Jewish News July 18, 2016

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Top officials put a Jewish stamp on the Rio Olympics Marcus Moraes

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA)—Mazel tov! That’s perhaps how the big shots in charge of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the first to take place in South America, will toast victories when the competition gets underway Aug. 5. Three of the top officials of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, including its president, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, are Jewish. But in the run-up to the games, there have been more “oy gevalts” than mazel tovs as organizers deal with reports of unfinished venues, polluted swimming and sailing sites and, most of all, concerns about the mosquito-borne Zika virus. In an interview with JTA, Nuzman says the number of Zika cases in Rio have dropped sharply in recent weeks, and are expected to fall even further during the dry months of the Brazilian winter, as Rio 2016 organizers emphasized at a news conference on June 7. And, the World Health Organization says there is no public health justification for postponing or canceling the Games. “None of the top athletes have declared not to come. If there’s a second-layer one who won’t come, good for him,” an irritated Nuzman says. One of Brazil’s most prominent sports figures, Nuzman, 77, is a former president of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation and has been president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee since 1995. Nuzman prefers to talk about the robust Jewish connections at the games, including a ceremony to honor the 11 Israelis murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics in 1972, the Israeli company that is providing security for the games and his own deep ties—as an athlete, sporting official and Jew—to Brazilian sports. “My connection with Judaism and with Israel is through sports,” says Nuzman, who was part of the first Brazilian male volleyball team in 1964 when the sport debuted at the Olympic Games. “I started my career playing at the Brazilian Israelite 2 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

Club and I have attended four Maccabiah Games in Israel.” The grandson of Russian immigrants, Nuzman was born in Rio, home to an estimated 25,000 Jews. He is an active member of the 440-family Conservative synagogue Congregacao Judaica do Brasil led by Rabbi Nilton Bonder, his nephew. Nuzman’s father, Izaak, presided over the Rio Jewish federation, the Hebraica Club and the local Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal. “He was one the greatest leaders of our Jewish community. He brought [David] Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir to Brazil,” Nuzman boasts, noting the late prime ministers of Israel. Nuzman relies on other prominent members of the local Jewish community as deputies. Sidney Levy, a business executive, is the Rio 2016 committee’s chief executive officer and has a $2.2 billion budget to manage. Leonardo Gryner, a communications and marketing director who was part of the Rio 2016 bid, is deputy CEO. “I have no connection to sports at all,” Levy said in an interview published at the Keren Hayesod webpage. “My duty is totally business-related.” The Jewish trio at the helm of Rio 2016 is behind the ceremony to honor the Munich victims. The Aug. 14 event at Rio’s City Hall will be co-led by the International Olympic Committee along with the Olympic committees of Israel and Brazil. Four yeas ago, the IOC rejected appeals for a moment of silence at the opening ceremonies of the London Games in 2012, the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. Critics at the time were not appeased by various events marking the anniversary that took place at other venues. The IOC also announced a special area in the Rio Olympic Village to commemorate the memory of all Olympians who have died. In addition, a moment of reflection in honor of all dead Olympians will be held during the closing ceremony.

“There will be no minute of silence at the opening ceremony,” reads an IOC note, frustrating a longtime request of families. The widows of weightlifter Yossef Romano and fencing coach Andre Spitzer will instead light 11 candles at the City Hall event. The Israeli government will be represented by the minister of culture and sport, Miri Regev. “The mayor will open the doors of his house in a gesture of great friendship with the Brazilian Jewish community and the whole people of Israel,” Israel’s honorary consul in Rio, Osias Wurman, says. “We are deeply moved. Symbolically falling on Tisha b’Av, one of the saddest days of the Hebrew calendar, the event will be a unique moment.” The security of the 12,000 athletes and anticipated 500,000 visitors is among the most sensitive issues for organizers, and the Israeli company International Security and Defense Systems, or ISDS, won the international tender to secure the games. ISDS has coordinated security at previous Olympics and World Cups, and will provide services from consulting to security supply systems. “It’s an honor for ISDS to be the very first ever Israeli group to be part of the Olympic family,” Leo Gleser, ISDS president and a former Mossad agent, says. “I can’t speak much about security or it won’t be security anymore,” Nuzman says. Brazil has long regarded itself as an unlikely target of extremists thanks to its historical standing as a nonaligned, multicultural nation. Security experts have warned that many Brazilian officials do not realize how big a stage the Olympics is for anyone seeking to sow terror. Israel will make its 16th appearance at the Olympics by bringing to Rio its largest delegation ever, with nearly 50 athletes for the Olympics and another 50 for the 2016 Paralympic Games following immediately

afterward. Some 10,000 Israelis are expected to make it to Rio to root for their national heroes. A temporary Israeli consulate will be established in Rio to serve the Israeli population during the games. “The local Jewish community enjoys seeing the Olympics team in international cooperation with other countries. The federal police have very well trained staff. We are very optimistic,” Octavio Aronis, head of security of the Brazilian Israelite Confederation, says. Rio’s Jewish federation president, Paulo Maltz, is more guarded. “There is always a first time, it has happened twice in Argentina and Brazil is not free of it,” he says, citing the Buenos Aires bombings of the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and the AMIA Jewish center in 1994. “We’ll be on total alert.” Those who make it to Rio will be able to take part in two special Shabbat ceremonies. Some 300 guests are expected at Bonder’s synagogue, including Regev, the Israeli sports minister. Chabad will host a Shabbat event during the Paralympics. In a joint educational project around Rio 2016, students from four Jewish schools and four municipal public schools will produce a book about the Munich murders and the Olympic spirit. “Children must understand the evil caused by terrorism,” says Sergio Niskier, one of the project organizers and a former Jewish federation president. The Israeli singer Ester Rada, whose parents were Ethiopian immigrants, will perform at official sites where fans can watch the sporting action on big screens. “It’s an example of the polyvalent, multicultural aspect of the Jewish state, which is formed by over 70 different origins that make up the Israeli society,” says Wurman, the honorary consul.


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Jewish community denounces racism, xenophobia and violence

W

e, the undersigned Jewish community organizations, stand together in denouncing racism and xenophobia in all circumstances. We share a belief that public figures, including those who aspire to hold elected office in service to people of all races and religions, have a responsibility to forcefully and unequivocally condemn these dangerous phenomena. The Jewish community knows all too well what can happen when particular religious or ethnic groups become the focus of invective. We have witnessed the dangerous acts that can follow verbal expressions of hate. Jews and members of other religious minorities have found safety in the United States, thanks to this nation’s commitment to religious freedom, civil rights, and refugee protection. Yet these values that are pillars of our nation’s strength cannot be taken for granted; rather, they must be renewed and protected in every generation. We are deeply concerned by suggestions that Muslim Americans should

be targeted by law enforcement, simply because of their faith. We object to hurtful characterizations of entire ethnic groups as criminals. We are pained by anti-Semitic epithets hurled at Jewish Americans on social media. We are also disheartened that refugees, particularly Syrians and Muslims, have become targeted in recent months and years as subjects of xenophobia. These concerns are heightened by statements made in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando tying that act of horror to an entire faith tradition, rather than the vile actions of an evil individual. This inflammatory rhetoric does not make our communities safer — in fact, it exposes us to more violence and division. Policies targeted at restricting refugees are often steeped in suspicion, ignoring the many benefits refugees bring to our communities as well as overlooking the fact that refugees are the most thoroughly vetted individuals who enter the U.S. Judaism teaches us to see the value in

every human being, as we are all created in the image of God. The normalization of hate speech cannot become a reality in the United States. It is vital that all people of goodwill stand in solidarity against bigotry and intolerance. Our Jewish values also teach us to “love the stranger” and welcome refugees and immigrants who arrive in the U.S. wanting the same things we all want — peace, safety, and opportunities for themselves and their children. We call on all Americans  —  in their communities and on the national stage — to refrain from and denounce all forms of hatred and extremism. We call on all Americans who support or endorse candidates for public office to loudly and clearly condemn any and all racist and xenophobic language and actions. Instead, we must demonstrate commitment to our proud American and Jewish values of religious freedom, civil rights, refugee protection, and equality for all.

Anti-Defamation League HIAS Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, representing its members: Ameinu American Jewish World Service AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps Bend the Arc: a Jewish Partnership for Justice Central Conference of American Rabbis

Challah for Hunger Hazon HIAS Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action Jewish Community Action Jewish Council for Public Affairs Jewish Council on Urban Affairs Jews United for Justice Jews for Racial and Economic Justice JOIN for Justice Keshet

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger National Council of Jewish Women New Israel Fund Rabbinical Assembly Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Repair the World T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights Union for Reform Judaism Workmen’s Circle

Contents Jewish stamp on Rio Olympics . . . . . . . . 2 Up Front. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Torah Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives. . . . . . . 6 Election 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 In Memoriam: Elie Wiesel. . . . . . . . . . . 12 Legal Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Book Reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 In Memoriam: Robert Schopflocher . . . 28 Schools earn Lynnhaven River Now award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Pool party at JCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Cover: Elie Wiesel at the 2012 Time 100 gala, April 24, 2012.

Beth El’s annual meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . JFS holds Biennial Meeting . . . . . . . . . . JFS Recognizes employees. . . . . . . . . . . BEAR programs earns award. . . . . . . . . What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mazel Tov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who Knew?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tips on Jewish Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Nosher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Special Section: Legal Matters

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Briefs Netanyahu investigation has been launched, Israel’s attorney general confirms Israel’s attorney general confirmed that he has ordered an investigation into accusations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in what the Israeli media is reporting as a money-laundering probe. Avichai Mandelblit stressed that the investigation is initial and not a criminal investigation, according to reports. The attorney general reportedly discussed the accusations with the police intelligence unit, the state attorney and the Justice Ministry. “Following information received in matters pertaining among other things to the prime minister, and which has been presented to the attorney general by the police’s investigations and intelligence department, the attorney general has conducted a number of discussions attended by the state prosecutor and other senior officials in the Justice Ministry and the police’s investigations and intelligence department,” said a statement issued by Mandelblit’s office. “Upon their conclusion, the attorney general has decided to instruct that an examination of the matter be opened.” The allegations have not been made public, although the reports say that it is a money-laundering probe separate from previous cases against Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office denied the allegations. “As with all the previous instances, when allegations were made against the prime minister that turned out to be baseless, nothing will come of this— because there’s nothing there,” the media quoted a Netanyahu spokesman as saying. (JTA) Iranian commander: Missiles ready for ISRAEL’s “annihilation” The deputy commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said the country has over 100,000 missiles in Lebanon alone readied for the “annihilation” of Israel. Speaking before Friday, July 8 prayers on Iran’s state-run IRIB TV, Hossein Salami also said that Iran has “tens of thousands” of additional missiles that are ready to wipe the “accursed black dot” of 4 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

Israel off the map, according to a translation from the Farsi by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI. Salami is deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is under the command of the country’s supreme leader. “Today, more than ever, there is fertile ground—with the grace of God—for the annihilation, the wiping out and the collapse of the Zionist regime,” Salami said, according to the MEMRI translation. “In Lebanon alone, over 100,000 missiles are ready to be launched. If there is a will, if it serves [our] interests, and if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes due to its miscalculations, these missiles will pierce through space, and will strike at the heart of the Zionist regime. They will prepare the ground for its great collapse in the new era.” He also boasted that “tens of thousands of other high-precision, long-range missiles, with the necessary destructive capabilities, have been placed in various places throughout the Islamic world.” “They are just waiting for the command, so that when the trigger is pulled, the accursed black dot will be wiped off the geopolitical map of the world, once and for all,” he said, referring to Israel. Salami’s remarks came as Germany’s foreign ministry said it is closely watching Iran’s attempts to procure nuclear and missile technology, The Associated Press reported. German intelligence agencies reported dozens of such attempts last year, according to AP. A separate report by a German domestic intelligence agency said counter-espionage officials had spotted 141 procurements attempts in one German state in the last year. Martin Schaefer, a spokesman for Germany’s Foreign Ministry, said that Germany and its partners would work to enforce the agreement signed in Vienna last July meant to curb Iran’s nuclear program. (JTA)

Orthodox synagogue elects all-female board An Ohio congregation has become what is perhaps the first Orthodox synagogue to elect an all-female slate of officers.

At its annual meeting on June 26, the Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Synagogue in Lyndhurst, Ohio, elected five women to the board. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, executive director of the New York-based Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, told the Cleveland Jewish News that to the best of her knowledge, there has never been an all-female board in the Orthodox community in the United States. The modern Orthodox synagogue elected its first female president, Murial Weber, in 2013. Weber will now serve as treasurer while Arlene Holz Smith will take over as president. “What drew me to Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai was the fact that it’s a place where we were able to balance real inclusivity with traditional Orthodoxy,” Smith said. “The environment created by Rabbi [Zachary] Truboff is one that welcomed, encouraged, nurtured and mentored our daughter, and he has created a home at Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai.” Truboff was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a liberal Orthodox seminary in New York. The Smiths’ daughter, Ramie, recently was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in New York—the first yeshiva to ordain women as Orthodox Jewish clergy. Both institutions were founded by Rabbi Avi Weiss of Riverdale, New York, a longtime advocate for expanding women’s roles in Orthodox congregations. (JTA)

South Korea wants to boost its kosher food market South Korea has seen the future—and it’s kosher. The Korean government announced plans to attract new businesses and boost international sales by educating producers about kosher and halal foods. Following a meeting with President Park Guen-hye, officials announced plans to provide “administrative and technical support” to help kosher and halal food and cosmetics makers set up shop in Korea and qualify for kosher and halal supervision, the Korea Times reported. The Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the global halal market, serving observant Muslims, is growing swiftly and is expected to reach $5.2

trillion globally by 2020, and values the global kosher market at around $250 billion. The first phase in the plan is to educate companies about the requirements of the Jewish and Muslim markets. Only about 25 companies in South Korea have earned kosher certification on items such as kimchi, rice pasta and salt. The government plans to provide food makers with kosher glossaries and encourage them to attend Kosherfest, the massive kosher products trade show held each year in New York. Their halal initiatives are a little further along. Nearly 300 Korean companies have earned halal certification, primarily granted by the Korean Muslim Federation. Kosher food is hard to come by even in Seoul, the capital city, although the Chabad of Korea says it sells “hundreds of items…from all over the world.” (JTA)

Netanyahu says shalom to new British PM Theresa May Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sent incoming British Prime Minister Theresa May a warm welcome. The Israeli prime minister wrote May, a letter of congratulations and felicitations following her installation. May, 59, is considered a longtime friend of Britain’s Jewish community and a strong advocate for Israel. She was named party leader following weeks of jockeying and political turmoil surrounding the decision by voters to leave the European Union and David Cameron’s subsequent decision to step down. As the country’s home secretary, May was known to be a frequent guest at Jewish communal events, where she would praise Israel and British Jewry’s contributions to the country. The Community Security Trust and other Jewish groups thanked May for securing significant government funding to protect Jewish institutions in the wake of terrorist attacks in Europe. Following the terrorist murders in 2015 at a kosher supermarket in Paris, May carried a sign at a Board of Deputies of British Jews meeting reading “Je Suis Juif” (I am Jewish) in solidarity with its victims. (JTA)


Torah Thought

Magical thinking

R

emember Mr. Ed, the talking horse of the early 60s sitcom? I think of him every year when Parshat Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) rolls around, as it does this week. The chumash Etz Hayim describes Balak as containing “what may be the only comic passage in the Torah,” albeit one with a serious message. Balak is the name of the Moabite king who sends Balaam, a seer and diviner, to the Israelite horde crossing the desert with Moses in hopes that Balaam will curse the Israelites into weakness that will allow them to be conquered. Balaam (with misgivings, because he is aware of the power of the Israelite God), rides toward the camp on his donkey. But on the way, the donkey sees a messenger of God in their path and refuses to continue. When Balaam won’t stop beating her, God gives the donkey the power of speech, and she calls out Balaam for his cruelty. Then Balaam sees the messenger and realizes that he had better let God call the shots from now on. He winds up blessing the Israelites rather than cursing them, in a speech that contains the well-known text Mah tovu ohalecha, Yaakov; mishk’notecha, Yisrael: How good are your tents, Jacob; your dwellings, Israel! The story of Balaam contains a lot of supernatural elements: Balaam’s role as a diviner who can impose powerful curses and blessings; the apparition of God’s messenger before Balaam and his donkey; even Balaam’s subsequent assertion that he can do and say only what the Israelite God tells him to do and say. This got me to thinking (that’s right, my

mind doesn’t work the way yours does) about some contemporaries of Mr. Ed whom I watched on TV as a child. Television of the early-to-mid-60s presented, as it does now, dramas in the science fiction and fantasy vein, such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, but those years also featured several comedy shows in which humans learned life lessons from other-worldly sources. Samantha Stevens cleaned her house with a twitch of her nose and tried to get her tightly wrapped hubby to loosen up in Bewitched; in My Favorite Martian, a visitor from the Red Planet enriched a young man’s humdrum life; sexier-than-human women were the focus of My Living Doll and I Dream of Jeannie; and some poor sap had to listen to his dead mom, reincarnated as a 1928 Porter, nag him in My Mother, the Car. And, of course, there was Mr. Ed, whose goal was usually to influence Wilbur Post to make his life more comfortable. What was it about the years 1961– 1965, when these sitcoms premiered, that made American TV audiences want to laugh while watching characters who couldn’t exist in real life? Certainly those years, which brought us tense moments of the Cold War, the JFK assassination, violent clashes between white and black Americans, and the escalation of warfare in Vietnam, were fraught with anxiety. Some folks might have found a subliminal comfort in the idea, “Let the one who can work magic set things right.” To religious believers, that One is God, but there’s a terrible danger in trusting God alone to fix what’s wrong with the universe. For one thing, God in Torah can be pretty capricious and on occasion has to be talked out of wiping out whole populations. Plus, much of the time, God’s intentions are carried out through human agency; for example, God doesn’t bless the Israelites in their camp; Balaam does. There, the outcome is benign, but what about the times when carrying out God’s will, or what is seen as God’s will,

leads to mayhem and even mass murder? Throughout history, how many atrocities have been committed in God’s name? Balak notwithstanding, I get nervous when I see people engaged in magical thinking: If I win the lottery, all my troubles will be over. If the right candidate gets elected, my nation will be transformed. Contemporary Jews can’t operate

on the assumption that all will be well if God (or some other powerful entity) pulls the strings; we have the responsibility to act, of our own volition, in ways that reflect what God wants for the world. That, I think, is the path the talking donkey showed Balaam. —Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill, Tidewater Chavurah

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from the hal Sacks Jewish News Archives

July 2006 Zena Herod officially became the head of school for Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and the Strelitz Early Childhood Center. Helen Kisser joined administration as new director of general studies and assistant director of SECC. Alene Kaufman continued as director of SECC and became director of Judaic studies for HAT and SECC. Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding became a fullfledged program. A $1.5 million

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challenge grant was awarded opening the way for an endowed Chair of Jewish Studies in Tidewater.

July 19, 1996 Our goal as your financial advisors is to help you formulate and implement your family’s wealth management strategy. Whether it’s retirement planning, family philanthropy or the transfer of your wealth to your next generation, your future is our priority and job number one. Please call us to set an appointment to learn more about how we can help you and your family.

A heartfelt memorial was written by Dr. Arthur Kaplan for Charles P. Leavitt (1903-1996) the communities’ “Builder’s of Synagogues.” Mr. Leavitt was instrumental in helping with construction of the new sanctuary for Beth El, created preliminary drawings for Temple Israel and later designed and built the original Temple Emanuel.

July 11, 1986 Kadima, a national UJA group who travelled to the Soviet Union and Israel to gain a deeper understanding of international funding needs shared their insights with local Jewish community leadership. Bootsie and Morty Goldmeier chaired the event and helped set the stage for the 1987 UJF Campaign.

July 1976 The JCC Senior Adult Department’s trip to Charlottesville took place June 29–July 1.

July 1966 208 Golden Oak Court, Reflections III, Suite 300 Virginia Beach, VA 23452

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The JCC Golden Age Club took a trip on July 27 to Ocean View.

July 1956 Temple Emanuel of Virginia Beach held its Annual Dance on Sunday, July 22 at the Surf Club. Moe Richter served as chairman of the event.

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Election 2016

Israel “occupation” amendment rejected by Democratic platform drafters

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he committee drawing up the Democratic Party’s platform rejected an amendment that would have called for an end to Israel’s “occupation and illegal settlements,” with members pledged to presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reportedly leading the opposition.

The Clinton backers said adding such language to the party’s call for a two-state solution would inflame tensions and hurt future U.S. efforts in peace talks. Following the 95–73 vote on Saturday, July 9 by the Democratic National Committee’s platform drafters, supporters

of Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s rival for the nomination, reportedly jeered and chanted “Free, free Palestine,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Prominent scholar Cornel West, a Sanders appointee to the Platform Committee and a proponent of the

anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, spoke in favor of the amendment, saying Democrats should show “double love.” “We ought to have a love for our precious Jewish brothers and sisters and continued on page 8

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a love for Palestinians,” he told the 187-member committee on Saturday in Orlando, Florida. The platform draft dated July 1 said of Israel: “A strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because we share overarching strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance, and pluralism. That is why we will always support Israel’s right to defend itself, including by retaining its qualitative military edge, and oppose any effort to delegitimize Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement. “We will continue to work toward a two-state solution of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties that guarantees Israel’s future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides

the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity. While Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations, it should remain the capital of Israel, an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths. Israelis deserve security, recognition, and a normal life free from terror and incitement. Palestinians should be free to govern themselves in their own viable state, in peace and dignity.” For months Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win a major party nominating state vote, has sought to elevate the issue of Palestinian rights in the platform. Clinton has secured enough delegates to win in the first round of voting for the nomination at the convention in Philadelphia July 25–28. Sanders was given five spots on the platform drafting committee—unusual for a losing candidate—a reflection of the strength of his campaign. (JTA)


Election 2016 Newt Gingrich cites Disney imagery in echoing Trump’s Star of David defense

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ewt Gingrich defended Donald Trump’s use of an image resembling the Star of David in a tweet criticizing Hillary Clinton as corrupt. The former House speaker, who is one of the top candidates to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee on the Republican ticket, said in a phone interview with CNN on July 7 that he was “very angry” about what he considered to be “the media’s deliberate distortion.” The controversy over Trumps’s tweet began July 2 when Trump tweeted a graphic that labeled Clinton the “most corrupt candidate ever.” The image featured a six-pointed star and a pile of cash, which many critics said had clear anti-Semitic connotations and originally appeared on far-right websites. The Trump campaign removed the tweet and replaced it with one in which the star was swapped out for a circle. Trump denied that the star was in any way a reference to Jews.

“I think it is so profoundly dishonest that it sickens me and makes me very angry,” Gingrich told CNN. “The media’s deliberate distortion. It’s absurdity. He has got a son-in-law who’s an Orthodox Jew, his daughter has converted to Judaism, grandchildren who are Jewish. And he gave a speech at AIPAC that was pretty definitive. And in the middle of this, you get this kind of smear?” Gingrich, an outspoken supporter of Israel, echoed Trump’s most recent defense of the tweet: that a sixpointed star is featured on a children’s book tied into the popular Disney movie Frozen. “Just think about it for a second —you’re doing a tweet about how somebody who is a crook, so you put in cash. That doesn’t imply that she is Jewish. It implies she’s a crook,” he said during the CNN interview. “We found exactly the same star was being used in a book about Frozen by Disney. Does anybody want to argue that Frozen

is anti-Semitic?” But the current House speaker, Paul Ryan, who is also Republican, criticized the tweet earlier this week and warned that anti-Semitic images “have no place in a presidential campaign.” “I really believe he has to clean up the way his (social) media works,” Ryan said on the Charlie Sykes radio program. “They’ve got to clean this thing up.” Under fire for the tweet, Trump has been defiant. At a rally in Cincinnati, Trump said his campaign “shouldn’t have” removed the original tweet and accused the media of having “racist tendencies.” “Actually they’re racially profiling. They’re racially profiling. Not us. Why do they bring this up?” Trump said. “These people are sick.” (JTA)

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E L A S

THE SUMMER

Election 2016 Republicans’ platform reportedly may exclude ‘two-state’ language

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WASHINGTON ( JTA)—Republicans reportedly are considering removing from their party platform language calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The concept has long been a pillar of both Democratic and Republican policy in the region, and a stated policy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The U.S. seeks to assist in the establishment of comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, to be negotiated among those living in the region,” said draft language approved by the national security subcommittee of the Platform Committee, according to CNN, Jewish Insider and the Forward, which obtained the copies of the proposed language. “We oppose any measures intended to impose an agreement or to dictate borders or other terms, and call for the immediate termination of all U.S. funding of any entity that attempts to do so,” said the draft language, an apparent reference to Palestinian Authority efforts to seek statehood status outside the framework of negotiations. The draft platform, which may change again before the Republican convention in Cleveland, omits the explicit call for a two-state solution that appeared in the 2012 platform: “We support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensible borders; and we envision two democratic states— Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine—living in peace and security.” Additionally, the most recent draft restores the word “undivided” to recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The language was in the 2008 platform, but did not appear in the 2012 platform. The draft language as approved by the subcommittee also “reject(s) the false notion that Israel is an occupier,” CNN reported. Democrats rejected language that for the first time would have described Israel’s presence in the West Bank as an “occupation” that is detrimental to Palestinians. They retained language

favoring a two-state outcome. Driving the changes in the GOP platform is a new political action committee, the Iron Dome Alliance, which seeks to distinguish Republicans as friendlier to Israel than Democrats. Mainstream pro-Israel groups, chief among them the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, for decades have maintained that there is little difference between the parties on Israel. Jeff Ballabon, a founder of the Iron Dome Alliance, said that pretending there are no differences between the parties does not serve Israel’s interests. “This fiction floating around that pretending both parties are the same is good for Israel, it’s killing Israel,” Ballabon, a longtime pro-Israel activist in the Orthodox and Republican communities, told JTA last month. “It’s a race to the bottom. Demanding the two-state solution is only pressuring one side, and gives no incentive to the Palestinian Authority or any stakeholder to come to the table and be anything but belligerent.” His group is structured as a super PAC, so named because it is formulated under rules that allow it to raise unlimited funds. AIPAC and other groups remain committed to a two-state solution in part because it is the stated position of Netanyahu. However, the majority of Netanyahu’s current government rejects two states as an outcome, favoring eventual Israeli sovereignty over much of the West Bank. Right-wing pro-Israel activists cite their example in arguing that they are not bucking Israeli government policy by not embracing two states, a Rubicon that mainstream pro-Israel groups have been loath to cross. The Israeli opposition and much of Israel’s security establishment remains committed to two states, as does the Obama administration. Those in favor cite among other arguments the dangers to Israel’s democracy of a one-state outcome, which could necessitate the absorption of millions of Palestinians.


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jewishnewsva.org | July 18, 2016 | Jewish News | 11


IN MEMORIAM

Elie Wiesel gave the Holocaust a face and the world a conscience

Elie Wiesel at the 2012 Time 100 gala, April 24, 2012.

Sarah Wildman

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate who became a leading icon of Holocaust remembrance and a global symbol of conscience, died Saturday, July 2 at 87. His death was the result of natural causes, the World Jewish Congress said in a statement. A philosopher, professor and author of such seminal works of Holocaust literature as Night and Dawn, Wiesel perhaps more than any other figure came to embody the legacy of the Holocaust and the worldwide community of survivors.

“I have tried to keep memory alive,” Wiesel said at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 1986. “I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” Often he would say the “opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.” The quest to challenge indifference was a driving force in Wiesel’s writing, advocacy and public presence. Though he considered himself primarily a writer, by the end of the 1970s, he had settled into the role of moral compass, a touchstone for presidents and a voice that challenged easy complacency about history. Wiesel spent the majority of his public life speaking of the atrocities he had witnessed and asking the public to consider other acts of cruelty around the world, though he drew the line at direct comparisons with the Holocaust. “I am always advocating the utmost care and prudence when one uses that word,” he told JTA in 1980. President Barack Obama, who met frequently with Wiesel and took his counsel, said he had been a “living memorial.” “Along with his beloved wife Marion and the foundation that bears his name, he

12 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

raised his voice, not just against anti-Semitism, but against hatred, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms,” Obama said in a statement. “He implored each of us, as nations and as human beings, to do the same, to see ourselves in each other and to make real that pledge of ‘never again.’” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wiesel was “bitterly mourned” by the State of Israel and the Jewish people. “Elie, the wordsmith, expressed through his extraordinary personality and fascinating books the triumph of the human spirit over cruelty and evil,” he said in a statement. Wiesel won a myriad of awards for his work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and the National Jewish Book Award. Night is now standard reading in high schools across America. In 2006, it was chosen as a book club selection by Oprah Winfrey and, nearly half a century after it was first published, spent more than a year atop the best-seller list. He would also take Winfrey to Auschwitz that same year. Writing for The New York Times Book Review in 2008, Rachel Donadio said Night had become “a case study in how a book helped created a genre, how a writer became an icon and how the Holocaust was absorbed into the American experience.” “There is no way to talk about the last half century of Holocaust consciousness without giving Wiesel a front and center role,” said Michael Berenbaum, a professor at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles and former director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s research institute. “What he did, extraordinarily, was to use the Nobel Prize as a tool to call attention to things, and as a vehicle to scream louder, shout more, agitate more.”

Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, then and now a part of Romania, in 1928, Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 with his family when he was 15. His mother and one of his sisters would disappear forever when the family was forced aboard the cattle cars, murdered immediately. His father, who traveled with him to the camps, died of dysentery and starvation in Buchenwald before liberation. Two sisters would survive the war. In Night, Wiesel describes pinching his face to see if he is dreaming when he sees the murders of infants. “In those places, in one night one becomes old,” Wiesel told NPR in 2014. “What one saw in one night, generations of men and women had not seen in their own entire lives.” Wiesel was liberated from Buchenwald in 1945. He went on to study at the Sorbonne and moved to New York at the end of the 1950s, where he lived in relative obscurity. He worked hard to find a publisher for Night, which initially sold poorly. “The truth is in the 1950s and in the early 1960s there was little interest and willingness to listen to survivors,” says Wiesel’s longtime friend Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, who had read a copy of Night in Israel in the early 1960s. “In 1963, someone told me this author is alive and well in New York City and I somehow managed to find him and go see him.” Wiesel was “gaunt” and “working as a freelance reporter, a stringer, for a French newspaper, an Israeli newspaper and a Yiddish newspaper—and for none of the above was he making a living,” Greenberg says. Greenberg was determined to help Wiesel find work.


IN MEMORIAM

“He had this magnetic presence,” the rabbi says. “He was quiet but with tremendous force and he felt the vividness the Holocaust had a message.” In the late 1960s Wiesel finally began to emerge as one of the preeminent voices in Holocaust literature. By the end of his career he had written some 50 books. In 1972, he enthralled Yeshiva University students with his excoriation of the American and American Jewish leadership for its silence during the Holocaust. How many Jewish leaders “tore their clothes in mourning?” Wiesel asked. “How many marched on Washington? How many weddings took place without music?” His 1966 book reporting the plight of Soviet Jews, The Jews of Silence, made possible the movement that sought their freedom. “Elie Wiesel was the collective moral compass of the Jewish people,” Natan Sharansky, who became the face of the Soviet Jewish struggle, said in a statement with his wife, Avital, who with Wiesel led advocacy for Sharansky’s release from prison. “He was the first to break the silence surrounding the plight of Soviet Jewry, and he accompanied our struggle until we achieved victory,” said Sharansky, who is now the chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel. “We will miss him deeply.” In 1978, Wiesel became the chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Holocaust, which would ultimately recommend the building of a Holocaust museum in Washington. As his public presence grew, he began to visit the sites of other genocides. In 1980, he traveled to Cambodia. In an interview with JTA, Wiesel called the Cambodian refugee camps “spectacles of horror” and noted, “That these things could happen again simply means that the world didn’t learn —or that the world didn’t want to learn.” In 1985, Wiesel’s reputation grew beyond the Jewish world when he challenged President Ronald Reagan on live television over his intention to visit a German cemetery that housed the

“Elie

remains of Nazi soldiers. In the Oval Office to receive the Congressional Medal of Achievement, Wiesel chastised Reagan. “This is not your place, Mr. President,” Wiesel famously said. The president visited the cemetery anyway, but changed his itinerary to include a visit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Wiesel challenged the White House again in 1993 when he charged the newly inaugurated President Bill Clinton to do more to address the atrocities then unfolding in Yugoslavia. “Most people don’t confront a sitting president that way, and he confronted two,” says Sara Bloomfield, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s current director. “He saw people would listen to him,” says Stuart Eizenstat, who held senior positions in multiple presidential administrations and was a key figure in the negotiation of Holocaust restitution agreements with several European governments. “He became more aggressive about showing that it is not just the Holocaust, but applying lessons to the rest of the world as well,” Eizenstat says. “He became more active in other genocidal or world conscious issues. He wanted to use that power for the cause not just of Holocaust memory, but also to prevent genocide.” At the inauguration in 1993 of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Wiesel said, clearly, “I don’t believe there are answers. There are no answers. And this museum is not an answer; it is a question mark.” That question mark he applied to global atrocities, as well as historical ones. His later years saw him wade into politics. He was friends with Obama but also loudly chastised the president for calling for an end to settlement

construction and for brokering the Iran nuclear rollback-for-sanctions-relief deal, positions that led to criticism, even from longtime admirers. His very public support for Netanyahu was also questioned. Peter Beinart, writing in Haaretz, said: “Wiesel takes refuge in the Israel of his imagination, using it to block out the painful reckoning that might come from scrutinizing Israel as it actually is.” The final years of his life also saw financial turmoil. His personal finances and $15.2 million in assets of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity were invested with Bernie Madoff, who was convicted in 2009 of fraud. Wiesel’s fortune and the reserves of his organization were wiped out. Yet he did not cease his work. Just months after the Madoff scandal broke, in June 2009, he led Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a trip to Auschwitz, where he noted he was at his father’s grave. Wiesel then gave a searing indictment of the world’s continued inability to learn. “As a public figure who was also the very symbol of the Holocaust survivor in America, Wiesel acted as a moral compass, his personal history lending unequaled gravity to his public remarks on genocide, anti-Semitism and other issues of injustice worldwide,” says Ruth Franklin, author of A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction. “Wiesel never pretended that he understood the Holocaust. He spoke of it as a horror beyond explanation, a black hole in history. As the virtual embodiment of the catch phrase ‘never forget,’ he did more than anyone else to raise awareness of the Holocaust in American life.” Along with his wife, Wiesel is survived by a son, Shlomo.

Wiesel was

the collective

moral compass of the Jewish people.”


first person

Elie Weisel offered inspiration and challenge Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg

not 20 minutes away from where my father was born and raised. He was the ike so many of members of our comsame age as my dad as well, which meant munity, I had the honor of hearing they were taken by the Nazis at the same Elie Wiesel speak at ODU’s Ted Constant time and had many similar experiences Convocation Center in March 2006. in the same concentration and slave labor Always the conscience of his generation, camps. Yet because my dad could not Wiesel lamented how little humanity had speak of the horrors he witnessed, Elie changed since the Holocaust. Wondering Wiesel’s accounts were, for me, not just aloud, he said: “There is racism in many witness to our Jewish people’s history, parts of the world, fanaticism—my God, but also mirrors to my family’s personal haven’t we learned? Here we are now in tragedy. 2006, with new threats and old anguish.” When I read Night, I was haunted by “…Can we change the world?” he his words: “Never shall I forget that night, asked at one point. the first night in camp, which has turned “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s possimy life into one long night, seven times ble to change the world unless the world cursed and seven times sealed . . .Never wants to change.” How prophetic as ever shall I forget those moments which murhis words are today, 10 years later. dered my God and my soul and turned I’ve always felt close to Elie Wiesel. He my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget was from a small town in Transylvania, these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Holocaust Commission Himself. Never.” engages area students with Yet I was also Elie Wiesel Writing and inspired by them to do all that I could, Visual Arts Competitions personally and professionally, to make Gail Flax and Deb Segaloff, co-chairs of the Holocaust Commission’s Elie Wiesel Writing Competition certain that injustice was never again or 20 years the Holocaust Commission has allowed to reign challenged the students of Hampton Roads and without protest. It was he who chalbeyond to consider the dangers of prejudice and lenged me, and all discrimination through the Elie Wiesel Writing and of us, so eloquently Visual Arts Competitions. These contests embody that “we must Wiesel’s commitment to teaching justice and moral always take sides.” “Neutrality helps courage, and his mandate that humanity remember the oppressor, never the Holocaust. Those of us fortunate enough to the victim,” he said. have heard him speak will forever have his message “Silence encourages the tormentor, never resonating in our hearts and minds, and through the tormented.” I am his prolific writing, his message will continue to certain that becominspire and influence generations to come. It is our ing a rabbi was nothing less than a hope that each student’s writing, art and, most fulfillment of his call importantly, actions will continue to be influenced to action. by this great man. As I struggled with my

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14 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

theology—with how an all good, all knowing and all powerful God could allow such evil to be perpetrated against His creations—I found my answer in his account of having to bear witness to men who had just been mercilessly beaten and hung before his very eyes. When the man behind him choked out the words: “For God’s sake, where is God?” From within him, Wiesel heard a voice answer: “Where He is? This is where—hanging here from this gallows..” To some this meant that God was dead. But to me, I understood that while God could not stop people from exercising inhumanity, God could be with us, and comfort us even in the Valley of the Shadow. As my personal theology developed, I came to believe that God should and could have done more to save our people. Yet, why He didn’t, and often still doesn’t, distresses me still. Unto today, it is again, Elie Wiesel’s answer to the many similar contradictions with which he wrestled that I turn. He said, in the face of so many horrors in our world then and now: “I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.”

Yet even so, it was his vision for humanity and hope for the future that shaped my life most of all. In spite of everything, he still believed that our anecdote to despair was our duty to reject it; that we had a choice as human beings whether to follow our instincts to destroy or our inclination not to; that, even when we lose, victories of the soul and spirit are victories; and that peace is our gift to each other and always possible. His faith, his strength, his gratitude and his hope are a beacon of what could and might still be. I have always said that what awed me about my dad’s survival were not the many miracles that enabled him to live through the camps and death march, but rather, that, in spite of his experience, he was willing to love again, to bring children into this world, and to raise us to be good people who take responsibility for our actions and do our part to ensure a just world. Elie Wiesel did that of all of God’s children. His memory is for all of us a blessing. —Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg serves as Senior Rabbi of Ohef Sholom Temple. She is a second-generation Holocaust survivor.


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Interfaith coalition urges Senate action on Supreme Court vacancy

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ifteen Jewish groups joined an interfaith coalition in calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. During a conference call Thursday, July 14, 40 national and state religious organizations urged senators to hold a swift hearing and vote on the nomination of Merrick Garland, who is Jewish, to fill the court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Republican lawmakers have vowed to block the nomination process on Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, saying the vacancy should be filled by the next president. “While many of our groups do not take positions on individual nominees, we stand united in our belief that the Senate’s duties regarding Supreme Court vacancies ought to be carried out in a timely fashion,” according to a statement by the coalition. “The Senate’s ongoing delay in fulfilling this responsibility threatens the ability of our government to operate at full capacity and undermines our nation’s commitment to the pursuit of justice and democracy.” The Jewish groups signing on to the statement are the Anti-Defamation League, Bend the Arc, Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Shamayim V’Aretz Institute, Women of Reform Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, Uri L’Tzedek, Hadassah New Orleans, The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New Haven, Connecticut, the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, California, Temple Sinai in New Orleans, and the national and local chapters of National Council of Jewish Women. (JTA)

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LEGA L M ATTE R S

Business & Legal Society to merge with Maimonides Society

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he United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Maimonides Society and Business & Legal Society are about to join forces. Beginning with the 2017 Annual Campaign, the new entity will be called the Society of Jewish Professionals. Since their respective beginnings, Maimonides and Business & Legal shared parallel missions— to bring together constituents from similar professional backgrounds to provide value-added programming and networking opportunities. After discussions with leadership from both societies, a decision was made to combine the groups. Creative and energetic programming for all Jewish professionals will

continue to be offered. The Society of Jewish Professionals will be dedicated to educational, social and philanthropic activities. This new society will provide unique opportunities for collegial socializing and networking, while integrating Jewish concerns. The Society of Jewish Professionals is committed to the Federation’s mission of strengthening Jewish life and assisting those in need locally, in Israel, and around the world. The society’s first event is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 13. For more information or to get involved, contact Alex Pomerantz at a p o m e ra n t z @ ujft.org or Jasmine Amitay at jamitay@ ujft.org.

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LEGA L M ATTE R S First Person

Planning for your future to include your Jewish community Scott Kaplan, president and CEO, Tidewater Jewish Foundation

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there may be one or more Jewish organizations (like having more than one child) that you care about and have supported for many years. While there are myriad options to consider when planning, two are: • A charitable bequest is one way to ensure Jewish continuity through a simple codicil (amendment) to your will to benefit a synagogue, the Federation or any agency. This bequest may provide a specific cash gift, a percentage of your estate, or remaining assets of one’s estate. Bequests, like other gifts, can be designated for many purposes or given without restriction. Designating a bequest that creates a single fund at the Tidewater Jewish Foundation can provide annual support to various community agencies as you may desire. • Designation of a portion of your retirement plan assets (IRA or 401k) is another easy way to establish your legacy. Too often, income taxes imposed on these plans make them a poor choice for passing on to your heirs. As charitable gifts, however, retirement plans can be powerful tools for endowing a charitable legacy to the community. By careful planning during one’s lifetime, a loving parent can make a sizeable gift to the community that could otherwise create a heavy tax burden on heirs. You are never too young to make plans for the future. Contact your attorney or financial professional for guidance on how best to ensure your legacy or contact Scott Kaplan, president and CEO of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation at 757‑965‑6109 or skaplan@ ujft.org to schedule a confidential conversation to explore how to make a difference in your community and leave a lasting legacy.


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“Wealth management with heart and soul.”

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hat’s how Jonathan Muhlendorf, a member of the Tidewater Jewish community and Ohef Sholom Temple, describes his new operation, Envision Wealth Management. Muhlendorf works with highnet worth families as it relates to investments and charitable giving, specializing with physicians, business owners and retirees. At Envision, Muhlendorf, 39, takes a different approach than many wealth managers. “Before we ever discuss investments, I want to understand my clients’ thoughts and feelings about their money,” he says. “We look at the emotional side of their finances and explore what they hope to accomplish.” After the holistic conversation, Muhlendorf, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), builds a complete wealth management plan. As a fiduciary, he has the client’s best interest in mind—not his own. Moreover, Muhlendorf considers himself a “personal CFO” because he prefers to oversee the entire financial picture. That means he builds a team for each client to include attorneys and accountants, and he coordinates efforts

between each party. “Often, I review standard contracts drafted by attorneys and suggest changes in the language that better reflects the needs of my clients,” he says. “I want to be the architect of their financial life, and that means I need to be their advocate at all times.” With a plan in place, Envision then builds a personalized website for each client, which allows clients to see their investments in real time. In addition, the site includes a “digital vault” where clients can store items like copies of tax returns, estate planning documents and even a passport should clients ever lose the physical version on a trip. A graduate of Norfolk Academy and the University of Virginia, Muhlendorf spent several years in Washington, DC as an accountant before returning home. In that time, he provided tax work and financial planning for wealthy families including an NFL team owner, a former IRS commissioner, a Supreme Court Justice, a governor and a member of The Federal Reserve Board. Time in the nation’s capital made Muhlendorf an expert on wealth management for high-net worth individuals. That’s why the journal, Medical Economics, named him one of the “Best Financial Advisers for Doctors” in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He’s the only adviser on the list who lives in Tidewater. Muhlendorf resides in the East Beach section of Norfolk with his wife and two children. He’s committed to the area, the local Jewish community and the idea that a wealth manager must first understand the “heart and soul” of a client’s investment strategy. “I want to make the wealth you’ve created last a lifetime,” he says. “To get there, it takes trust, a team approach and a complete focus on your needs.

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LEGA L M ATTE R S

THE VERDICT IS...

Dinner At

Sitting down might be a killer Tom Purcell

T

he human body is made to move and not sit for long periods of time.

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lower risk of untimely death. To make positive changes, use a standing desk or treadmill desk, consider swapping a chair for an exercise ball, take breaks throughout the day to stand and move and set phones or timing devices to make that happen.

more dire sounding with each

There are other ways

new headline.

D o YOU be lieve yo u r tir ed, a ch y, h e avy-fe e l i n g le g s a r e n o r m a l ?

to squeeze light physical activity into your

Sitting is the new smoking!

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The human body is electric, but

friend to walk or engage

it’s not plugged into an outlet. To

in an activity and have

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dinner. That’s 30 minutes of

up and walking around for

walking or moving continu-

even two minutes every hour will help offset the life-shortening effects of sitting all day. The study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine, reports that taking that break from sitting for just two minutes of light-intensity activity results in a 33 percent

ous, which is recommended by health experts. So, stand up and start moving. I tell my clients, If you can move, you can improve! —Tom Purcell, fitness and membership director at the Simon Family JCC, has decades of personal training and fitness experience. He can be reached at

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LEGA L M ATTE R S Restrictions against Pollard are “vindictive and retaliatory,” his lawyers claim

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he strict parole restrictions placed on Jonathan Pollard are “vindictive and retaliatory,” his attorneys said in a brief filed with a U.S. federal court. According to the brief filed July 7 with the District Court for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Parole Commission failed to prove that Pollard

continues to carry classified information in his head 31 years after he was jailed for passing classified documents to Israel while working as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy. A court filing on behalf of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in June said the U.S. intelligence community

favors continued restrictions on Pollard, arguing he could still damage U.S. interests by revealing methods and identifying characteristics of U.S. assets. The Parole Commission’s decision not to file any of its documents on a classified basis “also demonstrates that the only reason it imposed the onerous Special

Conditions on Mr. Pollard is out of a vindictive and retaliatory motivation to punish Mr. Pollard for voicing his desire to live lawfully in Israel upon his release after 30 years in prison,” the Pollard brief reads. “Retaliation is not, however, a rational or lawful basis for special conditions of parole.” (JTA)

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LEGA L M ATTE R S

What was Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinking in criticizing Donald Trump? Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—What was RBG thinking? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg launched a broadside against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump this month, calling him unfit for office. She subsequently apologized, but not before voices on the right and left criticized her for seeming to compromise the high court’s dignity and objectivity. “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg needs to drop the political punditry and the name-calling,” The New York Times editorial board said. The Washington Post agreed. Even her most ardent fans were at a loss to defend her descriptions of Trump as a “faker,” criticizing his failure to hand over his tax returns and saying his presidency would be too dire to contemplate. “I adore Justice Ginsburg,” Robert Wexler, the former Florida congressman whose autobiography is titled Fire-Breathing Liberal, says. However, he adds, “It’s fair to say Mr. Trump doesn’t bring out the best in people.” Truth is, there isn’t much wiggle room for a defense: The American Bar Association’s ethical guidelines say flat out that a judge “shall not publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for any public office.” Not that the ABA guidelines have much practical consequence in this case: Supreme Court justices are inviolate—once they’re in, they’re pretty much in until they want to leave, or they die. Ginsburg, 83, however much this taints her legacy, will remain a fixture of the court.

“Judicial ethics prohibit candidates from commenting on public office,” says David Bernstein, a legal scholar who opines for the Washington Post. “Even though the Supreme Court justice are not bound by the code,” Ginsburg’s outburst “does not reflect the consensus. It was wildly inappropriate.” So, What was she thinking? Here are some theories: She’s losing it. Trump was characteristically blunt. “Her mind is shot—resign!” he said on Twitter. Barney Frank, a longtime member of Congress and a liberal who extols Ginsburg’s legacy in advancing rights for women, says it is painful to admit, but Trump may have a point: It might be time for Ginsburg, 83, to go. “I’m afraid it’s a sign she stayed too long and she’s not functioning,” Frank says. “I can’t imagine she would have made this mistake 15 years ago. It diminishes her legacy.” Frank, who retired in 2013, says he was chided by friends for leaving office at the peak of his influence. Just three years earlier, the Massachusetts congressman and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., had rewritten the rules for how Wall Street works with their Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. “I retired a couple of months short of my 73rd birthday,” he says. “I said I wanted people to ask why I quit, not why I didn’t quit.” Ginsburg, he says, should have quit several years ago, when the Obama administration would have guaranteed a liberal replacement.


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LEGA L M ATTE R S

Sometimes you’ve got to break the rules. The prospect of a Trump presidency is so dire, ethical considerations seem to lose some of their urgency in this case, says Mark David Stern, who covers the law and LGBT issues for Slate. “Donald Trump is not an ordinary presidential candidate, or an ordinary Republican,” Stern wrote. “He is a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic bigot. He has proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States; called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals; supported the deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants; routinely treated women with sexist disdain; advocated for torture of suspected terrorists; and generally dismissed the rule of law.”Ginsburg, he says, was right to

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“sacrifice some of her prestige in order to send as clear a warning signal about Trump as she possibly can.” Everyone does it. Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor, wrote on Bloomberg News that the rules Ginsburg was ostensibly violating were mostly honored in their breach. He listed open clashes between Supreme Court justices and presidents dating to John Marshall, who as secretary of state campaigned for John Adams in his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1800. Thomas Jefferson won the election, but before he took office, Adams named his friend chief justice while keeping him as secretary of state. Marshall stopped being

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secretary of state once Jefferson was inaugurated, but remained a notable thorn in Jefferson’s side as a justice. Besides, wrote Feldman, “Doesn’t everyone have an outspoken Jewish grandmother?” In Politico, Linda Hirshman, who has written a book about Ginsburg and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, came up with two Jewish precedents for judicial politicking. Abe Fortas, a justice in the 1960s, routinely consulted with President Lyndon Johnson on matters personal and political, and didn’t bother to deny it to seething congressional Republicans who denied him the chief justice spot in congressional hearings. Louis Brandeis, Hirshman wrote, the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, paid Felix Frankfurter to advance his favored progressive causes after Brandeis joined the court in 1918. Frankfurter—for whom, coincidentally, Feldman’s professorial seat is named—became the third Jewish Supreme Court justice in 1939.

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This keeping shtum can be aggravating, especially for born loudmouths. Ronald Halber, the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Washington, D.C., says he was simultaneously appalled by Ginsburg’s jeremiad but also sympathetic. He was reminded that Jewish community professionals, writ much smaller, face the same dilemma as judges. They are naturally opinionated folks who take on roles that keep them from pronouncing their opinions. “Nonprofit directors who I work with engaged in public affairs work and engaged in communications work would love to state political opinions —and people who run JCRCs are truly political,” Halber says. “But we keep them to ourselves. I never once publicly announced who

I would support for a candidate, and Justice Ginsburg has a much more important role. If you’re going to keep community, or project impartiality, you can’t project your opinion.” Donald (and the Republicans) started it. Dahlia Lithwick, who writes about the courts for Slate, says Trump has joined Republicans in a jihad against the courts—a lot to bear for those in the legal profession. She lists the Republican-led Senate’s refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, and the attack by Trump on the Mexican heritage of a federal judge as two examples. “By speaking up for a judicial branch that has absorbed one body blow after another in recent months, in stoic squint-eyed black-robed fashion, she did nothing but level the playing field,” Lithwick says of Ginsburg. “If the court is really going to be fair game in the nihilist rush to break government, she is signaling that the court may just need to pick up arms and fight back.” Bernstein, whose Washington Post columns reflect conservative and libertarian views, has some sympathy for exasperation with Trump, but says Ginsburg had nonetheless crossed a red line. “Almost everyone I know who is a member of the same class she is, is very troubled by Trump, including conservative and libertarians,” he says. “While everyone knows politics is not absent from the Supreme Court, they at least try to make the effort.” Ginsburg, in her apology, appears to come around to that view. “Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office,” she said in a statement. “In the future, I will be more circumspect.”


LEGA L M ATTE R S Families of US citizens killed in Israel terror attacks sue Facebook for $1 billion

T

he families of five American citizens killed in terror attacks in Israel are suing Facebook for $1 billion, accusing the social network of providing material support to Hamas for its incitement and violence. Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, an advocacy organization based in Israel, filed the lawsuit this month in Manhattan federal court. The suit alleges that Facebook is violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act by assisting terror groups such as Hamas in “recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks.” The lead plaintiffs have been identified as Stuart and Robbi Force, the parents of Taylor Force, a graduate

student at Vanderbilt University and a U.S. Army veteran who was killed in March in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv. Force had been on a school trip to Israel to study the tech industry. “Facebook has knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas in the form of Facebook’s online social media network platform and communication services,” the plaintiffs alleged in a statement. “Hamas has used and relied on Facebook’s online social network platform and communications services as among its most important tools to facilitate and carry out its terrorist activity.” Facebook did not comment on the lawsuit when asked by news outlets. (JTA)

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Book reviews A well-written analysis of the “Arab Spring” A Rage For Order—The Middle East in Turmoil: From Tahrir Square to ISIS Robert F. Worth Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016 259 pages, $26 ISBN978-0-374-25294-6

W

hen Robert Kaplan published his collection of articles, Balkan Ghosts, in 1995, it was immediately recognized Hal Sacks to be more than a survey, more than a travelogue and more than a regional history of the countries that made up the former Yugoslavia. It was the rare current events book that did not slide into immediate obsolescence. A Rage for Order stands out among reports and analysis of current events by virtue of writing that is several cuts above what we have come to accept. Author Worth, like Robert Kaplan, earned his status as a correspondent, spending 14 years with The New York Times, four of which as the Beirut bureau chief. Worth takes the reader deep into the lives of the people who effected (and were affected) by the sweeping changes in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Tunisia. He interposes his personal observations upon those of participants in the events of the last decade that were dubbed “Arab Spring.” Sadly, the surge toward political freedom resulted in unintended consequences—civil wars fueled by the “virus of religious hatred.” “As the hopes of Tahrir receded, the visions of unity it inspired gave way to a terrifying undertow. Indeed, for a time the Al Qaeda leadership was concerned that the apparent success of a secular democratic movement might delay the creation of the inevitable caliphate. People who had trusted each other for decades now saw barriers rising between them.” The insurgent Arab masses, having a pretty good idea of what they did not want, had no idea at all of what they did want. Of course, words like “dignity” and “freedom” were bruited about, but no

concept of governance was agreed upon in advance. Thus, the Islamists of Egypt brushed themselves off and, eyes blinking in the new sunlight, took over—until the Army had enough. Syria, Libya and Yemen are in chaos, consumed by fear, anger and revenge. Worth introduces the reader to the heart of darkness, embedding himself with dissidents, jihadists and poets. The reader will be drawn closer to players on both sides; are there only two sides in these matters? Ordinary Arabs who have lived in peace and even friendship with neighbors of a different sect for decades now fear the “other” and are set up for betrayal. There is no good news in A Rage for Order. The quality of the writing and telling of the story, rarely achieved in a work of non-fiction, carries the reader along, learning and wondering how such a powerful series of movements just fell apart. —Hal Sacks is a retired Jewish communal worker who has reviewed books for Jewish News for more than 30 years.

Pain of Syria’s war captured The Morning They Came For Us (Dispatches From Syria) Janine Di Giovanni New York: Liveright Publishing 206 pages, $25.95

T

he Morning They Came For Us is an important book with lasting consequence by author Rabbi Zoberman Janine Di Giovanni, award-winning (including two Amnesty International Awards) foreign correspondent and Newsweek’s Middle East editor. She expertly captures the near indescribable pain of Syria’s tragic, by now, five-year-old, brutal civil war with its immense toll of millions of innocent human lives violated, murdered, displaced and driven away. After all, Syria is a significant Middle Eastern country which until recently kept together its religiously and ethnically diverse Arab population.

Written in a conversational style with stark realism, the book is an irresistible yet gut-wrenching read stirring our conscience, of a bitter conflict erupting following the 2011 Arab Spring, with a heroic call by common Syrian citizens for a new democratic Syria replacing an authoritarian regime. President Bashar al-Assad was not about to let go of his consolidated power in the hands of the Muslim Alawite sect, a minority within the Shia and comprising just 12 percent of the Syrian population with its Sunni majority. The author’s prior extensive experience of covering other troubled spots such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda and East Timor, is surely an asset, as she penetrates Syria’s surreal reality with persistence and compassion having gained an invaluable perspective, as well as the tough endurance skills to contend with the high risks of reporting from the front lines of lethal fighting. Still, being a woman, especially a Western woman, are added liabilities. Di Giovanni tries to be fair in pointing out the atrocities committed by all concerned. However, there is a danger that too neutral an attitude protects the original overpowering aggressor, and not the victims. Assad’s superior military forces with outside help have indiscriminately attacked the rebels, civilians, residential neighborhoods, hospitals and schools, and have even dropped barrel bombs and chemical weapons. She speaks of the grief of mothers on both sides, depicting and embracing ordinary Syrians who courageously attempt to lead normal lives in the midst of war’s chaos. This loving mother of a young son feels so keenly the suffering of children and their agonizing mothers and often lost fathers under harrowing circumstances of a deteriorated human and physical environment. As she and her two women companions caringly buy a pair of shoes for a needy child in Aleppo, mindful of the many barefoot children in Syria’s cold winter. In divided Aleppo which she describes with an eye to history as “the Leningrad of the Syrian War,” painfully watching with shocked parents and a helpless medical team the death of a sick

baby in a hospital deprived of essential medications; the old man digging for food in a heap of garbage, and who wouldn’t also weep for 32-year-old desperate Carla living with her traumatized children in an unfit structure across from a bombed out church in Homs. Throughout the book, which is mainly focused on the author’s Syrian encounters in 2012, her concern for violated women is evident. How painful it was for 25-year-old Nada, an opposition supporter in Latakia, who was raped and tortured in a Syrian prison during eight months and three days while her parents were told she was dead. The consequences for a raped woman is most critical in the Muslim world where virginity is expected at marriage, otherwise the entire family is burdened with shame in the strict honor code. As in the Bosnia war, rape is used as a humiliating weapon. Di Giovanni extensively interviewed raped Syrian women scattered in the region in various settings, including refugee camps and safe houses. She was employed by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in parts of 2013–14 in Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, concerning the sexual vulnerability of Syrian women refugees with children, but without husbands. She notes the mass rapes of Yazidi women by ISIS (The Islamic State) fighters. Di Giovanni bemoans the United Nations’ failure in Syria, in spite of past painful mistakes elsewhere, allowing the tragic events to continue and sharing a sense of guilt that she and her fellow journalists could not make a difference. This personal reflection is revealing of her stature: “How different my life would have been had I never seen a mass grave or a truck with bodies, all dead, piled one on top of the other their skin changing from the softness of the living to the leathery skin of the dead. Or a torture cell with the incarcerated’s dying wish and last words of love to his family.” —Dr. Israel Zoberman, founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim, is the son of Polish Holocaust survivors. He spent his early childhood in Displaced Persons Camps in Austria and Germany.

jewishnewsva.org | July 18, 2016 | Jewish News | 27


IN MEMORIAM

Last Rays of the Setting Sun of German Culture Robert Schopflocher, German-Jewish-Argentinian author

R

obert Schopflocher was born in the Franconian city of Fürth near Nuremberg, an old town that was once known for its vibrant Jewish culture as the Franconian Jerusalem—and which also happens to be the hometown of Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State of the United States. Schopflocher’s family, who had lived in southern Germany for many centuries, was once part of the well-established and thoroughly assimilated German-Jewish Bildungsbürgertum, the cultural upper middle class which began to emerge in the 19th century. Thanks to business connections, the Schopflocher family managed to escape Nazi Germany just in time and emigrate to Argentina where the young Robert finished his formal high school education at the liberal German Pestalozzi-Schule in Buenos Aires. From 1940 through 1944, he studied agriculture in Córdoba, and from 1944 through 1951 he worked as an administrator and agricultural expert on various settlements of the “Jewish Colonization Association” in southern Argentina, which had been founded in the late 19th century by the German-Jewish philanthropist Baron de Hirsch to create a safe haven and new homeland for Eastern European Jews fleeing the growing tide of Russian pogroms. In 1951, Schopflocher moved with his young family back to Buenos Aires to work in his father’s import business. At the same time, he also embarked on an expanding variety of creative activities as a cultural journalist and prolific author of award winning novels in Spanish as well as a painter and woodcutter in the modern tradition of German Expressionism with several national and international exhibitions both in Europe and Latin-America. Schopflocher was already more than 70 years old when he decided to write again in his German mother tongue. With his quickly growing collection of short stories in German since 1998, he soon began to make a name for himself in the Germanspeaking world of Central Europe. In 2008, his hometown Fürth honored him

with the prestigious Jakob-WassermannPrize, named after a well-known novelist from Fürth, who is remembered nowadays in particular for his exemplary autobiography Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude (1921), published in English as My Life as a German and Jew in the ominous year of 1933. Robert Schopflocher’s own autobiography Weit von Wo. Mein Leben zwischen drei Welten (Far from Where: My Life between Three Worlds, 2010)—echoing already in its title Wassermann’s own life story—was unanimously praised in leading Germanspeaking journals and newspapers from Der Spiegel to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. His following two novels Die verlorenen Kinder (The Lost Children, 2013) and Das Komplott zu Lima (The Conspiracy in Lima, 2015) are multi-layered historical narratives which reverberate time and again with the long Jewish history of discrimination and persecution, and in particular with the history of the Spanish Inquisition, the Nazi Holocaust and—mutatis mutandis—its final South-American transmutation into the notorious “Dirty War” of Argentina’s military junta in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Wie Reb Froike die Welt rettete (How Reb Froike Saved the World) is the programmatic title of Schopflocher’s first collection of short stories in German and it clearly derived its inspiration from the ancient Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam, of making the world a better place. In the 19th century, this ancient Jewish mission began to join forces with the classical tradition of German idealism, thereby informing the social criticism of writers and thinkers like Ludwig Börne, Heinrich Heine and Karl Marx, some of the most prominent German-Jewish exiles in revolutionary Paris. This emancipatory movement continued to grow into the progressive cultural agenda of Weimar’s avant-garde artists and liberal politicians and it would still inspire—far beyond the abysmal rupture of civilization during the Third Reich—the creative work and spiritual worldview of Robert Schopflocher in present-day Argentina.

28 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

More than ten years ago, I did an extensive interview with him in which we also focused on this exceptional multi-cultural trajectory. During the course of this interview, he characterized himself as one of the “letzte Strahlen der untergehenden deutschen Bildungssonne”, Robert Schopflocher (1923–2016) as one of the “last rays of the setting sun of German culture,” a characterization which the German-American scholarly journal Monatshefte turned into the telling title of this interview that was subsequently published in the journal’s winter issue of 2006. Elective affinities and creative sensibilities: Robert Schopflocher’s rising reputation in contemporary Germany was accompanied Robert Schopflocher with Ruth, his German-Jewish wife, as young by the growing renaissance of Argentinian Gauchos on one of the Baron-de-Hirsch settlements in Gabriele Tergit, once a leading the southern province of Entre Ríos female author in the Weimar of religious communities and educational Republic, who was emerging again from institutions right here in Hampton Roads. Germany’s historical amnesia after World In the spring of 2015, the Federal Republic War II. She had survived the continental of Germany honored Robert Schopflocher catastrophe in London and it was only with the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the highrecently that Germany’s literary public est national accolade of his native country. became aware of the fact that she was also To the very end, he was full of new ideas a close relative of Robert Schopflocher. and literary projects and his lasting proIn fall of 2014, a Festschrift in honor ductivity should also find a very fitting of the author appeared in Germany with conclusion. In the beginning of this year, circa one hundred contributors and conhe received the joyful news that plans gratulators from around the world. The were underway to turn his last epic novel voluminous anthology includes several Das Komplott zu Lima into a major hiswell-known exile scholars, prominent tory film. According to friends of his Holocaust survivors, as well as public family, at the end of this momentous figures such as Auma Obama, the sister day so full of a promising future, Robert of the American president, who has been Schopflocher peacefully passed away. With living in Germany for many years and his death, the last rays of the setting sun of whose recent German autobiography German-Jewish culture have in deed set in became a national bestseller which made a far-away country at the southern end of her a veritable celebrity in that increasingly our so-called Western Civilization. transcultural country. And last, but not —Frederick A. Lubich least, the international list of Festschrift participants also includes around 30 writers and well-wishers from a wide variety


Lynnhaven River Now presents awards to Srelitz and HAT Earthly Pearls of Wisdom at Strelitz Early Childhood Center

Hebrew Academy of Tidewater earns community environmental award

Gaby Grune

Alyssa Muhlendorf

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he Strelitz Early Childhood Center was honored on May 26 with the Lynnhaven River NOW Pearl School Award for achievements in environmentally conscious academia. A year’s worth of implementing an environmental curriculum allowed the school to earn 100 points, facilitating their eligibility to become a Pearl School. Lynnhaven River NOW works with residents, businesses, faith communities, schools and community leaders to restore and protect Virginia Beach waterways. Lynnhaven River NOW offers a variety of steps that people can do to help protect the local environment. Each step is worth a certain amount of points. Schools, homes and organizations that follow the steps and take action can accumulate points, while aiming for Pearl status and improving the earth. Gardening, recycling, up cycling and ocean shore cleanup are a few ways the Strelitz Early Childhood Center strived for excellence this past year. Years before its involvement with Lynnhaven River NOW, Strelitz set forth an environmental gardening enterprise. Lorna Orleans, Strelitz Early Childhood Center executive director, says, “We already had one garden that a parent started several years ago as a project with our four-year-old class. The Lemke family created this garden by the picnic area and our parent group helped. They planned events such as a pansy planting play date to keep that garden going in the spring. In the summer and fall, they kept it going with different seasonal flowers and vegetables.” Orleans says that, “It was a great opportunity for our kids to see where food comes from, that you don’t just go to the grocery store where it magically appears. They now get more of a sense of garden to table. The garden became an extension of the classroom. For example, the students grew a lot of parsley, which attracts a

certain type of butterfly, which laid eggs. When the students harvested the parsley, they picked off all of the caterpillars, with several of the classrooms putting caterpillars in butterfly habitats.

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noteworthy collaboration by Hebrew Academy students, parents, teachers and administration earned Hebrew Academy of Tidewater its first community environmental award. Lynnhaven River

The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater sponsored outdoor learning equipment to give Hebrew Academy children hands-on understanding of their natural environment.

The students watched the metamorphosis process as the caterpillars created cocoons. When they hatched into butterflies, the students held a release ceremony sending the butterflies back out to the gardens. “This life cycle process became a part of the science curriculum,” says Orleans. “A two-year-old is only going to process so much, but you know what? Whenever you start working on these sensibilities with children this appreciation for the earth and ways that you can help make it a better, cleaner place at whatever level they are, they are going to take something away from that!” says Orleans. A Jewish principal, Tikkun Olam is defined by acts of kindness meant to repair the world. At Strelitz, educators are planting the seed of Tikkun Olam early, knowing that seeds will grow and transform children into consciences adults. Strelitz plans to gain the 50 points required to renew their Pearl status each year. In fact, soon, the faculty will begin composting and installing a rain barrel to promote a greener garden.

NOW (LRN), a local environmental organization that focuses on the restoration of Virginia Beach’s historic Lynnhaven River, bestowed HAT with the honor of being a Pearl School. To earn this achievement, HAT spent the last academic year integrating key Jewish values of environmental stewardship into its general and Judaic studies curriculums. They also tracked gardening and other stewardship activities. This award demonstrates that HAT students don’t just intellectually learn Jewish values, but they actively live Jewish values. Earning this award was a year in the making. Before the 2014-15 school year ended, HAT parents Alyssa Muhlendorf and Ashley and Shawn Lemke met with LRN, school administration and key teachers to discuss how environmental stewardship and gardening could be integrated into the school curriculum. HAT committed to enhancing its curriculum and then hosted an in-service by LRN to teach the teachers how to engage children in gardening and other stewardship activities. A Pearl School committee was

formed between parents, teachers and administration to lay the groundwork for steps students and teachers would take to earn Pearl School status. Engaging students in environmental stewardship is a multi-sensory process. At HAT’s request, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater sponsored outdoor learning equipment to give children hands-on understanding of their natural environment. HAT now has four 4x4 square foot gardens and a green house. Each class is assigned space for experimenting. When LRN’s Jody Ullman presented HAT with the award, she noted, “Some schools build gardens but never use them. We at LRN are so impressed with HAT’s integration of gardening into their daily activities.” Every grade at HAT took an environmentally and sustainably-focused field trip this year. For example, first through fifth graders experienced the Elizabeth River Learning Barge, an outdoor floating classroom with live wetlands and wetlands animals; the kindergarten explored both sides of First Landing State Park, and fifth grade went on an overnight trip to the Pearlstone Center, a Jewish farm in Maryland. Stewardship doesn’t stop at HAT when the school day is over. Beginning in January 2016, a parent-led, school-sponsored Garden & Nature Club met to address a new topic and explore, plant and tend what is growing and living in the outdoor learning space and around the campus each week. This club made a significant contribution to earning the Pearl School Award—more than 20 students participated, and their enthusiasm for gardening and the natural world spilled into their classrooms. HAT’s new Pearl School banner will be prominently displayed in the school’s foyer. Each year the school will have a chance to renew their award through sustained or new environmental initiatives.

jewishnewsva.org | July 18, 2016 | Jewish News | 29


it’s a wrap Pool party packed with family fun at Simon Family JCC

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nyone at the Simon Family JCC on Sunday, June 26 probably noticed the packed parking lot and 1,700 new faces at the pool. Between 1 and 4 pm, the membership and Camp JCC teams hosted a pool party, inviting the community to swim, play ski ball, toss a few water balloons, and snack on hot dogs from the Cardo Café. “We were able to connect with a bunch of community members who had no idea where the JCC was or all the programs we offer,” says Tom Purcell, membership and wellness director. “Based on the feedback we received, online and in person, everyone had an incredible time and left with a wonderful impression of the Center.” While the outdoor water park and three indoor pools were packed, attendees also had the option of playing carnival games and racing through a bounce house obstacle course. There were also several scheduled breaks during the party that took swimmers out onto dry land, including a water balloon fight, a Gaga Ball tournament, and boot camp for kids. The original pool party was planned for May 22 to kick off Summer Memberships and sign up last minute campers, but cold weather and rain pushed the event several weekends—past Memorial Day, Israel Fest, Shavuot and Father’s Day. “Next year, we hope we have better weather before Memorial Day so we can have the first pool party of the summer,” says Purcell.

Beth El’s Spiritual Kabbalat Shabbat Cantor Wendi Fried

Danny Kline President

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Andy Kline CEO

All Services. All Local. Payroll, Taxes and W-2s • ACA Compliance and Reporting Web Based Time and Attendance • NCS Background Checks Employee Loans • Pay As You Go Workers Comp Insurance • HR Support Center Employee Self Service Online • Merchant Services • VISA Debit Payday Cards

Contact us today at 757-523-0605 or www.paydaypayroll.com 1 30 PD-ad-JewishNews-QtrColor-102815.indd | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

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riday night, June 3, Beth El congregation was a hopping and exhilarating place to be. The leadership decided to shake things up and try something new for its annual meeting. Instead of a regular meeting, it was turned into an entire night of celebration, spirit and community that would be talked about for weeks. The annual meeting, which was run by now past president, Jerry Kantor, was kept short and sweet, and was a great kick off to the evening. As it wound down, all the attendees were invited to join in at the carnival, planned by Ashley Zittrain and her team of volunteers which had already started for the kids. The carnival had all the makings of a fun-for-all and included bounce houses, face painting and games for youth of all ages. A cookout was catered by Beth El’s in-house staff and there were more than enough hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and cookout favorites. After the dinner, everyone was

invited upstairs to Barr Hall where Shabbat was ushered in with Beth El’s first ever Kabbalat service with the brand new band and choir. Their soul stirring and rousing renditions encouraged the entire congregation to raise their voices together until the prayers of the congregation were felt reverberating and filling the hall. Those who were gathered that evening felt the power of the moments of reflection and the contagious excitement when the house was rockin’. The energy continued through a spiritual Ma’ariv (sans instruments) and at the end of the service, many lingered talking and enjoying each other’s company.


it’s a wrap JFS Biennial Meeting: an installation and celebration

Lawrence Steingold, outgoing JFS president, presented the 2016 Community Partner award to TowneBank, accepted by Billy Foster.

Jeff Cooper, JFS board president 2016-2018, with Betty Ann Levin, JFS executive director, and Heather Alexander of TowneBank.

Amy Cobb

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t the 63rd Biennial Meeting of Jewish Family Service of Tidewater on June 9, Lawrence Steingold, outgoing president, handed over the reins to Jeff Cooper, who will serve as president for the 20162018 term. Throughout the evening, the focus was on celebration, success and community. Past president, Dr. Marcia Samuels, installed Cooper and the other members of the executive committee: • Ellen Rosenblum, vice president • Kim Gross, vice president • Patti Wainger, secretary • L awrence Steingold, treasurer and   immediate past president • Dr. Marcia Samuels, past president • Ashley Zittrain, member-at-large JFS also thanked its outgoing board members, Elena Barr Baum and Janet Yue for their service and welcomed incoming board members Betty Berklee, Frances Levy Birshstein (Hebrew Ladies Charity Society representative), Charlene Cohen, Scott Flax, Chamie Haber, Matt Mancoll, Dr. Ken Muhlendorf and Sara Jo Rubin. Lawrence Steingold, outgoing president, highlighted the many accomplishments of

the agency during his two-year term and specifically expressed appreciation to JFS partners at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater for their support. He commented how “highly inspired I have been by the close to 200 people who work at JFS every day to help carry out the mission of the organization, along with the multitude of volunteers, board members and other partners in the community who do their part to try to make each individual’s life just a little bit better.” Steingold then presented the Community Partner award to TowneBank, which was accepted by Billy Foster, Virginia Beach TowneBank president. TowneBank has been a supportive partner with JFS for the past seven years in many capacities, including serving as Presenting Sponsor for the annual JFS Spring into Healthy Living fundraising event. Jeff Cooper presented the 2016 Distinguished Service Award to Elena Barr Baum, in recognition of her years of service on the board and to JFS, including serving as president from July, 2010 through June, 2012. Cooper recognized the “skill and passion” of the JFS employees and also cited the role of its board members as “steering the organization

toward a sustainable future, one that is mindful of both mission and margin and is adept at recognizing new opportunities in a changing health care and social service landscape The Cooper Family congratulates Jeff Cooper, JFS board president for 2016-2018: while also strength- Charles and Minette Cooper, Allison and Jeff Cooper, Eric Cooper and John Cooper. ening our core functions.” Betty Ann Levin, JFS executive director, remarked, “Our community should be proud that such a dedicated group of lay leaders are guiding our agency. It continues to be a pleasure to work with our entire board of directors and we look forward to the next two years under Jeff’s leadership.” Levin also presented plaques of recognition to eight youth in appreciation of their generosity and tzedakah on the occasion of their bar and bat mitvahs over the past two years. Recognized were JFS board member Ashley Zittrain with outgoing Noah Alperin, Asher Baum, Matthew president Lawrence Steingold. Gross, Leo Kamer, Hannah Mancoll, Lauren Moscovitz, Jordan Parker-Ashe and Brayden Snyder. These young men their respective mitzvah projects to a JFS and women focused a portion or all of program.

28th Annual Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning Golf Tournament Tuesday, August 30, Bayville Golf Club 4137 First Court Road, Virginia Beach Registration—10:30 am Tee off—12 noon, shotgun start To register or sponsor, contact: Patti Seeman, director of development, 757-424-4327, pseeman@hebrewacademy.net or online at https://www.hebrewacademy.net/hat-golf-page .

jewishnewsva.org | July 18, 2016 | Jewish News | 31


it’s a wrap JFS recognizes employees for longevity

Turning readers into leaders

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ach year since 1982, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater has recognized and honored a Home Health Care Worker of the Year. This year, Danita Pierce, CNA, was given the honor at JFS’ annual Employee Appreciation dinner on June 14. Pierce attended Howard University, majoring in math and accounting. When she moved to Tidewater 29 years ago, she became a certified nursing assistant and has worked for JFS for seven years. Jan Ganderson, RN, director of nursing for JFS home health, says, “Danita has made over 12,000 home visits since she began working at JFS. Danita works as a CNA because she loves helping people. She is very dedicated to her clients and provides them with outstanding care.” In honor of this year’s Summer Olympics, JFS chose an Olympic theme to recognize the teamwork employees exhibit daily as they care for people throughout the community and provide agency support. Staff members recognized At the dinner, JFS managers also recognized employees for their longevity and service to the agency. Recognized for 20 Years • K im Stites, I.T. coordinator, administration Recognized for 15 Years • Vincent Bergan, CNA, Home Health Care • A lla Gean, Older Adult Services/ Acculturation

Gaby Grune

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Jan Ganderson, JFS director of nursing, presents the 2016 Home Health Worker of the Year award to Danita Pearce, CNA.

• Sue Graves, Fundraising coordinator • Sally Neilan, PT, Home Health Care • Marina Tidwell, Financial assistant, Personal Affairs Management (PAM) Recognized for 10 Years • Susan Dunkley, SLP, Home Health Care Recognized for Five Years • K atie Anderson, Team leader, Personal Affairs Management (PAM) • Sid Barrera, LPTA, Home Health Care • A my Cobb, Marketing and fundraising assistant • Sentera Cook, Clerical assistant, Home Health Care • Donna Smith, Team leader, Personal Affairs Management (PAM) • Julie Van Gorder, RN, Nurse laison, Home Health Care

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Jewish News It makes them smile! 32 | Jewish News | July 18, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

he Simon Family JCC’s Be a Reader (BEAR) program was honored at the Virginia Beach City Public Schools 2016 Community Celebration in April. BEAR’s success continues to receive recognition and accolades for the impact the program has on the community. But the real reward comes from the volunteers and their dayto-day interactions with students. “What do you know about children’s literacy and what are the needs in this area?” Betsy Kartokin asked three women back in 1999. Those three women, Gail Flax, Ronnie Jane Konikoff and Frances Birshtein, along with Karotkin, researched and determined that a very minimal amount of money goes to children’s literacy on a national, state and city level. The quartet points to that single question as the birth of the Be a Reader program, commonly referred to as BEAR, which has been improving the literacy levels of children in Tidewater for 17 years. The program’s goal is to help at-risk children in public schools acquire the reading skills and love of learning that lead to personal happiness and success. Volunteers read one-on-one with a child once a week at elementary schools in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. “We are exclusively in Title I Schools— and I say that because these children, for the most part, don’t have books at home,” says Flax, who has been volunteering since she helped establish the program. BEAR gives the students five books each year to help stimulate their reading. Volunteers and children read aloud and work on spelling, vocabulary and classroom reading assignments. But Flax says it’s not just about the schoolwork. “The biggest benefit for the children is the relationships they develop with their mentor. That’s really what this program is all about,” says Flax. “When we started, we really focused on reading, and it’s still the focus, but it is just as much about the

Nancy Brickell (right) receives gift from a BEAR student at Birdneck Elementary.

relationships that these children form with the adults who spend that one hour a week with them.” “Nancy Brickell has been volunteering for five years. She always reads and does art with the kids. At the end of this school year, a student she was partnered with made her a turtle and gave it to her as a parting gift,” notes Flax. “When these kids who have nothing do this, it makes you cry.” Flax is owed a lot of credit for the program’s success. However, her job isn’t about recognition—it’s about the work, the volunteers and the kids. “I am so proud to have done this work the past 17 years. It is all about the volunteers. I couldn’t do it without my volunteers. They are great!” says Flax. Flax says she appreciates the spotlight and attention that the Birdneck district is receiving, but hopes to shine a light on the areas that could use more volunteers. “Some schools struggle to just get five people,” she explains. All schools in Tidewater could use more volunteers. Those interested in becoming a mentor and impacting a child’s life could assist at the following schools: Chesterfield, Granby, Larrymore, Lynnhaven, College Park and Birdneck elementary schools. To sponsor this program or learn more about volunteer opportunities, contact the Simon Family JCC at 757-321-2338.


what’s happening Israeli portrait photographer Miri Hyman’s exhibit focuses on mothers

Brith Sholom to hold annual “Club 50 Dinner” Sunday, August 21, 5:30 pm, Beth Sholom Village

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he “Club 50” is a celebration of all of Brith Sholom’s members that are currently married 50 years or more. This year is special, as 36 couples have reached or exceeded the 50 years. In fact, one couple has been married 65 years. The group has a total of 3,525 years of marriage among 83 couples. With a total membership of 257, 28% have been married 50 years or more. Today’s statistics say marriages only have a 50% chance of working. Brith Sholom is helping to break that statistic. For more information, contact LeeAnne Mallory, secretary, Brith Sholom Center of Virginia, Inc. at 757-461-1150 or brith.sholom1@gmail.com.

Leon Family Art Gallery at the Simon Family JCC July 20–August 20 Gaby Grune

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white billowy hood crowns a woman’s face peeking out of the darkness. Ceremonial robes drape the human form. The composition is swallowed in sorrow. Monochromatic tones transition from deep blacks to reflective whites. Beneath the image’s surface is a narrative the viewer searches for, but may never find. The silence is deafening. “I look at these silent women, and their silence speaks within me,” says Miri Hyman, the portrait photographer who captured the image. Hyman was separated from her mother at birth and raised on a kibbutz by nannies. Since then, she has been on a quest for a mother’s glance, touch and that “eye to eye connection that contains a whole word.” That lost world is what she yearns for and tries to reflect in her photographic portraits of women all over the globe. Hyman has been involved in women’s groups for many years to, “probe the ways in which feminine company

Holiday honey from ORT can contain the absence of a present mother.” She observes their environments and uses the camera as a tool to generate a non-verbal connection. This artist’s gaze is not meant to isolate the subject, but rather to invite the subject to accept her. Hyman does not seek to expose the figures she photographs. Hyman looks through the lens at these women, in hopes of finding the hidden missing pieces within her. Direct from Israel, Hyman’s portraits will be exhibited in the Leon Family Art Gallery at the Simon Family JCC. For information about the artist, her work and the exhibition, contact Naty Horev, Simon Family JCC cultural arts specialist, at 757-321-2304.

The ORT Honey Project is in full swing. An 8 oz jar costs $11 and shipping is included before July 29. After July 29, shipping is $4 per jar. Honey will be received before Rosh Hashanah. To order online, visit www.orthoney.com and use the code PCV to support the Norfolk/VABeach chapter of ORT. Contact Abbie Laderberg at abbieladerberg@gmail.com for more information.

Local rabbi to host free Bible study course Begins Sunday, July 31, 6 pm

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abbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill, spiritual leader of Tidewater Chavurah, will offer a free course, Torah Study for Skeptics. The course is geared to Jewish adults and teens with minimal background in Judaism, as well as those who are skeptical of the relevance of Jewish texts, and is open to everyone. The program aims to offer unaffiliated Jews the chance to study the Hebrew Bible outside of a synagogue setting, to engage Jews who may be alienated from Torah because of youthful experiences, and to expose Jews and spiritual seekers in Tidewater to foundational Jewish texts

in a relaxed atmosphere. Texts will be studied in English, and continu- Rabbi Ellen ing students will receive Jaffe-Gill a copy of the Jewish Publication Society’s Hebrew-English Tanakh. The course is funded by a grant from the Auerbach Foundation Fund, awarded by Reconstructionist Rabbinical College to Rabbi Jaffe-Gill, a 2014 graduate of the seminary who lives in Virginia Beach. For location and more information about Torah Study for Skeptics, contact Rabbi Jaffe-Gill at rabbicantorejg@gmail. com or 757-464-1950.

MEDITERRANEAN SALAD greens, shrimp, artichoke, mushrooms, radishes, feta, pepperoncini, sardine, white anchovy, beets, tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, egg, fresh herbs, red wine. jewishnewsva.org | July 18, 2016 | Jewish News | 33


what’s happening

First Iota Gamma Phi Reunion planned Sunday, September 11, 11:30 am–2:30 pm

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reunion for area Iota Gamma Phi Sorority sisters is slated to take place in September. The high school sorority was active for 70 years in Tidewater and the reunion is for anyone who was a member at any time. “Sisters” from years past will have an opportunity to reminisce with old friends and share memories of Closing Affairs, Beach weekends and fun times from those high school years. The event will take place at the Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club. Lunch will be served and there will be a cash bar. Valet parking will be available at the main entrance to the club. Space is limited, so to secure a reservation, send a check as soon as possible for $35 to: Pearl Taylor, P.O. Box 56556, Virginia Beach, VA 23456 All checks must be received by September 1. To include personal keepsakes—Iota green and gold memorabilia or photos—in the collage of sorority memories that is being created for this special event, contact Beth Dorsk at bethdorsk@gmail.com. For information, email either Beth Dorsk or Pearl Taylor at pearltay@cox.net.

Calendar JULY 31, SUNDAY Torah Study for Skeptics, first of a free ongoing series of study sessions led by Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill. 6–8 pm. For location and more information, call Rabbi Ellen at 757‑464‑1950 or email rabbicantorejg@gmail.com.

August 30, Tuesday 28th Annual Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning Golf Tournament. Bayville Golf Club. Registration 10:30 am. Tee Off 12 noon Shotgun start. To register or sponsor, contact: Patti Seeman, director of development, 757-424-4327, pseeman@hebrewacademy.net or on-line at https://www.hebrewacademy.net/hat-golf-page. Send submissions for calendar to news@ujft.org. Be sure to note “calendar” in the subject. Include date, event name, sponsor, address, time, cost and phone.

mazel tov to Birth Shaina and Andreu Moore on the birth of their son, Benjamin Grayson Moore, on June 24, 2016. He is the brother of Caleb Jerome Moore, grandson of Brenda Gordon and Ben Gordon (of blessed memory), and Tom and Darlene Tupper. Mazel Tov submissions should be emailed to news@ujft.org with Mazel Tov in the subject line. Achievements, B’nai Mitzvot, births, engagements and weddings are appropriate simchas to announce. Photos must be at least 300k. Include a daytime phone for questions. There is no fee.

Tidewater community College offers Kosher-cooking classes Classes are for those who wish to prepare kosher foods for catering, retail or home cooking. A Taste of Asia Monday, July 18, 6–10 pm, B’nai Israel Congregation (Glatt Kosher) Experience the flavors and cooking techniques of the far east.

Israeli Scouts to perform at Simon Family JCC Wednesday, August 3, 6 pm, Simon Family JCC

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en 17-year-old Israeli Scouts and two leaders will visit the Simon Family JCC in early August. Each Friendship Caravan of Scouts, or Tzofim, consists of five males and five females. The Scouts are all accomplished performers, chosen as much for talent as verve and enthusiasm. All members of the community are invited to enjoy the Friendship Caravan’s incredible performance. Free. For more information, call 757-321-2338.

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Home Catering Like a Pro Monday, August 15, 6–10 pm, B’nai Israel (Glatt Kosher) Apply professional techniques to home parties. Learn tricks of the trade from menu planning to production and presentation. Kosher Style Cooking Wednesday, July 20 or August 17, 6–10 pm, TCC Norfolk Campus Learn the laws of kashrut. Sample menu items include gefilte fish, matzo ball soup and Pineapple challah kugel. Each class costs $85 and includes ingredients, recipe handouts and a certificate of participation. To register, go to tcc.augusoft.net. For more information, call 757-822-1234 or email wfdinfo@tcc.edu.


WHO Knew? Curb Your Enthusiasm to return for long-awaited 9th season (JTA)—Larry David’s HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm will return for a ninth season, ending a five-year wait by fans. The network made the announcement last month, but did not set a date for the start of the new season. The show went on hiatus in September 2011. David hailed his comeback in a tone typical of his comedic shtick. “In the immortal words of Julius Caesar, ‘I left, I did nothing, I returned,’” the Seinfeld co-creator said in the HBO statement. Curb Your Enthusiasm, which debuted on HBO in 1999, has become the network’s longest-running show with 80 episodes over eight seasons. David, who writes and stars in the comedy, plays an exaggerated alter-ego version of himself. David, who grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, has had his fair share

of Jewy moments on the show, from pretending to be Orthodox to deciding between Israeli and Palestinian food. “We’re thrilled that Larry has decided to do a new season of Curb and can’t wait to see what he has planned,” HBO’s new programming director, Casey Bloys, said in the statement. Don’t believe David’s misquote of Caesar—he’s actually been quite busy. During his Curb sabbatical, he wrote and starred in the Broadway play Fish in the Dark and made several appearances on Saturday Night Live imitating Jewish presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. In one sketch, David and Sanders appeared together as Jewish immigrants on a ship to the United States. David’s last work for HBO was the 2013 film Clear History.

Paul Simon says he may be nearing end of career, considering retirement

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aul Simon is still touring at the age of 74, but he might soon hang up his guitar for good. In an interview with The New York Times published last month, the Grammy-winning Jewish singer-songwriter said he might be “coming towards the end” of his nearly six-decade career. “Showbiz doesn’t hold any interest for me,” Simon said. “None.” His latest album, Stranger to Stranger, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this month. It was the highest charting of any of his 12 solo albums. Simon finished the American leg of a world tour in Queens, New York— he grew up there and met his former musical partner, Art Garfunkel—before playing several dates in Europe through

the rest of this year. However, the Times story noted that Simon’s age was finally catching up with him. “At 74, he often needs 15 hours of sleep at a stretch,” it said. “The other day, performing in Philadelphia, he looked out from the stage and was surprised to see four mountains on the horizon. When he put on his glasses, he realized the mountains were actually big white tents.” Simon, who spoke of exploring “spirituality and neuroscience,” said he doesn’t “have any fear” of retiring from music. “It’s an act of courage to let go,” he said. “I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I’m going to see, who am I?” (JTA)

154-20151118-262780

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obituaries Ralph “Jerry” Bernstein Norfolk—Ralph “Jerry” Bernstein, 89, of the 1600 block of Sheppard Avenue, passed away on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at his son and wife’s house in the quiet of his bedroom. He was a native of Norfolk, and was the son of the late Louis and Anne Bernstein. Jerry graduated from Maury High School, class of 1946 and was a founding member of Temple Israel. He was an active member of the Tidewater Basketry Guild and an avid volunteer at Tarrallton Elementary School where he was known simply as “Poppy.” Jerry and his wife owned and operated Atlantic Leather for over 47 years. He was predeceased by his beloved Faye, wife of 65 years. Survivors include his daughter Ellen Bernstein (husband Dan Miller) of Richmond, son Lewis (wife Beth) of Norfolk, who he spent his last few years living with, and four grandchildren, Isaac (wife Brittany), Sydney, Rachel (husband Daniel) and Jill. Funeral Services were held in the Norfolk chapel of H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Rabbi Michael Panitz officiated. Burial was in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Memorial donations to Temple Israel. Online condolences may be sent to the family at hdoliver.com. Fred A. Buns St. Pete Beach, Fla.—Fred A. Buns, 92, passed away July 9, 2016. Born in Baltimore, Md., Fred came to Florida in 1983 after living in Gainesville and Alexandria, Va.

A longtime retail and real estate entrepreneur, Fred was engaged in many aspects of life within the community. While living in Gainesville, his family was founding members of Congregation B’nai Israel of Gainesville. An active and generous member of Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Petersburg, Fred served in many capacities, including past treasurer, cemetery committee member, and new building committee member. His generosity was instrumental in funding the library, pre-school, Ner Tamid, Tree of Life and the Buns Technology Fund. Fred was also a member of the CBI Men’s Club and TOP. He was a supporter of Chabad of S. Petersburg. In Alexandria, he supported Agudas Achim Congregation. Fred proudly served in the United States Navy, and was a Mason and Shriner. Survivors include his wife, Kathleen Smith-Buns; sons, Jack (Judy) and Phillip (Rachel); daughters, Barbara Cabiac (Charles) and Ethel Buns; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held at David C. Gross Funeral Home in St. Petersburg. Burial followed in Chapel Hill Memorial Park, Largo. Donations to the Buns Technology Fund at Congregation B’nai Israel, Chabad of S. Petersburg or Suncoast Hospice. Online guestbook at: davidcgross.com.

Lithuania to the late Sima and Bernard Ginsburg. She grew up in New York City and worked for many years at the Breast Cancer Center at Sentara Leigh Breast Center Clinic. She was the loving wife of Charles Heyman for 59 years and beloved mother of Richard Heyman and his wife Anne of Del Mar, Calif., Beverlie Marks and her husband Morris of Needham, Mass. and Joanne Heyman and her husband Joe Greene of Riverdale, N.Y. She leaves cherished grandchildren: Scott and Julia Heyman, Andrew, Ilana and Alex Marks, Sydney and Morgan Greene and Rashid Perkins. Despite the distance from her children and grandchildren or her schedule, she attended all of their milestones and was actively involved in their lives. She treasured the beauty of each grandchild and built a very special bond with each and every one of them. She also leaves a special niece, Laura Heyman and many,

many dear friends including Johnnie and Kay Allen, her lifelong friends in Norfolk, the Mahjong Ladies, her Breast Cancer Support Group, The Pink Tea Ladies and friends from Temple Emanuel. As a 40-year cancer survivor, she worked tirelessly as an advocate for cancer patients. This included working at the Sentara Leigh Breast Cancer clinic, leading numerous breast cancer support groups and organizing multiple fund raisers including Relay for Life, Stomping out Breast Cancer and The Pink Tea Initiative (which she started), an organization that supported a Virginia Beach Health Clinic which served the underserved community. In addition, she ran many other programs affiliated with the American Cancer Society. Her other passion was her family and her large group of friends. She provided love and guidance to her family and many countless other individuals and friends that she embraced and treated as family.

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obituaries She loved spending her time traveling to visit her children, grandchildren and friends. She also loved reading, knitting and as a passionate football fan actively cheered on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Donations to The Beach Health Clinic, 3396 Holland Road #102, Virginia Beach, VA 23452; an organization very dear to Renee’s heart. Renee worked many years helping to raise money to help woman get access to mammograms and other health related tests. A celebration of her life will take place in the future. Details for the memorial will be provided by Temple Emanuel. Irwin Arthur Stavin Virginia Beach—Irwin Arthur Stavin passed away peacefully at the age of 97 on July 11, 2016. He was the son of Reuven and Sarah Ephraim Stavin. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on May 13, 1919. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Gertrude Gussoff Stavin. He is also survived by his children, Dottie Goldman (Chuck), and Richard Stavin (Dea); grandchildren, David Goldman, Laura Wingett (Marc), Danielle Stavin, and Justin Stavin; and great grandchildren, Harrison and Brendan Wingett. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. His family was everything to him. He was a man of high integrity and moral conviction who always did the right thing. Irwin will always be remembered for his amazing stories, sense of humor and fancy footwork on the dance floor. Irwin had a long, wonderful life; some of the highlights of which were meeting his sweetheart Gertrude and serving our country as a decorated WWII B29 pilot. The US Army was in need of flight instructors and Irwin was one of a select group of 400 out of 16,000 cadets to be part of General Hap Arnold’s Guinea Pigs

known as the class of 42x. He survived a crash landing in the Pacific on July 13, 1945. In a true circle of life, we say our final good-bye to him on July 13. Donations to a charity of the donor’s choice. A private graveside service took place. Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.altmeyerfh.com. Melvin Ticatch VIRGINIA BEACH—Melvin Ticatch, 88, died on Thursday, June 30, 2016. A native of New Boston, Ohio, he was the son of the late Etta Levine and Harry Ticatch. He had retired as a pharmacist after many years. Survivors include a daughter, Natalie Guld (Michael) of Raleigh, N.C.; three sons, Larry Ticatch (Brenda) of Yorktown, Joel Ticatch (Elaine) of Fairfax, Va., and Nathan Ticatch (Paula) of Houston, Texas; his former wife, Marian Ticatch; eight, grandchildren; Eli (Shannon), Micuh (Nerissa), Spencer, Stephanie, Avi, Justin, Harlan, and Jillian; and five great grandchildren; Keret, Aaron, Nava, Asher and Drew. A graveside funeral service was held in Forest Lawn Cemetery with Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz officiating. Memorial contributions to Beth Sholom Home or a charity of choice . H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Online condolences may be made at www.hdoliver.com. David Jay Weinstein Livingston, N.J.—David Jay Weinstein passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2016 after a lengthy illness. He was 62. Born in Brooklyn, N. Y., he lived in Queens, N.Y., Long Island, N.Y., and North Plainfield, N.J. before moving to Livingston, N.J. in 1984. He had attended Brooklyn Polytech for one year and then SUNY Stoneybrook where he earned a B.S. and an M.S. in metallurgical engineering. After working as an engineer, he entered the investment world working for

the World Financial Group in Fairfield, N.J. for the past 10 years. He retired earlier this year. He was a member of the Folk Music Society of N.J. first in Roseland and later in Livingston, N.J. A Democratic Party Committeeman in Livingston for more than 25 years, he was still serving at the time of his death. He had been an active member of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston for many years, chairing its Nursery School Board and working on its Soup Kitchen. Currently he was a member of Chavurat Lamdeinu in Summit, N.J. He is survived by his wife, Debbie Weinstein (nee Ashendorf) of Livingston, N.J., two sons, Eliot (Amy) Weinstein of Virginia Beach, Va., and Ari Weinstein of Santa Monica, Calif., as well as a sister Eileen Weinstein-Levy of West Palm Beach, Fla. and a grandson, Avi Weinstein.

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tips on Jewish trips

Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History The Jewish Musem, through August 7, 2016 Germaine Clair

T

hrough more than 250 clothing and costume designs, sketches, photographs, and an immersive video installation, Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History explores Mizrahi’s unique position at the intersection of high style and popular culture. While best known for his work in fashion, Mizrahi’s creativity

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has expanded over a three decade career to embrace acting, directing, set and costume design, writing, and cabaret performance. Beginning with his first collection in 1987 and running through the present day, Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History weaves together the many threads of Mizrahi’s prolific output, juxtaposing work in fashion, film, television, and the performing arts. The exhibition explores key trends in Mizrahi’s work—from the use of color and prints, to witty designs that touch on issues of race, religion, class, and politics. The core of the exhibition features iconic designs from the Isaac Mizrahi New York clothing label (1987–1998), the “semi-couture” collections (2003–2011), and the trailblazing line for Target (2002–2008). The show is comprised of 42 “looks”

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Installation view.

that include clothing, hats, jewelry, shoes, accessories, and costumes for the theater, the opera, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Also featured are the designer’s original drawings, performance stills and behind-the-scenes photographs. A multi-screen video installation showcases a variety of content drawn from film and television cameos and runway shows. —Germaine Clair is a graphic designer and Art Director for Jewish News. Photographs by Brooks Johnson.

How will you help shape the future? Norfolk architect Bernard Spigel died in 1968 leaving an enduring legacy of homes, schools, theaters and commercial buildings he designed.

In 1983 Lucy Spigel Herman honored her dad by creating at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation a scholarship fund to help future architects. Today Spigel’s Scholarships are helping five Virginia architecture students learn the profession he loved. Dozens of past Spigel Scholars are busy designing buildings for us to enjoy. Spigel Scholarships will forever help architecture students pay for their educations. Design your own view of the future by ordering the free Leave Your Mark guide. Learn how easy it is to honor a family member or create your own permanent legacy. Call 757-622-7951 or visit hamptonroadscf.org.

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Elevator pad gown—Mizrahi’s inspiration comes from unlikely sources, even the utilitarian protective pads that line a freight elevator. He reimagined this lowly material by exactly recreating its quilting pattern across a patchwork of delicate silks, completed with neon piping along the hem. The bodice was built up from strips of grosgrain ribbon.

The real thing—Mizrahi worked with the charity We Can, which employed homeless New Yorkers to gather and flatten Coke cans. These were then shipped to luxury Parisian sequin maker LangloisMartin, who cut the aluminum into paillettes. The paillettes where sent to India along with the dress patterns, where they were hand-embroidered onto silk before finally being returned to Mizrahi’s New York workshop.


S AVOR

The Nosher

THE

O LIVE • A RTISAN O LIVE O ILS & V INEGARS

Barbecue Brisket and Beans Recipe Shannon Sarna

The Nosher via JTA—If a sweet pulled brisket married a can of baked beans, this dish would be their delicious baby. I love baked beans, right out of the can, all summer long for cookouts and backyard parties. It reminds me of my childhood, not to mention it’s just straight up easy and cheap. You can follow all my steps below. You could also put a brisket in a slow cooker with some water, a bottle of store-bought barbecue sauce and maybe an onion. After 3½ hours, add the rinsed, drained cans of beans, and voila: dinner. But this version is also pretty delicious, and received both husband and child’s stamp of approval—in the case of my four-year-old, quite literally a finger right in the dish. Make it for dinner! Bring it as a side dish! Put it on a sandwich! “There’s too much brisket at this picnic” is something you will never ever hear.

Barbecue Brisket and Beans Ingredients 2-pound brisket (preferably second cut) 1 teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder olive oil

pinch red pepper flakes (or more) 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1 cup ketchup 1 ⁄3 cup cider vingar 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard ¼ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons black strap molasses 1½ cups water 3 15-ounce cans pinto or white beans

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Directions In a small bowl combine paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin and garlic powder. Rub onto each side of the brisket. In a large Dutch oven, heat a few tablespoons olive oil on medium high heat until its glossy and the pan is hot. Cook brisket on each side for 4–6 minutes, or until caramelized and deep brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Turn heat down to medium. Combine water, ketchup, cider vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and molasses in a small bowl. Cook onion 7–10 minutes, scraping brown bits off bottom of pan. Add heaping pinch of red pepper flakes. Add half the can of beer to deglaze. Pour in the ketchup-water mixture and bring to a simmer. Add remaining beer. If sauce looks too thick now, or at any point, add ½ to 1 cup water. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3–4 hours, checking periodically. Remove from heat and allow brisket to cool. Place on a cutting board and using 2 forks or a fork and a knife, shred brisket. Keep sauce in pot and put back on heat on a medium-low flame. Rinse and drain the cans of beans and place in pot, stirring to cover with sauce. Put meat back in the pot and cook another 15–20 minutes. Serve hot. —Shannon Sarna is the editor of The Nosher. The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.

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