was lost for 1,200 years.”

As the tallit reverted to a prayer shawl rather than a daily garment, the shawls were decorated with blue stripes as a memento to the tekhelet that was once part of the tzitzit.

It is thus no surprise that when it came to choosing the colors of the Zionist flag in the 19th century, tekhelet was a strong contender.

The leaders of the Zionist movement found that tekhelet blue stripes with a Star of David in its center perfectly expressed the identity and national aspirations of the Jewish people, and this is what was used.

Mirroring old practices, “This is how the Jews decided to identify themselves and be identified,” said Sterman.

David Wolffsohn, who designed the flag for the First Zionist Congress held in Basel in 1897, wrote: “Indeed we have a flag, white and blue. This tallit in which we wrap ourselves in prayer — this tallit is our emblem.”

Then, in 1948, the flag of the Zionist movement became the national flag of the newly established state of Israel.

“Now not only an expression of Jewish personal devotion that survived millennia of historical transformations, but also imprinted as a modern symbol of national pride and determination on a global stage, tekhelet blue lives on,” stated Kaplan.

Since its discovery, tekhelet is now seeing a revival.

According to Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Director of Israel365, “Today, for the first time in centuries, people are once again wearing tekhelet on their tzitzit. From even the smallest sea creature, we continue to see the wonders of the Bible come to life in the land of Israel.”

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June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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5/16/2018 2:41:07 PM

The Orthodox Union has selected the Young Israel of Oceanside as one of 16 winners of its nationwide Women’s Initiative Challenge Grant.

YI Oceanside won for its program, M’Dor L’Dor: Cultivating Jewish Female Leadership Across Generations, a series of monthly chaburot pairing preteen and young women of the shul’s youth department with more senior women to examine the history and future of female Orthodox Jewish leadership.

Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue was

the only other New York winner. Its program is a women’s Torah and leadership training initiative. Applications were evaluated based on the creativity of the proposed program, target audience, and whether the project could be replicated in other communities.

“Once these programs are piloted, they can be offered widely in other communities so that they too can benefit from the wisdom and experience of these successful initiatives,” said Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, founding director of the OU’s Department of Women’s Initiatives.

The Challenge Grant is one of many programs the OU Women’s Initiative is launching in its inaugural year. Upcoming initiatives include a multi-city mikveh attendant training program addressing mikvah client medical and mental health needs; a Leil Hitoriru, an evening of spiritual inspiration between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; and the creation of the Women’s Impact Institute, a leadership training program.

“For more than a century, the Orthodox Union has addressed the religious and spiritual needs of the American Jewish community,” said

OU President Moishe Bane. “Ever-changing circumstances and challenges, however, compel the ongoing exploration of new approaches to advance our connection to G-d, both as individuals and collectively as a community.

“We therefore feel particularly privileged to be partnering with women of extraordinary vision and commitment from across the community, to pursue exciting and innovative initiatives seeking to enhance the religious and spiritual growth of the contemporary Jewish woman.”

Emunah of America honors 3 as Women of Wonder At its recent WOW event, Emunah of America honored three Women of Wonder: Sharie Loeffler Leopold, managing director of Leveraged Finance; Dr. Janine Nathan, fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics; and Shevy Solomon, CMO and investor relations officer at Jerrick Media Holdings.

Over 200 attendees heard keynote speaker Sandra Stern, president of Lionsgate Television group, discuss the “wonder of women.”

“For me, the most important quality of being a Woman of Wonder is a sense of integrity and a passion for excellence — trying a little harder, demanding a little more of myself, never settling for anything less than my best,” she said. “We are all Wonder Women with the power to transform the lives of those around us.”

Beginning with a handful of women who believed they could nurture Israel’s most fragile citizens, Emunah women have built a kingdom of chesed that encompasses educational and social services throughout Israel.

From left at Emunah’s WOW event: Laurie Szenicer, CEO of Emunah of America; Bari Erber, Sharie Loeffler Leopold, Janine Nathan, Shevy Solomon, Shaindy Brothman, Amy Gibber, and National President Johanna Guttman Herskowitz.

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THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

YI Oceanside women’s outreach nets OU award

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When Americans knew what about the Shoah

A meeting of the board of the War Refugee Board in March 1944. From left: Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Henry Morgenthau, Henry Stimson and John Pehle.

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum/Courtesy FDR Library

tant to identify Jews as the principal victims.

But the exhibit corrects these impressions, or at least places them in the context of populace that did not want to engage until it was too late.

Did The New York Times bury some shocking reports? Yes. But wire services were unstinting in covering the truth of Nazi persecution. Thanks to the stunning results of a museum crowdsourcing initiative launched in 2016, where high school students and others researched Holocaust coverage at local libraries, we know these reports were given prominent play across the country.

“You didn’t have to live in a major metropolitan area to know,” Greene said, tapping on the Midwestern portion of an interactive U.S. map and pulling up a front page of the Indianapolis Star, among 15,000 articles in the database reporting atrocities against Jews as they happened.

National news outlets, from Time to Cosmopolitan, covered not only the rise of Nazism, but

its inherent threat to Jews.

Hollywood erased Jews from fictional depictions of the Nazi threat. Why were those refugees hanging around Rick’s in “Casablanca”? What drove them across the Mediterranean, exactly?

Why is exposing the Nazi Bund in the United States so personal for Edward G. Robinson in “Confessions of a Nazi Spy”? It’s never made clear.

Theories have been advanced to explain these anomalies — Jewish Hollywood executives were hesitant to appear invested in any Jewish cause; some had distribution deals in Germany. What is made clear through the exhibit, though, is that moviegoers were not out of the loop: If “Casablanca,” “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” “Sergeant York” and other movies didn’t mention the Jews, accompanying newsreels did. A museum screening room runs the newsreels that moviegoers would have seen before the main feature, at a time when two-thirds of Americans visited the

cinema at least once a week. These current affairs updates do not hold back: the Nazis’ prime victims, it is made clear in the newsreels, are Jews.

The exhibit contextualizes — but does not excuse — the Roosevelt administration’s failure to rescue and allow refugees into the United States.

“FDR tries to lead opinion on going to war,” Greene said, and eventually succeeds in dramatically turning American opinion in favor of intervention in Europe. As late as May 1940, more than 90 percent of the public opposed intervention.

“On the refugee issue, he doesn’t lead, he follows.

He spends his political capital on the war.”

The exhibit attempts to explain the reluctance to intervene, starting with stark representations of America’s racist legacy — depictions of lynchings, coupled with restrictive anti-immigration laws — and of the profound economic uncertainties seeded among Americans during the Depression, fueling anxieties about taking in large numbers of foreigners.

Haunting the exhibit are similar isolationist trends that helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency and have mitigated action on behalf of Syrians under massive assault by their government and other populations in crisis. Greene said the echoes are not intentional — the exhibit is five years in the making — but are inevitable.

“The questions we ask are resonant today,” he said. “They speak to American responsibility here and abroad. What are our responsibilities to refugees, when do we intervene in a foreign war?”

The exhibit closes with an answer to these questions that is achingly poignant.

Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish refugee who coined the term “genocide,” is quoted in 1944 as saying “All over Europe the Nazis were writing the book off death ... Let me now tell this story to the American people, to the man in the street, in church, on the porches of their houses and in their kitchens and drawing rooms.

“I am sure they would understand me.”

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By Ron Kampeas, JTA When Holocaust historians ask what Americans knew, the focus often is on lawmakers, whose initiatives might have mitigated the Nazi genocide. An exhibit that opened last month at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington asks “What did Americans know?” on a more literal level: what did American voters, the constituents who may have done more to pressure their lawmakers to intervene, know at the time?

The answer — a lot — is less than comforting.

“Visitors will be surprised at how much Americans knew about Nazism and the Holocaust and how early they knew it,” curator Daniel Greene said, in a press release announcing the exhibit, which is titled “Americans and the Holocaust.”

The exhibit, twisting chronologically along the museum’s first floor, is punctuated by backlit pillars with poll questions spanning the period of Nazi rule in Germany and then Europe.

Typical is one poll, November 1938: “Should we allow a larger number of Jewish exiles from Germany to come to the United States to live?”

Spin the pillar, and the answer is a resounding “No,” at 71 percent Until after the war ended, the percentages opposing refugee intake consistently hover in the low 70s — a substantial majority.

“Public opinion doesn’t move,” Greene said, leading a reporter on a tour of the exhibit. (In the same poll, Americans were asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the Nazi treatment of Jews in Germany?” Ninety-four percent disapproved.)

Visitor accrue a sobering assessment of Americans’ reaction to the news from Europe. Sympathy is a constant, but so is resistance to measures that might have mitigated the genocide, including military intervention and bringing in refugees.

It’s easier to pin the charge of apathy on select villains, and many historical accounts in recent years have: State Department mandarins, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a media hesitant to emphasize the plight of Jews, a Hollywood hesi-

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June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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The town is also discussing creating a Golf Course Coastal Residence Overlay District, which would restrict building on land that was described as “environmentally sensitive”

by Councilman Bruce Blakeman at a May 7 community meeting. Blakeman additionally noted the wildlife, vegetation and flooding issues associated with the club’s land. The Inwood Country Club and the Golf Club at Middle Bay, in Oceanside, would also be included in the proposed district.

“We would immediately file a lawsuit in federal court for violating our constitutional rights … to overturn the new overlay district,” Gerszberg said. “The zoning allows for a 350-single-family home project on the golf course. We would also seek over $100 million in damages.” He pointed to a similar situation in Long Beach, where the developer Sinclair Haberman is seeking to recoup more than $50 million in damages and profits — as well as interest and legal fees — it claims it lost when Long Beach’s Zoning Board of Appeals revoked its permits to build three oceanfront condominium buildings on Shore Road in 2003.

“We’re are not putting the district on hold because of litigation,” Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said. The overlay district was not on the agenda of [last week]’s Town Board meeting.

Asked about the impact that the lawsuit could have on the residents of Woodmere and the villages of Cedarhurst, Lawrence and Woodsburgh, which border the club’s land, Mario Alex Joseph, president of the Five Towns Civic Association, said that it “should be a reality check to our Five Towns of who we are really dealing with.”

“Way to go, developers: You’re already costing us taxpayer money.”

Reclaim NY, a nonpartisan not-for-profit that raises awareness about home affordability issues, government transparency and education, tweeted last month that lawsuits are one of the reasons development on Long Island is so expensive.

“It’s an extra process, and there is a cost,” said the organization’s regional director, Michael Watt. “Lawyers are not working for free, and municipalities don’t want the wrong thing built.”

Gerszberg said that depending on the duration of the lawsuit, it could cost Hempstead town residents between $100,000 and $200,000, and if he and Weiss file suit to contest the overlay district, it could cost the town 10 times that much.

‘The moratorium is illegal, and we could have filed this lawsuit months ago.’

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By Jeff Bessen, Nassau Herald The developers who purchased the Woodmere Club last year are suing the Town of Hempstead, claiming that the building moratorium the town enacted in 2016 is illegal.

In a complaint filed in Nassau County State Supreme Court on May 18, the plaintiffs, listed as WG Woodmere LLC; SG Barick LLC, and LH Barick LLC, are calling for the ban to be declared null and void because it lacks a “valid zoning purpose” and a “reasonable duration tied to the [moratorium] Board’s legitimate comprehensive planning actions.”

Enacted in November 2016, the moratorium mandated that privately owned golf courses within the town could not be developed until the town studied the impact of the proposed development, especially as it related to homes nearby. It was originally in effect for 180 days, but has been extended and remains in effect. Town officials noted that the extension OK’d last month was more than likely the final one.

“The moratorium is illegal, and we could have filed this lawsuit months ago,” said Efrem Gerszberg, one of the developers who bought the 118-acre club.

Robert Weiss is the other. Planning to keep the club open for another four years, they are paying down the roughly $15 million debt it has accrued, and have hired Troon Privé to operate it. The purchase price was an additional $9.042 million cash, Gerszberg said.

The club is expected to close in 2022, and to be replaced by residential housing. How many homes will be built remains a matter of speculation, because the developers have not unveiled any plans.

“When we saw that the [town] council was choosing to pander to the public instead of following the law,” Gerszberg said of the moratorium, “we had no choice but to file a lawsuit to put an end to the council’s illegal actions.”

The plaintiffs are also asking that the moratorium be voided because the “[town] board failed to follow the required referral, notice and public hearing requirements for zoning actions.” They also want the court to prevent the board from extending the ban and enacting any other moratoriums affecting club property.

“We have no comment regarding pending litigation, other than to say we believe the town has acted lawfully and will defend those actions in court,” said Susan TrenklePokalsky, a town spokeswoman.

THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

Fight over Woodmere Club’s future drags Hemp’town into court

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Pioneer in Jewish ed is a viral video star founded four years ago; a girls’ high school

By Elizabeth Kratz, JNS Did you see a viral video last month on Yom called Bnot Chayil, which opened two years ago; Hazikaron of a yeshiva teacher leading an in- and a vocational school to open soon in Jerusaspirational discussion about modern Israel with lem. There are plans to open elementary schools. haredi high school students? So did everyone And he launched a program at Hebrew University for haredi college students. “We are also tryelse on Jewish Facebook.

But who is the instructor in the video? How ing to find people who want to open schools like does he know so much about secular Israeli us to combine secular education with religious culture, and why is he teaching about military education,” he said. service and the sacrifice of Israeli military families at a haredi high school? Isn’t he bucking the trend of the community’s self-acknowledged insularity?

Meet Rabbi Menachem Bombach, 41, founder of Torah Academy-Midrasha Chasidit, a new yeshiva system in Israel focused on reducing poverty in the ultra-Orthodox community through education, preparing them to attend college and enter the workforce.

Bombach is in the United States for the next week, meeting with Jewish organizations and sharing his story in synagogues throughout the tri-state area. On his schedules are Rabbi Menachem Bombach explains his school’s network to fellow memmeeting with the UJA-Fed- bers of the haredi community. eration of New York; a large Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, a rosh yeshiva at Yepublic event in Woodmere; and a Shabbat in Teaneck. Future trips, based on his newfound fame, are shiva University, recently visited Beitar Ilit and in the works. He has also met with parents and ed- gave a shiur in Hebrew. In his words, he was ucators in Satmar communities in Williamsburg, “wowed.” Anyone who spends even an hour with this team of educators, comes away a different Monsey and Monroe, and other enclaves.

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THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

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June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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The JEWISH STAR

Wine & Dine

3 easy dinners for healthy springtime eating Kosher Kitchen

JoNi SChoCKett

Salmon, Avocado and More Dinner Salad (Pareve)

Chicken Finger Salad with Crispy Rice Noodles (Meat)

Great with fresh or leftover grilled or poached salmon. If your kids don’t like salmon, use sliced hard-boiled eggs, or tuna fish or egg salad.

Dressing: 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 to 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar 3 to 4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice, more to taste 2 Tbsp. very finely minced shallots, more or less to taste 1 tsp. Dijon style mustard, to taste Salt and pepper, to taste Optional: honey or pure maple syrup, for an extra bit of sweetness Salad: 12 to 18 ounces cooked salmon, cold or hot 6 to 8 cups mixed field greens, or any kind of lettuce or baby spinach 2 cups your preferred microgreens or sprouts 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup shredded purple or green cabbage 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced 2 ripe avocados, sliced and cut into bite sized pieces 1 small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced 2 cups fresh orange segments or canned orange segments Toasted, chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios Optional: sliced strawberries Place the dressing ingredients into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Close the lid and shake vigorously to emulsify. Taste and adjust ingredients.

Set aside. Flake the salmon into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Place lettuces, microgreens or sprouts, carrots, cabbage and cucumber in a large bowl. Toss to mix. Drizzle with some of the dressing and toss to coat.

Divide evenly on 3 to 5 plates. Add a mound of salmon in the middle of the plate. Add the orange segments and avocado to the plates. Garnish with onions and nuts and drizzle with more dressing, as desired. Serves 3 to 5.

This is great with leftover chicken of any kind. You can use bite-sized pieces of chicken rather than chicken strips, if that works. Add any and all veggies your kids will like. Kids love to watch the noodles “explode.”

2 to 4 cooked cold chicken breasts 4 to 6 cups mixed greens or lettuces 2 cups thinly sliced carrots 2 cups shredded purple cabbage 2 cups cherry tomatoes 1 cup thinly sliced scallions 1 to 2 cans Mandarin orange segments, drained Thai Crispy Rice Noodles 3/4 to 1 cup canola oil Salt and pepper to taste Place the vegetables in a large bowl and toss to mix. Set aside.

Slice the chicken into strips or pieces and set aside. Heat a large skillet and add half the oil.

Heat for about 1 minute, or until a thermometer reads 400 degrees.

Break the noodles into 2 to 3 inch pieces, separating them if they are stuck together. Drop one noodle into the hot oil. If it immediately puffs, add about half the noodles. If not, wait a few seconds and try again. They should immediately explode into a puff of white noodles. Turn once quickly with tongs. After a second pouf, remove and place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Add the remaining oil and repeat with the rest of the noodles. Top salad with a mound of noodles. Serves 4 to 6 people.

Oriental Dressing: 1/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best) 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar 1 to 2 tsp. sesame oil 1 Tbsp. canola or corn oil 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 to 2 Tbsp. tamari sauce, to taste Tiny pinch cayenne pepper, or 1 to 2 drops chili oil Place all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well, taste and adjust ingredients to taste. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Jewish Star columnist

T

he last few days of school are here, and soon the kids will be free.

Childhood and summer are a perfect pair. Did you ever notice how much they grow over the summer? I once bought my daughter sneakers on the last day of school. Three weeks later, they were too small!

I loved summer and having my kids home.

I also loved giving them the freedom to choose more of their day-to-day activities. They did go to Jewish camps, but they were home by four o’clock, leaving us hours in late afternoon to swim, garden, go on long walks, work on art projects, and more. We often baked, but mostly we all relaxed and had fun.

I found that spring and summer were the perfect seasons to do some hands-on learning about the growing process. Our garden was huge, about 30x45 feet, and we grew everything from strawberries to pumpkins. We watered together and checked for bugs — a favorite activity for my kids. We learned about the flowers that needed bees to help make the tomatoes or zucchini, and how we could pick lettuce leaves every day and come back the next day for more. We also learned that some plants last a really long time. The rhubarb plants that my dad put in next to his house in 1971 were transplanted to my house in 1988, and are still doing beautifully today.

My kids each had their first real tomatoes as toddlers: they picked one, washed it in a tub and ate it, still warm from the sun. The taste is incomparable. Everyone should have the pleasure of a sun-ripened, homegrown tomato.

I heartily suggest growing a vegetable garden. If you don’t have a lot of space, use containers. I recommend green beans, cucumbers and tomatoes, as they grow fairly easily in containers. Growing vegetables encourages children to learn to eat (and hopefully love!) vegetables. Summer can also be a time to teach kids how to prepare food in simple, nutritious, and delicious ways.

An important thing to consider about spring and summer recipes is that we don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

We all want those last hours of sunshine and warm weather, and we want to be outside!

I hope these fairly quick meals will give you more time to spend with your kids as the temperatures climb and the days continue to get longer.

Place the greens on plates, add the oranges and scallions, and top with chicken. Drizzle with dressing and top with noodles. Serves 4 to 6.

Baked Spaghetti (Dairy) 8 ounces spaghetti or thin spaghetti 2 to 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 small onion, finely minced Optional: several finely snipped basil leaves 1 jar (28 to 40 ounces) pareve marinara sauce 8 ounces ricotta cheese 12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Generously grease a 3-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously.

Heat a skillet and add the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the spaghetti to the water and cook until barely al dente, 1 to 2 minutes less than directed.

Drain and place in a large bowl.

Add the sautéed vegetables and any oil in the pan to the spaghetti and mix well. Add the ricotta cheese and mix until well-blended. Add half the mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan and mix well. Add the basil, if using, and salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/3 of the spaghetti mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Drizzle 1/3 the tomato sauce over the layer. Add half the remaining spaghetti and then half the remaining sauce. Finish with the spaghetti and then the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the spaghetti and place in the oven for 20 to 35 minutes until just bubbly.

Check often so the cheese doesn’t burn. If it gets too brown, lower heat and cover lightly with foil.

Serves 6 to 8.

NOTE: You can add lots of veggies to this, if you like. Add mushrooms to the sauté pan and cook until all liquid is reabsorbed. Add chopped peppers, shredded carrots, diced zucchini and more.

Frozen Limonana: Israeli slushy a summer delight

By Chaya Rappoport, The Nosher via JTA Limonana is a classic Israeli drink that combines freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves for a unique Israeli-style lemonade treat that’s beloved throughout the country.

Limonana is a combination of the Hebrew and Arabic words “limon” and “nana,” which mean lemon and mint, respectively. While the drink may have originated elsewhere in the Middle East, it’s an Israeli advertising agency that provided the catchy portmanteau of a name in the 1990s. In an attempt to get public transit advertising off the ground in the Jewish state, the agency advertised the soft drink in sprawling ads across the sides of buses and reported that local athletes and celebrities couldn’t get enough of it.

Although the drink was advertised on buses only, the ad campaign was a huge success. Customers begged for the drink and stores pleaded to carry

it until the ad agency admitted the truth: no such drink existed.

Undeterred, soft drink companies began to manufacture the flavor, and the drink that had existed only as a marketing ploy was now a reality. Restaurants and cafés then reimagined the drink in iced, slushed and alcoholic variations.

Now it’s peddled by vendors on nearly every street in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but Americans can make this simple, invigorating version at home. It’s delicious as is, but you can make it alcoholic for a fun, adult twist on the classic. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, substitute Arak, an anise-flavored spirit that’s popular in Israel, for the tequila and see where it takes you.

With or without alcohol, you’re going to want to make these icy, cooling, sweet and tart slushies all summer long.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from around 3 lemons 1/2 cup loosely packed mint 6 Tbsp. sugar 1 cup water 4 cups ice cubes Directions: 1. Combine water, sugar and half of the mint leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat and let syrup steep, about 30 minutes. Discard the mint leaves and refrigerate the syrup to let it cool.

3. Combine the mint simple syrup, the rest of the fresh mint leaves and the fresh lemon juice in a blender. Blend at high speed until well mixed.

4. Add the ice and blend until the ice is thoroughly crushed. Pour into glasses and serve immediately. Serves 2.

THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

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The JEWISH STAR

Health MInd & Body

Section sponsored by Alina Bergan DDS 650 Central Ave (Suite F) in Cedarhurst • 516-203-4556 • AlinaBerganDDS.com

Hadassah researchers ID ‘natural killer’ cells Researchers at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel have identified “natural killer cells” as a key component in answering the perplexing question as to why first pregnancies are harder than subsequent ones, according to Ellen Hershkin, president of Hadassah The Women’s Zionist Organization in America. The study, published in the medical journal Immunity, is the product of six years of research led

by Dr. Simcha Yagel, head of OB/GYN at HMO. “Once again, HMO researchers are in the vanguard of providing life-saving, state-of-theart medical research that is critical to the care, safety and wellbeing of women not only in Israel but around the world,” Hershkin says. “This new study furthers Hadassah’s mission to protect and empower women at one of the most critical and defining moments of their life.”

Natural killer cells are part of the body’s immune system. Their name is derived from their ability to wipe out tumors and pathogeninfected cells. These cells are abundant in the decidua, the uterine lining that forms part of the placenta. Yagel’s research team discovered a population of natural killer cells found in repeated pregnancies that have a unique transcription and epigenetic signature. They named them “Pregnancy Trained Decidual Natural Killer Cells” (PTdNK).

Natural killer cells protect the embryo and ensure its development, although they can also cause problems. Yagel explains: “A fetus is essentially a parasite or a tumor. It invades the mother’s tissue and now receives oxygen and nutrient from the mother. 70% of cells in the fetal-maternal interface are natural killer cells. That’s too much for just immune protection so we delved further and discovered that rather than ‘kill,’ the natural killer cells actually improve the chances of a healthy child … The biggest surprise was that these natural killer cells have memory — they fight diseases, such as the CMV virus.

These cells also improve ‘placentation,’ the formation or arrangement of the placenta.”

Yagel and his team note that this is why preeclampsia, a condition caused by inadequate placentation, drops in subsequent pregnancies. “Our findings may provide an explanation as to why complications of pregnancy, especially the ‘great obstetrical syndromes’ (intrauterine growth and small birth size) are less frequent in repeated pregnancies,” Yagel says.

His goal is to develop a test to screen risk factors. “By understanding how natural killer cells work, we can ask what’s missing in the first pregnancies and eventually develop a treatment.”

PTSD talk at W’mere adult rehab center Five Towns Premier at Woodmere hosted an educational seminar last week for 100 social workers from local hospitals. Dr. Sara Gluck, clinical director of the Five Towns Wellness Center, spoke about post-traumatic stress disorder, exploring treatments, therapy, and strategies for helping patients cope.

Gurwin retains title of ‘best’ The adult day care program at Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has retained its title as “Long Island’s Best in Adult Day Care,” marking the second year in a row, third year overall, that the program has been recognized for excellence in caring for frail, elderly and cognitively challenged residents on Long Island.

“We are so pleased to be honored once again with the Best of Long Island title,” said Jeraldine Fedoriw, LMSW, director of the program. “Our talented and dedicated staff works diligently to create a sense of community and facilitate bonds with and among our registrants. A broad range of activities are planned

throughout the day-such as crafts, exercise, dancing and music-which help program registrants build relationships, enhances their selfesteem, and validates their abilities.”

Since 1989, Gurwin’s Adult Day Care program has been supporting the physical, social and emotional needs of individuals with varying health and cognitive challenges. Program registrants are entitled to a variety of medical care services such as dental care, ophthalmology, audiology, rehabilitation therapy, assistance with activities of daily living, and socialization programs. Registrants receive safe door-throughdoor transportation.

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By Roger Rapoport, JTA HANIA, Crete — On Sunday, 263 candles will be lit at an interfaith memorial service at the city’s historic Etz Hayyim synagogue. The names of local Jews who perished during the Holocaust will be read before a delegation expected to include Chief Rabbi Gabriel Negrin of Athens, Greek Orthodox and Catholic clergy, and ambassadors from Italy, Germany and Israel.

Missing will be Kostas Papadopoulos, who may be the last surviving link to a proud 2,300-year Jewish lineage and the tragic military decision that virtually eliminated one of Europe’s oldest Jewish communities.

His story dates back to May 29, 1944, when he was just two years old. On that day, German secret police singled out and rounded up 263 people across Greece’s largest island. All were arrested and carted off to Agia Prison for the crime of being Jewish.

Eleven days later they were forced at gunpoint into the hold of a Greek merchant vessel, the Tanais, set to sail for Piraeus.

“A higher proportion of the Jewish community of Crete was deported by the Nazis than of any country in Europe,” said Rabbi Nicholas de Lange, a professor emeritus of Hebrew and Jewish studies at the University of Cambridge who conducts High Holiday services here.

None of the prisoners would make it to Piraeus and a train bound for Auschwitz. The ship left Heraklion as part of civilian convoy. Near Santorini, a British submarine captain, unaware of the human cargo below deck, ordered the crew to blow up the ship. A direct hit with two torpedoes killed nearly everyone on board.

The sole survivors were half a dozen Cretan Jews who escaped the Germans in May 1944 by hiding with Christian families. Papadopoulos is the last of them, Jewish historians at Etz Hayyim believe.

I recently met Papadopoulos in Heraklion, Crete’s largest city, after a short drive from the ship that brought me to Crete from Piraeus. My overnight journey crossed the same waters where the Tanais and its hundreds of victims remain entombed. Papadopoulos, a dealer and appraiser of fine Christian art, spoke at Daedalou Gallery, his elegant shop in the heart of an upscale shopping neighborhood.

His survival traces back to his Jewish mother Xanthippe’s decision to marry a Christian during the German occupation.

A view of the southern coast of Crete in 1943.

light up the world together

• June 30, 2017

√ Reporters, Editors and Photographers

STAR

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

• Five Towns Candlelighting

8:11 pm, Havdalah

9:20 • Luach page

19 • Vol 16, No

TheJewishSt

24

The Newspaper

of our Orthodox

ar.com

communities

sustain the next generation

By Celia Weintrob Photos by Doni Kessler

Photo by Doni

Kessler

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

STAR speech.

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

The JEWISH

dmere as There’s joy in Woo celebrates new home

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

TheJewishS

pages 28–29

• Vol 16, No 34

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.”

Reuven Taragin, Yeshivat Hakotel founder and director of Eytan Community Education Feiner of The Conferences, White Shul, “When Yitzchak met “Torah tips on Rivkah: Torah’s Star tion and maintain to build Jewish first menThe how a strong By marriage”; of martial the Hebrew joined love”; Michal Towns “Ahavas in Horowitz, The FiveRabbi Sunday Yisrael: In theory or Long Beach on at its in pracnew Academy of

Super Spec ialS chanukat habayit Avenue in celebrating a on Church elementary school Woodmere. beginnings that the humble

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

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cha of the Five Towns and of the Great Neck Synagogue, “Where do come from — addressing grown babies ters with children.” up matPhotos by Doni

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The JEWISH STAR follows Emet the first is “Torat ‘InvestFest’ fair shiva University,”Truth.” in

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Cedarhurst remembers

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.

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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

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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

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11 was a along at the “InvestFest” See YU on page Star

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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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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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After cultivating his reputation as an art and antiquities appraiser, Papadopoulos has little patience for customers who try to talk him down.

Several years ago, a towering Chinese tourist made a ridiculous offer of 10 euros for a valuable icon worth far more. Papadopoulos stood his ground, and the angry customer knocked him down. Papadopoulos is still recovering. He says the attack has limited his mobility, making it impossible for him to return for this week’s memorial.

Heraklion’s defunct synagogue was destroyed by the Germans at the beginning of the Battle of Crete in May 1941, but Papadopoulos has eagerly connected with Etz Hayyim in Hania.

The historic sanctuary was looted by the Nazis and fell into disrepair. Years after graves were robbed and the synagogue site became a local dump, an international effort led to its rebuilding under the leadership of the late Nikos Stavroulakis, former head of Athens’ Jewish Museum of Greece.

The reconstruction, completed in 1999, was largely the work of a Muslim and Christian crew from Albania. Rededication led to the creation of a havurah, an interfaith community including Jews, Christians and Muslims enthusiastic about Stavroulakis’ work. He defined Etz Hayyim as a “place of prayer, recollection and reconciliation,” making it open to everyone in the tradition of Hellenistic synagogues.

This fraternity shares common values despite their different religious affiliations. Even a pair of 2010 arson attacks that destroyed many important records failed to slow down the rebirth of this interfaith community supported by donations from around the world.

Anja Zuckmantel, the synagogue administrator at the heart of this week’s event, moved here from Germany 10 years ago.

“Our congregation grows in part because so many Jewish tourists want to come and see what we have done,” she said. “At our summer Kabbalat Shabbat, we have services with up to 60 participants. The number of Jews settling in Crete is slowly but steadily growing. Crete is a beautiful place to live.”

Kostas Papadopoulos may not make it to Hania for the annual memorial service, but he’ll be there in spirit.

One table at his gallery is not for sale. It is covered with Judaica, including a menorah, Torah pointers, a samovar and other heirlooms.

“To be happy,” he said, “I always have to see them.”

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After Papadopoulos was born in 1942, his Christian father moved to Athens, leaving his young son with his mother and grandmother. In 1944, when it became clear that the Nazi roundup was imminent, the three of them moved into hiding with a Greek farm family outside Heraklion.

“My mother knew the Nazis were coming,” Papadopoulos said. “Fortunately my family name was Greek, which helped us escape the Germans. It also made it easier to find a family willing to take the risk of hiding us.

“Some of the Greeks who heroically hid Jews were executed as collaborators, but fortunately that was not the fate of the family that protected us. They even returned special paintings we had given them to hide.”

For Papadopoulos, who grew up in Greece and learned his trade as an auction house apprentice in Europe and New York, returning to Crete in the 1970s was not a quick or easy decision.

“People who do what I do, selling religious art, live in places like New York or Switzerland,” he said. “But I wanted to be close to my friends, the people I grew up with.”

One of the challenges that comes with operating a first-class gallery in a place like Hania is the flood of bargain hunters arriving by plane and ship, many of them Germans.

“Customers are used to looking at knockoffs. When they see real art, some believe the prices are too high,” he said.

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Israel salutes America: 70 who counted in 70 On the occasion of the Jewish state’s 70th anniversary, the Israeli embassy in Washington, in partnership with the Jewish News Syndicate, celebrates 70 of the greatest American contributors to the U.S.-Israel relationship Many of the people and organizations chosen for this acknowledgement will be readily recognized by readers of The Jewish Star, others less so, but their powerful stories build a collective history that reflects the broad base of American love and support for the Jewish state.

This week, The Jewish Star pubishes the third part of a series that will cover all of the “70 who counted.”

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

20 of 70 The Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr was an American public intellectual and one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century, a rare figure whose writings on religion and foreign policy — such as Moral Man and Immoral Society, and The Irony of American History — are still being read. Amidst his intellectual legacy is an astonishing defense of Jews, Zionism, and the Jewish state, which he saw as stemming from his own worldview and sense of justice.

In the dark days of February 1942, Niebuhr called upon the Allied powers to commit to a “genuine homeland for Jews” as part and parcel of the war effort. Upon liberation, he expounded that a resurrection of the status quo would not be good enough. While Jews had a right to remain wherever they were, they also had a right to a homeland that would become a true spiritual home.

Niebuhr led by deed as well as by word. In addition to his writing, he founded the Christian Council on Palestine, an organization of pro-Zionist Christian clergy. His impassioned advocacy prompted his friend and fellow Zionist, Felix Frankfurter, to reflect that he could not find anyone who “faces the Jewish problem more trenchantly and more candidly” than Niebuhr, the Protestant theologian.

While Niebuhr occasionally quibbled with various policies of the Zionist movement or Israel, he never wavered from his belief in the rightness of the cause and the benefits of the Jewish state to the civilized world. In 1957, as the state approached its tenth birthday, Niebuhr wrote in the New Republic that the “birth and growth of the nation is a glorious spiritual and political achievement.” He asserted that the State of Israel was accomplishing something unique. Not only was it providing a political refuge for Jews, but it was also a spiritual home for the Jewish people to pursue a way of life.

Niebuhr’s work on behalf of Zionism and Israel helped mobilize Americans to the cause of the Jewish state. His spiritual leadership stood as a model for thoughtful engagement and a Jewish-Christian dialogue, and his strong stance on Israel’s spiritual and political importance continues to inspire leaders and engaged citizens to this day.

Adolph William “Al” Schwimmer (1917–2011) 21 of 70

Al Schwimmer was born in New York City in 1917 to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He became an engineer and pilot, gaining considerable experience and connections in the aerospace industry while serving as a flight engineer during World War II. During Israel’s War of Independence, Schwimmer used his expertise and connections to smuggle war planes to Israel. He later explained that he did so because he believed that if Israel lost the war, there would be a second Holocaust, with 600,000 Jewish lives at risk.

Schwimmer also recruited flight crews and pilots, the beginning of what would become the Israeli Air Force.

The smuggling operation was complex, with Schwimmer creating two separate aircraft companies. Each company purchased and refurbished numerous used aircraft, including U.S. military planes from World War II. Schwimmer recruited other Jewish veterans to help modify

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, at Brooklyn’s Lag BaOmer parade in 1987.

Mordecai Baron

In an era before the Internet, the Rebbe had global reach, with followers all over the world. In addition to guiding his own flock, he expressed great concerns for the status of global Jewry. As such, he took a special interest in the welfare of the State of Israel.

Given his myriad lectures and writings about Israel, many are surprised to discover that the Rebbe never personally visited the country. Nevertheless, Israeli leaders of all stripes sought his advice and blessing.

Many of these moments were captured on camera and can be viewed online. In one recording from 1988, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres (left) shakes hands with Benjamin Netanyahu approaches the U.S. Jewish industrialist Max Fisher at reception given by Rebbe for a blessing, and the Rebbe offers a fascinating combination of reU.S. Secretary of State George Shultz (center). ligious guidance and practical insight.

Chanania Herman/GPO Similarly, when Ariel Sharon was conthe planes; they were then flown to Israel via sidering retiring from the military, he Florida and Czechoslovakia. consulted with the Rebbe, who convinced him Schwimmer’s smuggling operation brought to remain. him under the suspicion of the FBI. Narrowly Rabbi Schneerson often faced disdain and escaping apprehension many times, he fled to derision from “mainstream” haredi Judaism Canada and then to Israel, where he continued for stubbornly continuing to praise Israel and to contribute to the war effort. its military and pray for its continued success.

In 1950, he returned to the United States to Many major rabbinic figures of the haredi esstand trial for violating the U.S. Neutrality Act. tablishment tended to negatively view any asHe was convicted in 1950 by a federal court pect of Israel connected to its mostly secular in Los Angeles, fined $10,000, and stripped of government (more so in the early years than his voting rights and veteran benefits. Schwim- today). In response, the Rebbe occasionally mer refused to ask for a pardon, believing that suggested that G-d acts through the courageous smuggling aircraft to help the survival of Israel soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, as in the had been the morally correct course of con- case of the 1967 Six-Day War and “Operation duct. To accept a pardon would have implied Entebbe” in July 1976. an acknowledgment of guilt.

Through his steadfast leadership, the Rebbe In 1951, David Ben-Gurion invited Schwim- steered the Chabad movement into embracing mer to immigrate to Israel. He accepted, and a pro-Israel attitude, writing to David Benshortly after settling in, founded Israel Aircraft Gurion “that Eretz Israel in all aspects, both Industries. Later renamed Israel Aerospace present and future, should constitute a factor Industries, the company now employs 16,000 uniting Jews everywhere, both Orthodox and workers and boasts yearly revenues of more non-Orthodox of all trends.” than $3 billion.

Not surprisingly, many of his emissaries are Although Schwimmer never did ask for a among the most fervent supporters of Israel pardon, U.S. President Bill Clinton pardoned in their communities. The Rebbe continues to him in 2001. serve as a light of inspiration for Jews around Schwimmer’s life exemplifies the devotion the world, with his heartfelt dedication to Isof the many American Jews who selflessly sup- rael remembered and cherished by all who enported Israel’s struggle to survive. counter his teachings.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) 22 of 70

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was without question one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the 20th century.

A talented and charismatic scholar, he was known across the world as simply “The Rebbe.”

As the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect, he exponentially increased the movement’s influence and size. In an unprecedented flurry of Jewish outreach, he sent emissaries around the world, establishing thousands of Chabad centers in cities, remote locales and on college campuses that continue to serve the spiritual and physical needs of Jews of all backgrounds.

Martin Peretz 23 of 70

For roughly three decades, the New Republic was America’s most influential magazine, owing much of its success to the talents of its editor and publisher, Martin Peretz. A gifted writer himself, Peretz demonstrated a special ability to find and develop other brilliant minds.

Among the many celebrated and influential authors to emerge at the magazine were Charles Krauthammer, Mickey Kaus, Hendrik Hertzberg, Fred Barnes, Michael Kelly, Michael Kinsley, Andrew Sullivan and Michael Walzer. These writers are notable for their intellect, fine journalism and lack of ideological conformity.

Another consistent pattern in Peretz’s life has

been his strong support for Israel. As early as 1967, he was appearing in Ramparts magazine, defending Israel from accusations of colonialism.

After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science at age 15, Peretz attended Brandeis University and then Harvard, where he became a faculty member in its new social studies program. There, he met his former wife, Anne Farnsworth Labouisse, and with her support he gained a controlling stake in The New Republic in March 1974, becoming its guiding figure for most of the next 40 years.

Cover to cover, readers could find cultivated arts criticism, wide-range reporting, and staunch defenses of Israel when other intellectuals were silent. Peretz offered an informed critique of the part of the intelligentsia that was naive, willfully ignorant or simply infatuated with the violent undercurrents in Palestinian nationalism and radical Islam. Under Peretz’s leadership, supporters of Israel on the democratic or liberal side of the electoral spectrum could find friendly support and an intellectual home within its pages.

The New Republic boldly reported the truth about Israel’s 1982 Lebanon War, helped expose the connection between renewed antiSemitism in Europe and anti-Israel bias, led the campaign against the Goldstone report and repeatedly pointed out the dangers of a nuclear Iran. This is just a small part of an extraordinary legacy of an extraordinarily gifted writer and editor who was a great champion of Israel when and where it was needed most.

Max Fisher (1908–2005) 24 of 70

Max M. Fisher, born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in 1908 and raised in Salem, Ohio, credited President Dwight D. Eisenhower for leading him to merge his passions for politics and philanthropy.

In 1965, Fisher visited Eisenhower, who raised the issue of the 1956 Suez crisis and said that he regretted pressuring Israel to evacuate the Sinai. Fisher’s biographer Peter Golden notes that Eisenhower added, “If I’d had a Jewish advisor working for me, I doubt I would have handled the situation the same way. I would not have forced the Israelis back.”

Fisher, who had already earned his fortune in the oil business, decided to become that adviser.

He became a force in the Republican Party in his home state of Michigan, and eventually advised every GOP president from Richard M. Nixon to George W. Bush. He refused offers of official posts, preferring to work behind the scenes.

According to his family, Fisher’s greatest strength was bringing organizations and philanthropists together for a cause — a talent he put to good use as head of the United Jewish Appeal, Council of Jewish Federations, United Israel Appeal and as founding chairman of the Board of Governors of the reconstituted Jewish Agency.

What differentiated Fisher from lone Jewish advisers of the past was that he brought organized American Jewry with him.

In 1970, when two Soviet Jews who had applied for visas to Israel were sentenced to death, Fisher asked Secretary of State William Rogers and President Nixon to intercede, bringing along the chairmen of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, when Fisher entered the Oval Office and asked Nixon to resupply Israel, he was speaking on behalf of the entire Presidents Conference.

Two years later, President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger asked Fisher to help smooth tensions between the administration and Israel over diplomatic ties with Egypt. Fisher was able to fulfill this request — no individual was more trusted by Israeli leaders and the American Jewish community.

In 2005, when Fisher passed away at the age of 96, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his cabinet: “To a large degree, it is due to Max Fisher’s activism that approximately 1 million new immigrants came to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union in the 1990s.”

See 70 who counted on page 15

Leon Uris (1924–2003) 25 of 70

An American author of historical fiction, Leon Uris was known for his commitment to historical accuracy and extensive research. The people of Israel can be especially grateful that this literary giant brought the early history of Israel to the attention of millions of people throughout the Western world, making them sympathetic to the newly established Jewish state.

He achieved this through his epic 1958 novel Exodus, which later became a film directed

by Otto Preminger and starring Paul Newman.

It was said to have been the best-selling novel in the United States since Gone with the Wind in 1936. By the mid-1960s, sales exceeded 5 million copies.

Uris’s complex plot focused upon the 1947 efforts to bring the SS Exodus into harbor in Palestine with its 4,500 refugees on board. Through the travails and romances of his characters, millions learned about the obstacles faced by the Jewish Agency in the 1940s, the oppression of British mandatory rule and the hatred of the Arabs who followed the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

Most of all, millions learned about the majestic achievement of Israel’s creation.

Uris’s novel reflected his astonishing research and his determination to get the details right.

He reportedly conducted more than 2,000 interviews in writing the book, and many characters are based on real people. While this was his method for all his novels, Uris’s connection with Israel was especially intense, reflecting his family’s history. His father had fled tsarist Russia for

Marty Peretz

Palestine, and though he eventually emigrated to the United States, he changed the family name from Blumberg to Uris, a variant of Yerushalemi, in honor of the capital.

Uris wrote other novels that told important Jewish stories, including QB VII about the Holocaust and Mila 18, a depiction of the Warsawghetto uprising.

But Exodus remains his greatest work. A fictional portrait based upon true events, David Ben-Gurion asserted that “it’s the greatest thing ever written about Israel.”

John Stanley Grauel (1917–1986)

26 of 70 John Stanley Grauel was credited by Golda Meir with playing a pivotal role in persuading the United Nations to end the British Mandate.

As Grauel was a Christian minister, his role in the creation of the Jewish state is remarkable.

Equally notable are the Israel Defense Forces’ markers on his Jerusalem gravestone, signifying his role in the Haganah.

Grauel was born into a liberal New England clan. He decided at the age of 23 to study at a Methodist seminary. During his years at the

John Hagee, Christians United for Israel 27 of 70

John Hagee is an evangelical pastor based in San Antonio, Texas. Having served in the ministry for more than five decades, Hagee leads a

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Continued from page 14 It was President Shimon Peres who best summed up the impact of Fisher’s work: “He held the most important strategic asset: the relationship between the United States of America and Israel. He made Israel great in the eyes of American leaders.”

church with over 20,000 active members. He believes that the Bible commands all faithful Christians to support the State of Israel and the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland.

As such, Hagee has had a long and generous relationship with the Jewish state. He has visited Israel numerous times and has met with every Israeli prime minister since Menachem Begin. John Hagee Ministries, has donated tens of millions of dollars to humanitarian causes in Israel, including millions earmarked for enabling Jews from the former Soviet Union to immigrate to Israel.

Hagee’s spirited advocacy has been a constant throughout his career. In 1981, his church hosted its inaugural “Night to Honor Israel,” held in San Antonio every year since, to celebrate the Jewish state and stress the importance of a strong U.S.Israel relationship. The 2017 dinner raised more than $2 million for Israeli and Zionist charities and organizations. Since its inception, the “Night to Honor Israel” has raised over $100 million for Jewish charities and the Jewish state.

In 2006, Hagee founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI) to give political expression to the millions of devout Christians across America who support Israel. A testament to Hagee’s commitment and vision, this grassroots organization has rapidly grown and now boasts some 4 million members. CUFI has become the largest pro-Israel Christian group in the United States and one of Israel’s most significant sources of support in America. In addition to helping fund initiatives geared towards supporting Israel, this group also has dedicated significant resources to combat anti-Semitism around the world. Hagee has addressed members of Congress, exhorting them to support Israel in any way they can.

John Hagee has been a true and devoted friend of Israel. His public and vocal support has been no small factor in solidifying the strong relationship between American evangelical Christians and Israel. In turn, this special relationship has been an important and lasting element in Israel’s connection with America, its most crucial ally and friend.

15 THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

70 who counted…

seminary, his wife and son died in childbirth, and he never remarried. The great commitments of his life thereafter were to his religion and to Zionism.

During the early 1940s, Grauel followed events in Nazi Europe with keen awareness. A Jewish friend, a local judge in Massachusetts, put Grauel in touch with the American-Christian Palestine Committee, an ad hoc group set up by Zionists. His enthusiasm prompted the committee to name Grauel their Philadelphia director. As a result, Grauel was introduced to Stephen Wise, and in 1944, Wise informed him of the genocide taking place in Europe. Grauel later met David Ben-Gurion and quickly grew eager to act.

Working alongside Haganah leaders, Grauel became aware of some of their activities and asked to join them. Soon, he was participating in meetings alongside Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Teddy Kollek and other Jewish leaders in clandestine stateside operations, raising “funds to buy guns, bullets and ships needed for the creation of a new state.”

After learning about plans for the ship that would become the Exodus, Grauel joined the effort, heading to Europe to direct the secret gathering of its 4,500 passengers. When the British fired on the Exodus in international waters, he fled to shore and informed reporters from around the world about the attack, speaking with the authority of a Christian minister.

After escaping arrest, Grauel went to the United Nations to report on British misdeeds and the risks that lack of partition presented to the Jews. By all accounts, his testimony was likely the most persuasive.

Over the next two decades, Grauel worked to expose the mistreatment and oppression of Jews in Algeria and Morocco. That they had a place of refuge to which they could flee is a credit to his efforts.

June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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JEWISH STAR

School News Send news and hi-res photos to Schools@TheJewishStar.com Deadline Mondays at Noon Valedicatorian Tzvi Heimowitz

Salutatorian Yosef Mehlman

Keter Shem Tov awardee Jakey Friedman

DRS HS: top 3 graduates “All-around excellence” is the phrase that comes to mind when thinking of valedictorian Tzvi Heimowitz. A National Merit Scholarship winner, Siemens semifinalist and College Bowl co-captain, Tzvi has distinguished himself in every area. Beyond academics, Tzvi’s volunteer work at OHEL Bais Ezra reveal his compassionate nature.

Tzvi has grown tremendously over the last four years at DRS, and his persistent quest for the truth has led him down the path of knowledge. He plans to continue his studies next year at Yeshivat Migdal Hatorah.

There is almost no area of academic pursuit at DRS in which salutatorian Yosef Mehlman has not achieved excellence. Yosef was an AP Scholar with Honor, captain of the debate team, editor-in-chief of the Spanish Language Journal and member of the math team. His business acumen propelled him to lead the school’s Wharton

Investment Club and to serve as business editor of the school newspaper.

For all four years of high school, Yosef attended NCSY Kollel and participated in night seder, as well as the Kulanu mishmar program. DRS wishes him much hatzlacha next year at Gush.

Keter Shem Tov awardee Jakey Friedman is the backstop of the grade. More than the goalie of a championship hockey team, he anchors the group, keeping everyone in a state of achdus and simcha. His infectious smile, incredible respect, and constant concern for everyone around him make Jakey beloved by friends and teachers alike. His work with Kulanu is another outlet for his giving nature.

Jakey’s thirst for growth has propelled him to become a true masmid. As he continues on to Yeshivat Shaalvim next year, DRS is confident that Jakey will continue to exemplify the meaning of a keter shem tov.

SKA’s magical women: Kayla Evans, Priva Halpert, Atara Israel, Avigail Razi, and Meira Steiner.

Magical SKA presenters Students, mentors, family and staff of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls watched the first annual MAGIC (More Active Girls in Computing) Mentor presentation, part of an international organization aimed at increasing student interest in STEM courses.

Meira Steiner developed a virtual library website, Kayla Evans coded and built a self-

rotating base for camera using motion sensors, Priva Halpert developed alcohol detector methods using color changes, Atara Israel analyzed data for drug testing for breast cancer, and Avigail Razi developed code to detect the origin of replication in bacterial DNA strands.

Chana Glatt, head of the science department, arranged and directed the program.

Israeli tech minister lauds MDS STEM

Tova Solomons demonstrates the Rube Goldberg machine for Minister Ofir Akunis.

Manhattan Day School students took a break from constructing Rube Goldberg machines and programming Sphero robots to welcome Israel Minister of Science and Technology Ofir Akunis last week.

“The students were really eager to present their work to the Minister and demonstrate what they learned over the course of the year,” said Elisha Hus, director of educational technology.

“I used the Vernier light sensor to find the intensity of light on other planets on a smaller scale,” said eighth-grader Leah Roth. “I was excited to have the opportunity to present to

Mr. Akunis.”

“My partner, Avi Herman, and I, coded an Arduino, which is a type of microcontroller,” said eighth-grader Eitan Weinberg. “The Minister commented that he thought the project was very interesting and he hoped we pursued future endeavors using the Arduino in many other activities.”

Akunis participated in a roundtable discussion about STEM education with Head of School Raizi Chechik, board members, and professional leaders from the community and from the Orthodox Union’s Teach Advocacy

Network. He then engaged in interactive presentations by MDS students from grades 2 to 8 in the school’s Smart Lab before addressing the Middle School division. Akunis spoke about Israel’s development into a powerhouse for innovation, and commended MDS students for their achievements in STEM. “I have visited many schools and I am particularly impressed with the way technology is taught in tandem with Torah at MDS,” he said.

“I will go back to Israel and speak of Manhattan Day School as a role model for bridging the past with the future.”

$10M to build HaifaU campus

HALB Lions roar to soccer championship After an undefeated season, the HALB Lions beat Yeshiva of North Jersey 7-3 to become this year’s champions. HALB started strong, with Atara Sicklick scoring the first goal within the first five minutes. YNJ’s Jaguars fought hard, but defenders Chana Spirn and Simona Goldberg challenged their of-

fense. At the end of first half, the score was 4-0.

At second half, both teams came out fighting. Naomi Sigman did not disappoint, with another shot from the corner and notching another assist to put the score at 6-0. Just as it looked to be a shutout, the Jaguars pulled

out all the stops, but thanks to rookie goalkeeper Tova Farber, were mostly held off.

With 4 minutes left, HALB scored once again for a total of 7-3.

HALB is proud of the Lions’ success this season. Their teamwork and middot were excellent, on and off the court!

The University of Haifa has received a $10 million donation from American philanthropist Lorry I. Lokey, for the construction of a new campus that will consist of at least four buildings located throughout the Port of Haifa and the city’s downtown area.

Lokey, founder of Business Wire, was inspired by the university’s unique “multiversity” model: a multi-campus with locations throughout northern Israel, easing access for students and adding vitality to its city and region, while allowing a wide range of ideas and activities to flourish in a diverse community.

Business Wire, which Lokey launched in 1961, publishes between 500 and 1,000 press releases per day to thousands of news media worldwide.

An early signer of the Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest people to dedicate most of their wealth to giving back, Lokey has given more than $800 million (98 percent of his lifetime earnings) to various philanthropies, universities and educational institutions.

17 THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

Shulamith 8th tours Capitol In Washington, Shulamith’s Class of 2018 visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where they viewed a cattle car, Auschwitz bunks and shoes taken from the kedoshim, and said a perek of Tehillim.

Next, the girls visited Arlington, where they watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later, they enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Potomac and views of the Lincoln Memorial, White House,

Washington Monument, and World War II Memorial.

Day 2 featured a tour of the Capitol, where aides to the South Shore’s representative in Congress, Kathleen Rice, spoke to the girls about working in Congress and tour guide Sheila Schwebel gave an overview of the House Chamber. Then it was on to lunch on the Mall, followed by the Museum of American History, before boarding the buses home.

A mezuzah maker visits HAFTR

Rav S. Kamenetsky at Darchei

Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky (center) recently visited Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, with Rav Yaakov Bender, rosh ha yeshiva (at right).

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Rabbi Akiva Oppen of Oppen Scrolls visited HAFTR’s Early Childhood center to demonstrate what a sofer does and how mezuzot are made.

June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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‫כוכב של שבת‬

SHAbbAT STAR

Korach: Letting go of logic From Heart of Jerusalem

Rabbi biNNY FReeDMaN

Jewish Star columnist

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friend of mine once shared part of the process he used to interview prospective students at his high school. The boys were invited to a full day of interviews, tests and experiences. In the middle of the day, they broke for lunch. When they entered the dining room, the tables would be set with six seats each. On each table, a large platter was waiting, with rice and five pieces of schnitzel. The boys who took first were usually the ones he was less interested in.

Without discussing the ethical and practical implications of such a test, what I think this educator was attempting to ascertain was whether the boys were takers or sharers.

This week, we read parsha Korach, which tells of Korach’s famous rebellion against Moshe and Aharon. It does not end well for Korach, who is swallowed up in a Divine earthquake along with his followers. The parsha begins with an interesting statement, “Korach took” (Bamidbar 16:1). It never explains exactly what he took.

When the Torah does not finish a sentence, there is always a reason. We have encountered this phenomenon before; in Bereishit 4:8 we find that “Kayin said to Hevel his brother,” without ever learning what he said. In the past, I have suggested that the Torah is telling us that if two brothers reach a point where one kills the other and it does not matter what the argument was about, something is dreadfully wrong.

Perhaps the same is true here — what Korach took is not the issue. The Torah simply wants us to

know that he was a taker.

Interestingly, towards the end of the parsha, the Torah discusses the matnot kehuna, gifts the Jewish people are obligated to give to the kohanim. The topic seems out of place — unless, of course, the Torah is teaching us that there are some things in life, like honor, power and influence, that one is not meant to take. They are gifts, meant to be received. o why do people take? There are many different types of “taking” — taking risks, taking drugs — but we are speaking here of acquiring.

Whether consciously or not, some people associate their self-worth with position, power, or the accumulation of material wealth. If I have more, I must be more.

Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes in America; a study on Pricegun. com suggests that there are 550,000 incidents in the U.S. every day. Over $13 billion is shoplifted in America every year, which amounts to over $35 million a day! In fact, there are estimated to be 27 million “regular” shoplifters in America today, which means that over one in ten Americans steals habitually. And while some steal for drugs, or simply to get by, statistics suggest a very high percentage of shoplifters are people who could easily afford to pay.

While there are many reasons such people steal, including a desire to be in control or to fill a void, one of the oft-cited reasons is that people feel they deserve it. In a study to determine why well-off guests steal from their hotel rooms, many interviewees felt that their rooms had been over-

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priced to cover the inevitable loss from theft, and they wanted to get their money’s worth. In other words: I deserve more!

This sentiment can often be intertwined with envy and jealousy. A person feels they deserve better, at least as much as their neighbor. Sometimes it leads to anger, which is usually about expectations — I expect something, and when I don’t get it, I get angry. A person takes when he or she feels deserving; there is a certain arrogance to it. All this is the story of Korach, who was jealous because the position he expected, and felt he deserved, had been given to someone else. here is a second aspect to the story of Korach worth mentioning. The arrangement of the parshiot always contains a powerful message. One wonders why Korach, which seems to be about the dangers of arrogance, is followed immediately by Chukat, which seems to be about the incomprehensibility in life. Chukat begins with the parah adumah purification ceremony, which in Jewish tradition represents that which we cannot possibly understand. We read of the deaths of Aharon and Miriam. Death, of course, is the ultimate phenomenon that can never be fully comprehended.

So why does this naturally follow Korach’s rebellion?

There is a fascinating midrash about Korach, quoted in Rashi. Korach challenged Moshe’s leadership by asking two famous questions. First, if there is a mitzvah to have one thread of techelet on a set of white tzitzit, then certainly a garment entirely techelet should be exempt — yet it still re-

Korach alert: allowing arrogance to seep into our lives.

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The blessing of the losing ticket Parsha of the Week

Rabbi avi biLLet Jewish Star columnist

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henever I participate in a raffle, with great anticipation I wait for the drawing, which will declare me, as usual, a loser.

And my losing ticket? Ends up in the garbage, of course.

The mature response to not winning is to perhaps congratulate the winner, and to otherwise move on, putting the competition behind us. Is there any merit to keeping the losing ticket?

After Aharon heroically stops the plague that follows the story of Korach, after the people had accused Moshe and Aharon of causing the deaths of “nation of G-d” (Bamidbar 17:6-15), G-d tells Moshe to put a stop to all this rebellion for once and for all. The head of each tribe would write his name on his personal staff and place it in the Tent of Meeting overnight, and the staff that blossomed would serve as the proof that its owner and his tribe had been chosen by G-d.

Sure enough, Aharon’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, famously blossomed: “It had given forth leaves, and was [now] producing blossoms and almonds were ripening on it” (17:23).

When Moshe brought the staffs out, the Israelites were able to see that Aharon was in fact chosen. Of all the dead pieces of wood, only his had brought forth life. And then we are told, “Each man took his own staff” (17:24).

Each tribe took back its losing ticket. Why? Perhaps each man had a personal attach-

ment to the staff, perhaps as a walking stick. But whereas Aharon’s staff becomes a mishmeres l’os l’vnei meri — a safeguard and a sign to those who might rebel — what purpose do these staffs serve? he Netziv explains that there is a deeper message here. When the staffs had been brought into the Mishkan for the test, each leader thought his staff had become sanctified. Each intended that his staff be a gift to the Mishkan, no longer be available for use — ever.

But when Moshe brought the staffs out again, everyone saw that Aharon’s was the one that had blossomed, and that G-d had confirmed a choice that had been made long ago. They then realized that their staffs were not holy, and that with the exception of Aharon’s, were no longer designated for the Mishkan’s use.

This was a powerful lesson for a people who had just seen their peers try to prove that their service at the highest level was acceptable to G-d simply because of their own feelings. Korach and company said “We are all holy, so we can all be High Priests!” Um, no. You can achieve a level of holiness, but you cannot take on a role G-d did not assign to you.

This is why the fire pans used by Korach’s followers were later hammered out to serve as an adornment for the mizbeiach. They would serve as a reminder that there is holiness, and there is holiness. Anyone can bring a korban, but only kohanim can be the representatives through which it is offered. When they looked at the mizbeiach, they would be reminded that you can only go so far.

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Similarly, each tribal leader may have had a snippet of a thought, more innocently than Korach’s cohort: maybe maybe maybe my tribe will be chosen. Maybe maybe maybe I have a shot!

And the proof is that they came to see if their staffs had “won.”

So they took their losing tickets home, partly because the staffs turned out to not have been sanctified, partly because they may have had a sentimental attachment, and partly to remind themselves and their tribes for all time, “I tried. We tried.

Remember that story, so we can always be aware of what our role is, and what it is not.”

But more than that, perhaps the stick was also meant to show — we can hope. We can dream, and if we put in our effort, we can at least be a competitor for the top.

Sometimes we think we are unworthy of even trying. In the Olympics, for example, there are only three medalists in each competition. But even those who don’t come home with a medal still look back on the fact that they competed with the greatest athletes in the world, representing the greatest of their country, and ended up in 10th or 20th place. Competing is still an incredible accomplishment, even for one who does not win.

Not everyone who loses is a “loser.” Losers walk away having learned nothing from the experience, having gained nothing. The tribal leaders were winners. They took home their “losing” souvenirs as a reminder that a winner accepts his role in G-d’s camp, and does not look to usurp a position that was not assigned by G-d’s rules.

We can hope.

We can dream.

quires the fringe! And similarly, if a house is full of Torah parchments, it should be exempt from the need for a mezuzah on the doorpost, yet it is not!

What is this debate about?

Perhaps Korach felt that to believe in something, he had to be able to understand it. He could not accept a Judaism that seemed illogical.

Thus, the midrash paints a picture of Korach asking questions based entirely on logic. Logically, it makes no sense to put blue strings on an entirely blue garment. In his arrogance, Korach believed that everything had to make sense to him.

Putting aside the arrogance of assuming that we can understand everything in a world created

by G-d, imagine a life where everything has to make sense. Imagine parenting, if everything you tell your child to do must first make sense to them.

Imagine marriage, if you only listen to your spouse when it makes sense. How long would such a marriage last?

The message of Korach is the danger of allowing arrogance to seep into our lives. How much better a world we would have if we acquired the humility to know that there is so much we will never understand, and that that’s OK. I don’t need to understand everything my wife or my children, or even my friends and colleagues, ask of me. I just need to know they do it from a place of love and caring. And if that is true of my fellow human beings, it is certainly true of our relationship with Hashem. If I know G-d loves me, I don’t need to understand it all, even if there is value in trying.

Perhaps that is why last week’s parsha, Shelach, ended with the mitzvah of tzitzit. The four sets of fringes, each with a string of deep sea blue, remind us that Hashem, represented by the fathomless sea and the unreachable heavens, is all around us, always there.

Korach reminds us to let go a little, and take comfort in knowing we are in bigger hands, and that in the end, it will somehow all work out.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem.

Luach

Wed-Thurs June 13-14 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz

Fri June 15 • 2 Tammuz Korach Candlelighting: 8:09 pm Havdalah: 9:18 pm

Fri June 22 • 9 Tammuz Chukas Candlelighting: 8:11 pm Havdalah: 9:20 pm

Fri June 29 • 16 Tammuz Balak Candlelighting: 8:11 pm Havdalah: 9:20 pm

Sun July 1 • 18 Tammuz Fast of Tammuz

Fri July 6 • 23 Tammuz Pinchas Candlelighting: 8:10 pm Havdalah: 9:19 pm

Fri July 13 • 1 Av Rosh Chodesh Av Matos-Masei Candlelighting: 8:07 pm Havdalah: 9:16 pm

Fri July 20 • 8 Av Devarim Candlelighting: 8:03 pm

Havdalah: 9:09 pm

Five Towns times from White Shul

Kosher Bookworm

AlAn JAy GerBer

Jewish Star columnist

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e are a nation that cherishes the memories of those who have passed on, leaving legacies of deep faith and commitment to our G-d and our people.

Among the greatest was Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein of blessed memory, whose teachings will live on forever in our hearts and minds. A student of Rav Yosef Soloveitchik, and Rav Yitzchak Hutner, both of blessed memory, he would impart their wisdom to generations of Jewish students in America and in Israel for over a half-century.

Recently, an anthology of essays and personal tributes to Rabbi Lichtenstein’s legacy was published by Ktav. Edited by Elka Weber and Joel Wolowelsky, the collection is fittingly entitled “A Life Steady and Whole.”

Among the many testimonies is one short yet heartfelt essay by one of the most prominent educators in our community, Rookie

Billet, principal of the Middle Division at Shulamith School for Girls in Cedarhurst. Previously, she served as the assistant principal at Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, as well as Yeshiva University’s Central High School. In our community, Rebbetzin Billet has been an active rebbetzin at the Young Israel of Woodmere since 1980, serving as a kallah teacher and mentor. In 2015, she was certified by Nishmat as a yoetzet halacha. She has been teaching Jewish studies and Hebrew literature, both in the classroom and informally, for many years. n her essay, Rebbetzin Billet relates her memorable experiences with Rabbi Lichtenstein, and the valuable teachings of educational and theological teaching that would serve her well in the years to come. Her words should serve for all of us as examples of kavod haTorah and kavod harabbanut.

She writes, “I think I first met Rav Lichtenstein in person when, as newlyweds, we went to Israel for our first year of marriage. My young husband revered Rav Lichtenstein and was awed by his encyclopedic knowledge, by his clear and deep thinking, by his powerful moral and ethical fiber, by the fact that he played ball with the boys in college and invited the boys to his apartment

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and let them play with his children. He was accessible and helpful in learning and in life.

“That year in Israel I remember asking him a few questions. I was very gung ho about Hebrew, and I asked him if my husband and I should speak Hebrew to each other instead of English in our day-to-day conversation and try to be ‘Israeli.’ While he always seemed to think things over very carefully and weigh and measure everything, about this he was adamant: Communication in marriage is challenging enough that you shouldn’t have to work at saying the important things in a language that isn’t your native tongue.

Speak (and argue!) with each other in English, and speak Hebrew in class, to shopkeepers, bus drivers, and repairmen, he advised.

“I am particularly grateful that I asked him to recommend some leisure reading. In his inimitable fashion, he called my attention to the writings of Rav Elimelech Bar-Shaul, a contemporary rabbi, writer, and thinker in Israel, who wrote books on Jewish thought. His spiritual articles on teshuva, tefilla, tzniut, hakarat hatov, judging others favorably, and different middot tovot resonated with me and influenced my thinking, my character traits, and my teaching to this very day. To Rav Lichtenstein, these books were bed-

Korach and the failure of populism Torah

rABBi dAvid eTenGoff

Jewish Star columnist

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n his analysis of Korach, my rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal, described him as “a demagogue motivated by selfish ambitions” (Reflections of the Rav: Lessons in Jewish Thought). Therefore, though he was blessed with prodigious intellect (Rashi, Bamidbar 16:7), wealth (Pesachim 119a and Shemot Rabbah 31:2), and all that was associated with such qualities, it was simply not enough for Korach. He wanted everything. When he was passed over as nasi for Kehat in favor of his cousin Elitzafan ben Uziel (Midrash Tanchuma), his demagoguery suddenly knew no bounds.

The Ramban, in his commentary on the parsha, maintains that Korach did not foment rebellion as soon as he was denied leadership.

Instead, he waited for the most opportune time.

The Rav follows this interpretation, and notes that the moment — the incident of the spies — came sooner than Korach anticipated (Vision and Leadership: Reflections on Joseph and Moses).

Many people who have passing familiarity with Rav Soloveitchik are unaware that in 1924 he spent three semesters studying political science at the Free Polish University in Warsaw, giving him a background to understand political movements. Little wonder, then, that in his analysis of Korach’s insurrection, he emphasizes the following: “Any conspiracy or organized rebellion, no matter how egotistically motivated, must develop an ideology to succeed. Korach planned an anti-Moses movement, and such a movement cannot exist or make headway without developing an ideology. … Korach indeed provided the philosophy of the rebellion” (Vision and Leadership). hat was the philosophy of Korach’s mutiny? The Torah underscores his position (Bamidbar 16:1-3): “Korach, son of Yitzhar, son of Kehat, son of Levi, took [himself] along with Dasan and Aviram, sons of Eliav, and On, son of Pelet, descendants of Reuven. They confronted … Moshe and Aharon, and said, ‘You take too much on yourselves, for the entire congregation is holy,

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and the L-rd is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above the L-rd’s assembly?”

Korach’s thesis appears to be accurate. Beyond a doubt, the entire congregation of the Jewish people is holy, and indeed, Hashem is in our midst. This has been the case since we received the Torah. As the Rav writes, “As far as holiness is concerned, there is no distinction between Moses and a simple woodchopper. Hence, Korach asked, what right did Moses or Aaron have to lead, to guide, to rule?”

Yet while “no one can deny the assertion that the whole community is holy; it is the very essence of our chosenness,” it is only part of the story. There is another, equally vital component of sanctity: the kedushah of the individual. The Rav formulates this idea in the following manner: “Judaism was not satisfied with the social aspect of kedushah. If the community were the only source of sanctity, then the individual would be deprived of his creative role, his individual initiative, his originality and uniqueness.

The outstanding person would not be able to de-

Korach was right: the entire Jewish people is holy.

The sons of Korach, and us Angel for Shabbat

rABBi mArc d. AnGel JewishIdeas.org

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orach and his fellow rebels wer e miraculously punished for their sinful rebellion against Moshe: “And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged to Korach, and all their goods” (Bamidbar 16:32). G-d deemed Korach’s demagoguery worthy of total extirpation from the nation of Israel.

And yet when the Torah later recounts the fate of Korach and his followers, it informs us that “the sons of Korach did not die” (Bamidbar 26:11).

Rabbinic tradition teaches that Korach’s sons repented; they realized that their father was guilty of treasonous and divisive behavior and they disassociated themselves from him. Thus, they were spared from the devastation that befell Korach and his associates.

Interestingly, the sons of Korach and their descendants rose to great heights among the people of Israel. In the days of King David, they were the gatekeepers, “keeping the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance” (1 Chr. 9:17-19). The heads of the families of the sons of Korach were accorded special honor: “These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark rested [in Jerusalem]” (I Chr. 6:31-33; 9:33,34). The biblical book of Psalms includes a number of beautiful hymns ascribed to the sons of Korach — Psalms 42-49 and Psalms 84-88. In the Sephardic liturgy for the afternoon prayers, we open with Psalm 84, a Psalm attributed to the sons of Korach — thus, we mention them virtually every day!

How were the sons of Korach able to resist the designs of their father? After all, Korach was an

effective demagogue. He had rallied many around him in his rebellion against Moshe. He posed as the classic populist: all the people are holy, not just Moshe. Even after Korach and followers were swallowed by the earth, the people blamed Moshe for “murdering the people of the Lord,” i.e. they viewed Korach and his henchmen very positively. rabbinic tradition has it that Korach’s sons were profoundly influenced by the goodness of Moshe. In spite of the negative propaganda spread by Korach’s group, the sons realized that Moshe was a humble man, not at all desirous of power. He was a leader not by his personal choice or inclination, but because G-d laid the responsibilities upon him. Moshe lived simply; he did not use his position to become wealthy or for any personal gain. He did not lord over the people, but indeed was their humble servant and advocate. The sons of Korach were

The public might think Korach is better than Moshe.

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velop into a great leader. Hence, the Torah says, there is a second resource of kedushah — the sanctity which the individual detects in the inner recesses of his personality. … There is a separate kedushah attached to every individual.”

Precisely because “there is a separate kedushah attached to every individual,” Am Yisrael is infused with “the countless kedushah experiences of the individual members of the community.”

In effect, “the single person sanctifies the community.” Korach’s refusal to recognize this is why he had the gall to ask Moses and Aaron, “Why do you raise yourselves above the L-rd’s assembly?”

Again, we turn to the Rav’s explication: “The statement by Korach that ‘all the community is holy’ is correct as long as we are speaking of the community-rooted kedushah inherited from our ancestors. Indeed, ‘all the community,’ the community as a whole is a source of holiness. … However, if we shift our attention from the social aspect to the individual aspect of kedushah, the whole idea of equality turns into an absurdity. We must admit that the bechirah [chosen nature] of Moses was above and beyond the bechirah of the woodchopper or water-drawer.”

May we, as a people, recognize both our “community-rooted kedushah” and the unique sanctity that each of us can bring to our nation.

Then, with the Almighty’s help, may we be zocheh to fulfill the Torah’s words: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation.” able to see through the falsehoods spread by the rebels; they had the strength of character to stand with Moshe against the wicked designs of Korach.

If Moshe was a genuine and self-effacing leader, Korach was a power-hungry egotist. If Moshe did not seek control or wealth, Korach sought the glory and perks that are the hallmark of low-level, unscrupulous politicians. If Moshe was willing to risk his life for the benefit of the people, Korach was willing to risk the lives of the people in order to promote benefits for himself. Moshe was a spiritual leader. Korach was a demagogue.

If the sons of Korach were able to see the vast differences in quality between Moshe and Korach, much of the public obviously was unable to do so.

The public often falls prey to the blandishments and lies of the demagogues; the public can be manipulated to think that a Korach is actually better than a Moshe.

The great virtues of the sons of Korach were their clarity of mind, their moral courage to resist the tide of rebellion and dissension, their commitment to truth over demagoguery.

The sons of Korach did not die. Their influence continued throughout the generations—and continues to this day. We read their story, we chant their Psalms … and we strive to be worthy heirs to the spiritual values they personified.

19 THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

An appreciation of Rav Lichtenstein

time reading, but they impacted my life.

“When I was asked to become principal of Ma’ayanot (founded by many of Rav Lichtenstein’s talmidim from YU and Yeshivat Har Etzion, with Rav Lichtenstein’s blessing), a school with the goal of serious textual study of Talmud and other Jewish texts for women, I asked him what he recommended for me. My own Jewish education, while extensive and wonderful in Tanach, Hebrew literature, halacha, and Jewish thought, didn’t include much Talmud at the time, as I had been born a generation too early to benefit from that quiet revolution in women’s learning.

“But Rav Lichtenstein encouraged me to take the position and grow with it. He agreed to be the posek for our school, and continued to be accessible and helpful when I had questions about women’s Megillat Esther reading, or about the possibility of a video broadcast of our students’ musical production for the fathers of the girls in the show, or other sensitive issues. He was always patient and measured, calling upon his vast halachic knowledge as well as his awareness of community politics, kevod rabbanim, and sensitivity to the feelings of all involved, in giving me either a decision, or advice about coming to my own wise decision in areas where there was that kind of flexibility permitted.

“He was always steadfast about the halachic process, but open and sensitive to listening to all the factors.”

June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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Will American Jews answer these letters?

JONatHaN S. tOBiN

Jewish News Syndicate

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s peace still possible between Israelis and Palestinians? After the events of the last 25 years, the answer from most Israelis seems to be “not for the foreseeable future.”

But it is this loss of hope that convinced author Yossi Klein Halevi to write a book that can be the beginning of a new sort of dialogue. His Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor is an eloquent plea for mutual understanding by someone who believes deeply in peace, but is not so blinded as to ignore the reasons why efforts to end the conflict have been unsuccessful.

Halevi is no stranger to the task of trying to bridge the gap. A fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, he has championed the concept of honest dialogue between Jews and Muslims. Though perhaps best known for his riveting 2013 Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation, he also wrote At the Entrance to the Garden of Evil: A Jews’ Search for G-d With Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land, in which he recounted his journey to understand other faiths and their traditions.

His new book is a series of letters addressed to an unknown, unnamed Palestinian who lives across

the valley and beyond the security fence from Halevi’s Jerusalem home. In it, he attempts to explain not only why conflict persists, but why the Jews are there. Recognizing that the chief obstacle to reconciliation is a Palestinian narrative that denies Jewish ties to the land or even Jewish peoplehood, Halevi lays out the case for Israel. In doing so, he has not written a polemic that seeks to deny Palestinian peoplehood or ties to the same land. Rather, his intention is to demonstrate the legitimacy of both narratives, to pave the way for a compromise that might enable a two-state solution.

Palestinian and Muslim readers have much to gain from this slim volume, primarily because of the unproductive nature of most outreach programs. Dialogue between Arabs and Jews generally consists of the former lambasting Israel for its sins, and the latter agreeing. Such discussions do nothing to help Palestinians understand that viewing Zionism as evil accomplishes nothing.

While Halevi is honest about Israel’s shortcomings, he does not, like most peace activists, downplay the case for Zionism or the legitimacy of Jewish security concerns. He realizes that Palestinians need to know why Jews have returned to their ancient homeland and, just as important, why they don’t plan on leaving.

Contrary to the rhetoric we often hear from some who speak for “peace,” Halevi does not consider Israel’s founding sinful. His belief in peace is rooted in the notion that Israel’s cause is just. Nevertheless, he asserts that peace must

Yossi Klein Halevi and his new book.

be based on recognition of the humanity of its antagonists and the necessity of sharing the land with them.

We should all hope that the Palestinians to whom Halevi’s letters are addressed will read them, but while Halevi says he has already received responses from Palestinians, it’s hard not to be skeptical about Letters gaining an audience on the other side of the border. The generation that grew up in the West Bank and Gaza after the Oslo Accords has been indoctrinated with hatred of Israelis and Jews. Even as Israel celebrates its 70th birthday as a regional superpower with a First World economy, Palestinians apparently believe that history can be erased. When tens of thousands are charging the border fence to support the “return” of descendants of the 1948 refugees — with the goal of eliminating the Jewish

Why a soccer hooligan is smiling Viewpoint

BEN COHEN

Jewish News Syndicate

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ibril Rajoub is many things — a convicted terrorist, a former West Bank security chief, a former confidante of the late Yasser Arafat, and now the head of both the Palestinian Football Association and the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

Most of all, he is a bellicose thug whose antics resulted in a friendly soccer match between Argentina and Israel being unceremoniously called off.

But was the decision of Argentina’s Football Association an uncomplicated victory for BDS? The answer is no. To begin with, nowhere in its cancellation did Argentina declare solidarity with Palestinians, condemn Israel or endorse a ban on sporting links with Israeli teams.

Then there’s the fact that the decision goes, to borrow a soccer phrase, “against the run of play.” The soccer world is not boycotting Israel.

In the four years since the last World Cup, Israel has hosted national sides including Spain, Wales, Albania, Bosnia, Italy, Uruguay and Cyprus for both competitive and friendly fixtures. These games have been played at stadiums across Israel, among them the supposedly controversial

Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, where the Argentina match was to have taken place.

And then there is Rajoub. His 2015 campaign to have Israel expelled from FIFA failed miserably. A recent effort to sanction Israel’s Football Association over its West Bank-based teams petered out, leading Rajoub to accuse European soccer chiefs of feeling overly guilty about what “some European countries did to the Jews last century.” So how is he now able to boast of a political victory?

Originally, the game was supposed to have been played at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa. But with Israel marking its 70th anniversary, and the American embassy now moved to Jerusalem, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev decided, with the Netanyahu’s backing, that it would be politically savvy to move the game to Israel’s capital.

Rajoub, desperate for some kind of victory after a series of humiliating defeats, seized on the situation. In the swaggering manner of the “generals” who once led Europe’s notorious soccer hooligan “firms,” on Sunday, he issued a series of vulgar threats against Argentine captain and megastar Lionel Messi, perhaps the most revered soccer player in the world, promising to

burn Messi replica T-shirts, souvenir photos and wall posters, and the entire Messi presence on social media should the game go ahead. Reports of death threats against the Argentine players quickly followed on social media.

Regev went into overdrive. “One of the most popular players in the world, who has a billion followers — there is no question that the right thing is for him to play in Jerusalem,” she said of Messi.

“What better hasbara [Israeli PR] is there?”

By Wednesday, Argentina made a final decision to pull out of the game. peaking to ESPN, Argentine center-forward Gonzalo Higuaín deemed it “the right thing” to do. This was an unfortunate choice of words; in moral terms, it was absolutely the wrong thing to have done, particularly when the forthcoming World Cup will be hosted in Vladimir Putin’s Russia! But no one could begrudge him or his teammates the right to feel relieved.

Because the Argentine decision wasn’t about politics or BDS or hatred of Israel. Ultimately, it was about soccer — not just the sport, but the multibillion-dollar business of promotion and branding.

Argentina hasn’t won the World Cup since

The Argentine decision wasn’t about politics, it was about soccer.

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state — it isn’t likely that many will be swayed

by Halevi’s appeals for mutual recognition. Nor do I think there will be many takers for his publisher’s offer of a free download in Arabic.

But this reality shouldn’t consign Halevi’s book to the pile alongside, for example, Shimon Peres’ The New Middle East. Young American Jews should be reading Halevi even if Palestinians don’t.

Palestinians could profit from the lessons Halevi teaches about the necessity and justice of Zionism, why Jews are a people and not just a faith, what happened in 1948 and 1967, why the peace process has failed, the nature of Israeli society and the case for a two-state solution. But it is also required reading for a generation of American Jews who are largely ignorant about the conflict, who arrive on college campuses unarmed when confronted with anti-Zionist lies. It is this group of kids, often unduly influenced by intersectional propaganda, who should be enlightened by Halevi’s letters.

We hear from Israel’s critics that young Jews are fed one-sided accounts of the conflict, that we don’t hear enough about Palestinian suffering. Those arguments are largely specious. But if what has been lacking is a rational account that makes a case for both Israel’s rights and for peace, Letters supplies exactly that. For those looking for a book that is both pro-Israel and pro-peace, Halevi has supplied the answer.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS. 1986. Those who remember the ashen Messi climbing the stairs to receive his runners-up medal after losing the 2014 World Cup Final to Germany will know that this is his last opportunity to claim victory. There is a huge amount at stake. For Argentina’s Football Association to allow their team to be dragged into ugly Middle Eastern politics less than a fortnight before the World Cup starts would have been unforgivable.

It is this that Miri Regev, as a politician, should have understood. Unsurprisingly, the majority of Israelis blame her for their disappointment. Had the match been played in Haifa as planned, had Regev kept her promotional ideas to herself, it would doubtless be going ahead.

As I have argued in this column before, the BDS movement is in decline, regarded with suspicion by democratic governments around the world, and routinely chalking up defeats that far outweigh the occasional “victory.” To maintain this trend, Israel’s leaders need to think strategically about every major event that is staged in the country, with the first principle being “do no harm.”

It’s not necessary to have every international soccer match played in Jerusalem, especially given the long international tradition of staging such games in provincial cities. It’s not necessary to announce that a sporting legend is going to “kiss the Kotel,” especially if you haven’t checked with him first. But it is imperative that Israeli officials understand that the best response to those who oppose “normalization with the Zionist enemy” is to behave as if such dazzling events are the most normal thing in the world—and that means keeping politics, and politicians, out of the equation.

View from Central Park

tehilla r. goldberg

Intermountain Jewish News

K

ites are colorful fabrics attached to a string, soaring on the wind like a bird, with the added frill of petite bows attached to the string, the stuff of a child’s summer joy.

Balloons are also the joy of a child who holds the string as the colorful billowing ball rises in the air, sometimes with a basket attached.

And cars: Aren’t they machines on four wheels with internal combustion that carry people on roads to get from place to place? And airplanes: Aren’t they crafts propelled by motors on fixed wings that enable them to lift into the air and carry people from one city to another, across the world?

Not anymore.

Airplane travel has been literally hijacked.

Cars have become a tool for vehicular terrorism. And now, kites and balloons, too, have been repurposed for murder.

These are the Palestinian inventions of recent decades. While Israel was developing ReWalk to help people who are paralyzed, and designing irrigation technology to preserve and recycle

water in the most arid of places, and creating groundbreaking treatments that have saved lives and alleviated suffering, the cynical use of everyday objects and even toys are what the Palestinians and Gazans have developed.

It’s a contrast of societies: Water. Life. Helping the vulnerable. Death. Destruction. Terrorism.

To see the prairie of southern Israel burning is a frightening thing. The fire’s proximity to Sderot is alarming. From the video footage right outside Michlelet Sapir, it feels a passerby in the foreground can easily be singed by the burning orange glow of towering flames whose heat changes the look of the air, never mind the billowing smoke that has overtaken the skies and completely obstructed the view. Acres of farmland going up in smoke, destroying 30 years of blood, sweat and tears. How? By sending burning kites from Gaza, just a few miles away, to reach Israeli farmland and set the crops on fire.

And so a new form of terrorism is born: environmental terrorism. Agri-terrorism. Or maybe kite terrorism. If you thought kites were for little kids to play with on a summer day, that is now passé. Kites have been repurposed.

Imagine if the international media was not silent, or chose not to be accomplices to this terrorist activity by calling it peaceful protest, but instead reported it for what it is: terrorism, plain

Israeli firefighters extinguish flames in a wheat field caused from kites flown by Palestinians near the Gaza border on May 30. Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

and simple. The silence is, as usual, deafening, with no outcry from the media, environmentalist groups, or the U.N. t has been 51 years to the week since the socalled occupation, and I hate it. It’s a souldestroying thing. When I lived in Israel as an adult, and for the first time really understood its complexity on a human level, I couldn’t stand knowing that I lived with a measure of freedom and ease that people right alongside me couldn’t have. The lives of Palestinians and Gazans are truly sad.

I

They are also the byproduct of their own leaders’ hands.

Israel’s hands were tied in 1967, and still are today. Every other nation that wins a war of defense gets to decide what it will do with the territory it has won. But for some reason, unlike any other sovereign nation, Israel is different.

The position Israel finds itself in is sad, but very necessary. Look at the Gaza debacle, the result of Israel having left Gaza unoccupied. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the South remain hostage to Hamas terrorism, their children living with ongoing anxiety, running to bomb shelters in fear of their lives.

In Gaza, where Palestinians were handed an opportunity to rule their land autonomously, no Palestinian state was established. Instead, as many feared, a terrorist entity has risen on Israel’s border.

A human life, or a piece of fabric, living or inanimate, they are all materials for advancing havoc, fear, destruction, and death. And in the end we all suffer for it. Both in Gaza and in Israel.

Forget, for a moment, the dream of an Israeli and a Palestinian child together playing and flying a kite. For now, I dream more modestly.

I dream of a day for Gaza, for Palestinians, for Israel, when a kite is just a kite.

Copyright Intermountain Jewish News

Chabon’s abhorrent view increasingly mainstream

By Sylvia Barack Fishman, Steven M. Cohen and Jack Wertheimer ichael Chabon gave the most remarkable commencement speech in the history of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform movement’s flagship seminary, inveighing against inmarriage as a sacred Jewish norm.

His words bear repeating, much as it pains us to write them: “An endogamous marriage is a ghetto of two. … It draws a circle around the married couple, inscribes them — and any eventual children who come along — within a figurative wall of tradition, custom, shared history, and a common inheritance of chromosomes and culture.”

Chabon urged the graduates and their parents to abandon advocacy for Jewish-Jewish marriage, rejecting the view that Jewish homes with a single identity are critical to raising Jewishly committed and competent children. Later, he underscored the seriousness of words by, in effect, doing teshuvah for having inmarried, and for having taught his four children that marrying Jews is preferred.

Chabon targeted the heart of Judaism itself, condemning the concept of havdalah (the Judaic value of distinguishing between entities), which he depicted as a “giant interlocking system of distinctions and divisions.” He specifically targeted Shabbat candle-lighting, monthly immersions in the ritual bath, circumcision, bar mitzvah and the Four Questions recited during the Passover Seder.

Even the Passover removal of leavened bread troubled this would-be slayer of Judaism’s age-old ethos. habon extolled the virtues of outmarriage, declaring himself a devotee of “mongrels, syncretism, integrated neighborhoods, open borders, pastiche and collage,” and, above all, “miscegenation as the source of all greatness.”

It is important to recognize that Chabon’s call to abandon inmarriage is a symbol of a larger, more grandiose objective. Promoting intermarriage was the opening shot in a drive to dismantle Judaism and put an end to the inevitable injustices he insists religion perpetuates.

Not only is Judaism responsible for religious prejudice around the world, it is also responsible for its own demise: If Judaism disappears, Chabon asserted, “the fault for that extinction will lie squarely with Judaism itself.”

Chabon seemed content, even disturbingly relaxed, imagining the end of Judaism.

“If Judaism should ever pass from the world,” he said, “it won’t be the first time in history … that a great and ancient religion lost its hold on the moral imaginations of is adherents.”

What are we to say?

It is tempting to dismiss Chabon’s thinking as

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hyperbolic or unworthy of reply, perhaps performance art of a personal psychodrama in public.

But Chabon’s undeniable, sometimes dazzling, talent as a novelist, and the high status he enjoys among elite readers, make it critical to respond.

Even more important, his perspective has been echoed in other corners of the Jewish community.

Chabon’s ideas have cache, especially in culturally and political progressive bubbles, such as elite universities where Jews live in safe enclaves, experiencing privileged lives.

In fact, Chabon’s willful denial of intermarriage as a threat to the health of American Jewish life is common in many Jewish circles, outside of Orthodoxy, religious Conservative Jews, political conservatives and Jewish immigrant communities.

Only one-fifth of Jews raised in Reform families marry other Jews.

Citing the fact that intermarried couples are proud to identify as Jews, the majority of American liberal Jews ignore the mountain of evidence that only a small minority of their adult children remain firmly connected to Judaism, Jewish community or culture. Only 8 percent of their grandchildren are being raised Jewish. Among the 7 million American adults raised by a Jewish parent, over 2 million deny they are Jewish. Few intermarried households are nearly as educated, connected or committed as their inmarried contemporaries. habon’s views are worrisome because among liberal American Jews they are not outlandish. We live in an age that not only is opposed to behavioral norms imposed from above, but to social boundaries to our left and right. Jews, a tiny minority in a sea of over 300 million Americans, are being increasingly engulfed by the majority society — one blessed by a culture of tolerance, at least until recently.

Ideologically, our concept of peoplehood requires both respect for the outside culture and the transmission of our own. Distinguishing between Jews and non-Jews has made Jewish societies more tolerant, since according to Judaism only Jews must comply with Judaic law.

Once, some argued that intermarriage was inevitable and trying to prevent it was as futile as trying to change the weather. Chabon and those who share his values go a step further: they like the new weather. They view intermarriage as a positive development, not a step toward self-destruction.

Chabon’s assault on Jewish difference is dangerous, morally abhorrent and factually incorrect on at least four counts.

First, Judaism as a religious culture offers more

than critical thinking skills. To take just one example: ancient Judaism, unique among world cultures, introduced an inclusive day of rest and mandated it for all socioeconomic classes, without exception. The Sabbath was a bold blow to what Chabon calls “the economics of exclusion.” Recognizing its virtue, Christianity and Islam adopted the concept from Judaism.

Millions of Jews cherish the cultural richness that the Jewish calendar brings to their lives — as Chabon and his family did, until recently. Millions are captivated by the intellectual wealth, wisdom and complexity of Judaic texts. For others, the warmth of community life is the compelling factor. Still others demand social justice in the name of Judaism, putting the directives of the prophets into practice in local and international settings.

Not least, for many American Jews, the opportunity to engage with Israel, the only country in the world whose language, culture and ethos are Jewish, is a source of joy.

Second, Chabon treated religious extremism as a Jewish monopoly. But worldwide — including the United States — large swathes of society have reacted to transnational change by retreating into sectarian enclaves. Yet Chabon declared that he would be fine with his children marrying into other religions that are as likely to produce intolerance and extremism as the Jews who provoke his fear and disgust.

Third, distinctiveness is not the enemy of creativity. Chabon’s rejection of distinction is revealed as a lie in his own justly acclaimed novels. His gorgeous, edgy, evocative language is the product of an author making artistic “distinction and divisions,” moving sentences from one paragraph to another. As Chabon well knows, only when artists define their own “boundaries and bright lines” can they create credible settings, provide each character with distinctive dialogue, and give each character life and dimension on the page.

Indeed, much of Chabon’s commencement address was curiously binary and judgmental — and bogus. We can all, like Chabon, love “pastiche and collage,” but distinctions are necessary to life and health, judgment and morality — to say nothing about science, families, communities and nations.

Finally, religious “syncretism,” which Chabon embraced, erodes ethnoreligious viability. Sociologists and historians provide powerful evidence of rich minority cultures that fade not because of their moral “fault,” as Chabon asserts, but because they could not maintain their distinctiveness. Minority cultures may not need to be sealed off, but to survive they all depend on living expression in the form of ethnic languages,

The world would hardly notice — but it would be a world without Jews.

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music, arts, foods, texts, history, religion and folkways. arriages between two Jews, whether born Jews or Jews by choice, along with Jewish societies that support them, are demonstrably the most effective factors in Jewish vitality. They do indeed create a “figurative wall of tradition, custom, shared history and a common inheritance” — and, contrary to Chabon, that is a good thing. To deny this reality is to deny sociologically verifiable facts.

Chabon may no longer care — but we still do.

Chabon naively envisions a utopian world where through wholesale intermarriage of all races, nationalities and creeds, all of humanity will be homogenized into a single “mongrelized” blandness. In practice, since Jews are a minuscule minority, this prescription would yield the disappearance of Diaspora Jews and Judaism. Christian denominations would be untouched. Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam would be unperturbed. The world would hardly notice — but it would be a world without Jews.

Jews with any historical sense have seen this before. Since the Enlightenment, Jewish cultural elites have proposed that the solution to the world’s ills is Jewish assimilation. If only the Jews would let go of their distinctive religious culture, the world would be redeemed.

Over past decades, the Jewish community has been marked by impassioned discourse over intermarriage. Though far from uniform, a “left” camp has argued for greater acceptance of intermarried families. The “right” has argued for holding on to distinctions — liturgical and otherwise — between the inmarried and the intermarried. Each camp sees the other as suspect, albeit in different ways. Those on the left don’t believe the right is sincerely committed to tolerance. To those on the right, the left’s promotion of “welcoming” has seemed like a stalking horse for total indifference, if not celebration, of intermarriage.

We urge proponents of inclusion — many of whom we count as dear friends and colleagues — to think about where they stand in regard to Chabon’s challenge. Where would you draw boundaries? Where do you stand on maintaining some distinctions between Jews and others? Is Jewish group survival a force for good or for ill, not only for individual Jews but for humanity? Should we teach the next generation that all Jews — both those born Jewish and converts — are in a kinship relationship with one another, as heirs of a unique, rich and valuable cultural heritage?

As Pete Seeger once asked, “Which side are you on? Which side are you on?”

Sylvia Barack Fishman is Joseph and Esther Foster Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis. Steven M. Cohen is Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at HUC-JIR. Jack Wertheimer is Joseph and Martha Mendelson Professor of American Jewish History at the JTS.

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THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

Kites, a child’s toy repurposed for destruction

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June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778 THE JEWISH STAR

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The JEWISH STAR

CAlendar of Events

Send your events to Calendar@TheJewishStar.com • Deadline noon Friday • Compiled by Zachary Schechter Thursday June 14

Parsha Shiur: [Weekly] Join Michal Horowitz at the YI of Woodmere for a special shiur on the parsha. 9:30 am. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere.

516-295-0950.

Iyun Tefilah: [Weekly] Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum at the Young Israel of Lawrence Cedarhurst. 9:45 am. 8 Spruce St, Cedarhurst.

Advanced Yiddish Lessons: [Weekly] YI of Woodmere will be offering advanced Yiddish reading lessons. 10:30-11:30 am.

516-295-4212. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere.

Outreach 24th Annual Long Island Luncheon: Outreach, a nonprofit provider of drug and alcohol treatment will be holding its annual luncheon at the Stonebridge Country Club. $250 per person. 12 pm. 2000 Raynors Way, Smithtown. 718-847-9233.

Learn Maseches Brachos: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf at the YI of Woodmere for a shiur on Maseches Brachos. 5:15 pm. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere. 516-295-0950.

Halacha Shiur: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Yoni Levin at Aish Kodesh for a halacha shiur. 9:30 pm.

894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere.

Friday June 15

Erev Shabbos Kollel: [Weekly] Eruv Shabbos Kollel starting with 6 am Chassidus shiur with Rav Moshe Weinberger and concluding with 9 am Chevrusah Learning session with Rabbi Yoni Levin. 894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere. 390 Broadway, Lawrence. 516-569-3600.

Saturday June 16

Saturday Night Live: The Five Towns Friends of Shalva present Saturday Night Live with stand-

9:15 am-12:30 pm. 410 Hungry Harbor Rd, Valley Stream. Torah4teens5T@gmail.com.

Twins From France: The Twins From France will be performing at the Forest Park Jewish Center. Free admission. 11:30 am. 9045 Myrtle Ace, Glendale. 718-285-9132.

Monday June 18

Women’s Shiur: [Weekly] Dr. Anette Labovitz’s women shiur will continue at Aish Kodesh.

10 am. 894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere.

Seeing Things Clearly: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Shalom Yona Weis at Aish Kodesh for a shiur for women and high school girls titled “Seeing Things Clearly- Learning to View Our World and Our Lives Through Positive Lenses. 8:45 pm. 894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere.

Tuesday June 19

New scroll for Five Towns Chabad

A Torah from Israel, donated by Boris and Naza Vaynshteyn (standing center) was dedicated on June 3 at the Chabad of Five Towns.

Courtesy Chabad of Five Towns

up comedian Moody Mccarthy at the home of Rivkie and Lance Hirt. 10:30 pm. 71 Muriel Ave, Lawrence. RSVP by June 12, 212-725-0900.

Sunday June 17

Timely Torah: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Ya’akov Trump, assistant rabbi of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, for a shiur on relevant Halachic and philosophical topics related to Parsha Moadim and contemporary issues. Coffee and pastries.

8 am. 8 Spruce St, Cedarhurst.

Learning Program: [Weekly] At Aish Kodesh led by Rav Moshe Weinberger following 8:15 Shacharis including 9 am breakfast and shiurim on subjects such as halacha, gemara and divrei chizuk. 894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere.

Gemara Shiur: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff at the YI of Woodmere for a gemara shiu.r 9:15 am. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere.

516-295-0950.

Torah 4 Teens: [Weekly] Yeshiva program for boys & young adults with Rabbi Matis Friedman.

Breakfast Connect: [Weekly] Breakfast Connect is a business and networking group that meets for breakfast at Riesterer’s Bakery and to discuss business and networking opportunities. 7:30-8:30 am. 282 Hempstead Ave, West Hempstead. 516-662-7712.

Women’s Shiur: [Weekly] Rebbetzin Weinberger of Aish Kodesh will give a shiur on the “Midah of Seder in our Avodas Hashem.” 11 am.

894 Woodmere Pl, Woodmere.

Yiddish Classes: [Weekly] YI of Woodmere will be offering basic Yiddish lessons for seven weeks. Must know how to read Hebrew. Covers basic Yiddish and conversation. 8-9 pm. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere. 516-621-7880.

Jewish History: [Weekly] Join Rabbi Evan Hoffman at the YI of Woodmere for a talk on Jewish History. 8:15 pm. 859 Peninsula Blvd, Woodmere. 516-295-0950.

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Bernie’s betrayal...

Continued from page 1 observers might argue, an indicator of the way the debate about the Middle East is increasingly being conducted by many Democrats, the significance of the videos and other statements by Sanders should not be doubted.

While it received relatively little attention as Clinton limped to the finish line in the 2016 primaries, one of the few substantive differences on the issues between the former secretary of state and Sanders was on Israel. Her position was a relatively traditional pro-Israel stance while Sanders was deeply critical of the Jewish state, to the point of exaggerating Palestinian casualties during the 2014 Gaza war beyond even the false claims made by Hamas.

But Clinton’s defeat—and subsequent party rules changes that will prevent members of the Washington establishment from becoming unelected superdelegates—mean that the activist base that was already hostile to Israel will have the whip hand in 2020. Their growing strength is also a function of the anger that Trump provokes among Democrats, which has maximized the importance of a “resistance” deeply influenced by intersectional anti-Zionist arguments championed by figures like Women’s March leaders Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour at the expense of more moderate elements.

But while all of that jives with the polling that shows the Democrats are split on Israel while Republicans are lockstep supporters, it doesn’t fully explain why Sanders is going so far in his attacks on Israel.

Last month, in addition to condemning Israel for using “disproportionate” force to defend itself, Sanders also authored a letter signed by 12 other Senate Democrats that demanded the lifting of the blockade of Gaza. It also solely blamed Israel for the plight of the Palestinians living there; it never once mentioned the word “Hamas” or the fact that opening up access to the strip will be a green light to Iran to ship arms and material to the terrorist group.

Then with last week’s Twitter videos, Sanders took another step away from even nominal support for the Jewish state, adopting in total the Palestinian narrative about the “Great March of Return.” He not only accepts the blatantly false claim that it is “non-violent,” there-

by ignoring the use of Molotov cocktails, stones, firearms and incendiaries that have laid waste to swaths of Israeli fields, he also claims that Hamas wasn’t involved despite the fact that it has already claimed responsibility and admitted that most of those killed while attempting to breach Israel’s border fence were its members.

Indeed, so tenacious is Sanders’s defense of Hamas that his video condemns three New York Times journalists by name (Bret Stephens, Bari Weiss and even Thomas Friedman, usually a stiff critic of Israel) who have pointed out that what the terror group is doing is sacrificing the lives of Palestinians for the sake of a photo op and bad publicity for Israel.

Just as interesting is the way Sanders presents the “right of return” as an unexceptionable demand of people living in misery. As even Vermont socialists should know, “return” means eradicating the Jewish state—something the marchers and their Hamas bosses haven’t been shy about discussing with the media. While his office has claimed that the video did no more than discuss the Palestinian position, if Sanders were really an advocate of the two-state solution, then he might have condemned an idea that is incompatible with any idea of peace, as well as the Islamist tyranny that has ruled Gaza with an iron fist.

In doing so, Sanders isn’t merely taking another step away from the Democrats’ former position as a pro-Israel party. He’s laying down a marker that other progressive contenders in 2020 will have to either match or oppose as they compete for the presidency. What this means is that unlike 2016—when the argument among Democrats was one about how supportive to be of Israel—in 2020 the question may be whether you agree with Hamas about destroying the Jewish nation, in essence rendering the position of the left-wing J Street lobby that, at least officially, saw itself as “proIsrael “and pro-peace” even more irrelevant.

Pro-Israel Democrats are hereby put on notice that a fight for the soul of their party is about to begin. Those who don’t wish to stand with Sanders and Hamas are going to need to find their voices—and a candidate—if they don’t want their party to become a stronghold of hate against Israel in the coming years.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS.

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lis, 12 percent of American Jews said “siblings,” 15 percent said “first cousins,” 39 percent said “extended family” and 31 percent said “not part of my family.” Affections were greater among Israelis: 28 percent regarded American Jews as “siblings,” 10 percent as “first cousins” and 40 percent as “extended family,” while just 22 percent said “not part of my family.”

There were areas of agreement, too: The Jewish future: Among Israeli Jews, 78 percent thought a “thriving” Diaspora was vital to the future of the Jewish people, while 15 percent did not. The split among American Jews was 69 percent agreeing and 17 percent disagreeing. The same question regarding a “thriving” Israel had 87 percent approval among Israeli Jews, with 6 percent disagreeing, while among American Jews the split was 79 percent agreeing and 17 percent disagreeing.

Jewish identity: 56 percent of American Jews said being Jewish was “mostly a matter of ethnicity or culture,” while 24 percent said it was mostly a matter of religion and 17 percent said it was both equally. Among Israeli Jews, the split was 40 percent believing ethnicity and culture were more important, 19 percent listing religion and 37 percent listing both.

The Israeli poll, carried out by Geocatography, reached 1,000 Jews over the age of 18 by phone in May. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

The American poll was carried out by SSRS; it reached 1,001 Jews over the age of 18 by phone between April 18 and May 10, and has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

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THE JEWISH STAR June 15, 2018 • 2 Tammuz, 5778

Continued from page 1 disapprove of him, but not as much as they did the last time AJC polled them — he gained 6 points, going from 77 to 71, just outside the margin of error of 3.9 percentage points. Favorable ratings climbed 5 points, from 21 to 26.

(By way of contrast, a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll last week scored 44 percent approval ratings for Trump among the general population.)

Other areas of division included: Settlements: Asked whether Israel should dismantle some, all or none of its West Bank settlements in a peace deal with the Palestinians, 4 percent of Israeli Jews said all, 35 percent said some and 54 percent said none.

Among American Jews, 15 percent said all, 44 percent said some and 35 percent said none.

Pluralism: Among American Jews, 80 percent said non-Orthodox rabbis should be able to officiate at weddings in Israel and 17 percent said they should not; among Israeli Jews, the split was 49 percent in favor and 45 percent against. Asked whether Israel should allow civil marriage, 81 percent of American Jews said it should while 13 percent said it should not. A majority of Israeli Jews also favored civil marriage, but it was a closer split at 55-40.

American Jews favored by 73 percent “a mixed-gender prayer area adjacent to the Western Wall administered on an equal basis with the services at the Wall itself,” while 21 percent were opposed. Among Israeli Jews, the split was 42 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed.

Peoplehood: Asked how they viewed Israe-

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