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TheJewishStar.com

Parsha Chaya Sara • November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 • Candlelighting 4:12 pm, Havdalah 5:19 • Luach, page 21 • Vol 15, No 45

The Newspaper of our Orthodox communities

Trump AND ISrAEL Gordis got it wrong; Jews should cheer our new president

Spiritual and political uplift

abraham h. miller

The young men of DRS spent last shabbos with their rabbeim and their families in the Poconos (above), absorbing divrei Torah while building camaraderie and participating in a variety of fun activities.

While the DRS students were engaged in spiritual pursuits at their shabbaton in the Mount Laurel Hotel, five students from the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County High School were honing their political skills last week, participating in the annual AIPAC Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit in Alexandria, Virginia. (SKA girls also participated; see page 12.)

For more school news, turn to The Jewish Star’s school section, pages 11–13.

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OU advocacy director cites schools, Israel, religious liberty

By Nathan Diament, Executive Director Orthodox Union Advocacy Center This article was solicited by JTA as part of a series on Jewish reaction to Trump’s victory, titled “Worst fears, best hopes.”

A majority of Orthodox Jews voted for Donald Trump for president. They did so upon the twin bases of rejecting Hillary Clinton as the candidate of continuity (for a “third Obama term”) as well as policies Trump proposed on key issues.

The foremost reason Mr. Trump earned their votes was the belief that he will be best for the security of Israel. Trump vigorously criticized President Obama’s policies toward Israel. Indeed, Trump’s election will have a beneficial impact before he even takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. It likely makes a rumored lame duck peace process move by

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Mr. Obama, at the UN or via a presidential address, unlikely, if not irrelevant.

Moreover, Mr. Trump making good on his firm commitment to finally relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem may send the most useful message to Israel’s enemies in decades. As well, Trump regularly spoke out against the US-Iran nuclear deal and promised to abolish it and those who voted for him are counting on him delivering on that promise too.

On the domestic front, Mr. Trump committed himself to improving education opportunities for American children through school choice initiatives. The cost of Jewish education is the preeminent domestic issue in many Jewish households. Trump broadly spoke of redirecting $20 billion in federal education funds to school choice programs. Such a reform could spark new educational opportu-

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Trump: An Orthodox hope

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hether Jews concerned about Israel agree with Daniel Gordis, they often read what he has to say, but his comments also become a source of discussion for days after his articles appear.

This is no less true of the Conservative spiritual leader’s latest article, about Donald Trump’s election victory. But this is less the voice of Gordis’s usual scholarly insight and moderation, and more a page from Lamentations reminding us of his love for Israel and the “danger” that a Trump victory brings to the world’s two largest Jewish communities.

Strange. Living in America, I viewed the Trump victory as opening a new and glorious era for American Jews, even though most of them are too wedded to their Democratic Party identification to comprehend what the Obama administration has meant for the Jewish community.

For the last eight years, Barack Obama, the man who allegedly slept at the feet of the anti-Semitic and anti-American Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his messages of black liberation theology, has refused to have Title VI enforced by his administration on behalf of Jewish students. This has meant that while the obscenities of racism and various forms of bigotry are virulently attacked on college campuses with the full weight and power of the federal government, anti-Semitism is not. In fact, as Paul Miller has documented, anti-Semitism on college campuses has become a growth industry.

There are numerous reasons for this, and the Obama administration’s refusal to implement Title VI to defend Jewish stuSee Gordis got it wrong on page 6

nity in America and dramatically address the challenge of Jewish education affordability.

Last but not least, religious liberty is the bedrock upon which American Jewry has flourished. It didn’t get much discussion in the campaign, yet it motivated traditionalists in many faiths to vote for Mr. Trump.

America is in the midst of a fractious debate over the interplay between expanding gay rights and religious liberty. A compromise approach that delivers fairness for all will take real leadership from the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress.

More broadly, Mr. Trump must find ways — in rhetoric and action — to embrace the value of American society’s religious and ethnic diversity and thus make good on his commitment to be the president for all Americans.

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Bannon rejects (and adds ammo to) those calling him anti-Semitic

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By Ron Kampeas, JTA WASHINGTON — Stephen Bannon, in his first interviews since Donald Trump named him a top White House aide, denied being anti-Semitic or a white nationalist. At the same time, he continued to advance a theory of “globalist” conspiracy that echoes centuries-old anti-Semitic libels, but without any mention of Jews.

“Breitbart is the most pro-Israel site in the United States of America,” Bannon told the Wall Street Journal in an interview posted Friday, speaking of the conservative news site where he was CEO until this summer when he joined the Trump’s campaign.

He dismissed as “a joke” claims that he was peddling anti-Semitism, noting his Jewish colleagues and hires.

Bannon has been criticized for advancing, through Breitbart and in the Trump campaign’s final weeks, conspiracy theories that involve international bankers, secret meetings and a servile media — all elements of classic anti-Semitic propaganda. Neither Bannon nor the campaign have explicitly blamed Jews as a class.

“That the anti-Semitism is unintentional on [Trump’s] part doesn’t make it any less dangerous,” Cheryl Greenberg, a historian at Trinity College, wrote in an article discussing Trump and Bannon’s influence on him. “By invoking these conspiracy theories without naming Jews, anti-Semitic ideas are introduced without fanfare into the mainstream political conversation while sending encouragement to those white nationalists who fully understand their implications. And so anti-Semitic sentiment and activity rises without anything explicit being said.”

In both his Journal interview and in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Bannon doubled down on his worldview in which “globalists” are seeking control.

“I’m an economic nationalist,” he told the Journal. “I am an America first guy.” America First was the isolationist movement that decried mounting calls for America’s involvement in World War II as Jewish manipulation.

Bannon acknowledged, as he has in the past, that the nationalists he admires have attracted anti-Semites and racists to their ranks — but also that he rejected these expressions, and believed that these elements would soon fall away.

“I have admired nationalist movements throughout the world, have said repeatedly strong nations make great neighbors,” he told the Journal. “I’ve also said repeatedly that the ethno-nationalist movement, prominent in Europe, will change over time. I’ve never been a supporter of ethno-nationalism.”

While many European nationalist movements have in recent years distanced themselves from explicit anti-Jewish comments, racially charged theories remain integral to their platforms, particularly those targeting Middle Easterners and, in central Europe, Roma. Jewish groups in those countries tend to be skeptical of claims that the nationalist movements have divested themselves of anti-Jewish hostility.

In the Journal interview, Bannon praised the “alt-right” movement, which he defines as “younger people who are anti-globalists, very nationalist, terribly anti-establishment.” He acknowledged the alt-right has “some racial and anti-Semitic overtones” but also “makes clear,” according to the interviewer, that “he has zero tolerance for such views.” He also said, as he did describing European nationalists, that he believes the less savory elements of the movement will one day fall away.

While Breitbart offers the alt-right a platform,

Stephen Bannon hosting Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM Patriot in July.

Kirk Irwin/Getty for SiriusXM

it is not the only outlook represented in the publication, Bannon said. “We provide an outlet for 10 or 12 or 15 lines of thought. We set it up that way.”

He also sought in his interview with the Hollywood Reporter to distinguish the nationalism he embraces from white supremacism, but segued immediately into theories of “globalists” maintaining control over the working class.

“I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist.

I’m an economic nationalist,” he said. “The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get [expletive] over.”

Bannon spoke to the Journal of Breitbart’s championing Israel.

“I have Breitbart Jerusalem, which I have Aaron Klein run with about 10 reporters there,” he said. “We’ve been leaders in stopping this BDS movement in the United States; we’re a leader in the reporting of young Jewish students being harassed on American campuses; we’ve been a leader on reporting on the terrible plight of the Jews in Europe.”

The Zionist Organization of America and the Republican Jewish Coalition have both defended Bannon against charges of anti-Semitism, noting Breitbart’s pro-Israel content.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz, a regular advocate for Israel and Jewish causes, told Breitbart Jerusalem that he saw no evidence of “personal anti-Semitism on the part of Bannon.”

“I think the larger problem — and it’s a very complicated one today — is how you assess a person who himself might not have negative characteristics, but who has widespread appeal to people who do,” Dershowitz continued, describing a problem he sees on the right and left. “And I think the same thing is probably true of some very rightwing conservatives who appeal [intentionally] or inadvertently to people whose values they probably themselves don’t agree with.”

In a new backgrounder on Bannon published on its web site, the ADL concedes that “we are not aware of any anti-Semitic statements made

by Bannon himself,” despite allegations made by his ex-wife during a contentious divorce several years ago. It also acknowledges that Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau was started under his tenure.

A close friend of Bannon, Joel B. Pollack, senior editor-at-large of Breibart and an Orthodox Jew, wrote that he can “say without hesitation that Steve is a friend of the Jewish people and a defender of Israel, as well as being a passionate American patriot and a great leader,” JNS reported.

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Jewish opposition grows to Keith Ellison’s bid to lead national Democrats

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org, Hikind, asked, “Does Senator Schumer actually believe that there is literally not a single other person in the Democratic Party, anywhere in the country, who would be a better choice than Ellison? Why is Schumer in such a rush to support a candidate who is so unfriendly to Israel?”

Hikind said Ellison “is the most radical candidate imaginable, someone who represents the extreme left wing of the party, which is why he’s being promoted by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and J Street — in other words, Ellison is being backed by all the wrong people if you care about Israel.” Hikind noted that Ellison has occasionally claimed to be a friend of Israel, “but if Israel has to depend on support from the Ellisons of the world, it would be in serious trouble.”

Possible defections Some pro-Israel activists recall, with dismay, Ellison’s efforts to unseat a pro-Israel New Jersey Democratic congressman, Steve Rothman, in 2012. Dr. Ben Chouake, president of NORPAC, a Jewish political action committee in northern New Jersey, said it was “extremely unusual” for Ellison to target Rothman, “since Rothman was a fellow Democrat, in a district halfway across the country — what could motivate him to go to such great lengths?” Ellison spoke at mosques in New Jersey, urging Arab-Americans to vote against Rothman.

Chouake told JNS.org he fears that if Ellison is elected chair of the DNC, “one of his priorities will be to pull the party away from Israel.” Ellison represents “the fringe of the Democratic Party, not the center, and would it make even harder for the party to have broad appeal.”

The rise of Ellison could drive Jews out of the Democratic Party, according to Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a private wealth manager who worked in the administrations of Mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat, and Governor George Pataki, a Republican.

“There are many longtime Jewish Democrats who are on the fence about whether to stay in a party that has been tilting away from Israel — and if Ellison is elected, I believe a good percentage of them will leave the party,” Wiesenfeld said.

Wiesenfeld criticized Schumer’s endorsement of Ellison as “a crass political calculation — he sees the party succumbing to the far left, and he wants to go with the flow so he can retain his position.”

He said that “Schumer’s phone should be ringing off the hook with calls from members of the Jewish community, asking ‘What happened to your promise to be a ‘shomer’ (guardian) of Israel?”

Ellison’s office did not return a request for comment from JNS.org.

A date for the election has not yet been set, but it must take place prior to March 31, 2017.

To win, a candidate needs the votes of a majority of the 447 members of the DNC. For more on Ellison, see an analysis on page 24, and Jeff Dunetz’s column on page 22.

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By Rafael Medoff, JNS.org WASHINGTON — A growing number of proIsrael activists and Jewish community figures are expressing concern that Minnesota’s U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will turn the Democratic Party away from Israel if he is elected party chairman.

The election of Ellison “would bode badly for Jews,” longtime Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf told JNS.org. “His positions on Israel fit the pattern, noted by recent research, of identified liberal anti-Israel bias and the movement of Democrats away from Israel.”

Defending Farrakhan Ellison’s controversial statements and actions date back to the 1990s, when he served as a local spokesman in Minnesota for Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam movement. Ellison raised eyebrows when he publicly claimed in 1995 that Farrakhan “is not an anti-Semite.”

Since his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007, Ellison has emerged as one of the most vocal congressional supporters of the Palestinian cause. He has organized letters urging more U.S. pressure on Israel, voted against funding Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system, and spoken at fundraising events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial and a hardline anti-Israel group. While visiting Hebron this past summer, Ellison tweeted a photograph of a placard accusing Israel of “apartheid.”

Rabbi Menachem Genack of Englewood, a prominent Orthodox supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, said he would be “disappointed” if Ellison is chosen as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) because that would “accelerate the process” of pulling the Democratic Party away from its traditional proIsrael positions. Genack said that he will be speaking to his colleagues in the party to explain his “concerns about Ellison’s views on Israel.”

Boro Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind strongly criticized the decision by Senator Charles Schumer to endorse Ellison. In an interview with JNS.

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Rep. Keith Ellison speaks at a Hillary Clinton campaign event in October.

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Speakers included (from left) Michael Leven, Rep. Ed Royce and Professor Alan Dershowitz. Royce and Dershowitz were among those honored with awards.

ZOA gala touts Israel, cheers Trump; Dershowitz moderation plea is booed ZOA National President Morton Klein (left) with Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon.

Naftali Bennett, minister of education and diaspora affairs, offered greeting at the ZOA gala.

“Thank G-d we have Donald Trump,” Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein said to raucous cheers at the ZOA’s annual gala Sunday night in Manhattan’s Grand Hyatt.

Dr. Alan Mazurek, a ZOA officer from Rockville Centre, said Trump’s election was “divinely driven” and that “once again the United States will be blessed.”

The tone of the audience went from cheers to boos when Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, a well-established supporter of Israel and Jewish causes — and an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter — pointed out that Clinton won the popular vote.

Dershowitz, who was being honored by the ZOA, urged the organization to offer a big tent for all Zionists, “not just right-wing Zionists.”

He argued for moderation, cautioning against offering support to extremists of the left or right, including “the anti-Muslim and often biggoted extreme right that is pro-Jewish and pro-Zionist.”

“Being pro-Israel can never serve as an excuse for bigotry against any other group,” he said. “We must be as stalwart in condeming bigotry among

our friends as we are in condemning bigotry among our enemies. and that applies to the right and to the left equally.”

“Israel and Jews historically have always thrived at the center,” Dershowitz said. “We have always suffered between the extremes of right and left, between the black of fascism and the red of communism.

“In the 1930s, too many Jews were seduced by communism, only to be stabbed in the back by Stalin and Trostsky. I’m a little worried today that there are Jews in many parts of the world that are being seduced by the hard right.”

When honoree Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of the Home Depot and a Trump supporter, mentioned the New York Times, the audience booed.

Marcus said he was “one of the happiest people in the world to see some sense come into this White House.”

Several hundred protesters, organized by leftwing Jewish organizations, demonstrated outside the hotel on 42nd Street. They were drawn by reports that Stephen Bannon would attend the gala, but he was a no-show. Photos courtesy ZOA

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus with Jewish radio host Zev Brenner.

Gordis got it wrong on Donald Trump and Israel…

Continued from page 1 dents against hatred is one of them. In sharp contrast, the Trump administration has announced its intention to consider BDS an act of anti-Semitism and to use the full power of the federal government to fight anti-Semitism on campus.

So for those liberal rabbis who share Gordis’s concerns about the Trump presidency and are busy sitting shiva with their congregants while serving warm cocoa and borrowing helper puppies from the local humane society

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to comfort the mourners, I want to know: Where were you when anti-Semitism was flourishing on our campuses, when Jewish students were being humiliated in class for their Zionism, and when thugs of the radical Muslim persuasion and their leftist allies — with school administration complicity — were preventing Jewish students from attending classes?

I’d ask the same question of our Jewish defense organizations and most campus Hillels, but regrettably most of us who study these issues already know the answers.

Gordis is unconcerned with these issues, but he is concerned with what he sees as the rise of anti-Semitism, not in the anti-Semitic thuggery on the college campus, but that the KKK is having a victory march in North Carolina. No, what troubles Gordis isn’t the wellfunded student associations that have made college life a living hell for some Jewish students, it’s what he sees as the rise of the KKK. Perhaps, living in Israel, Gordis is unaware that the North Carolina KKK numbers — at the most generous estimate — 200 members. North Carolina has more than 10 million people, and the Klan has two-thou-

sandths of a percent of that number as its members. Trump can no more control (nor should he) who celebrates his victory than Hillary Clinton can control all those sheikdoms that prayed fervently for hers—although she surely could have controlled the investments they made in her foundation.

What expectations did all those sheiks have for the millions they poured into the coffers of the Clinton Foundation? Was it better respect for girls and women as human beings and not as sex objects? No doubt. uddenly, Gordis has discovered that America’s Jewish future is at stake. I thought America’s Jewish future was at stake when Title VI was not being used to protect Jewish college students. I thought America’s Jewish future was at stake when the anti-Semitic, cop-hating Black Lives Matter movement was invited to the White House. I thought America’s Jewish future was at stake when Hillary Clinton would be called upon to pay off all those investments made by sheikdoms living in the Middle Ages.

If Gordis is going to read from Lamentations on his forthcoming tour, he will find eager paranoid Jews who share his myopic

S

read of America and think that the Obama administration was the golden age of tolerance for the Jewish community. He will find welcoming audiences at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club and almost anywhere on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

But as far as those of us who are Americans first and foremost are concerned, Donald Trump is our president-elect — get over it.

While Gordis is contemplating what to say to those in the Jewish community who remain in mourning, he should also give due consideration to unpacking his suitcase. He has nothing new to add except to aggravate their misery. His time might be better spent sitting across the table from the Palestinian Authority’s expired-term president, Mahmoud Abbas, giving him a pencil and paper and asking him to draw the boundaries of an acceptable Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state. Now that should keep him engaged for some time, if not for eternity.

Abraham H. Miller is a distinguished fellow with the Haym Salomon Center news and public policy group and an emeritus professor of political science, University of Cincinnati. Follow on Twitter @salomoncenter.

who’s in the kitchen

I

can always count on my husband being late.

Most of the time, it’s really not his fault, as I know he has absolutely no concept of time — unless it has to do with his beloved New York Giants’ games (he is always on time, in front of the TV, for that). If we have a conflicting affair to attend, I DVR it for him and have to warn anyone we will come into contact with not to mention the score. And not just mention it to them, I mean the minute they say hello to us, it’s, “Don’t mention the score, Jerry is going to watch it later in its entirety. Or if I’m in the car with Jerry, and I answer my phone, and it’s on the loudspeaker connected to the car’s audio system, he screams, “Whoever you are, don’t mention the Giants score.”

Another pet peeve of mine is when he’s late coming home before Shabbat. He’s usually on the train that gets in within minutes of Shabbos and then he takes his time sauntering to the car. This past Shabbat I had sleepover company and an additional three couples for lunch the next day. I was rushing to finish my last minute preparations before our guests came, when he called. He said the LIRR train — the one that was added especially for the Orthodox Jews on the short Fridays — was 3 minutes late coming into Jamaica, and the connecting train to Woodmere left without them. Jerry was frightened for his life, because I had explicitly warned him not to be late or I would kill him.

Meanwhile, all the other Orthodox men and women called their spouses as well. They also

A

around the smorgasbord, Marian David stopped me, and told me how much she enjoyed my column in The Jewish Star, but more importantly, that her mom was my biggest fan. She went on to say that her mom turned 102 that day and not only did she always read my articles, but she would know when I played hooky and skipped a week. I was beyond touched.

I explained to Marian that just last week I was thinking of telling my editor that I just might have exhausted all the stories I had to tell. But, standing there and hearing about a 102 year old woman that looked forward to reading my article every week, I suddenly didn’t want to give up my writing career just yet. So, Mrs. Irene Twersky, thank you so much for being an avid fan and reading my column every week, this article is for you!

Your daughter informed me that you still read the newspaper every day and complete the crossword puzzle as well. I’d love to meet you in person, so that we can swap stories. If you like, I can even bring Jerry, though he will probably be late.

Talking about fans…

Fanned Baked Potatoes

Ingredients: 8 large sized baking potatoes 8 Tbs of butter Crushed garlic – 4 cloves or 4 cubes of Dorit crushed garlic 2 tsp of salt 1 Tbs pepper Instructions: 1. Scrub scrub the potatoes, and pat them dry.

2. Use a very sharp knife to make several vertical cuts from the top of the potatoes most of the way through, stopping about ¼ inch

from the bottom. Put a wooden mixing spoon or large wooden salad servers along the vertical length of the potato, then, when slicing it through, they will help prevent your cutting the potatoes all the way through the bottom; when the knife touches the edges you can stop.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Place the potato on a baking tray 4. Add the crushed garlic to butter and heat it on low heat stirring constantly. Make sure the butter just melts and doesn’t brown.

5. Brush the melted garlic butter all over the potatoes including the bottom side. Brush generously, and make sure to put garlic pieces from the butter over the potatoes.

6. Roast the potatoes in pre-heated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven brush garlic butter again and pop into oven again and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the skin of the potatoes turn crisp.

7. Remove potatoes from oven, if you like, You can add some finely chopped rosemary or any other herb at this time. Bake for another 5 to 7 minutes.

8. Once done, remove potatoes from oven and immediately brush them with some more garlic butter. Serve immediately.

Judy Joszef is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

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called the LIRR to scream, or found officials at the station to voice their outrage, that the train had left without them. After all, the train was specifically added to accommodate those who have to be home before sundown. I asked if he knew anyone else on the train, because there was no way I was driving to Jamaica. Thankfully our friend Arlen Zwickler was there as well.

I told him to stick with Arlen and try to get Uber, because there were hundreds of people there and they would never all fit in the taxis at Jamaica. The entire hoard of Orthodox Jews figured out if they switch platforms they can catch a train to Valley Stream and get picked up from there, and still make it home in time for Shabbat. Arlen’s daughter Stacey was kind enough to pick them up.

While they were walking to meet her at Valley Stream, Jerry saw his friend Michael Rosenbloom and his son, who also needed a ride. So there they were, all in the car glancing out at the large remaining group who were desperately trying to figure out how to get home on time. Suddenly, Jerry experienced a profound Holocaust moment (he always does!) and he said, “We’re saving ourselves and leaving the others behind. We’re riding on the infamous Kastner train.”

Everyone else in the car, not being children of Holocaust survivors, reasonably concluded, as I often do, that he was out of his mind. The next day, at lunch, however, many were children of holocaust survivors, and they were able to relate to Jerry’s Holocaust affected feelings. nd then, yet again, Jerry was late Saturday night. We were attending the Emunah dinner in the city. Jerry dropped me off in front of the hotel and went to park the car in a designated lot, but of course went MIA and showed up an hour later. While roaming

THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

Irene Twersky, thanks for being a ‘Kitchen’ fan!

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Sale Dates: November 27th - December 2nd 2016

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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9 THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

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Spanish Onions

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YU lauches associate degree Yeshiva University’s Mordecai D. and Monique C. Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies has announced the launch of a new associate degree program.

“While Stern College for Women, Yeshiva College, and the Sy Syms School of Business do extraordinary work transforming the lives of their graduates, they meet the needs of only part of our community,” said Dr. Paul Russo, vice provost and dean of the Katz School. “To carry out our commitment to a broader population, our admissions team is meeting with students who seek to start college in a twoyear format and at the same time immerse themselves in a Jewish experience.”

“This innovative associate degree in management is in keeping with our fundamental commitment to providing our students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in this information-rich, fast-paced world,” added Provost Selma Botman.

As students undertake their two-year degrees, they will have access to YU’s Torah faculty and scholarship and its alumni network and vibrant life on campus. This includes participation in activities that run the gamut from athletics and hackathons to theater productions and service learning missions, among many others. Each step of their academic journey will be fully supported both in and out of the classroom by a dedicated adviser and programming tailored to ensure their needs are met.

JEWISH November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 Every week in print and online at TheJewishStar.com Send news and photos to: Schools@TheJewishStar.com Weekly deadline: Monday 5 pm

STAR SCHOOLS

Shulamith and Shalhevet join bake

Shalhevet girls join public school girls at a challah bake.

Shulamith challah bake at Beth Sholom.

The Shalhevet School for Girls and the Shulamith School for Girls each joined the recent challah bake action that played out at the Sands Atlantic Beach (where 1,300 women and girls participated in the Great Challah Bake Long Island Style) and at schools and other venues throughout Long Island.

Over 300 Shulamith mothers, daughters, grandmothers and sisters gathered at Beth Shalom in Lawrence on Nov. 16 to celebrate the special mitzvah of challah.

Chevi Kail, Tzippy Chait and Camille Weiss led the evening, sharing the meaning of each ingredient as it was added to the dough. The principals of each division of Shulamith — Estee Scher, Joyce Yarmak, Dr. Evelyn Gross, Rookie Billet Mrs. Rina Zerykier — enhanced the celebration. The evening ended with a spirited, spiritual kumzits led by Adina Wolf and accompanied by Shulamith High School students.

Through the Jewish Education Program of Long Island, public school girls joined Shalhevet girls at a very special bake.

TOP RANKED YESHIVA ON LONG ISLAND HAFTRRANKED IS TOP YESHIVA ON LONG ISLAND

According to Niche.com, HAFTR High School was listed as the #4 private school on Long Island, surpassing all other Yeshiva High Schools in the area. We take great pride in the ranking and being listed as the top Yeshiva on the Island.

According to Niche.com, HAFTR High School was listed as the #4 private school on Long Island, surpassing all other yeshiva high schools in the area.

We take great pride in this ranking and being listed as the top yeshiva on the Island.

HAFTR HS offers a warm, Torah-rich, student-centered environment in which students enjoy a dual curriculum of intensive Judaic studies and rigorous academics in the humanities and sciences. A carefully developed, challenging course of study is designed to foster creative and independent thought, and facilitate HAFTR High School offers a warm, Torah-rich, student-centered environment in which students students’ success in the finest yeshivot and curriculum universities. enjoy a dual of intensive Judaic studies and rigorous academics in the humanities and sciences. A carefully developed, challenging course of study is designed to foster creative

Our wide array of extracurricularand activities and clubs gives numerous opportunities toyeshivot and universities. independent thought, andstudents facilitate students’ success in the finest engage and excel in community service, cultural arts, athletics, student government, religious and Our wide array of extracurricular activities and clubs gives students numerous opportunities political activism, and academic competition and research. We inculcate our students with an to engage and excel in community service, cultural arts, athletics, student government, appreciation of Torah values andreligious our American heritage.

Our graduates become productive and political activism, and academic competition and research. We inculcate our members of society, as well as articulate, dedicated OrthodoxofJews areand passionately students with an appreciation Torahwho values our American heritage. Our graduates committed to being model citizens and advocates the Jewish people. become productive for members of society, as well as articulate, dedicated Orthodox Jews who are passionately committed to being model citizens and advocates for the Jewish people.

Ms. Naomi Lippman, General Studies • Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, Judaic Studies Principal HAFTRPrincipal High School Central Wyner, Avenue Assistant Principal Mr.635 Joshua Ms. Naomi Lippman, General Studies Principal

Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, Judaic Studies Principal Mr. Joshua Wyner, Assistant Principal

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Rambam hosts its 21st shabbaton in Israel Students in front of the City Harvest truck after their donations have been loaded.

The meaning of ‘giving thanks’ viewed at MDS The Early Childhood Department at Manhattan Day School has been exploring concepts of “thanks” and “giving” as the celebration of Thanksgiving approaches. The Upper West Side school’s annual giving project collected over 1,000 pounds of food, much of which was given to the kosher division of City Harvest.

“It was important to teachers and faculty that the children know the ‘end game’ of their efforts and how the donated food benefits families in need,” said Early Childhood Director Aviva Yablok.”

As the donations poured in, Rebecca Glass of City Harvest spoke to the students and

about the program. She asked students what they had for lunch and what they would do if someone sitting near them had no lunch to eat. Their answers were spot on. “We would give them food. We would help,” they said.

Glass pulled a miniature City Harvest truck out of her bag and demonstrated how the truck goes to the pick-up sites and collects the food to bring to the “food pantry.” The food is set up on shelves much like a supermarket. The difference is, in this supermarket, the shoppers don’t have to pay and the food is kosher.

Glass also distributed paper plates on which the children wrote messages of love and thanks to those in need.

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filled with Divrei Torah, Zemiros and shmoozing.

The boys were interested to hear about the latest happenings in Rambam and get “caught up” on recent events and programs.

The seuda was followed by a Tisch where more Divrei Torah on the parsha were shared over nosh and soft drinks.

On Shabbos morning after Shacharis and kiddush, the boys were treated to a walking tour of Yerushalayim with Michael Eisenstein, an expert tour guide during the week volunteering his time on Shabbos.

Lunch, zemiros and more Divrei Torah ensued. After a brief break, the boys returned for an interactive shiur with Rabbi Friedman on Mitzvos Tzrichos Kavannah.

“I was amazed to see how the boys were able to anticipate, ask, and answer many different opinions that the Meforshim bring down in analyzing this issue,” said Rabbi Friedman. “The nachas was well worth the trip!”

The discussion continued until Mincha, which was followed by Shalosh Seudos and more ruach. Shabbos came to an end with Maariv and havdolah with many hoping to join again next year.

THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

Since the inception of Rambam in 1992, the Mesivta has held an annual Shabbaton for its alumni learning in Eretz Yisroel. This year’s get together, Rambam’s 21st, was held at Yeshivat HaKotel in Yerushalayim.

“It is an opportunity for the talmidim to schmooze and catch-up and enables me to witness their progress and help them with any questions they may have,” said the Rosh Mesivta, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman. “It is great to see the growth that the talmidim experience.”

On Friday afternoon, the boys davened Mincha at the Kotel. Their joyous singing of Kabbolas Shabbos attracted others to their minyan. After Maariv, they headed back to Yeshivat HaKotel for the seuda which was

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SKA girls represent at AIPAC high school

November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Israel activism off and running at Shalhevet

Midreshet Shalhevet’s Committee for Israel Activism (CIA), led by Mr. Simcha Bader and club heads Rachel Fishbein and Zahava Fertig, has already had multiple meetings to discuss Israel news and plan Israel programming and presentations.

The club has started a new initiative after Tefila, updating the students on Israeli current events and world-wide news regarding Jews and the State of Israel. “It’s really important that we all know what is happening in Israel news, because even though we live here in America, we need to know what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Israel,” said Avigail Borah of Hewlett.

As a proud Zionist school with a strong emphasis on Israel education, Midreshet Shalhevet, in North Woodmere, takes great pride in its connection and close ties with StandWithUs. Once a month Paul Friedman, Tri-State Area High School Program Director of StandWithUs, partners with Shalhevet, providing presentations and speakers to edu-

cate the students on matters relating to Israel. The main goal of the programs is to empower the girls with facts about Israel, teach them how to combat anti-Semitism, and the BDS movement plaguing colleges.

Last week, the CIA club met with Mr. Friedman to learn and discuss the differences between anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism. Defining anti-Semitism as demonization, delegitimization, and double standards, the girls participated in the conversation by asking and answering questions to further understand what anti-Semitism means and why it exists.

They discussed that although Israel has room for improvement, that does not mean that it doesn’t have the right to exist.

Imparting the message “speaking up is the only thing that will make a difference,” Mr. Friedman explained the importance of being a part of the dialogue to teach the truth and facts about the only democratic country in the Middle East, our beloved Israel.

By Kayla Evans and Jaclyn Korman, SKA ’18 We had an amazing experience as representatives of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls at the AIPAC Schusterman High School Summit in Washington along with 400 other attendees. This summit was a training opportunity for teens all around the country who share a love for Israel and wanted to learn how to be better advocates.

The conference commenced with various sessions teaching students what to do and what not to do when lobbying for Israel.

There were optional sessions such as Israel and Social Media, Reading Behind the Headlines, and How to Better Your Public Speaking, all of which were enormously informative. This was a real opportunity to learn how to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship through the American political process.

AIPAC also ran a college fair on the second day of the conference, with lobbyists from different colleges discussing how they combat BDS on campus. It was an eye-opening experience for us and really inspirational to see how people from all different walks of life were able to unite over their immense love for Israel.

On the last day of the conference, 29 of us were able to lobby Rep. Kathleen Rice’s staff

on very relevant issues pertaining to Israel, such as the Iran deal. The congresswoman’s staff members were very receptive and pleased to see so many high school students who were passionate about political issues.

We were chaperoned by Mrs. Sheila Leibtag.

HALB Middle School’s community of kindness Shulamith sweeps its first Torah Bowl meet Weeks of studying and practice culminated for Shulamith in its first Torah Bowl of the year hosted by HAFTR at Beth Sholom in Lawrence.

All the hard work paid off, as the Shulamith team beat all its opponents in the five matches that compose the meet. But winning doesn’t guarantee a championship, since the rules of the game allow anyone in the league to come from behind and win the division lead and go to the league-wide championship at the end of the year.

The Eastern Girls Division has expanded

to include HAFTR, HALB, HANC, NSHA and Silverstein Academy of Great Neck as well as Shulamith. The teams study the first three parshiyot of Sefer Devarim with all of Rashi’s commentary. Torah Bowl competition requires both depth and breadth of knowledge, as well as speed and thorough recall.

The Shulamith team captains, Ariella Borah and Anni Laufer, and the coaches, Mrs. Billet and Morah Fischman, prepare questions on the material and quiz the ream members.

During the Yom Tov season in October, HALB’s middle school participated in a yom iyun that emphasized the ways in which Jewish values promote kindness, community, and unity.

They learned about the power of Klal Yisrael when they come together as a whole. They concretized these ideas by participating in an activity in which they assembled various individual tiles into a beautiful mosaic.

To further advance these ideas and in connection with Bullying Prevention Month in October, HALB students in grades 6 through8 were required to read Wonder by R.J. Palacio over the chagim. The book is an engaging story of a child with a facial deformity who enters a mainstream school in the fifth grade, and how this impacts all the people with whom he interacts.

Last Wednesday, HALB’s 6th-8th grade students participated in a meaningful and memorable experience, meeting in groups from across the grades to discuss important themes emerging from Wonder. In doing so, they grappled with issues relating to differences and inclusiveness, cliques and social circles, and bullying and developing a community of kindness.

A special program was also conducted in the 5th grade, where students read aloud from two books that celebrate inclusiveness and kindness, One by Kathryn Otoshi and Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. Students contemplated the “big ideas” of these touchstone texts, both orally and in writing. The culminating activity, in which students created “graffiti posters” related to the themes of the day, demonstrated the children’s remarkable perception and sensitivity.

To create new relationships, HALB has developed its “big brother/sister little brother/ sister” programming, where each 5th grader is paired with a 7th grader and each 6th graders is paired with an 8thgrader. This program promotes achdut and friendliness throughout the middle school. To start off the program, the boys “speedfriended” with each other. The girls kicked off the program with a game in which each student received half of a nursery rhyme and had to find their match. The partners constructed fruit skewers together, demonstrating that a whole can be made of various different parts.

Upcoming events include achdut shabbaton.

THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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A son remembers Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

By Rabbi Yisroel Jungreis I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some stories about my mother that you may or may not know.

Two weeks before my mother, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, was nifteres, I paid a shiva call to a friend who had just lost his mother.

The house was filled to capacity with those who came to be menachem ovel. My friend motioned to me to come forward as he wanted to tell me something. In a quiet voice, he told me that one of his mother’s last wishes was that he contact Rebbetzin Jungreis because a family that she knew was struggling with a very difficult problem.

The next day I went to my mother’s bedside and told her of this woman’s last wish. Her response still haunts me. Without giving it a second thought, and with much alacrity, my mother said, “As soon as I get better, I will meet with them.” A few weeks later as I was sitting shiva for my mother, my friend came to comfort me. I told him that I had come to give him chizuk when he was sitting shiva but it was he who gave me and my mother chizuk. 'As soon as I get better, I will meet with them” are the words that I shall never forget.

Hashem had different plans and the rebbetzin is now in Shamayim but I know that she is beseeching Hashem for all those in this world who are grappling with a multitude of difficulties.

Before my mother founded Hineni in the early 1970s, she accompanied my grandfather, HaGaon HaRav Avraham HaLevi Jungreis, zt’l, to receive brochos from four Gedolim. They were the Satmar Rebbe, zt’l; HaRav Yosef Soloveitchik, zt’l; HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zt’l; and HaRav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, zt’l.

When they reached Rav Henkin’s apartment on the Lower East Side, the gabbai told my mother and grandfather to take a seat while he assisted Rav Henkin to the room they were. Having been ill for some time, Rav Henkin was blind and connected to many intravenous tubes. My zaide told my mother, “Shtay Oif Min Kind” (stand up, my child), a malach (angel) of Hashem is entering the room.

Rav Henkin, zt’l, then said to my zaide and my mother, “Take a good look at me. Look what could happen to a mentsch. Look at my eyes, they are just two pieces of meat. If Hashem gives you the strength to accomplish, then you must do it.”

This became my mother’s battle cry. “Im lo Achshav Aimosi”?

If not now, then when? We must seize the moment and use every second to fulfill Hashem’s purpose for us in this world.

My mother used the wide variety of gifts that Hashem bestowed upon her to the optimal level. Understanding the precious nature of time and how quickly it alludes us, she never wasted a momen. A close friend once asked her, “How do you function with such little sleep?” My mother’s response was, “I sleep fast.”

Wherever she traveled, she always carried her trusted weapon — her sefer tehillim (book of psalms) and never wasted a minute.

While she was waiting for a plane to depart or waiting in a doctor’s office, that book of tehillim could be found in her hands.

In his eulogy for my mother, my brother, Rabbi Osher, said that she had the ability to find the neshoma in people who did not even know they had a neshoma. She had the ability to reignite the pintele yid, the spark inside every Jew. My mother never prepared notes when she addressed audiences both far and near.

She would always commence her lectures with the pasuk that we say before the Shemonei Esrei in our daily davening. “Adonai Sefasai Teftach U’Fee Yagid Tehilasecha (Hashem, Open my lips that my mouth may declare Your praise).” My mother knew that it is Hashem that puts the proper words in our mouths and she humbly asked that He give her the right words each time she lectured During the shiva period, countless people expressed how exceptionally fortunate and blessed they were because of my mother’s impact on their lives

The Red Eye flight

My beloved mother, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, of blessed memory, was not only renowned for her pioneering work in chizuk, or for the thousands fo shidduchim that she made, or for the infinite amount of riveting Torah classes she delivered over the last half century, but those who have read her Jewish Press columns or her books know that she was the ultimate story teller.

Of the hundreds of stories that she related over the decades, many of them have penetrated our hearts.

Years ago, my mother, and her assistant Barbara Janov were heading back to New York from Portland, Oregon. They had booked a red eye flight that would have them back at JFK airport at approximately 5:30 am. After alighting the plane, my mother took her seat and immediately took out her tehillim.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gentleman in the adjoining seat looking at her and Barbara. My mother had the distinct feeling that he was going to strike up a conversation and her predication was correct. Within moments the man came over and started chatting. “So, do you live in Portland?” he asked. Barbara told the man that they did not but rather, they were on a return flight back to New York. “So, what brought you to Portland; was

it business or pleasure?” he queried. Barbara informed him that they were in Portland because the rebbetzin was delivering lectures on Torah and how it applies to our lives as Jews.

It was then that my mother asked the man, “Are you Jewish?”

Suddenly striking a defensive posture, he retorted with more than a tinge of anger in his voice, “Yeah, so what if I am?” My mother told him that she was just curious and it was not meant as an offensive remark. The man then took his seat and remained silent.

Soon thereafter, the stewardess came by as it was time to serve the on-flight meals. She began to call out the names of the passengers who had ordered a kosher meal. “Your kosher meals are here,” she said. She then offered the man in the adjoining

With a look of astonishment on my mother’s face, she said, “Is it really you? What happened to you? Of course, I remember you.”The man went on to tell my mother that soon after their chance meeting on that red eye flight, he gave a great deal of thought to what she had said about signing that contract. “I listened to what you told me, Rebbetzin, and I made it my business to learn more about that contract I signed and today I live a Torah observant life. I came here today to thank you for telling me about the contract and my obligations as a Jew.”

Sharei Dimos: The gates of tears are never closed Throughout the many years of Hineni’s existence, my mother would often take groups of people to Eretz Yisroel, but my mother’s tours were unlike any other. From the moment we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to the moment we departed, each experience was imbued with a special kedusha. On our way to Yerushalayim for the first time on our trips, my mother would ask that the bus driver stop near the sign that says Bruchim Haboyim (Welcome to Jerusalem). We got off the bus and made a L’Chaim with wine as the sun was setting and the wind of Yerushalayim was blowing. She told us with tears in her eyes, “My zisa kinderlech, my sweet children, we are about to enter the holy city of Yerushalayim. We need to prepare ourselves.”

She would tell the tour participants that they are entering the holiest of all cities and would relay stories of those who sacrificed their lives for it. We would then enjoy wine and cake to sanctify the holiness that this city represents to all of Klall Yisroel.

My mother would often relate the story of Chana and her seven sons and the story of Momma Rochel, to impart the lesson of Sharei Dimos (the gates of tears are never closed) On every trip, my mother would take the entire group to her maternal grandfather’s kever (grave). His name was Hagaon HaRav Tzvi Hersh Cohen, the Derichker Rov. Upon reaching his kever at Har Hamenuchos in Yerushalayim, my mother would introduce each person on the tour to her beloved zaide. She would say, “Zaide, I am bringing another child back to their Torah heritage and I would like to introduce them to you.”

When it seemed that Hashem was about to take my mother’s holy neshoma, my sister Slovie called her daughter Shaindy in Yerushalayim and asked her to go to the kever of my great grandfather. When Shaindy arrived at the kever she said, “My dear zaide, it looks like bubba is coming to Shomayim very soon.

Please gather the family, erect a special chuppah and welcome her like a queen.”

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis and her eldest son, Rabbi Yisroel Jungreis, at HER last Hineni Purim in March of 2016.

seat a selection of midnight snack offerings. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll have the ham and cheese sandwich.”

It was then that my mother informed the stewardess that this man could not have a ham and cheese sandwich. Turning almost rageful, the man shouted, “Why not? Why can’t I have that sandwich?” My mother patiently told the man that he could not have that sandwich because he signed a contract thousands of years ago at Mount Sinai, when he and all other Jewish souls declared the Oneness of Hashem’s name and their willingness to obey His commandments for all eternity.

The man was literally aghast. He insisted that the stewardess “keep this woman away from me.” My mother told him that if he did not believe her, he should check out the contract he signed by learning Torah. The man quietly muttered under his breath for the remainder of the flight.

After the plane landed, my mother and the other passengers went to the baggage retrieval arrival. As it happened, it was his mazel that he met the rebbetzin again. My mother then reached into her pocketbook and gave the man her card. “If you want to check out the contract you signed, if you want to learn about your heritage, the commandments that you accepted so long ago, then contact me. My name is Esther Jungreis and I teach Torah in New York. I am sure we will see each other again,” she said.

Shaking his head, the man stormed off.

Several years later, my mother was teaching her regular Tuesday evening Torah class in my grandfather’s synagogue. As was always the case, people would line up to talk with my mother at the conclusion of the class. At the very end of the line stood a man with black hat and beard, someone who definitely could be described as an Orthodox Jew. As the man approached he said, Rebbetzin Jungreis, do you remember me?” When my mother did not remember someone, she often said, “Well, you look familiar” in order to spare their feelings. “Rebbetzin, you mean you don’t remember me? Do you remember the red eye flight from Portland to New York many years ago? Do you remember telling me that I signed a contract at Mount Sinai?” Suddenly, the memories came rushing back.

Rabbi Reisman

For the last 20 years, my mother attended a shul called the Agudath Israel of Long Island in Far Rockaway. It was there that she built a strong connection with this special kehilla and its rov, HaRav Yaakov Reisman, shlita.

During his hesped (eulogy) for my mother, Rabbi Reisman said that the rebbetzin’s inner strength was embodied by the posuk in Eishes Chayil, “Pia poscha v’chochma.” She opens her mouth in wisdom because Toras chesed al lishona. He said that everything she spoke about was predicated on the eternal wisdom of the Torah. He even said of her book, The Committed Life — Principles for Good Living from Our Timeless Past: “Notice the title, the words our timeless past. She didn’t repackage Torah, she didn’t amend it or try to make it fit the superficial mores and values of the generation in which we live. She presented Torah as it was taught to her by her father and her zaides and people ran toward it with love because she presented it with love.”

He reminded the olam that the rebbetzin possessed a unique combination of Torah and tefilla. “No one davened like the rebbetzin. Her tefillos were immersed with an incredible amount of kavanah,” he said.

“She stormed the gates of Shamayim with her constant and heartfelt supplications and she prayed for everyone. For family, friends and everyone who needed Hashem’s help and we all need Hashem’s help.”

Many people grew up reading my mother’s columns in the Jewish Press and her wisdom would serve as a D’var Torah at their respective Shabbos tables. My mother became a part of an infinite amount of Jewish homes through her weekly words that were filled with wisdom, compassion and love.

A very close friend sent me the following saying: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” She commented, “Yisroel, every time your mother spoke she did that for people.”

When we visited the Kosel in Yerushalayim, throngs of people would surround my mother, asking for her brochos. “ My mother had the glow of Shabbos on her face at all times and her appearance was that of a real Queen Esther, with all the royalty and regalness of the title. My brother, Rabbi Osher, said at her levaya that “most queens need a crown so that they may be identified as such. Not my mother. She did not need a crown. Everyone knew she was a queen when she walked into a room.”

At this year’s Hineni dinner, which took place only weeks Continued on next page

My Heilege Zaide

When my mother would finish giving one of her Torah classes, my zaide would always give a brocha to the class. It was Parshas Vayeshev in Sefer Bereishis and we learn that Yaakov Avinu sends his son Yosef to look for his brothers. He finds himself lost and meets a man (Vayimziyahu Ish). It was the Malach Gavriel who asks Yosef, Ma Tivakaish? (what are you looking for?)

Yosef answered “es achai avi mivakesh (I am looking for my brothers; have you seen them?)”

My zaide said this is the mission statement of Hineni. We were always there for our Jewish brethren to guide them to the path of Torah.

Teaching chumash

No one was able to teach a pasuk in Chumash like the rebbitzen. During her weekly Torah classes, she made the Torah come alive as she imparted its messages with such love and passion.

She would often say, “Torah study is unlike any other study in the world. You can study math at the finest of colleges but you will never become a number. You can study music at Julliard but you will never become a note. But when you study Torah, when you take on its lessons, you become a Torahdig person.”

At the beginning of her classes she would explain: “This week’s parsha is amazing and you are going to learn many important lessons. I know I always tell you that about every parsha, but it is true!” She would add: “In the Torah there is no repetition. Every posuk, every word, every nekuda has a deeper meaning. We must peel

away the layers of an onion when we learn the parsha. We must ask question after question to discover the true meaning of what Hashem is teaching us.”

Everyone attending her classes thought she was talking to them personally when she explained the posukim with such depth and warmth. Her mastery of gematria was astounding and in each of her Torah classes, she would give over incredible insights through the numerical value of the Torah’s words. Her students began to understand that the Chumash was teaching them personal lessons regarding their lives.

During shiva one of our Hineni members described their experience when attending Torah classes at Hineni. They noted that it was similar to traveling back in time to Ellis Island and becoming a United Citizen of Torah. In my mother’s Torah lessons there was something to take home, everyone gained something to ponder about for their own personal journey of life.

Rebbetzin of the world Besides being a rebbitzen to the world, my mother was an incredibly loving and devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

Each and every grandchild felt they were the most special to her, as she understood the unique nature of each child and knew precisely what each one needed to hear. When Mishpacha Magazine was interviewing her, my son Avraham told the interviewer, “Do you know you are interviewing a queen?”

She told her grandchildren that she does not know when Hashem will call her to Shomayim but whenever it will be she will go with ahava.

“Bubba will never forget about you. I will always be davening and watching over you from Shomayim. If anything ever bothers you, bubba will be davening for you,” she added.

To say that my mother is sorely missed would be a gross understatement. The painful void in our hearts and souls is ever present as

we miss calling her for our Shabbos and YomTov berochos. Our mother would give a bracha like no one else in the world. We could all feel the love in her heart with each word that she uttered.

I often think back to the times when we would visited our mother. These were indeed precious moments. When it was time to depart, she would walk us outside, kiss and hug us all, give us one more brocha, and wave to us until the car disappeared. She told us that this is how her own father would say goodbye after she visited.

“Binafsho kushiro binafsho, my soul is connected to yours. May the Malachim of Hashem watch over you,” were the words of my heilege grandfather, HaGaon HaRav Avraham HaLevi Jungreis.

These were the words with which the rebbbetzin would always sign her letters to her family.

What nechama (comfort) can we, her family, and the thousands whose lives she changed, have?

HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita, said everyone should realize that we have a personal messenger in Shomayim that can be a meletz yosher (advocate) for us. That alone should serve as a tremendous source of chizuk and comfort, not only now during this difficult grieving process but for our entire lives.

We know that this nechama is for us, but we must stop and ask: “What can we do to honor the memory of our beloved rebbetzin in Shamayaim. What can we do for her that she can no longer do for herself”?

As my mother said, “No one really ever dies as the neshoma is eternal and lives on forever.

But what can we do to remember our loved ones who left this word? We can constantly send them care packages in heaven. And how do we do that? Through our mitzvos and maasim tovim. Each mitzva that we do should be done in the name of our loved ones who have passed.”

The Zohar says that children are the are the legs of the father; which means that when a parent leaves this physical world they need their children to go on for them and walk in their path. In the rebbetzin’s case, she had thousands of spiritual children.

The greatest gift we can send her is to continue her work; to study Torah and do mitzvos. By doing so we are declaring, “Rebbetzin, we will never forget you.”

May the words of Sefer Yishayahu come to fruition — “Lo yomushu mipicha umipi zarecha umipi zera zarecha (May the words of Torah never be forgotten from my mouth, my children’s mouth, and my children’s children’s mouth).” Thus says Hashem.

May the neshama of Imi Morosi Esther bas HaGaon HaRav Avraham Halevi be an advocate for all of Klal Yisroel.

Rabbi Yisroel Jungreis delivers a parsha class each week at the Hineni Heritage Center on the Upper West Side and lectures extensively. His “lunch and learn” class takes place every Wednesday at 1271 Avenue of the Americas in the boardroom of Fortune Financial. He is the originator of the 5 Minute Torah Class for the executive on the run.

For more information contact Hineni at 212-496-1660 or by e-mail at RabbiYisroel@ hineni.org

‘Im lo achshav aimosi?’ If not now, then when? We must seize the moment and use every second to fulfill Hashem’s purpose for us in this world.

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Continued from previous page before Purim, Rabbi Eli Mansour, Shlita, introduced the rebbetzin by relating a posuk from Megillas Esther, “Whomever saw Queen Esther was taken by her chayn (charm). The word Roeha, “Raish Alef Yud Hay,” is the acronym for “Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis HaMalka.”

Rabbi Billet’s note to the YIW community

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Rabbi Hershel Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere this week sent the following communication to his shul community.

Members, You recently received a letter from the president and chairman detailing the final phase of my tenure with Young Israel of Woodmere.

I am now in the beginning of my 37th year as Rabbi of our synagogue. I succeeded a wonderful Rabbi, Rabbi Shaya Lebor z”l, who served the community for 20 years and established a great foundation for our community. That foundation meshed with the pioneering work of our first rabbi, Rabbi Benjamin Kaminetsky.

Over the years we have shared wonderful times and challenging times together as a community. A rabbi could not ask for a better community or better synagogue leadership than I have experienced for my entire time here in Woodmere.

Over the years as the demographics of our area has evolved and seen a large influx of Jewish families, our synagogue has tried to adjust to the needs and demands of such a large population consisting of members of different ages and at different stages of life.

I am blessed to have been able to work with wonderful colleagues. Rabbis Yaakov Lehrfield, Kalman Topp, Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, and Adam Mintz have played significant roles in helping grow our synagogue.

It has been a great pleasure to continue to partner with Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, who has been a wonderful rabbi for everyone in the community. He has fresh ideas, tireless energy, and a much beloved personality. In addition we have Rabbis Shay Schachter, Aaron Glatt, Eliyahu Wolf and David Fohrman, who have added so much to the learning and spirit of our congregation.

I am grateful to the members of the synagogue for the kind way in which they have treated me and my family. I look forward to continue serving our community.

We will be here for the Yamim Noraim, Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. We look forward to spending holidays here as well, albeit, on a more limited basis.

As per the retirement agreement made with YIW almost six years ago, I will have more free time during the year and will be away for some of the Yamim Tovim. As our children have moved out and established families, we rarely see them on Shabbat and have limited times together on Yom Tov. The reduction in my responsibilities is commensurate with a mutually agreed upon reduction in my compensation. This will allow us some precious time with our children and grandchildren while we are still in good health.

We appreciate your kindness to us immensely and feel very blessed to have such a kind congregation.

RHB

Will Palestinians finally get to vote again?

By Sean Savage, JNS.org Against the backdrop of this month’s longoverdue leadership elections for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, Palestinians in the West Bank face an uncertain future following more than a decade of stagnate rule.

In the West Bank, the situation has grown increasingly unstable in recent months as fighting has broken out between Palestinian security forces and other factions within Fatah, which have plunged refugee camps such as Balata into lawlessness. As such, questions have arisen over the future of the PA and its aging leader, the 81-year-old Abbas, who has been governing with an expired term since January 2009.

Established by the Oslo Accords peace treaty in 1993 as an interim Palestinian government, the PA — which has been dominated by Fatah and its parent organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), throughout its existence — has in recent years languished in political and economic limbo under Abbas.

“The older generation has lost its ability to lead without leaving a younger generation behind that follows any clear organized path,” Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and expert on Arab affairs, told JNS.org. “The real problem is that there are no institutions or structures that can lead Palestinians now; there has been a steady decay in all bodies.”

That institutional “decay” comes amid struggles for the Palestinian economy — with unemployment at around 30 percent in the West Bank — and questions over the future of Abbas, who recently suffered a health scare.

One widely promoted successor to Abbas is

Mohammad Dahlan, a longtime rival of the PA president.

Dahlan, 55, was a rising star in the PLO in the 1990s, when he was promoted to head of security in Gaza by Yasser Arafat. In 2006, he won a seat in the PA’s legislative body. But in 2007, when the Hamas terrorist group ousted Fatah and the PA from Gaza, many inside the PA blamed Dahlan for Hamas’s emergence. His fall from grace continued in 2011 when he was charged with corruption and embezzlement by Abbas, and he was stripped of his legislative seat. Dahlan fled the West Bank that year, and he currently resides in both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.

“Dahlan’s name gets mentioned the most because he’s the most visible member of the opposition. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t other figures opposing Abbas, but that Dahlan is the only one who can do so publicly from his place in exile,” said Grant Rumley, an expert on Palestinian politics and a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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Israel of terms, in social of the Young defense Rabbi Billet, to Rabbi Hain’s disrose which he Woodmere, ook post in an election of in a long Faceb complexity in the wake of t cussed the a.� being fough who you campaign years of President Obam it’s unimportant opinions congre “eight dark to suggest that But urging their video YouTube We’re not going that does matter very much.

Hershel Billet, (left) and Jewish Star we 2014. course, in Hain th ence set, and at The the scale. vote for — of Rabbis Kenne the AIPAC confer ity are mostly in our commun discussions rather than thumb , is this: It is gants to attend prefer to facilitatesay without equivocation, however vote on Tuesday.

What we will interests that we of great imporour community’s and also — paramount to House the White legislative and Whoever wins state and local wins the many card — must be reminded that tance, whoever take our civic the Election Day judicial races on x communities on Long Island and monitor races we in the Orthodo we follow the respond if seriously, that and that we will responsibilities our elected officials, or mishandled. the actions of ignored are long tradition hold dear ng America’s the issues we issue is continui for the security of the JewWhether the support of in the aled) shake for yeshivas observ(sometimes threaten or insuring a fair Shabbos ish state of Israel, or facilitating hearings for a myriad other aid, ent, or location of state nation in employm it’s certainly the surest way — g them. ers who face discrimi might be the concerns, voting let the pols know we’re watchin our yeto the solvency of easiest way — safety, along withrests with Hashem. But Israel’s ly, Ultimate parnasa, success of our job is to vote. shivas and the Tuesday, that a job to do. On Ed Weintrob, Editor and Publisher we each have

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Project weekend Sands Atlantic Beach. the Sabbath will easy it is to do. observe the at how and di10, 6:45 pm, attracted a large Challah Bake, showing Last year’s bake Jewish women: businesslocal of , daughverse group of school children women, mothers survivors, women with little st , Holocau ters of ritual tradition ge of Jewish The Jewish Star or no knowled their own challah regularly, Just as a phantasm brought their ladies who bake agoric United Nations between. Many in the west and and the state of and everyone in mothers, aunts, nieces and vote that the sun Israel at the rises people, the latest sets in the south would be daughters, sisters, ignored by thinking that more anti-Israel action U.N. and elsewhere, and reports anti-Israel vote Educational, Scientific at the U.N.

by UNESCO suggest In the UNESCO cousins with them. is “keeping it together,� and Cultural Organiza (the United Nations action, its executivewill follow the U.S. elections written about resolution on This year’s themeancient practice that all . tion) in board formally this approved a stream and Jewishsatirical prose than discussed would be better of Jerusalem Tuesday that denies a Jewish TheGreatChaltying together event, email connection to the for this seriously in main. The approval media. r City year’s Debbie Greenblatt is pictaking part in. came five days Old But UNESCO’s in enjoy voluntee a To prelimina Jews . after harebrained repudiat ry vote of the the resolutioIStyle@g mail.com / Penny Frondelli tory and G-d’s executive board, were 24 lahBakeL n passed Challah Bake. Jewish Star on both of establish words at which ed his- United in favor and 6 against, with last year’s point It’s the latest salvo to his holy nation is too toxic there 26 countriestured at States, the to ignore. in an escalating war against the that voted against United Kingdom and Germany abstaining. The Jewish people were among those Netherlands and the resolution. They were joined Estonia. by On Monday, Mexico Other European countries Lithuania, the abstained. changed its vote saying in a statemen from “in that the governm t, “Changing the vote reiteratesfavor� to abstain, ent of Mexico the recognition Jewish people to cultural heritagegives to the undeniable link of the reflects the deep appreciation that located in East Jerusalem. It also community and in particular for this government has for the Jewish welfare and economi their significan t contributions c, to the It’s the first time social and cultural developm ent of Mexico.� the Palestinian-Arab since 2010 that Mexico opposed a proposal by However, Mexico bloc in UNESCO. dre Roemer, after fired its Jewish ambassa dor vote in a personal Roemer walked out of last to UNESCO, Anweek’s prelimin protest, leaving ary his deputy to cast “Sadly, the ambassa Mexico’s vote. dor to UNESCO a change to the was sacrificed Latin American perennial tradition of following , but it meant bloc, which passed the vote of the by a majority,� an absurd and wrote Jewish Mexican biased resolutio n The UNESCO news portal several times as resolution reportedly refers to Enlace Judio.

Al Haram Al Sharif, the Temple Mount tioning that it is its Islamic name, the also uses the term holiest site in Judaism, according without menThis summer, Buraq Plaza, placing 30,000 young to UN Watch. It appearin Jews from 59 10-day Birthright Western g to com deny countries visited Wall Israel on Star. ing 7-day trips trips. Birthright said this week Patriarchs in Hebrona Jewish connection to the site. Plaza in quotes, to allow busy young it would begin The Tomb of the is referred to as ewish 16 years, Birthright offerTomb, outside Bethlehe professionals the al-aram TheJ to brought al-Ibrahimi; Rachel’s participate. Over more than 500,000 m, is noted as the to Israel. Pictured: nities Following the Bilal ibn Raba Mosque. young Jewish Birthright event commu adults in Jerusalem.

Education Ministervote, Israel suspended cooperat Yonatan Sindel/Flash hodox ion with UNESCO 90 our Ort of years of Jewish Naftali Bennett accused it of . er of ignoring ties to Jerusalem Rabbi Yona, � and aiding “Islamist “thousands at his station wspap Ne outside hurst, terror.� guided Five Towners Gourmet Glatt The in ghting 5:46 pm,

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No 38 Vol 15, e5• ch, pag • Lua 7:26 vdalah Rabbi Avraham pm, Ha Fridman, general 6:19 ies principal stud- private hting of Yeshiva of school South Hewlett, was ndlelig chosen to represen Shore in cial educatio students with mandate 6 • Ca d spe- pects ests of yeshivas 577 n and related l t the interElu of private school services. and day schools To ensure that • 27 Non-Public School students receivin The Jewish Star at the ESSA 2016 g eqwill not be publishe adhering to the the local school districts are uitable services looks promisin Workgroup. He to Albany the er 30, next week, following new requirem travelled d day after Rosh ptemb g. Represenents of ESSA, tatives of various groups the yom tovim Hashana togeth- the law has provisions er with Sara Seligson Shemini Atzeret together for the im • Se are eager to work requiring proper porting by the and Simchat Torah.of zav Project and Avrohomof the Jewish Educatio re- York State, districts and a Nit benefit of all students in Regular Wednes n The state New Weinstock of Parsh he said. education departmprivate schools.

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November 25, 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Rabbi binny FReedman The hearT of jerusalem

I

t had been a grueling few weeks. After almost 30 years in the reserves I was definitely getting too old for this — midnight ambushes with 10 to 20 kilometer treks carrying heavy gear and wearing heavy bullet-proof ceramic vests, daylong patrols in the hot sun, trying to stay alert commanding checkpoints in dangerous areas over the green line. We had been attached for this reserve duty to a unit of paratroopers most of whom were 20 to 25 years younger; it was all getting to be a bit much.

We were three days away from finishing this stint of reserve duty. I had come back from a late night ambush and after trekking deep into a valley and having to come back on foot with all our heavy gear I collapsed onto my cot in the army tent, only to be woken a few hours later and informed I was the Officer on Duty for the ready alert squad, which meant suiting up and briefing the men before lying down again, though this time on full gear.

Every unit and every base has a squad on alert whose job it is to be the first response in the event of an unexpected emergency. This squad sleeps with their uniforms on, down to their boots, all their gear next to them, ready to roll at a moment’s notice. As I had already had the unpleasant experience of being thrown into response mode twice on this reserve duty, I was praying things would stay quiet until our shift was over. About to turn 50, the intense physical and mental pressure was starting to take its toll, and the trek the previous night had left me exhausted; I could barely move.

But of course, G-d has a great sense of humor, and just as I was finally back on my cot falling into a deep sleep, the alert siren went off and shouts of “hakpatzah,” signifying that there was an emergency, filled the air. Throwing on my gear while yelling at the rest of the squad to hustle, we were greeted outside the tent by a message that was actually not an alert; it was a drill. Someone, probably a high ranking officer, had decided to test the alert squad. The announcement said there was an infiltrator at the base’s main gate and our job was to make our way up to the main gate while covering each other.

The position of our tent meant this was a run of a couple kilometers up a very steep road, all while covering each other in the event of an infiltration. I was starting to get seriously

annoyed. We only had a couple days left and having long since proven our worth, this was a waste of time. But you do what needs to be done; the complaining can come later.

Running and jumping and hitting the ground every 10 to 15 seconds as we took cover, ran, took cover and ran again, we were getting closer to the main gate when I saw my direct commanding officer operating as the pretend infiltrator, which seriously ticked me off. If there was anyone who knew how exhausted we were and that we were almost done with this reserve duty, it was him; I could not believe he was doing this to us.

Breathing heavily from all the running and diving, and directing my men to close in, as I ran the last 30 yards to take out the “terrorist” and prepared to give our commander a serious mouthful, I suddenly stopped in shock, because there, standing off to the side, near the main gate, were my wife and kids, all laughing hysterically. It was my 50th birthday, and they had driven all the way to the base to surprise me with a cake, only to discover that civilians were not allowed entry. So my commanding officer had devised this drill to get me up to the gate for the surprise. It took me a few minutes until I had caught my breath enough to have a good laugh … about the same time I realized I was seriously too old for this. It was time to pass the baton to younger commanders. That was my last serious reserve duty. ld age. It creeps up on you and before you know it, you just can’t do what you used to. It’s a reality of life: one day we will walk more slowly, and tire more quickly; we will eat less, and need more sleep, and everything will seem to … slow down. And it’s not something we can hide, try as some of us may.

Our faces, our hair, our stature and even our voices and speech will appear older. It’s something we generally do not look forward to or anticipate, with one exception.

This week’s parsha is actually the first and perhaps most powerful chapter in Jewish history of pure transition. It is named Chayei Sarah (literally the lives) of Sarah, though it actually begins with Sarah’s death. This portion covers the death of Avraham, the founder of Judaism, and the passing of the baton to his son Yitzchak.

And, most fascinating of all, it will introduce us to the concept of old (advanced?) age.

“Ve’ Avraham zaken; ba’ be’yamim...” (“And

This week’s parsha is actually the most powerful chapter in Jewish history of pure transition.

O

YI C’hurst-Lawrence in firehouse chessed Thirty children from the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst embarked on a chessed mission last Sunday.

Led by Youth Director Alyssa Schechter, they created “thank you” cards at shul and then walked to the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department to deliver their messages of appreciation.

The group was greeted by two firefighters, Andrew Parnes and Noah Kupferstein, who gave their visitors a tour of the firehouse.

The children got to see the inside of the firetrucks, walk through the ambulance, and even try on some of

Avraham was old, coming into days…”) (Bereishit 24:1) It is interesting to note the additional descriptive phrase for old age, ba’ be’yamim, which literally translates as coming into days.

What does it mean to come into days? In fact this phrase seems counterintuitive to what aging seems to be: losing one’s days. In the West, we seem to view old age as an ending, a bittersweet or sad remnant of what once was. Does Judaism have a different perspective?

Indeed, Avraham is only described as old after he has buried his beloved wife Sarah, suggesting that perhaps it is her loss that “ages” him. In uncharacteristic fashion, Rashi notes that the numeric equivalent of “bakol” (52) is identical to the numeric (gematria) equivalent of “ben” (a son), suggesting that Avraham despite his age, has been given a son and is thus responsible to marry him off. And in fact this is the next chapter of the Jewish story: finding a suitable mate for Yitzchak.

Yet Avraham does not set about this task himself, entrusting it instead to his faithful servant Eliezer (ibid.

24:2). Was this because Avraham is too old to do it himself? But Eliezer himself is described (ibid. 24:2) as zekan beito (the elder of Avraham’s house). If Eliezer is also old, why is he more suited to the task than his older master? Is he just not quite as old?

The West is obsessed with being young: we see it in advertising, in literature, in the entertainment world; there is an industry of plastic surgery, botox, anti-aging creams and the like, all designed to keep people young, perhaps because our society sees getting old as life being over. And yet, the Torah tells us (ibid. 25:1) that Avraham takes another wife Keturah (Hagar?) after he is described as old. n our society people tend to look askance at older people marrying, wondering if it’s “for the money.” Often the children resent such unions and even contest them. Yet Rashi suggests that it was actually Yitzchak who arranged this marriage, bringing Hagar back to his father Avraham!

One the one hand, the baton has passed: We began with Avraham arranging and setting in motion the search for a wife for Yitzchak, and now it is Yitzchak who finds a wife for older father Avraham.

But if getting old is an ending, someone

the firefighters’ gear.

“It’s nice to have the children show appreciation and gratitude to the men and women who keep us safe on a daily basis” said one of the group’s mothers, Tamar Scharf.

This particular event, one of many youth programs the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst organizes throughout the year, is especially important as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

After a year in which many service people were at risk doing their jobs, the Young Israel community wanted to show its communal appreciation for their valued service.

I

seems to have forgotten to tell Avraham who not only remarries but has many more children! (ibid. 25:1-4) Most fascinatingly, there is no sadness, and no difficulty associated with Avraham becoming old; in fact, according to the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 65) Avraham actually asks for old age (how else will people know the difference between him and his son Yitzchak?)

Indeed old age seems to bespeak a certain standing, sought after and finally achieved. And as the phrase suggests the old man is not missing the past, rather he is coming into the present!

Sadly, aging in our society is associated with boredom: playing golf, whiling away the time until death, moving to Florida and into facilities where our elders are “out of sight, out of mind.”

Indeed if our fascination with youth is that so much lies ahead, and it is so exciting to build a future, then old age has no future with nothing left to accomplish.

Judaism however, suggests that as much as planning a future is important, what is most important is the present, the here and now. As the verse in Ha’azinu says: “She’al Avicha ve’yagedcha’ Zekeinmecha veyomru Lach.” (“Ask your … elders and they will tell you.”) (Devarim 32:7) hose who have experienced life have wisdom to impart and that is most valuable of all. The elder is ba bayamim and comes into days, he has learned not to spend all of his time trying to get there, without first appreciating where he already is. Old age teaches us the value of learning to be in the moment: blessed are the youth who learn this lesson at a younger age.

Indeed, the holiest day of the week, Shabbat, is all about learning to be in the moment and get off the incessant race to what lies ahead, learning to appreciate the NOW. Perhaps this is why our portion is called Chayei Sarah, because in valuing all the wisdom learned from Sarah each moment becomes a living testimony to all that Sarah represents and thus, Sarah never really dies, she lives on in each of us.

And as we get older, we have so much more to impart to the youth who have so much to learn, such that we are coming into each special day, every day. The measure of a valuable older age, is to what degree we succeed in sharing this wisdom with those who still see it all as what lies ahead.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

Rabbi Binny Freedman is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

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THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

Getting old: Avraham set the pattern for all

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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The inside story of Hebron AlAn JAy Gerber Kosher BooKworm

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his coming Shabbat, Parashat Chayei Sarah, has in recent years assumed the added appellation, Shabbat Hebron, taken from the opening chapter in Genesis 23, detailing the purchase of what we today call Me’orat Machpelah in the town of Hebron by Avraham as a burial site for his recently deceased wife, Sarah.

Given the ongoing events related to the rights to ownership of the land of Israel by the Jewish people, a closer examination of our rightful inheritance of this land based upon biblical narrative is in order.

Recently, a new commentary on the book of Genesis was published — “The Inside Story: A Chassidic Perspective on Biblical Events, Laws, and Personalities” (Meaningful Life Center)

by Rabbi Yanki Tauber of Woodmere. Within it can be found some of the most literate and profound observations and interpretations of the biblical text. This excellent volume gives us an taste for the deeper meanings that are at the core of the teachings of our holy faith.

This week’s review will deal with Rabbi Tauber’s interpretation of the Hebron saga, entitled, “The Hebron Purchase.” This teaching provides a clear justification for the Jewish claim to the land of Israel from time immemorial.

The author begins his narrative by citing the following biblical verse: “Abraham weighed out to Ephron the money of which he spoke in the ears of the children of Heth: four hundred shekels of silver in merchant’s currency.” (Genesis 23:16) Rabbi Tauber continues: “In Genesis 23 we read of the first tract in the Land of Israel to enter into Jewish possession. G-d had already promised Abraham, ‘The entire land that you see, I will give to you and your descendants forever. … Arise and traverse the land, in its length and in its breadth, for to you I shall give it…’ (Genesis 13).

“But many centuries would pass before Abraham’s descendants took actual possession of the land under the leadership of Joshua.

One place, however, where a part of the Land of Israel came into the possession of the Jewish people in the actual and legal sense, was the ‘Machpelah Field and its cave’ in the heart of Hebron, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite.”

Further on the author presents to us the reality that these events teach as to what eretz

Yisrael means to us since time immemorial: “Indeed, oursages point out that there are three places in the Land of Israel over which the Jewish right of ownership is most powerfully established. Even those who deny the divine promise quoted above [and reiterated

by G-d many times throughout the Bible], cannot contest the Jewish right over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, purchased by King David from Aravnah the Jebusite; the section of Shechem (Nablus) purchased by Jacob from the family of Canaanite ruler Hamor; and the Machpelah Field of Hebron, purchased by Abraham as a burial place for his wife Sarah.”

Rabbi Tauber concludes this teaching: “The same is true of the land of Israel. Israel is the eternal inheritance of the Jewish people, equally the property of every individual Jew. And so it has been from the very first moment of Jewish ownership of the Holy Land: the first plot of land obtained by the first Jew included a share for every Jewish soul.”

This sacred teaching inheres within it abso-

lutely no equivocation of thought or intent. This claim to the Land of Israel is based on the holy writ, a scripture regarded as sacred by two of the three major monotheistic faiths.

This lesson is further reinforced by the author in a previous teaching, “Give and Given,” cited in this same volume: “Therein lies a lesson for all generations of Jews. Although we may find ourselves in galut [exile], under the hegemony of nations more powerful than ourselves, this does not in the least affect our ownership of the Holy Land.

The Land of Israel is ours by divine bequest; we need only claim our heritage.

We need only traverse the land and settle its length and breadth to make it unequivocally and eternally ours.”

Rabbi Yanki Tauber is currently chief writer and editor of, “The Book,” a new translation and anthologized commentary for the Five Books of Moses, and is the author of the three volume series “Inside Time: A Chassidic Perspective on the Jewish Calendar” that warrants your attention as well.

FOR YOUR FURTHER LEARNING A new volume was recently published

by Maggid Books entitled, “With Might and Strength: An Autobiography,” by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, zt”l. Within this extremely interesting work are some very insightful observations of his experiences during the Six Day War in See Hebron on page 21

Avraham’s legacy: Demonstrating loving-kindness rAbbi dAvid etenGoff

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ne of the highlights of this week’s parasha, Chayeh Sarah, is Abraham’s considered effort to find a proper wife for his beloved son, Isaac, from among the daughters of his birthplace. Given his age, and the considerable distance, Abraham was unable to undertake the journey from eretz Yisrael to his homeland, “Aram Naharaim, the city of Nahor.”

He therefore sent his unnamed trusted servant, identified by our sages as Eliezer, as his shaliach (messenger) to accomplish this destiny-laden assignment.

Abraham does not give Eliezer any explicit criteria by which to choose Isaac’s life-partner.

Instead, he enjoins him: “And I will adjure you by the L-rd, the G-d of the heaven and the G-d of the earth that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose midst I dwell. But you shall go to my land and to my birthplace, and you shall take a wife for my son, for Isaac.”

At this juncture we might ask, “Why did Abraham command his servant to ‘not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose midst I dwell’?” The 13th century French commentator, Rav Chaim Paltiel zatzal (the Rav Paltiel of Falaise) suggests the following answer that is followed by other Torah exegetes

as well: “Abraham did not want [Isaac to marry Eliezer’s daughter or any other Canaanite woman], since he [Eliezer] was included in the category of being cursed [i.e. since the time of Noah, when Noah cursed Ham the father of all future Canaanites]. Therefore, it would be anathema for someone cursed to be joined in marriage to someone who was blessed [Isaac].”

We now understand why Abraham strenuously rejected any notion of marrying Isaac to one of the maidens of Canaan. Yet, how did Eliezer know which middah (ethical characteristic) was necessary for Isaac’s future wife? The early 19th century

Given Abraham’s emphasis on chesed, eliezer knew that this was the middah rebecca needed to demonstrate.

Chasidic master, Rav Chaim ben Solomon Tyrer zatzal (known as the Be’er Mayim Chaim after the name of his most famous work), suggests that everyone during Abraham’s time knew that he was the personification of chesed. Indeed, Eliezer had witnessed countless examples of his master’s overwhelming care and concern for others and all those in need. As such, he focused upon chesed as the singular middah for Isaac’s spouse: “Behold, our father Abraham was known to everyone as the first ba’al chesed (master of loving-kindness) in world history. Abraham, throughout his entire life and with all his strength, pursued opportunities wherein he could bring guests to his home in order to give them food and drink … as the verse states, ‘Now the L-rd appeared to him in the plains of Mamre [and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent] when the day was hot.’ (18:1) [The See Legacy on page 21

Avraham — The Prototype, if not actually a ‘Jew’ rAbbi Avi billet Parsha of the weeK

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ere the forefathers Jewish? Leaving aside the anachronistic usage of the term “Jew,” there are those who argue that while the forefathers were monotheists, calling them “Jewish” is a little disingenuous. The Torah hadn’t been given yet. The covenant of Sinai hadn’t been forged. And so, while they may have been the beginners of the family that came to be known as the Children of Israel, the faith that we now call Judaism hadn’t been formalized yet.

On the other hand, the Talmud claims the forefathers kept all the commandments of the Torah! (See Yoma 28b) Notwithstanding the fact that during his lifetime Revelation is a few hundred years away, it can be argued that Avraham is the prototype of what it means to be a Jew.

Consider this eulogy for Avraham by Rabbi Hertz, inserted in his Chumash at the conclusion of Avraham’s living presence in the Torah: Avraham was the pioneer of the monotheistic faith. Undazzled by the heathen splendor of a Nimrod or a Hammurabi, he broke away from the debasing idol worship of his contemporaries and devoted his life to spreading the worldredeeming truth of the One G-d of Justice and Mercy.

He forsook home and family to brave unknown dangers because the voice of G-d bade him to do so; and, throughout his days, he showed that faith in G-d must manifest itself in implicit and joyful surrender to the divine will. He set an example to his children to sacrifice the dearest things in life and, if need be, life itself, in defense of the spiritual heritage entrusted to their care. While he preached renunciation in

the service of G-d, he practiced lovingkindness and truth towards his fellow men.

Witness his magnanimity in his treatment of Lot; his fine independence in the refusal to accept any of the spoils won by the men of his household; his benevolence in the reception of strangers; his stand for justice, when pleading for the doomed cities; and his all-embracing human pity, which extended even to those who had forfeited all claim to human pity.

Finally, the closing stage of his life shows his anxiety that the spiritual treasures he acquired be transmitted unimpaired through his son to future generations. He is the prototype of what the Jew should aim at being. he divine exhortation addressed to Israel is in Isaiah 51:1-2: “Look at Abraham your father and at Sarah who bore you, for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed

Avraham is the only person described in the bible as ‘echad.’

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him and made him many.”

Avraham is the only person described in the bible as “Echad” — one. The only figure other than G-d to get such a title (see the Shema).

In Ezekiel 33:24 we are told, “Son of man, the dwellers of these ruins on the soil of Israel speak, saying: Abraham was one, and he inherited the land, and we are many — the land has [surely] been given to us for an inheritance.”

Avraham was Echad — the innovator who set the tone for what godlike existence … what Rabbi Hertz called the prototype.

And on the other hand, we have a different perspective about Avraham that should give us pause to think what our lives are about. Isaiah prophesied about a time when the needy will no longer need assistance (Isaiah 29:20-24).

In that section, the prophet throws in an aside, “Therefore, so said the L-rd to the House of Jacob, Who redeemed Abraham…”

What could the verse be telling us when it says Avraham was redeemed by Yaakov?

See Prototype on page 21

Continued from page 20 1967. Among these experiences were those that he had in the conquest of Hebron in a chapter entitled, “Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs.” His firsthand accounts are among the very few to have been written by someone who fully understood the spiritual significance of this conquest. With the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Six Day War next spring, I suggest giving this memoir by Rav Goren your attention.

Another work worth your attention is “Between the Lines of the Bible: Recapturing the Full Meaning of the Biblical Text” (UO Press/Urim Publications, 2015), by Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom.

Of timely importance is Rabbi Etshalom’s rather cerebral treatment of the Biblical text dealing with Hebron, specifically, chapter 12, “From Hebron to Sodom,” and chapter 14, “ Purchase of Machpelah: Historical Background and Archaeological Evidence as Tools of Interpretation.”

Alan Jay Gerber is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

Legacy...

Continued from page 20 correct interpretation of this verse is that] at first Abraham sent Eliezer to see if there were any potential guests traveling on their way — and he did not believe him when he stated there was no one to be found. Therefore, Abraham, himself, went to ascertain whether or not he might be able to find any [desert travelers].” iven Abraham’s pronounced emphasis on chesed, Eliezer knew that this was the middah Rebecca needed to demonstrate if she was to be deemed worthy to enter his master’s family. Thus the Torah states: And Eliezer said, “O L-rd, the G-d of my master

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Prototype...

Continued from page 20 The Midrash Rabba (63:2) says “Avraham was saved from the fiery furnace on account of the merit of Yaakov. In other words, the Midrash explains, G-d knowing the future is what saved Avraham, because He knew Yaakov was to be born.

There are two choices in front of us when we think of modeling a life after Avraham: The first is to be the first — or to model the path set for us by Avraham, each in our own way. I’m going to be an innovator. I’m going to connect with G-d on my terms, in my way.

The second is to pause and reflect what purpose our lives serve. Perhaps some of us are here in the merit of someone who descends from me, whom I may or may not meet in my lifetime. It is my duty to set a good example, to become a legacy that people speak fondly of not only when I’m alive, but even more so when I’m gone. It is the people who leave legacies, as Avraham did, who find a way to live forever.

Avraham’s life mission was to get close to G-d, to have a child with whom he could share his spiritual legacy, and to teach his children about righteousness and justice. There are movements today that call for justice (in some cases referring to the non-prosecution of a crime), but they neglect to focus on the need for righteousness among the same people for whom they seek “justice.” This is disingenuous and does not promote society’s advancement, instead bringing down those who could otherwise be making positive contributions to society.

May we merit to live up to the two lessons we learn from Avraham. To continue the tradition set by Avraham, the prototype, in our relationship with G-d. And to live up to the legacy we are meant to transmit to those whose future existence may have redeemed our own existence.

Rabbi Avi Billet is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

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Luach Fri. Nov. 25 • 24 Cheshvan Parsha Chaya Sara Shabbos Mevarchim

Candlelighting: 4:12 pm

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Continued from page 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

875544

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

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

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

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

871093

JEWISH STAR January 1, 2016 • 20 Tevet 5776 THE

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

• 20 Tevet 5776 THE JEWISH STAR January 1, 2016

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THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

Hebron...

Abraham, please cause to happen to me today, and perform loving-kindness with my master, Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the water fountain, and the daughters of the people of the city are coming out to draw water. And it will be, [that] the maiden to whom I will say, ‘Lower your pitcher and I will drink’ and she will say, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels,’ she is the one that You designated for Your servant, for Isaac, and through her may I know that You have performed lovingkindness with my master.” (24:12-14) The Be’er Mayim Chaim explicates this passage in the following manner: Given the unique import of chesed in Abraham’s family, Eliezer “wanted to test Rebecca as to whether or not she was a practitioner of loving-kindness, for only if this were to be the case would she be fitting to enter the house of Abraham. Therefore, if he would say to her, ‘Please give me a little bit of water to drink,’ and she would respond, ‘Drink and I will also provide water for your camels’ [more than that which was requested], then, You [Hashem] will have proven incontrovertibly that she has the ethical characteristic of loving-kindness within her.”

The Be’er Mayim Chaim concludes his penetrating analysis with a deep insight into the genuine nature of chesed, “The authentic sign of gemilut chasadim (loving-kindness) is that one runs after the unfortunate and dispirited [to help them], and if such an individual should come on their own — one goes beyond their immediate request [in order to truly provide for their needs].” Rebecca was just such a person and was, therefore, privileged to become one of the great matriarchs of the Jewish people.

Our Sages teach us that the middah of chesed is one of the constitutive elements of the Jewish people (Talmud Bavli, Yevamot 79a). Therefore, with Hashem’s help, and with Abraham’s and Rebecca’s example ever before us, may we pursue lives that represent the highest level of true gemilut chasadim. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Rabbi David Etengoff is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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The illiberal world of Stephen Bannon Ben Cohen Viewpoint

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n considering the furor around Presidentelect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Stephen Bannon, the CEO of the hard-right news website Breitbart, as his chief strategist, let’s start with the perspective of those who have defended him.

On one important level, their anger over the Bannon spat is justified. It is galling to see the behemoths of the liberal left, from MoveOn.org to the New York Times, suddenly discover the threat of anti-Semitism after showing general indifference to its resurgence in public life during the last 16 years.

Simply put, their negative feelings towards Israel got in the way of acknowledging that larger reality; but as Israel isn’t a factor in the case of Bannon, they can level the accusation of anti-Semitism safely, untainted by any association with the Jewish state or its so-called “occupation” of Palestinian territories.

On top of that, there is no meaningful record of statements or actions on Bannon’s part to convict him of the charge of being, on a personal level, anti-Semitic. And since Americans tend to understand anti-Semitism as suggestive of a character defect, it is not surprising that many people also interpreted the attacks upon Bannon as a low blow against his boss, the incoming president.

It’s at precisely this juncture, however, that the Bannon quarrel has gone awry. The issue was never really about Bannon’s own sensibili-

ties, and in fairness, that was never the focus of the much-discussed Anti-Defamation League (ADL) statement on Bannon released Nov 13.

What the ADL said is that Bannon “presides” over the “premier website” of the “alt-right,” which it then defined as “a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists.”

This raised the legitimate question of whether a man with such associations is suited to one of the county’s top political appointments — whether he can be one of the unifying figures this country needs. But that is not the discussion we have had these past days.

David Hirsh, the British academic who has played a key intellectual role in confronting the academic boycott of Israel, put forward a better standard with which to make a judgment at the ADL’s “Never is Now” Summit on Anti-Semitism, held in New York Nov. 17. He said Bannon’s case reminds us that “anti-Semitism is about politics, not personal moral failure.”

In the debate about Bannon, there seems to be an assumption among his supporters that nobody as implacably opposed as he is to the progressive left — powerful elements of which have allied with Islamists, and enabled the spread of anti-Semitic discourse in the guise of anti-Zionism — could possibly share any of their flaws.

As a result, Bannon’s defenders adopt many of the same rhetorical tactics that left-wing

anti-Zionists deploy when confronted with the charge of anti-Semitism; listing their Jewish political comrades or friends or relatives, decrying reputational smears without foundation, asserting their fondness for Jewish culture, and so on.

In rushing to Bannon’s aid, they overlook the deeper historical truth that anti-Semitism has always been promiscuous, finding favor on right and left. Yet in their alternative imagining, anti-Semitism is solely a problem of the political left. et me offer a brief explanation of why some aspects of Bannon’s intellectual universe should be of concern to anyone who cares about the basic social empathies that are needed to sustain democracy — the same empathies, I would add, that have been badly damaged by the growth of identity politics on left and right.

Take Bannon’s own ideas, insofar as they were set out in a talk he gave to a group of European right-wingers gathered at the Vatican in 2014. In his address, he outlined a vision of a world order based on “strong countries” with “strong nationalist movements.”

Bannon does not explain what he means by “strong” here, but the implications are disconcerting. Not least, it begs the question of how one defines and organizes a “nationalist” politics in nations that have achieved independence. In European nations, over the last three decades, the answer has crystallized in twin resistance against liberal immigration policies and the

Voices arguing that ‘Russia tried democracy and it didn’t work, now we should try it their way,’ will grow louder and less exotic.

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cross-border institutions of the European Union.

The corresponding political goal is for nation states to reign supreme on trade and defense and — critically — on regional spheres of influence. In this climate, both liberal democracy and its American example will cease to be posited as a system superior to other forms of government.

As strong as these nationalist movements can hope to be, they will never enjoy periods of harmony or consensus when in government — unless they enforce it. Democratic politics will therefore become an ugly confrontation marked by terse and coarse exchanges, character assassination, rewards for doctrinal orthodoxy, retribution for dissent, and dangerous polarization between the races and ethnicities and religions that compose our society.

Many of the world’s illiberal and authoritarian states will become our friends and trading partners, and our newfound tolerance of their norms will eventually come into conflict with the maintenance of our own. I have no doubt that voices arguing that “Russia tried democracy and it didn’t work, now we should try it their way,” will grow louder and less exotic.

Is it possible to conjure up a more benign vision of a world in which the democracies are represented by Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and, perhaps, future French President Marine Le Pen, at the same time as authoritarians like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan become sustainedly more oppressive? Suffice to say, this prospect is what girds the widespread apprehension over what the next four years have in store — and there is perhaps no better emblem of that, for now, than Stephen Bannon.

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org, is a columnist for JNS.org.

Keith Ellison and Dem abandonment of its Jews Jeff Dunetz politics to go

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innesota Rep. Keith Ellison is a leading contender to become the new chairman of the Democratic Party. He’s garnered endorsements from party leaders such as Senator Charles Schumer of New York, Senator

Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as President Obama.

A supporter of Lewis Farrakhan with a track record of being both anti-Israel and anti-Semetic, should Ellison garner the spot it would be another signal of the Democratic Party moving to become the anti-Israel party, something urged in 2011 by the Center for American Progress.

As Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post recently wrote, “Ellison’s association with the Nation of Islam dated back at least since 1989

and stretched at least until 1998. During that period, he not only knew about the Nation of Islam’s Jew hatred, he engaged in it himself.”

During Ellison’s run for congress in 2006, the Washington Post reported that he had defended Farrakhan against accusations of anti-Semitism in 1989 and 1990 and also called for reparations for slavery (referring to affirmative action as a “sneaky” form of compensation.

During Ellison’s initial congressional campaign, Scott Johnson (of the well-respected Power Line website) exposed Ellison’s anti-Sem-

itism and work with Louis Farrakhan in a piece for the Weekly Standard. Johnson described an incident that occurred in February 1997 when Ellison was a practicing attorney: “Ellison appeared as a local spokesman for the Nation of Islam with the last name ‘Muhammad.’ He spoke at a public hearing in connection with a controversy involving Joanne Jackson of the Minnesota Initiative Against Racism (MIAR). Jackson was alleged to have said, ‘Jews are among the most racist white See Ellison on page 23

Continued from page 22 people I know.’ Jackson denied making the statement or insisted that it had been taken out of context. Ellison appeared before the MIAR on behalf of the Nation of Islam in defense of Jackson’s alleged statement.” ohnson used excerpts of Ellison’s statement printed in the Minnesota Star-Tribune, and the full text of the statement published in the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder, to report that Ellison said, “We stand by the truth contained in the remarks attributed to [Ms. Jackson], and by her right to express her views without sanction.”

He finished his comments with, “Also, it is absolutely true that merchants in black areas generally treat black customers badly.”

The last sentence alluded to another of Jackson’s alleged statements, providing a personal basis for characterizing Jews as “the most racist white people” she knew.

Since entering Congress, Ellison has used every opportunity to slam Israel.

For example, in 2010, he convinced 53 other Democratic congresspersons to sign the infamous “Gaza 54” letter to President Obama, which falsely accused Israel of wreaking “collective punishment” on Gaza residents and demanded that President Obama pressure Israel to lift the Gaza blockade.

In 2014, Ellison was one of only eight members of Congress to vote against a bi-partisan bill to provide $225 million for Israel’s “Iron dome” missile defense system (395 voted for it).

Ellison has been a featured keynote speaker at

Will American Jewry, which overwhelmingly supports the Democratic Party, finally wake up and smell the truth.

Jared Kushner defended his fatherin-law, President-elect Donald Trump, against accusations of racism and antiSemitism, telling Forbes that Trump’s history proves he was not racist or antiSemitic.

“You can’t not be a racist for 69 years, then all of a sudden become a racist, right?” Kushner told the magazine. “You can’t not be an anti-Semite for 69 years and all of a sudden become an anti-Semite because you’re running.”

Kushner said time would show that Trump, 70, would not allow “hateful rhetoric or behavior” in his administration.

“I just know a lot of the things that people try to attack him with are just not true or overblown or exaggerations. I know his character. I know who he is, and I obviously would not have supported him if I thought otherwise. If the country gives him a chance, they’ll find he won’t tolerate hateful rhetoric or behavior,” Kushner said.

Kushner, the scion of a prominent Orthodox Jewish real estate family from is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka.

The Forbes article also noted that among object displayed in the offices of Kushner Companies, of which Kushner is CEO, are a leather-bound copy of Pirkei Avot in the reception room and silver mezuzahs on office doors, and the boardroom features an oil painting of his Shoah survivor grandparents. JTA

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Kushner: Trump’s no anti-Semite

23 THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

Ellison...

REP. KEITH ELLISON: Occupation.

AMY GOODMAN: That they’re not using the word “occupation”?

REP. KEITH ELLISON: Right. I think that there is a humanitarian crisis going on in Gaza. In fact, you know, the — because of the electricity power plant has been destroyed, the sewage is not being processed, and raw sewage is going up into the Mediterranean. In fact, it’s so bad that it’s flowing up into north, and the Israeli desalinization plant is not able to use its — that plant, because of the sewage that is in the Mediterranean coming from Gaza, because Gaza cannot process their own sewage at this point, because of the horrible situation that is going on there.

What the Ellison forces did accomplish was to keep these four pro-Israel planks removed in 2012 from being reinserted in 2016, including these: • The United States and its Quartet partners should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements.

• The creation of a Palestinian state through final status negotiations, together with an international compensation mechanism, should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel.

• All understand that it is unrealistic to expect the outcome of final status negotiations to be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.

In 2011, Politico reported that the Center For American Progress, which at the time was run by Hillary Clinton’s future campaign manager John Podesta, was fighting with the more mainstream Democrats about Israel. They want to change the party to the anti-Israel party. When one considers the “walk-backs” to the 2012 platform which were maintained in 2016 and the support for the antiIsrael, anti-Semitic Keith Ellison for the chairman of the Democratic Party, it seems as if the Center for American Progress is getting its way.

The only remaining question is will American Jewry, which overwhelmingly (and sometimes blindly) supports the Democratic Party, finally wake up and smell the truth.

Jeff Dunetz is a columnist for The Jewish Star.

many BDS events, and there are many more examples of his anti-Israel and anti-Semitic actions.

Interestingly, while the Anti-Defamation League has made very public claims of anti-Semitism against Trump adviser Stephen Bannon based on one unsubstantiated charge by his ex-wife, the ADL has been silent about the possible election of Ellison as DNC chair despite his track record of defending Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism, making anti-Jewish comments of his own, and his antiIsrael actions in the Congress. But then again, in 2011 the ADL asked Jews to pledge not to criticize Barack Obama’s anti-Israel policies. Their treatment of Bannon vs. Ellison reinforces the ADL’s image as caring more about protecting progressive politics than protecting the Jewish people.

Ellison was on the 2016 Democratic Party platform committee and tried to insert language criticizing Israel for her “occupation” of Palestinian lands. Ellison’s attempt was defeated by Clinton supporters, possibly because they feared the language would cause Jewish donors and voters to recognize the former secretary of state’s history of opposing Israel. After his defeat in the platform committee, Ellison, in an interview with NPR’s Amy Goodman, mourned his loss of the occupation plank, and threw in some lies about the Jewish state and Gaza for good measure: REP. KEITH ELLISON: Well, I think that it is important that, you know, the United States state that we don’t think that the occupation of the — what will be the Palestinian state should continue. I don’t think there’s any fear of using the O-word, if you will. I mean, Ariel Sharon used it. You know, the U.N. uses it. I mean, it’s a commonly used phrase to describe what’s going on. I think we could have also made some stronger statements about the— AMY GOODMAN: What is that word?

With Ellison’s ascent, Dems redefine ‘pro-Israel’

By Ron Kampeas, JTA WASHINGTON — The most shocking thing about talk of Keith Ellison’s Israel record as he rises within the Democratic Party is how few think it’s shocking.

Rep. Ellison, D-Minn., is a leading contender for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, despite a record of tough criticism of Israel that pro-Israel insiders say would easily have disqualified him a decade ago. (More on Ellison on pages 5 and 22.)

That he is being seriously considered now — and with the backing of the party’s foremost proIsrael stalwart, incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer of New York — is a signal of how far the party is willing to go in challenging the pro-Israel community, a relationship that not so long ago was hard to disentangle.

“It sends the wrong symbol for someone with those views to take a leadership role in the Democratic Party, especially since the party has been struggling with Israel,” said Abraham Foxman, the retired national director of the Anti-Defamation League, giving voice to what many establishment pro-Israel figures are saying without attribution. “Israel has always been a bipartisan issue; this makes it less of one.”

Steven M. Cohen, a professor of Jewish social policy at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, said Ellison’s ascent is emblematic of a party seeking to attract younger voters likelier to identify with the Palestinians than with Israel, or at least to see the conflict from both sides.

“One can imagine that young Democrats would have no problem with Ellison as chairing their party,” Cohen said. “The pressure is on the pro-Israel community to broaden the definition of pro-Israel to include people who oppose settlement expansion and who favor a far more inclusive approach that takes into ac-

ANALYSIS count Palestinian nationalism.”

An operative who straddles the Jewish and Democratic worlds said the relative nonchalance greeting Ellison — the hawkish Zionist Organization of America was among the few groups to issue a statement vehemently opposed to his leadership — should not come as a shock to the pro-Israel community after eight years of tensions with President Barack Obama.

“The legacy pro-Israel groups are not at the table,” the operative said, asking not to be named to protect his relationships with the Jewish groups. “If you burn all those bridges, saying ‘either you’re for Israel’s survival or against it,’ this is the consequence.”

Susan Turnbull, a former vice-chairwoman of the DNC and a former chairwoman of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, cautioned that Ellison was hardly a done deal. There were other promising candidates, including Howard Dean, who helmed the party in the late 2000s, leading it to two congressional wins; Ilyse Hogue, the Jewish president of NARAL-Pro Choice America, the abortion rights group; and Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the state party in South Carolina.

She said Schumer’s backing for Ellison was an attempt to heal the wounds of a divisive primary season, with Schumer representing the establishment that backed the eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, and Ellison representing the progressives who backed the insurgent campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Turnbull said the state party leaders and officials who vote for the DNC chair might not

take well to Schumer’s preference, and also may prefer a chair who can deliver full time as opposed to representing a congressional district. She recalled simmering resentments at the previous chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who often was seen as distracted by her congressional career.

Additionally, Ellison’s bid has little to nothing to do with foreign policy he’s been baffled by the Israel questions he’s received, party insiders say. Instead, he’s focused on reviving the party after its devastating losses on Election Day and rebuilding its grassroots support among the working class.

Still, Ellison’s history with Israel has become an issue, if only because it features so prominently in his biography.

“The fact that Representative Keith Ellison is even being considered as a serious candidate to lead the Democrat Party tells you how radical and far out of the mainstream they’ve become,” said Fred Brown, the spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition.

There are two chapters to Ellison’s record on Jews and Israel: Before he made history in 2006 as the first Muslim elected to Congress, and after.

Ellison apologized in detail and made clear he has renounced the “before,” which included a stint in the 1990s with the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam. “I have long since distanced myself from and rejected the Nation of Islam due to its propagation of bigoted and anti-Semitic statements and actions of the Nation of Islam, [its leader] Louis Farrakhan, and [Farrakhan’s late assistant] Khalid Muhammed,” he wrote in a two-page letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas in May 2006, after he won the Democratic primary.

Republicans and conservatives still evoke

that period in attacking Ellison. For Democrats, liberal Jewish groups and the local Minneapolis Jewish community, it is ancient history. He has close and friendly relations with the community there, and has become a robust voice speaking out to Muslims against anti-Semitism within their ranks.

The period since is still troubling, though, for some sectors of the pro-Israel community.

In 2009, Ellison spear-headed a letter from 54 Democrats to Obama urging him to press Israel to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The letter acknowledged Israel’s security needs after the Gaza war, but said the country’s government was overstating them and suggested it was being punitive.

The same year, he sought to accommodate a more sympathetic reading of the United Nations Goldstone report on the war, while acknowledging it was flawed. Israel, the centrist pro-Israel community and most of the Congress rejected the report as a one-sided attack on Israel and its right to self-defense.

In 2014, he was one of only eight members of Congress who voted against additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system, saying he preferred to devote American energies to brokering a cease-fire.

And this year he was one of three appointees named by Sanders to the party’s platform drafting committee. All three sought, unsuccessfully, to change its language to be explicitly critical of Israel’s West Bank occupation.

That venture especially worried centrist pro-Israel groups, particularly because the Princeton University philosopher Cornel West, one of the other pro-Palestinian advocates, had passionately embraced the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

This analysis continues at TheJewishStar.com

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

24

commentarY

By Rabbis Marc Angel and Avi Weiss

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A

A women converts to Judaism in front of a three-judge beth din court in Jerusalem.

courts in 2008. No longer would the RCA vouch for conversions performed by its members. Only those conducted by rabbis from the newly formed courts would be approved by the RCA. n an article we wrote in March 2008, we argued that the new system would raise questions concerning conversions done prior to GPS. It read: “What is most troubling is that conversions, done years ago with the informal backing of the RCA, are now being scrutinized. This, we believe, strikes at the very ethical fabric of halacha. Over the years, thousands of people have been halachically converted, and now they and their children, and for that matter their marriages, will all be questioned. The pain that this will cause the convert, a person whom the Torah commands to love, will be unbearable.”

The RCA, clearly stung by this criticism, responded a day later, dismissing our concerns.

“Public written statements over the last few days have raised questions regarding the status of conversions performed by RCA rabbis in the past, and whether all such converts would be subject to special re-evaluation or scrutiny by the RCA or by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate,” the organization wrote in a statement. “There is nothing in the RCA/ GPS protocol for conversions that implies or states such a thing, and there was and is no intention to review or scrutinize, much less nullify, previous conversions. All conversions performed by RCA member rabbis that were considered valid in the past will continue to be considered valid in the future.”

Therefore, it was with deep pain that we read a statement issued recently by the current chairman of the GPS conversion pro-

I

Flash90

gram responding to media reports that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel had rejected several conversions done by leading Orthodox rabbis associated with the RCA beth din. The chairman explained that the RCA had an understanding with the Chief Rabbinate that all GPS conversions were valid. The conversions in question were performed prior to the creation of the GPS system, concerning which the Beth Din of America issued an ishur, a legal attestation, confirming their validity.

The statement went on to say that the RCA was taking “affirmative steps … in consultation with the office of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel to provide greater assurances to those who converted outside of the GPS network of Batei Din and received ishurim from the Beth Din of America.”

Summing up the RCA position, the chairman wrote: “The Rabbinical Council of America stands behind every GPS conversion as well as every ishur issued to converts by the Beth Din of America, and recognizes all such converts and their children to be an integral part of the Jewish people, no less than every other Jewish person, including the community of RCA Rabbis and our families.”

This statement makes the position of the RCA clear: It will not stand behind the conversions performed by its members prior to the establishment of the GPS system unless those conversions receive an ishur by the heads of the Beth Din of America.

This is a major deflection from the RCA’s prior promise. Conversions done prior to the GPS system never involved the RCA Beth Din. Now an ishur from the Beth Din of America is required. For the RCA, this ishur will not only be necessary to prove the bona fides of conversions for the Israeli Rabbinate,

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et us begin with the facts: Converts whose conversions were conducted according to halacha are 100 percent Jewish.

In the eyes of G-d and Torah, they are full Jews, just as Jewish as any born Jews. Their Jewishness is not contingent on the Israeli Chief Rabbinate or anyone else. Halachic converts are Jewish, their children are Jewish, they are obligated to fulfill the mitzvot like all other Jews.

Anyone who casts aspersions on the Jewish status of these converts is in violation of one of the most important laws in the Torah: not to oppress the convert.

Yet there are those who raise doubts about halachic converts. With a heavy heart, we note that Modern Orthodoxy’s Rabbinical Council of America is doing just that. Jews who were converted by RCA rabbis prior to its institution of a centralized conversion system in 2008 known as GPS (Geirus Policies and Standards) should beware — their conversions are now being questioned by the RCA itself. This affects not only them but their progeny as well.

Let us explain: Prior to GPS, members of the RCA routinely convened a beth din and performed conversions. Converts who desired to marry in Israel would turn to the Chief Rabbinate there, through which all Israeli marriages are performed. To assure that an RCA rabbi’s conversion was valid, the Israeli Rabbinate would consult the RCA leadership to ascertain the conversion’s validity. The leadership of the RCA would pro forma verify that the RCA rabbis who performed the conversions were members in good standing, knowledgeable and reliable.

This would be good enough for the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. In America, too, when leaders of synagogues and day schools were unfamiliar with the converting rabbi, they would seek similar confirmation from the RCA. As rabbis of large synagogues for many decades, scores of our conversions were approved over the years by RCA leadership. We know firsthand that there are countless other rabbis whose conversions were similarly approved.

This longstanding process was shattered when the Israeli Chief Rabbinate proclaimed in 2006 that even if a RCA rabbi’s conversion was confirmed by the RCA leadership, it would not be sufficient.

Regrettably, the RCA chose to “make peace” with the Chief Rabbinate by establishing the GPS system of centralized rabbinical

but for Orthodox synagogues and schools in America, as well.

One wonders what the Beth Din of America will require from the rabbi to issue the ishur.

Will it investigate the religious bona fides — as they now define them — of every converting rabbi? How far will the court go back and how deep will it dig? There were RCA rabbis in the 1950s whose synagogues hosted mixed dances. There were rabbis who were sent by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the era’s revered leader of modern Orthodoxy, to mixed-seating congregations in the ’60s and ’70s. Will all of these conversions be invalidated? nd how about the convert? Will nonobservance nullify the conversion retroactively? Suppose the convert seeking the ishur is no longer observant. Or suppose the convert’s grandson or granddaughter who is not observant is seeking the ishur. The RCA has a responsibility to be fully transparent and answer these questions.

Any pre-GPS convert will not be pro forma accepted as a valid convert. If the Beth Din of America feels the convert does not meet its standards, for whatever reason, the ishur will not be issued. With this development, many thousands of people who were converted by RCA rabbis and are fully halachic Jews are now having their status as Jews thrown into doubt. This is a great travesty. Converts with whom we have had contact feel betrayed.

It must also be added that not only is the RCA casting doubt on conversions done prior to GPS, it is also sending a message that conversions done today by Modern Orthodox rabbis outside of GPS are questionable. This is precisely what happened in the recent case of the highly respected Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of New York, when a conversion he performed outside of GPS was turned down by the Israeli Rabbinate, resulting in grave anguish not only to one of the great Modern Orthodox rabbis of our time, but to the convert herself.

By invalidating halachic conversions, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate continues on the path of alienating the masses of Jews in Israel.

In linking itself to the Chief Rabbinate, the RCA undermines its credibility as an honest broker relative to conversions, placing power politics ahead of its responsibility to the Jewish people.

Rabbis Avi Weiss and Marc Angel are cofounders of the International Rabbinic Fellowship. Rabbi Angel, a past president of the RCA, is rabbi emeritus of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue and founder of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Rabbi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat. Rabbi Weiss withdrew from RCA membership in 2015.

Distributed by JTA.

THE JEWISH STAR November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777

2 Mod Orth rabbis caution over pre-’08 conversions

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November 25, 2016 • 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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Hamas man thinks $-loving Trump may be a Jew A senior official from the Palestinian terror group Hamas believes Presidentelect Donald Trump is secretly Jewish due to Trump’s love for money.

“Trump loves the Jews, and not only because he likes the Jewish religion. I do not rule out the possibility that he is a Jew,” Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar told AlJazeera earlier this month, according to a new report from the Middle East Media Research Institute.

“He loves the Jewish religion,” al-Zahar added, “and the most important thing in the Jewish religion is Jewish money.” JNS.org

ISRAEL briefs the [Palestinian] Authority is not helping them” on that environmental issue. JNS.org

Bibi bars contacts with Trump’s team

IDF Lone Soldiers deployed to fight BDS The Gideon Project is enlisting Israel Defense Forces lone soldiers as volunteers to combat the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The lone soldiers (those without immediate family in Israel) will deliver lectures on college campuses in which they will underscore Palestinian leaders’ human rights violations within Palestinian society. The soldiers will argue that supporting the Palestinian leadership encourages oppression, abuse, and acts of retaliation against Palestinian civilians.

“We have to take an active approach and work to persuade others through a conviction in the justness of our path,” said Amit Deri, chairman of Reservists at the Front. JNS.org

Through FIDF, getting a taste of Israel army life More than 70 leaders and supporters of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) traveled to Israel on a weeklong mission for a firsthand glimpse at the day-to-day impact their support has on the IDF. The visit included trips to FIDF-sponsored well-being and educational facilities on 11 IDF bases as well as meeting with FIDF program beneficiaries, including lone soldiers and those supported by FIDF scholarships.

“For FIDF supporters, this was the best way to witness and experience the impact of their life-changing contributions that build a better future for the state of Israel,” said FIDF National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir. “It was also a chance for us to personally thank the IDF soldiers for their service, and to learn more about how we can enhance their well-being and stand by their sides at all times.” JNS.org

Gay protest in Jerusalem over rabbi’s condemnation Activists hung a gay pride flag outside the office of the chief rabbi of Jerusalem days after he called homosexuality an “abomination.”

The rainbow flag was hung overnight Saturday and a rainbow was drawn in chalk on the street in front of the entrance to the building of the Jerusalem Chief Rabbinate, headed by Shlomo Amar. Police were investigating the incident. On Sunday afternoon, protesters gathered in front of the downtown Jerusalem building.

Amar made anti-gay comments in an interview published Friday in Israel Hayom.

“I call on them, in warm and friendly language, to leave their bad path. The Torah has forbidden it [homosexuality] and calls it an abomination,” Amar said. “It is a cult of abomination. It is clear that it is abomination. The Torah punishes it with death.”

Havdalah at FIDF’s leadership mission to Israel. See story in Israel Briefs.

“There is no such thing as having understanding or tolerance for this,” Amar said.

JTA

Hadassah links to Christian Hispanics to support Israel Hadassah, the women’s Zionist organization, has allied with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and its subsidiary, the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition, to mobilize Hispanic evangelical Christians in support of the Hadassah Medical Organization’s humanitarian efforts in Israel.

The partnership will formally launch with an Israel Solidarity Day celebration Dec. 4, where there NHCLC and HILC will invite their pastors, churches and congregations nationwide to participate in a day of special offering in support of Hadassah’s Emergency Preparedness Center at its Jerusalem-based hospital.

The conference calls itself the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization.

Their “support and engagement will play a vital role in HMO’s ability to continue to provide world-class medical care to the people of Israel and beyond,” said Hadassah National President Ellen Hershkin. JNS.org

Rivlin touts Israel’s trade link to India Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in New Delhi that “India is our most important trade partner.”

Rivlin, on an official state trip to the South Asian nation, heard about the Israeli defense companies’ activities and challenges in India while sharing his positive impressions from his visit.

At the outset of a joint Israel-India Innovative Partnership seminar, Rivlin said, “In the last two years, trade relations between Israel and India have increased remarkably.”

Later, Rivlin visited the Mumbai Chabad House where six people were killed in a terror attack eight years ago.

Rivlin and his wife, Nechama, went up to the room which belonged to Moshe Holtzberg, the son of killed Chabad emissaries Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, who was rescued on the day of the attack by the family’s nanny, Sandra Samuel.

The Chabad House attack was one of several attacks on Mumbai sites over four days in November 2008 by a Pakistani Islamist group that left 166 dead and hundreds injured. In addition to the Holtzbergs, four other Jewish visitors to the Chabad House were killed in the attack. JNS.org

Israel aids Birthright biz and tech program The Israeli government will fund onethird of a Birthright Israel program for students interested in business and technology. The Birthright Israel Excel program was launched in 2011 and includes an all-expense paid 10-week internship in Israel.

The Excel program connects high-performing college students and recent graduates with leading businesspeople in Israel.

The program offers opportunities to work in a wide range of fields including finance, venture capital, consulting, cybersecurity, hightech, bio-tech and venture creation. More than 230 young adults have participated to date and the program is currently supported by the Steinhardt Family Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Paul E. Singer Foundation.

A new Ventures track was launched this year, which focuses on entrepreneurs. Ventures participants work in an accelerator environment starting from initial creation to an early stage proof of concept and are mentored by leading figures in the Israeli startup community.

Since 2000, Birthright Israel has provided free trips to more than 500,000 Jewish young adults aged 18 to 26 with the goal of strengthening Jewish identity, facilitating cultural understanding and fostering solidarity with Israel and its people. JTA

Israeli minister rips PA’s politicizing climate talks Israel’s environmental minister slammed the Palestinian Authority for attempting to politicize a United Nations conference on climate change.

During his address to the conference in Morocco, PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah accused Israel of polluting the environment in the West Bank by constructing factories.

Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin countered: “I could provide you with many examples, but I will just give one from last month: The Palestinians are attempting to build a cement factory on a nature reserve. This is being promoted by the Palestinian Authority for the simple reason that it serves the interests of Abu Mazen’s (PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s) sons,” he said.

Elkin added regarding the PA-initiated cement factory that Palestinian civilians “even turned to us, the Israelis, for help because

Prime Minister Netanyahu has forbidden all government ministers from contacting the new administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

A letter distributed to all cabinet members on Monday instructed government ministers to request permission to make contact through the Prime Minister’s Office or the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

Haaretz reported, citing an unnamed senior official in Jerusalem, that the letter comes after “an attempt by some unauthorized persons to meet with senior members in the new administration.”

The newspaper identified Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister and head of the Jewish Home party, who had planned to see Trump’s chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon at a dinner in New York, and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home party, who sent a congratulatory letter to Bannon that was published on the Breitbart news website, which Bannon used to head.

Last week, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer met with the president-elect and his senior advisors at Trump Tower in New York.

Immediately following Trump’s election, Netanyahu cautioned members of his government to stop publicly discussing the results. JTA

Bibi top Ben-G’s record for consecutive term Prime Minister Netanyahu has broken David Ben-Gurion’s record as the prime minister who served the longest consecutive term in Israel’s history.

As of Tuesday, Netanyahu had served 2,793 days — or seven years and 236 days — besting Ben-Gurion’s 2,790-day record, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.

Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first prime minister.

Netanyahu’s record includes three terms in office after he was reelected in 2009, 2013 and 2015. He previously served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999. JTA

Palestinian tries to knife Israeli guard and is killed A Palestinian man was shot and killed after trying to stab an Israeli security guard at a checkpoint.

The assailant pulled out a knife and approached a security guard at the Qalandiyah checkpoint near Jerusalem, according to the Israel Police. The guard and the assailant engaged in a fistfight before the Palestinian was shot and killed by police, police said. No one else was reported injured in the attack. JTA

Unemployment drops to 30 year low: 4.5 percent Israel’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in October, marking a three-decade low, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported Monday. This figure represents a 0.5-percent drop from September’s jobless rates, which stood at 5 percent.

Men’s jobless rates were set at 3.8 percent, and among women in this age group unemployment was at 4.1 percent. JNS.org

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November 25, 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ 24 Cheshvan 5777 THE JEWISH STAR

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