MA Jewish Ledger • November 13, 2020 • 26 Cheshvan 5781 by 2020 Media

ELECTION 2020: The wrap-up

OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE

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| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

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Please step up and make a statement that shows how much you care about the future. Please follow the link below and donate today to the 2020 Annual Campaign which funds programs, services, and community organizations for the year 2021.

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

E HE M N D OW

For those of you who have not yet made a commitment to this year’s efforts, we welcome the opportunity to chat with you about this year’s accomplishments. We raised and allocated over $500,000 to support individuals, families, and community organizations so far during this pandemic. We know the needs are continuing, but we do not know what those needs will be. Please help us plan for the unknown and be prepared to step in and provide additional assistance to those in need.

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None of us know what the future brings. We do know that our work is becoming more challenging, and there are more people who need support from our community agencies and JFWM. Thank you to all who have already committed a contribution to the 2020 Annual Campaign. The generous contributions we receive from our community provide the allocations necessary to protect and support Jewish people in need locally, in Israel, and wherever they may be across the globe.

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HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER

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*Report as of Sept 22, 2020 **Including face mask sales thanks to Suze Goldman’s efforts, and the donation of artwork by Cindy Lutz Kornet!

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INSIDE

this week

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | NOVEMBER 13, 2020 | 26 HESHVAN 5781

8 Bulletin Board

10 Jewish Federation of Central Mass.

Musical Chanukah present .......6 Mak’hela makes beautiful music for virtual concert

Arts & Entertainment

18 Around Mass

In Memoriam ............................... 5 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks dies at 72

Sacred Ground ........................... 14 Beautification project restores Worcester Jewish cemeteries

Chanukah Food Hacks.............. 19 5 tips to make holiday dinners easy and delicious

Speaking the same language...................................................................... 19 Arabs from Gulf states rush to learn the Hebrew language

What’s Happening

22 Obituaries

A Reminder From

Gary M. Gaffin

ON THE COVER: Iran, Israel, anti-Semitism and more: What to watch for in Joe Biden’s presidency. PAGE 5

Accounting services for all size businesses garyg@bsfcpas.com Bisceglia, Steiman & Fudeman, LLP 313 Park Ave. Worcester, MA 01609 T: 508-797-4826 F: 508-797-4866 E: ashleyg@bsfcpas.com www.bsfcpas.com

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A Reminder From

Shabbat Shalom WORCESTER Metropolitan Area CANDLE LIGHTING

HAVDALAH

SPRINGFIELD Metropolitan Area CANDLE LIGHTING

HAVDALAH

November 13 4:08 pm November 14 5:16 pm

November 13 4:12 pm November 14 5:19 pm

November 20 4:03 pm November 21 5:10 pm

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December 4 3:57 pm December 5 5:05 pm

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Dear Ledger Readers,

Vol. 21 No. 11

For many years, the Massachusetts Jewish Ledger has covered local, national and world news through a decidedly Jewish lens. Even when Covid-19 impacted our world, we continued to publish the Ledger, working diligently from home to provide you, our readers, with a monthly dose of Jewish news. For the past several years, in addition to the print version of the newspaper, we have also offered a digital version of the Massachusetts Jewish Ledger via a “flip-doc” on our website, www.MAjewishledger.com. This is a version of the paper whose pages you can flip through, like an actual print newspaper, located under the “Current Issue” tab on the home page of the website. And the website itself includes everything you will find in the “flip-doc”…and then some. Today, we remain committed to bringing local, national and world news to the Jewish community. But like many other publications, The Ledger has had to deal with rising printing and postage costs and falling advertising revenue for several years. So while we will continue to publish a digital edition of the Massachusetts Jewish Ledger each month, we will no longer be publishing a print edition. Publishing online has its benefits — not the least of which is our ability to provide you with updates on the coronavirus and other breaking stories on our website. You can also have the digital version of the paper delivered straight to your inbox as a part of our monthly eblast. To receive the digital version, please send your email address to staceyd@jewishledger.com. We invite you to stay in touch with your thoughts and story tips.

JHL Ledger LLC Publisher Henry M. Zachs Managing Partner Leslie Iarusso Associate Publisher Judie Jacobson Editor judiej@jewishledger.com • x3024 Hillary Sarrasin Digital Media Manager hillaryp@jewishledger.com EDITORIAL Stacey Dresner Massachusetts Editor staceyd@jewishledger.com • x3008 Tim Knecht Proofreader ADVERTISING Donna Edelstein Senior Account Executive Non-Profit & JHL Ledger LLC Media Marketing donnae@jewishledger.com • x3028 Joyce Cohen Senior Account Executive joycec@jewishledger.com • (860) 836-9195 Joan Gaffin Central Mass. Account Executive joang@jewishledger.com • (508) 414-6210 Trudy Goldstein Account Executive trudyg@jewishledger.com • x3007 Amy Oved Account Executive amyo@jewishledger.com • x3030 PRODUCTION Elisa S. Wagner Creative Director elisaw@jewishledger.com • x3009 Christopher D. Bonito Graphic Designer chrisb@jewishledger.com ADMINISTRATIVE Judy Yung Accounting Manager judyy@jewishledger.com • x3016 Howard Meyerowitz Office Manager howardm@jewishledger.com • x3035

Samuel Neusner, Founder (1929-1960) Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman, Co-Founder and Editor (1929-1977) Berthold Gaster, Editor (1977-1992) N. Richard Greenfield, Publisher (1994-2014) PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT JHL Ledger LLC 40 Woodland Street Hartford, CT 06105 Phone (860) 231-2424 Fax (860) 231-2485 Editorial Email: staceyd@jewishledger.com Production Email: production@jewishledger.com

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Editorial deadline: All public and social announcements must be received by Tuesday 5 p.m. 10 days prior to publication. Advertising deadline: Thursday noon one week prior to issue. Advertisers should check ad on publication.

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| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

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UP FRONT

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | NOVEMBER 13, 2020 | 26 HESHVAN 5781

ELECTION 2020

IRAN, ISRAEL, ANTISEMITISM AND MORE: WHAT TO WATCH IN JOE BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY BY RON KAMPEAS

ASHINGTON (JTA) – On Joe Biden’s first day as president, he plans to launch a task force to reunite children and parents separated at the country’s southern border. It’s one of several ways Biden has vowed to reverse policies put in place by President Donald Trump, and it’s important to many American Jews for whom immigration policy carries an emotional weight. But on many issues important to American Jews, change may come slower, or not at all. When it comes to where

the U.S. Embassy in Israel is located, for example, Biden has indicated that he has no intention to turn back the clock. On other Israel issues, change is likely but exactly what a Biden administration will try to do is not yet clear. Here’s a look at what might happen after Biden becomes president on Jan. 20, 2021.

Antisemitism When Biden launched his campaign in April 2019, he said he had considered retirement – but was appalled by Trump’s equivocations after the deadly neo-Nazi

Jonathan Sacks, former UK chief rabbi and ‘intellectual giant,’ was 72 BY BEN HARRIS AND CNAAN LIPHSHIZ AND GABE FRIEDMAN

and white supremacist march in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Biden constantly cites combating bigotry and antisemitism specifically in his appearances, including at the Democratic convention. Biden wants to develop a “comprehensive approach” to combat antisemitism, in consultation with the Jewish community. Trump cut some programs tracking extreme right domestic terrorists; Biden said he will restart them. Trump last year signed an executive order recognizing Jews as a protected class CONTINUED ONPAGE 12

PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT KAMALA HARRIS DELIVER REMARKS IN WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ON NOV. 7. (CREDIT: ANDREW HARNIK BY /POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

(JTA) – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom whose extensive writings and frequent media appearances commanded a global following among Jews and non-Jews alike, has died. Sacks died Saturday morning, Nov. 7, at age 72, his Twitter account announced. He was in the midst of a third bout of cancer, which he had announced in October. Sacks was among the world’s leading exponents of Orthodox Judaism for a global audience. In his 22 years as chief rabbi, he emerged as the most visible Jewish leader in the United Kingdom and one of the European continent’s leading Jewish voices, offering Jewish wisdom to the masses through a regular segment he produced for the BBC. He had a close relationship with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called Sacks “an intellectual giant” and presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2018. Sacks was also an immensely prolific author, addressing pressing social and political issues in a succession of well received books. His popular commentary on the prayer book, published by Koren, helped to dethrone the more traditionalist Artscroll Siddur as the preeminent prayer book in American Modern Orthodox synagogues. Sacks was normally averse to mixing religion and politics, something he discussed, along with his latest book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, and an array of other hot-button topics with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in August. “When anger erupts in a body politic, there is quite often a justified cause. But then the political domain has got to take that anger and deal with it very fast,” he told JTA’s opinion editor CONTINUED ONPAGE 23

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MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Virtual Concert is a Chanukah present from Mak’hela BY STACEY DRESNER

ESTERN MASS. – Every year Mak’hela: The Jewish Chorus of Western Massachusetts performs special Chanukah concerts for the residents of JGS Lifecare’s Leavitt Family Nursing Home and nearby senior living community, Glenmeadow. “The last couple of years we have gone to both nursing homes in one day; we call it our ‘double-header,’” said Joni Beck Brewer, president of Mak’hela and an alto in the chorus. This year, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, performing concerts in nursing homes is obviously not possible. So the members of Mak’hela put their heads – and voices -- together to create A Chanukah Present from Mak’hela, with a virtual Chanukah concert that not only the seniors will be able to watch virtually, but that will be available to Mak’hela fans everywhere on YouTube. The concert includes guest performances by the Jewish Community of Amherst Klezmer Ensemble Workshop. To create “A Chanukah Present” each of Mak’hela’s 25 members videotaped themselves and recorded the audio of themselves singing their particular parts in six songs. The group worked with Brian Bender, a sound engineer, musician and owner of Face The Music Studio in Shutesbury, who mixed each of the Mak’hela performances together to create the virtual concert. “We’re very excited about this concert because this is something we’ve done for several years,” Joni Brewer said. “We’re so glad that we’re going to be able to do it in some way but it took a lot. We had to learn how to do all of this different kind of work.” 6

Brewer said that the members of Mak’hela had stopped meeting just before Covid struck. “Our last concert was at the JCA at the beginning of March,” she said. “I think we had maybe two rehearsals after that and then [Covid-19] started up and we had to stop. And the more we’ve learned about choral singing it’s like one of the worst things that you can do,” she said, referring to evidence that the virus could be transmitted through aerosols expelled by people singing in close

first because none of us had ever done it before,” Joni said. “We thought we would just do one and see how it went and see how people responded. We didn’t even know if our members would go for this. A lot of them are older and not really [versed in the] technology.” So as an experiment, all of the singers sang and recorded one song – “Eleh Chamda Libi.” “It’s often the song that we come into a concert with. We process in with this very

proximity. “It’s been hard because, in addition to having concerts that we’re not able to do it’s also hard for the members because, for them, it’s more than just a place where they go and sing. People have developed relationships. One woman who had just moved to the area told me we were her only friends that she had met so far, and then she couldn’t see us.” The group stayed in touch through some zoom meetings over the past several months. Somewhere along the line the idea of a virtual Chanukah concert was pitched. “We figured, ‘Well, we better try this

lively song,” Joni explained. Bender mixed all of the voices together to create one solid performance. “We had a great response,” Joni said. “And even though some people felt like it was hard to do, when they saw what it looked like, with all of us together, they were sold on it.”

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

A complicated process The members of Mak’hela began to work on the recordings for the virtual concert near the beginning of October.

“To make the video, each singer had to record their voice separately in their own home,” Brewer explained. “While they’re recording that, in their headphones they’re listening to the piano or whatever the accompaniment is, so that everyone is staying on the same beat.” Everyone also had to videotape themselves singing the songs on their smart phones. “They needed two devices – like an iPad attached to their headphones, so they could hear the piano, and then another device to record themselves… We have people who live by themselves who have had to do it all by themselves. I’m very grateful that I’ve got this guy here,” Joni said, pointing to her husband Bruce, a Mak’hela board member, “because I think it’s hard. You’ve got to start recording with this one and then start that one. And you don’t want to be looking at your music the whole time. It gets complicated.” “It’s been a challenge,” agreed Elaine “Lainie” Broad Ginsberg, Mak’hela’s music director and conductor. But Ginsberg has also helped to make the process a bit easier with her own musical expertise, said Brian Bender. “The first thing I get from Lainie is a piano accompaniment track,” he explained. “She records herself playing the piano… She then also sings all of the separate choir parts and records each one as a reference for the singers. I then mix them together and generate new videos -- piano plus soprano, piano plus alto, piano plus tenor and piano plus bass -- and then I do one that is piano with all of the parts. She then sends them out CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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Deb Krivoy named Chief Operating Officer of Springfield JCC

PRINGFIELD - Deb Krivoy, M.Ed., has been named the chief operating Officer at the Springfield Jewish Community Center. As COO Krivoy now manages the programming staff, oversees the JCC’s Havurah Initiative, and leads Women in Power, a yearlong fellowship initiative for mid-career Jewish professionals. A seasoned educator and Jewish nonprofit leader with 25 years of broad-based experience in curriculum design, professional development, community partnerships, arts administration, and audience engagement, Krivoy has previously served as the JCC’s director of Cultural Arts, having curated and managed the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival and Literatour Jewish Book Festival for more than five years. “This opportunity presented itself, and although the timing may seem strange in the midst of the pandemic, it was a great opportunity for me to take advantage of and to have more of an impact agency-wide,” Krivoy said. “I come out of a background of a lot of program design, project management, people management, and those are things that transfer over quite well.” Prior to joining the Springfield JCC, Krivoy was the director of Avoda Arts, a New York-based nonprofit DEB KRIVOY that trained hundreds of day school and congregational schoolteachers on ways to integrate the arts into Jewish education. While at Avoda, Deb co-founded the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, which distributed innovation funding and professional development support to cohorts of artists, musicians, and performers. She also created Reel Learning, a high school media program that bundles powerful short films with educational resources to explore issues of Jewish identity, culture, and history. Krivoy is a past board vice president of Lander-Grinspoon Academy and currently serves on the advisory board of Circles for Jewish Living. She holds a Master’s degree in Instructional Design from the University of Massachusetts and a BA in Communications from Pennsylvania State University. She and her family live in Northampton.

WE’RE BACK TO INDOOR DINING AND STILL DOING CURBSIDE PICK UP! Hours: Open 7 days, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Expanded indoor customer and retail space to allow for safe distancing Take-out and Curbside pick up CALL TO PLACE YOUR ORDER: 860.875.1344 Grab n’ Go Retail Fresh cold entrees, soups and chilis • Frozen entrees Bakery (bagels and rye bread) • Our own ruggalach and cookies We thank you and are tremendously grateful for your continued support. We are doing everything in our power to keep you safe. Be healthy!

The Taste of Quality is Long Remembered

Don’t spend the winter alone.

Come meet new friends while being well taken care of and staying safe.

Seth Stutman is JCC’s new Membership & Marketing director

PRINGFIELD -- Seth Stutman has been named the Springfield Jewish Community Center’s Membership and Marketing Director, a newly created position. For the past four years, Stutman has served as the JCC’s summer camp director, where he oversaw a nearly 30 percent increase in revenue and engagement at camp while unlocking new grants and partnerships. Between OyBay, the JCC’s annual auction, to navigating the pandemic, Stutman has dabbled in almost every department at the JCC. Prior to the JCC, Stutman was co-host of “Mass Appeal” on WWLP for six years, and held several positions in the field of broadcast journalism. He lives in South Hadley with his wife and daughter. SETH STUTMAN

We Care! Call Christina Tuohey 413-567-3949, ext 3105 or ctuohey@JGSLifecare.org

Ruth’s House Assisted Living – Sosin Center for Rehabilitation Leavitt Family Jewish Home - Spectrum Home Health & Hospice Care Wernick Adult Day Health Care - Genesis House for Independent Living 780 Converse St, Longmeadow, MA 01106 • www.JGSLifecare.org

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MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

BULLETIN BOARD Torathon 2020 CENTRAL MASS. -- Torathon, an evening of online learning presented by the Jewish Federation of Central Mass., will take place Saturday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The theme this year is “Great events/ personalities/ideas that have shaped Judaism.” Torathon will offer many different class offerings, and a chance to study Jewish topics presented by local rabbis, cantors, educators and community lay leaders from the comfort of your home. Torathon will begin with Havdalah at 6:30, followed by 18 course offerings of adult Jewish study divided into three hours during the rest of the evening. Registration is required to attend. There is no charge to attend but attendees are encouraged to consider making an optional donation to support Torathon. Torathon is funded by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts and the Rotman Family Foundation.

Springfield JCC Program on the Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg SPRINGFIELD -- The Springfield Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts will host a virtual discussion titled “Honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Former Law Clerk’s Reflections” on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Attorney Rachel Wainer Apter, who clerked for the late Justice during the 2011-2012 Supreme Court term, will share memories of her time working for the Justice and will reflect on RBG’s indelible influence and legacy. Apter is the director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. The discussion will be moderated by attorney and Longmeadow native Rebecca Cohen-Shrage Fischer, who serves as the executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. This event is part of the Springfield JCC’s Life Lessons: The William and Margery Sadowsky Center for Adult Learning and is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Western Mass. This event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required. To register, call (413) 739-4715 or email arts@springfieldjcc. org.

Secrets of the Bible Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy (LYA) is offering a new six-session course titled Secrets of the Bible: Iconic Stories, Mystical Meanings, and Their Lessons for Life. “People tend to read biblical stories as they do primitive mythology,” Rabbi Yakov Wolff, the local JLI Instructor. “Our course 8

invites participants to look deeper and discover the underlying themes and relevant life lessons that these stories were designed to convey.” Throughout its sessions, Secrets of the Bible explores major life themes, including human subjectivity and bias, the underpinnings of relationships, negotiating spiritual growth with practical impact, why inspiration is fleeting and how to make it last, understanding equality and privilege, and navigating parallel spiritual and material life paths. Secrets of the Bible is being offered on zoom on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Upon registering for the course, you will receive the zoom link. Rabbi Wolff will offer a live socially distanced class on Thursday at law offices of James Smith, 1331 Main St. in Springfield, MA on Thursdays from 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. “Secrets of the Bible presents wonderful ancient biblical stories in fresh and modern ways that deal with universal human dilemmas,” explained Dr. Erica Brown, director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at George Washington University. “The wisdom it shares should not remain a secret.” Like all JLI programs, this course is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship. To register call (413) 348-4978.

Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Berkshires Awards $38,700 in New Grants PITTSFIELD -- The Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Berkshires (JWF) recently announced grant awards totaling $38,700 for 12 local organizations. Recipients needed to demonstrate the ability to maintain their programming during the pandemic and/ or respond to newly-identified needs. The grants range from $2,000 to $3,500 and run for one year. Funded programs fall into three of JWF’s priority areas are: • Increasing access to food, housing, and other essentials for Berkshire residents: Berkshire Baby Box, Berkshire Community Diaper Project, Berkshire Hills Regional School District Project Connection, Berkshire Grown, Construct, Roots Rising (Formerly The Alchemy Project) • Promoting self-sufficiency: Berkshire Center for Justice, Berkshire Immigrant Center, Literacy Volunteers • Empowering Youth and Young Adults: Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center/ Girls Inc. of the Berkshires, Railroad Street

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Youth Project, Community Health Programs In its eleventh year, JWF, under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, has granted more than $400,000 to community organizations. JWF is committed to the Jewish mandate of Tikkun Olam – helping to repair the world and making it a better place. JWF carries out its mission by providing funding, volunteers, mentoring, and support services to local agencies. JWF has nearly 150 members who are passionate about giving back to the Berkshires community. For information about the grants program, contact Lauren Spitz, Chair of the Grants Committee, at LaurenSpitz@gmail. com or visit www.jewishberkshires.org/ jewish-womens-foundation

LITERATOUR: A COMMUNITY-WIDE CELEBRATION OF JEWISH BOOKS AND AUTHORS

PRINGFIELD – The Springfield Jewish Community Center’s fall season of Literatour brings an exciting lineup of exceptional authors, celebrities, and cultural influencers, whose books represent a broad range of topics. Through Literatour, book lovers come together to listen, meet and interact with their favorite authors in a variety of forums, including author meet-and-greets, book signings, panel discussions, concerts, and more. All fall Literatour programs will be held via Zoom.

co-sponsored by Glenmeadow Retirement Community.

On Monday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., Fred Sokol, author of “Destiny” will be featured. Morris Kahn and Mendel Greenbaum have been friends for more years than either cares to remember. United by shuffleboard, a house they share with the women they love, and an abiding affection masked by constant bickering, they embark on a spurof-the-moment road trip triggered by a yearning to see the ocean. The two men, facing the realities of aging as they approach their eighties, nevertheless revel with both exuberance and curiosity in what life offers them-friendship, the natural world, and fried clams.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m., Literatour will feature B. A. Shapiro, author of The Collector’s Apprentice. Everyone in Belgium believes Paulien Mertens stole millions in a sophisticated con game perpetrated by her then-fiancé. To protect herself from the law, she creates a new identity – a Frenchwoman named Vivienne Gregsby – and sets out to recover her father’s art collection to prove her innocence. When the eccentric American art collector Edwin Bradley offers Vivienne the perfect job, she’s soon caught up in the Parisian world of post-Impressionists and expatriates. As she gets more involved, her life becomes even more complicated: her ex-fiancé returns with unclear motives and Vivienne is arrested for Edwin’s murder. B. A. Shapiro is the author of eight novels, including the award-winning New York Times bestseller The Art Forger and the bestseller The Muralist. This program is

Admission to both of these Literatour Zoom programs is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Bev Nadler, director of Adult Programs, at bnadler@springfieldjcc.org. majewishledger.com

#LetThereBeLight March of the Living launches global interfaith initiative to commemorate Kristallnacht (JNS Wire) On Nov. 9, 1938, a two-day pogrom began during which the Nazis burned more than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish institutions in Germany and Austria on ‘Kristallnacht’ (The Night of Broken Glass), a critical moment in the chain of events that led to the Holocaust. On Nov. 9, 2020, March of the Living marked Kristallnacht with a message of unity and hope, through a unique international campaign. Titled “Let There Be Light”, March of the Living will invite individuals, institutions and Houses of Worship across the world to keep their lights on during the night of Nov. 9, as a symbol of solidarity and mutual commitment in the shared battle against antsemitism, racism, hatred and intolerance. As part of this historic virtual initiative, people from all over the world were able to add their voice to the campaign. Individuals of all religions and backgrounds are invited to write personal messages of hope in their own words at the campaign website The main synagogue in Frankfurt (one of the few not destroyed on Kristallnacht) will be illuminated as well as other places of religious and spiritual significance across the world. Personal messages and prayers from the virtual campaign will be projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. As such, against the backdrop of rising antisemitism and racism, the shadow of Covid-19, these individual expressions of optimism and unity will help illuminate the world against darkness and hatred. March of the Living President Phyllis Greenberg Heideman & March of the Living World Chair Dr. Shmuel Rosenman: “We must use our voices to tell the world that attacks on Jews and non-Jews alike, whether on the basis of religion, race, color or creed are inexcusable. In the days when synagogues and holy places for various religions are attacked on a regular basis all over the world, it is our duty to speak out loudly and clearly.” Head of the Jewish Community Frankfurt am Main, Prof. Dr. Salomon Korn: “Antisemitism and racism threaten our society as a whole, they endanger our values and our democracy. Together we want to send a signal against the increase of antisemitism and hate-speech all over the world. We want to raise awareness against growing discrimination and intolerance and

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AFTER YOUR HOSPITALIZATION ... CHOOSE THE BEST JEWISH HEALTHCA RE bring the light of humanity in these difficult times”. John Farmer, director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, at the Miller Center: “Kristallnacht marked a fundamental turning point in the historical movement from culturally based anti-Semitism to state-sanctioned genocide. On Nov. 9, 1938, the antisemitic propaganda to which the Jewish population had been subjected for years was transformed to open violence, sanctioned by the state. Commemorating that dark day in human history is particularly significant today, as the hatred that has been rising over social media has begun erupting into violence against the Jewish and other faiths. It is imperative that such darkness be refuted by light: the light that will shine on houses of worship throughout the world tonight, and the light of truth that shames all forms of hatred.”

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Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time since its inception, the annual March did not take place in Poland this year. Instead, as part of a virtual commemorative project, March of the Living launched an international digital initiative in which Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin was the first to lay a virtual plaque on the virtual train track of Birkenau, followed by Holocaust survivors and their families. In total, more than 18,000 people from 60 countries around the world took part in the online event.

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

News and Jewish Community Update

VIRTUAL GA INSPIRES

ach autumn, thousands of Jewish leaders and community members come together for Jewish Federation’s General Assembly. This marquee conference of the Jewish world has taken place for many decades -- close to 90 years. This year would have been my twelfth year attending the conference in person, but because of COVID it was held virtually. It was still just as informative and inspiring as it always has been, and without the need to travel and because it was free STEVEN SCHIMMEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR to attend, there were even more people participating. The General Assemblies are important to Federation’s work; they are inspirational and informative gatherings where attendees learn about the programs and projects they support. A “who’s who” of Jewish leaders headline the event and I have always enjoyed listening to the great speakers and brilliant presentations -- this year was no different. And of course with so many challenging issues facing our Jewish communities, there was an endless opportunity to join in workshops highlighting the many ways Federation is working around the world to help our global Jewish family through these troubled times. This GA was an eye-opening reminder that while our mission of strengthening Jewish life remains constant, Jewish communities are ever changing. The importance of adaptability and creativity is paramount, and always has been an important part of who we are as a people. This is especially helpful to remember while we work through our current challenges. There are lessons to be learned both from our history -- a history that includes thousands of years of survival through persecution and tragedy -- and lessons to be learned from our present work in the diverse spectrum of Jewish communities. The GA gives us an opportunity to learn about ways we can replicate the different approaches taken by communities around the world to keep Jewish lives safe during the pandemic, safe from anti-Semitic attacks, and safe from apathy and assimilation. All communities are constantly adapting to survive while keeping Judaism alive. The GA is an opportunity to learn from those who are 10

just like us but are in far-flung places with comparatively little resources. I was reminded time and time again of how fortunate we are and how much more we are capable of. Even with all of the difficulties we are facing today we can ensure our success simply by making sure that more of our family members, friends, and most importantly, our children choose to be an active part of the Jewish community. Jewish Federation puts tremendous effort into helping Jews and providing the essentials for a Jewish life for so many around the world, and I encourage everyone to take part in it. The GA was an eye-opening reminder that so many of our fellow Jews are living in a very different world. I am grateful for our strong and supportive local Jewish community. Collectively, we should do all we can to make sure everyone can and will want to be a part of it. I hope that next year there will be even more GA attendees from Central MA and I hope next year will be in person. But one thing is certain – I am sure it will be inspiring.

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STAY CONNECTED PJ LIBRARY AND PJ OUR WAY

Daily Virtual PJ Library Programs at www.pjlibrary.org/familyactivities Bi-Monthly PJ Library Storytime with Beth Tikvah and Congregation B’nai Shalom (see flyer) PJ Library Storytime at the Virtual Hanukkah Bash with the Worcester JCC and Worcester Art Museum

YAD

Virtual Shabbat November 20th, 7:30 pm Virtual Game Night TBA Hanukkah Celebration December 13th, TBA JewMass Virtual Hanukkah TBA

CHAVERIM TBA

COMMUNITY-WIDE

Hanukkah Festivities December 10-17 – TBA A Psychological Comparison of Israeli and American Upbringing with Dror Ben Ami, Young Emissary 2010-11, December 13th, 9:00 am via Zoom. Please keep in touch with all ongoing virtual events by visiting our Facebook pages or contacting Mindy Hall, mhall@jfcm.org

GREAT COMMUNITY TURNOUT FOR “COMBATTING ANTISEMITISM” WITH DR. RACHEL FISH ON NOVEMBER 1ST

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YAD CELEBRATES A VIRTUAL OCTOBER SHABBAT & COUNCIL MEETING

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News and Jewish Community Update

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“I’m a teacher, and education is very important to me, and handing down tradition is extremely important to me. That’s why leaving a legacy was the perfect opportunity.” –Barbara Rossman, Legacy Donor The Jewish Federation of Central Mass would like to honor our local community members who have committed to leaving a legacy gift as part of our LIFE & LEGACY program. We are proud to present the list of LIFE & LEGACY donors as of November 4, 2020. Myra & Jay Aframe Susan & Howard Alfred Abbe Allexenberg Michael Allexenberg Benita Amsden William Amsden Anonymous (66) A. Averbach Brad Avergon Cynthia Avergon Robert Bachrach Mike & Anita Z”L Backer Robin Baer Bernard Bailin Elizabeth & Joel Baker Margot Barnet Jacqueline Bechek Cara Berg Powers Jordan Berg Powers Mark Birnbaum & Meg Hoey Patricia Bizzell Rabbi & Mrs. Yakov Blotner Robert & Stacey Blumberg Lydia Borenstein Morton and Lorraine Brond David Bunker Deborah Bunker Eric Capellari Robert & Shari Cashman Ethel K. Chaifetz Mark & Julie Chapleau Alberta Chase Lori Chastanet Paul Chastanet Michelle V. Cochran Alysa & Mitch Cohen Janice & David Cohen Jonathan Cohen Lisa Cohen Rabbi Valerie Cohen Alan Cooper David Coyne Jonah Cuker Douglas Cutler Melvin Cutler Herbert K. Daroff Judy & Stu Deane Evelyn Dolinsky Robyn Lori Bernstein Donati EJ Dotts Shelley Dubin & Dennis Lindenberg Victoria Dubrovsky Rabbis Joe & Lisa Eiduson Donna & Joel Elfman Gary Englander Marlene Farbman Deborah Fins Edith Fisher

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Everett Fox Joshua Franklin Jody Fredman Jason & Laurie Fromer Stuart Glass Norman Glick Z”L Lillian Glixman Z”L Steven Goldstein & Sharon Brown Goldstein Jennifer & Sam Goodman Harvey & Patti Gould Carole & Mark Grayson Jeffrey Greenberg Joel N. Greenberg Barbara Greenberg Z”L* Minna & Ira Gregerman Jamie Grossman Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz Gary Gurwitz Rabbi Debra Hachen & Peter Weinrobe Mindy Hall Steven & Debra Heims Family Peter Herman and Stefanie Bradie Sarah & Neil Herzig Ilene S. Hoffman Emily Holdstein James Holdstein Joshua Honig Bernard Z”L & Beverly Hurwitz Martha Hurwitz Col. Irving Yarock Post 32 Jewish War Veterans Benjamin Joseph Cynthia Kalish Frank W. Kanserstein Cheryl & Gary Kasof Carol Goodman Kaufman Joel M. Kaufman, MD Eli & Iris Kraus Elliot Krefetz Sharon Krefetz Anna M. Krendel Steve Krintzman Nancy B. Leavitt Phillip Leavitt Van Leichter & Marcy Supovitz Dana Levenson Steven B. Levine Z”L Vincent Librandi Howard & Thelma Lockwood Z”L Judith Luber-Narod Benjamin and Cara Lyons Robert Mack Gordon Manning & Karen Rothman Kim & Mike Manning Gregory Manousos & Amy Rosenberg Judith K. Markowitz Stacey & Stephen Marmor Deborah Martin

Michelson Family Errol Mortimer Alan Moss Jeffrey Narod Barbara Newman Stephanie Oakan Allison & David Orenstein Marcy Ostrow Matthew Ostrow Sondra Padow Glenn & Pamela Penna Marlene Persky* Marlene & David Persky George and Becky Pins Elizabeth Raphaelson Jonathan Rappaport Ghodrat & Lida Refah Mary Jane Rein Toby Z’’L and Chuck Richmond Harriet & Jordan Z”L Robbins Barry Robins Suzanne Robins Emily & Martin Rosenbaum Martha Rosenblatt* Rachel and Myron Rosenblum Barbara Rossman David & Sandra Roth Bernie Rotman Benita Rotman Ida Rotman Z”L Hope Rubin Ruth Rubin Adam Sachs Jonathan & Anne Sadick Larry & Eileen Samberg Yael Savage Roberta Schaefer Steven Schimmel Paul & Zelda Schwartz Benson & Norma Shapiro Mark & Debra Shear Rachel & Philip Sher Dan Shertzer Allan Shriber Judy Shriber Debra L. Shrier Richard Shrier Fred Shuster Marcy Shuster ON BEHALF OF THE Edward & Merna Siff AND STAFF BOARD OF THE The Sigel Family Foundation JEWISH Bonnie & Richard Silver FEDERATION OF Ronald J. SilverCENTRAL MA, WE WISH YOU ALL Richard P. Silverman Carol Sleeper*A VERY HAPPY HEALTHY AND Michael & Carol Sleeper SWEET NEW YEAR. Bradford A. Smith Lauren P. Smith

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Michael & Susan Smith Morris Snieder Z”L Elaine Solomon Paula Sommer Denise Sosnoff Steven Sosnoff Morty Sreiberg Dotty & Jerry Starr Howard & Carolyn Stempler Alan & Nina Stoll Mari & Allen Storm Andrea Sullivan Rabbi Michael Swarttz Lisa Thurlow Laura & Richard Traiger Dr. Sheila Trugman Wayne Ushman Patricia & Leonard Vairo Brenda Verduin-Dean Bruce & Ellen Wahle Mark Waxler Brian Weiner William Weinstein Ellen Weiss Matthew Weiss Irving & Selma White Michael & Beth Whitman Steven and Kimberly Willens David Wilner Wendy Wilsker Steve & Lori Winer Steve & Judy Wolfe Sharon & Alan Yaffe Jody & Alan Yoffie Allen Young Joyce Zakim Pamela Zinn

LIFE & LEGACY PARTNERS Beth Tikvah Synagogue • Clark University Hillel • Congregation Beth Israel • Congregation B’nai Shalom • Congregation Shaarai Torah West • Jewish Family & Children’s Service • Jewish Federation of Central MA • Jewish Healthcare Center • Temple Emanuel Sinai v Temple Israel • Worcester JCC

AN * INDICATES A LION OF JUDAH ENDOWMENT. TO CREATE YOUR JEWISH LEGACY, CONTACT LEAH SHULDINER AT LEGACY@JFCM.ORG

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Election 2020 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

deserving of civil rights protections. The order used as its definition of antisemitism the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which is controversial because it includes some forms of Israel criticism. The order has already resulted in Education Department investigations of extreme anti-Israel activity on campus. Some Democrats embrace the IHRA definition, but civil liberties groups fear that its use as an enforcement tool inhibits speech freedoms. The Biden campaign has not said what its plans are for the executive order.

The Second Guy Kamala Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, is Jewish; he will not only be the “second gentleman” (caveat: No one has settled on a term for the job), he will be the first Jewish second spouse. Emhoff has been vocal about his Jewish identity, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in a role that has been used to advance education initiatives.

Immigration Immigration policy carries a special emotional weight for many Jewish Americans who are mindful of their own heritage of being refugees – and of the devastating toll that the world’s hesitation to accept refugees caused for Jews during the Holocaust. Trump pursued an aggressively anti-immigrant agenda, including by reducing refugee admissions and separating children from their parents at the border, sometimes permanently. Biden has vowed to launch a task force to reunite those families and to dramatically increase refugee admissions.

The Abraham Accords Biden’s message since Tuesday has been unity. He wants to achieve comity with Republicans. “It’s time for America to unite and to heal,” was his first postannouncement statement. He’s reportedly got a few Republicans in mind for his Cabinet. One obvious way that his commitment to bipartisanship will play out in his Middle East policy is in the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements brokered by Trump between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Bahrain. Biden has said he likes the accords. His aides have said he urged rapprochement between Israel and the Gulf states during Obama’s second term when he was vice president. So should we expect more of the same? Perhaps: Other Arab countries that have long had unofficial ties with Israel, including Oman and Morocco, might announce even before the inauguration. The big fish, however, may hold out. 12

Saudi Arabia will likely want the carrot that the UAE has secured, a major arms deal; Trump has cajoled Israel into not objecting to the sale of stealth combat jets to the Emirates. But Democrats are unhappy about the sale, and that unhappiness would grow exponentially with any proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Democrats object to the devastating war Saudi Arabia is conducting in Yemen and have not forgotten the kingdom’s role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Deal of the Century In January, Trump finally rolled out the Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal he had touted for three years. One component of the deal that would come off the table with a Biden presidency would be the eventual partial Israeli annexation of West Bank territory. Even in that instance, though, there’s not much practically different between the Trump and Biden postures: The Trump team told Benjamin Netanyahu he needed Palestinian buy-in to the peace plan before annexing territory, and that never was going to happen. Biden will reinstitute the emphasis on the two-state outcome as an endgame, but don’t expect a major push for peace from his White House. Biden will have on his foreign policy team plenty of Obama veterans and they feel burned by their two failures (2010-2011 and 2013-2014) to get to a deal. The sense on Biden’s foreign policy team is that peace has to be organic, and must be initiated by the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Trump recognitions Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city. He also recognized Israel’s claim to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. Biden has said that Trump’s Jerusalem recognition was ill-timed, absent an IsraeliPalestinian deal, but has also said he would not reverse it. He has not commented on the Golan, but with Syria still convulsed in violence and instability even as its civil war dies down, don’t expect any dramatic Biden action in this area. Biden has suggested that Trump was too accommodating of the Assad regime, so he’s not about to hand the same regime a plum.

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Aid to Israel During the primaries, some Democratic candidates spoke of conditioning defense to Israel on its behavior; Biden repeatedly rejected that proposal outright. He intervened to keep the word “occupation” out of the Democratic platform.

The Palestinians Biden has said he will reestablish the diplomatic ties with the Palestinians that Trump ended because the Palestinians would not play along with his peace plan. Expect a return of the Palestine Liberation Organization envoy to Washington and a reopening of the Jerusalem consulate that deals specifically with Palestinians – Trump wrapped its functions into the embassy. Biden has also said he would resume the assistance to the Palestinians that Trump cut off while observing American laws that ban funding for the Palestinian Authority as long as it pays salaries to the families of Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis or Americans. That leaves Biden some leeway; he could direct funds to NGOs that operate separately from the Palestinian Authority, and to UNRWA, the United Nation agency that administers relief to the Palestinians.

Iran Biden has faulted Trump for exiting the Iran nuclear deal. Trump said the deal, which exchanged sanctions relief for a rollback of Iran’s nuclear capability, was too generous and not strict enough. Israel’s Netanyahu government was in agreement with Trump; Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied intensely against the deal, which was brokered by President Barack Obama, and which Biden helped sell to Congress. Trump’s withdrawal angered European partners to the deal and has pushed Iran’s economy to the brink of collapse – but it has done nothing to stem Iran’s nuclear development. In fact, since the U.S. pullout, Iran has accelerated its nuclear development, blaming the United States for violating the deal. Biden wants back in, in part because he wants to repair ties with Europe, and also because he believes the deal is the best means of keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He has said he wants to make it stricter, extending the “sunset clauses,” which allow Iran to wind down some of the restrictions. Not so clear is whether Biden would want restrictions on Iran’s missile program and its regional adventurism rolled into a renewed deal.

ELECTION 2020 SHORT TAKES (JTA) – Besides the presidential election, the 2020 elections featured hundreds of races across the country with huge implications for local and national politics. Several had higher stakes for the Jewish community, whether they involve key Jewish politicians or issues that American Jews are particularly concerned about.

Congresswomen Elaine Luria and Elissa Slotkin prevail By Philissa Cramer (JTA) – Two Jewish moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives – Elaine Luria in Virginia and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan – have narrowly held onto their congressional seats. Luria and Slotkin are two Jewish members of the so-called “Gang of Nine,” a group of moderate Democrats with national security backgrounds who were elected in 2018 to seats that had previously been held by Republicans. ELISSA SLOTKIN A third Jewish lawmaker in the group, Max Rose in New York’s 11th District, is lagging far behind his Republican opponent, although he has not conceded the race. Luria, a Navy veteran, was defending her incumbency in Virginia’s conservative 2nd District, where she has faced sharp criticism from some constituents when she changed her mind and voted to impeach President Donald Trump after learning that he had pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. She had been considered likely but not assured of winning. Slotkin, too, had been considered likely to win but faced criticism for her vote to impeach Trump. A former CIA analyst, she is known as a “pothole politician” for her efforts to help her constituents solve practical problems in their lives.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes Congress’ first adherent of the antisemitic QAnon theory By Gabe Friedman (JTA) – Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene will become the first member of Congress who has expressed belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory, which is rich in antisemitism.. Greene, whose Democratic challenger dropped out of the race in September, has made headlines throughout the campaign cycle for her promotion of the theory. She signed an online posting in 2018 that accused Jewish billionaire George Soros and the Rothschild family of being involved in the conspiracy, which alleges that powerful figures run an international pedophile ring and influence world policy. In a rare move for them, the Republican Jewish Coalition endorsed her Republican primary opponent in July, without comment. Greene’s eventual Democratic opponent, Kevin Van Ausdal, dropped out of the race in the very conservative 14th district, in part because Greene’s supporters made him too fearful to campaign. President Trump has endorsed Greene, calling her a “future star” of the Republican Party, and the National Republican Congressional Committee gave her campaign $5,000 in September.

Former Jewish Federations head wins North Carolina congressional race By Ron Kampeas (JTA) – Kathy Manning, a former immigration attorney who led two national Jewish organizations, won a congressional seat in North Carolina. Manning defeated Lee Haywood, her Republican opponent in an open Greensboro-area district. The 6th KATHY MANNING District was redrawn by the courts and became a Democratic stronghold, leading incumbent Republican Mark Walker to retire. Manning, 63, was the first woman to chair the Jewish Federations of North America from 2009-2012, and she was a founding chairwoman of Prizmah, the umbrella body for Jewish day schools of all denominations. She ran an unsuccessful race in 2018 when she ran in what was then the 13th District.

Cori Bush, Democrat who supports BDS, wins Missouri congressional race By Ben Sales (JTA) – Cori Bush, a Democrat who expressed support for the movement to boycott Israel, is set to become the St. Louis area’s next congresswoman. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib,

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who also support the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel – known as BDS – are also expected to win. A now-deleted page on Bush’s campaign website had said she supported BDS. If she still holds those views, it will bring the number of BDS supporters in the Democratic caucus to three. Projections are showing that Bush won handily, defeating Republican Anthony Rogers. She defeated Lacy Clay, the longtime Democratic incumbent, in a primary earlier this year. BDS was not a notable issue in the Bush-Clay race, which hinged on the divide between progressive and establishment CORI BUSH politics. Bush is a racial justice activist who was backed by progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Clay, a more centrist Democrat who had succeeded his father in the seat, had attempted to use Bush’s BDS support against her late in the campaign, highlighting it in a mailer. Omar was declared the victor in her Minnesota congressional district, showing her staying power despite accusations of anti-Semitism. Last year, Omar drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle for suggesting that Jews pay politicians to be pro-Israel. She apologized for the comment but has continued to be a target of criticism from Democrats. In August, Omar fended off a wellfunded primary challenger, Antone MeltonMeaux, who made attacking her Israel comments a key part of his campaign. She and Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress, are both members of the “Squad,” a group of four progressive freshman congresswomen.

Frankel beats Loomer in Florida race that encapsulated a Jewish culture war (JTA) – Lois Frankel won reelection in her South Florida House district, fending off a challenge by the right-wing selfdescribed “Islamophobe” Laura Loomer. The Associated Press called the race in the state’s 21st district shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The race pitted two Jews at different poles of the socio-political culture wars against each other – a moderate Democrat in Frankel and a far-right agitator LOIS FRANKEL in Loomer, who plays on her Jewish identity in her adamantly anti-Muslim rhetoric. “We’re putting the Jews on trial here in District 21,” Loomer told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in September. “They

have a choice between a Republican Jew who is going to advocate for their survival in their best interests, or they can stand with self-hating Jew Lois Frankel, who is doing the bidding for the jihadists in the Democrat Party who are just literally walking Jews to the gas chamber.” Loomer, who has been banned from platforms such as Twitter for her rhetoric, was supported by the Trump campaign. President Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara campaigned for Loomer in Florida in the fall.

A Jewish Democrat helms Fox News’ ‘decision desk” – and infuriates Trump By Gabe Friedman (JTA) Fox’s call came so early, in fact, that the network’s anchors seemed surprised. President Trump was reportedly furious with his favorite network, and he criticized the decision in an early morning White House appearance, specifically dismissing “the gentleman who called it.” That gentleman was Arnon Mishkin – a Jewish registered Democrat from New York who is the leader and face of the Fox numbers team. Mishkin called that Arizona would go blue at around 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. At around 12:30 a.m., he appeared on air, and Fox host Bret Baier pushed him to declare that he was “100%” certain about his call. “Absolutely. We made it basically after a half hour of debating ‘is it time?’” Mishkin said. The call injected life back into the Biden campaign, which was reeling as it watched tallies in swing states such as Ohio and Florida grow insurmountable Trump leads. Other networks would call Arizona for Biden hours later. (Some have not yet, and MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

Trump’s campaign is arguing he can still prevail there.) Mishkin, 65, would seem an unlikely election analyst for the news network that ARNON MISHKIN has increasingly been associated with the Republican Party. A registered Democrat, both his parents were Holocaust survivors, as he detailed in a speech to his Upper West Side synagogue B’nai Jeshurun in 2001. His father was the physics and engineering professor Eli Mishkin, whose obituary said he was the first person to receive a doctorate from the Israel Institute of Technology. His mother Esther volunteered at YIVO, the institute for Jewish research that preserves European Jewish history. Tuesday night wasn’t the first time Mishkin angered Republican politicians tracking election night results. In 2012, after he called that Ohio would go for Barack Obama, Fox analyst Karl Rove disputed the claim. That prompted host Megyn Kelly to dramatically walk off set and into the room where Mishkin and his colleagues were at work. Mishkin said on camera that he was “quite comfortable” with his call. Obama would win Ohio.

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SACREDGROUND

Beautification project restores Worcester’s Jewish cemeteries BY STACEY DRESNER

ORCESTER – After a successful capital campaign that raised more than the goal of $400,000, the effort to refurbish Worcester’s Jewish cemeteries is nearly done. Both Worcester Hebrew Cemetery and Chevra Kadisha have been landscaped, fallen gravestones have been up-righted, fresh paint covers cement posts and stairways, and new signs now welcome visitors to the cemeteries. Dana Levenson, chair of the Worcester Jewish Cemetery Improvement Association (WJCIA), said that the third cemetery, B’nai B’rith Cemetery, should be finished by early next year. “We may end up having to wait until the spring because there’s some fairly heavy iron work that needs to be done, replacing gates and cement posts,” Levenson said. “But I fully expect that by the time spring rolls around, we will have three pretty much completely renovated cemeteries here in Worcester.” Levenson got involved with the effort to restore the area’s Jewish cemeteries after visiting B’nai B’rith Cemetery on Memorial Day in 2017 with his sons to help the Jewish War Veterans put flags on the graves of veterans.

Noticing overgrown graves, toppled gravestones and inadequate signage, he then visited Worcester Hebrew Cemetery and Chevra Kadisha, which were in much the same condition. Levenson contacted Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Mass., and the Federation approved the formation of the WJCIA, which includes an advisory board of community laypeople involved in running the cemeteries. Schimmel praised Levenson’s work as chair of the cemetery improvement association and the capital campaign.

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“Dana’s leadership on the project was the reason for its success,” Schimmel said. “He’s been so committed to it and has really led the way, both in the fundraising and the actual execution of the beautification project. That’s been really impressive and it’s been great to work with him on it.” The WJCIA originally sought to raise $400,000 for the cemetery capital campaign. In the end, $401,500 was raised. Some of the larger donors were businessman and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; real estate developer and Worcester native Jeff Greene; businessman and philanthropist Sheldon

Adelson; and the Sigel Family Foundation. But Levenson said that the whole community made the campaign a success. “We had around 110 donors. We got gifts as small as $25 and we got gifts as large as $6,000. The average gift was around $600 or $700.” Most of the soliciting had been done by last spring before Covid, with the campaign ending in April. “We asked when we solicited people that if you made a pledge we really would like you to pay by June 1,” Levenson said. “And just about everyone has.” Three months ago the physical work at the cemeteries began. “We did THE ENTRANCE OF landscaping, arborial WORCESTER HEBREW CEMETERY BEFORE ITS work, signage and we RESTORATION. did the righting of stones, and a lot of cement work. “In one of the cemeteries, Worcester Hebrew, there was a huge number of tombstones that were down,” Levenson said. “They weren’t toppled by anybody but rather they actually got felled by a tree bough that fell. And there were some others stones in the cemetery that had toppled because of frost heaves [swelling of soil during freezing temperatures]. Now there are virtually no tombstones that are on the ground; they’re all sitting upright, the way they should.” At Worcester Hebrew much of the cement work – pillars, steps and walkways – were given a fresh coat LYA STUDENTS DOING THEIR SCHOOLWORK OUTSIDE of white paint. Two fur trees next to the

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and it will direct them there, so we are also going to be doing new maps for all three cemeteries as well,” Levenson said. “The other thing that we haven’t gotten to, which we fully plan to is security systems that are going to be in each of the three cemeteries. Basically motion based lights with cameras.” Levenson said he hopes the upkeep of the cemeteries will continue after the beautification project. “Cemetery management does as good a job as possible, but money is short when it comes to the operations of the cemeteries. [Upkeep] was not the intent of the project -- it was really a capital campaign,” Levenson said. “I’m hoping this is long-term not shortterm, because nothing’s going to last. These cemeteries deteriorate over time. I am a Worcester native and when I go there I see so many graves of people that I knew growing up, whether they are family members or friends or stalwarts in the community… This is our legacy.” “As the resting place of our community members, our family members and our leaders, its sacred ground. And that should be reflected,” agreed Schimmel. “There should be beauty in the final resting place of these people who meant so much to us. A cemetery should reflect the values of the community the upkeep of the cemeteries reflects a very important Jewish value.”

OVERGROWN TREES AND SHRUBS AT THE ENTRANCE OF WORCESTER HEBREW CEMETERY HAVE BEEN CUT BACK TO PROVIDE A CLEANER, MORE LIGHT-FILLED APPEARANCE. CEMENT POSTS AND STAIRS HAVE BEEN GIVEN A NEW COAT OF PAINT.

entrance were cut down and a new sign was installed. “We wanted to replace it with something that was a little bit more in keeping with the setting,” Levenson said. Some large trees at Chevra Kadisha were taken down, and in Worcester Hebrew a tree that had caused some damage was also removed. “The tree was on its last legs,” Levenson explained. “A year and a half a go a large bough fell from that tree as those things do. It was right in the middle of the cemetery, and there was no way it was going to come down without taking out down some stones. But those have all been fixed,” Levenson said. “If the stone could be fixed, it was fixed. And if it couldn’t be fixed for some reason, we laid it carefully in the ground where the grave was.” Work has also been done on the cemeteries’ signage, including a new sign at the entrance of Worcester Hebrew and signage on a white slab of stone has also been refurbished. One of the bigger expenses was repaving the parking lot of Worcester Hebrew and an access road that had deteriorated tremendously. Because CSX railroad tracks ran across the access road, the corporation donated funds to repave the road. “We are very pleased with how this has turned out,” Levenson said. majewishledger.com

Now, in addition to getting B’nai B’rith’s restoration finished, the next step is a database. An excel sheet on the website of the Jewish Federation of Central Mass. does contain the names and locations of the more than 10,000 Jews buried in the cemeteries. A new more sophisticated database with a new mapping system will provide clearer information about the location of graves. “All three cemeteries have or are in the process of turning in a list of interments have taken place over the past five to 10 years. Right now the database consists of 10,650 Jews that have been buried at these three cemeteries,” Levenson explained. (Some of the names on the database are Jews who were buried two Jewish sections in the Hope Cemetery in Worcester dating back to the early 1800s where Jews are no longer interred.) “Once that is done I’d say you’re probably looking at another 1,000 Jews that will be in that database. It will be the name of the person, the date of interment and location -- which cemetery and [the location] within the cemetery.” They also have plans for a GPS app. “If someone wants to find a loved one, all they will have to do go on their phone, or their computer and look up on this GPS system exactly where this person is buried,

NEW SIGNAGE AT CHEVRA KADISHA CEMETERY.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

As “Borat,” Sacha Baron Cohen mocks coronavirus antisemitic conspiracy theories BY GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) – Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest appearance in character as Borat was heavy on the bathroom humor – and on satirizing conspiracy theories that target Jews. On “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday night, Cohen showed up as Borat – the anti-Semitic, misogynist journalist from Kazakhstan who starred in a blockbuster 2006 film and is set to star in a sequel out this week. Right away, Borat said the coronavirus comes from “a place called Wuhan, which is in Israel.” “It is no surprise, they are spreading everything,” he said. When Jimmy Kimmel asked if he really thought that the virus originated in Israel, Borat said “Yes, it spread from the you-know-who’s,’” making a gesture that mimicked having a long nose.in your browser. Cohen’s upcoming film, which premieres on Amazon Prime on Friday, tackles antiSemitism and a range of other hot-button topics, in the same way that the original Borat movie did – by tricking real people into making incriminating comments. Cohen reportedly interviewed a real Holocaust survivor for the new film in order to mock Holocaust deniers. (After filming, the now late survivor’s family claimed that she was “horrified” with the end result.) Anti-Semitism was a central theme of the original Borat film as well; some scenes, including the fake “Running of the Jew” event, have become some of the zeitgeist’s most memorable parodies of Jew hatred. The Anti-Defamation League criticized Cohen in 2006 for perpetuating anti-Semitic stereotypes in pop culture, regardless of his intentions. But Cohen repaired that relationship and last year received an award from the ADL for his efforts to fight disinformation. In his acceptance speech, Cohen called social media the “greatest propaganda machine in history,” and he has since grown only more outspoken in his criticism of Facebook and other social media companies for their role in facilitating the spread of false and dangerous information. He has focused much of his satirical energy to mocking conspiracy theories about topics ranging from the coronavirus to George Soros, the right-wing bogeyman who features in many false and anti-Semitic narratives. He pilloried those ideas on Kimmel’s show, when, as Borat, he subjected the host to a fake medical questionnaire and asked if he had been in the presence of any Jews 16

Holocaust survivor’s daughter wants late mother’s interview out of ‘Borat’ sequel BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

SACHA BARON COHEN AS BORAT SAGDIYEV ON “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE,” OCT. 19, 2020. (SCREEN SHOT FROM YOUTUBE)

“for more than 15 minutes” in the past week. Kimmel said “Yes, all of our writers and none of our camera guys are Jews.” The theory that Jews were the source of the coronavirus pandemic has gained some momentum in far-right circles, most notably in parts of Europe, such as France and Germany. Some German protesters have also used Holocaust language and imagery to rail against their government’s strict coronavirus lockdown protocols. But Borat didn’t stop at coronavirus anti-Semitism. In the questionnaire, he also asked Kimmel: “As a member of Hollywood elite, have you recently drunk any unpasteurized children’s blood?” When Kimmel said no, Borat added “Really? Not in any pizza parlors recently?” Cohen hit on three different conspiracy theories: the term “Hollywood elite,” which has been tossed around in everything from

decades-old anti-Semitism about Jews in the media to the more recent QAnon theory; the concept of drinking the blood of children, part of the centuries-old blood libel that accuses Jews of killing Christian children for their blood; and the 2016 “Pizzagate” theory, which had some believing that Hillary Clinton and other high-ranking Democratic officials were involved in a sex trafficking ring at a pizza parlor. The Kimmel appearance has made headlines today for some of Cohen’s on-stage antics – which included prodding Kimmel’s crotch with a long rod and getting Kimmel to trade pants with him. As he clipped one of his devices onto Kimmel’s pants, he got a last anti-Semitic trope in: “Normally it is the Jew who controls the media, now it is the Kazakh who controls the late-night host!”

HBO Max to air Israel’s Yom Kippur War drama ‘Valley of Tears’ BY CURT SCHLEIER

(JTA) – HBO Max has bought the rights to “Valley of Tears,” a drama about the 1973 Yom Kippur War that is being touted as Israel’s biggest-budget TV series to date. The 10-part series depicts the war through the eyes of young soldiers through four different plot lines. No premiere date has yet been announced. It stars Lior Ashkenazi, familiar to international audiences from his role in Israel’s acclaimed film “Foxtrot” and his work opposite Richard Gere in “Norman:

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The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall Of A New York Fixer.” There is significant talent behind the scenes as well: It was created and co-written by Israeli-American writer Ron Leshem, who wrote HBO’s “Euphoria,” and Amit Cohen, who wrote the popular Israeli thriller series “False Flag.” The pair are also already at work on another Israeli series called “Traitor,” a thriller currently in post-production.

(JTA) – The daughter of a late Holocaust survivor is suing to have her mother’s appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming “Borat” sequel removed from the film, stating that the comedy mocks “the Holocaust and Jewish culture.” Cohen, who is Jewish, interviewed Judith Dim Evans earlier this year “under false pretenses with the intent of appropriating her likeness,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed this week with the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Cohen approached Evans for an interview in what he called a documentary earlier this year, the lawsuit states. Her daughter said that Evans, who passed away this summer, was “horrified and upset” upon learning that the film was a satirical comedy. The attorney representing Evans’ estate declined to tell the Journal-Constitution if Evans had signed a waiver before participating in the interview. In the original “Borat” film, which premiered in 2006, Cohen tricked several people into participating in a similar fake documentary to mock them. The film also satirizes the antisemitism present in the Borat character’s home country of Kazakhstan. Sources told Deadline that Evans was included to mock Holocaust deniers, not herself, and she was “clued in on the gag” right after it was shot. The sequel, full title “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” premieres on Amazon Prime on Oct. 23. Amazon has yet to comment on the Evans lawsuit.

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SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY Western and Central Massachusetts

AMHERST

Jewish Community of Amherst Reconstructionist Rabbi Benjamin Weiner (413) 256-0160 info@jcamherst.org www.jcamherst.org 742 Main St., Amherst, MA 01002

ATHOL

Temple Israel Unafﬁliated/Egalitarian Reb Sarah Noyovitz (978) 249-9481 templeisraelathol@gmail.com 107 Walnut Street Athol, MA 01331

BENNINGTON, VT

Congregation Beth El Reconstructionist Rabbi Micah Becker Klein (802) 442-9645 cbevtofﬁce@gmail.com www.cbevermont.org 225 North St., Bennington, VT 05201

CLINTON

Congregation Shaarei Zedeck Conservative Lay Leadership - Elena Feinberg (978) 501-2744 sherryesq@yahoo.com www.shaareizedeck.org 104 Water St., Clinton, MA 01510

FLORENCE

Beit Ahavah, The Reform Synagogue of Greater Northampton Reform Rabbi Riqi Kosovske (413) 587-3770 info@beitahavah.org www.beitahavah.org 130 Pine St. Florence, MA 01062

GREENFIELD

Temple Israel of Greenfield Unaffiliated Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (413) 773-5884 office@templeisraelgreenfield.org www.templeisraelgreenfield.org 27 Pierce St. Greenfield, MA 01301

HOLYOKE

Congregation Rodphey Sholom Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Helfen Religious Leader (413) 534-5262 djs1818@aol.com 1800 Northampton St., Holyoke, MA 01040 Congregation Sons of Zion Conservative Rabbi Saul Perlmutter (413) 534-3369 ofﬁce@sonsofzionholyoke.org www.sonsofzionholyoke.org 378 Maple St. Holyoke, MA 01040

LEOMINSTER

Congregation Agudat Achim Conservative Rabbi Eve Eichenholtz (978) 534-6121 ofﬁce@agudat-achim.org www.agudat-achim.org 268 Washington St., Leominster, MA 01453

LONGMEADOW

WESTBOROUGH

Beth Tikvah Synagogue Independent Rabbi Michael Swarttz (508) 616-9037 president@bethtikvahsynagogue.org www.bethtikvahsynagogue.org 45 Oak St., Westborough, MA 01581

NORTHAMPTON

Congregation B’nai Israel Conservative Rabbi Justin David (413) 584-3593 ofﬁce@CBINorthampton.org www.CBINorthampton.org 253 Prospect St. Northampton, MA 01060

Congregation B’nai Shalom Reform Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz/ Rabbi-Educator Joseph Eiduson (508) 366-7191 info@cbnaishalom.org www.cbnaishalom.org 117 East Main St., PO Box 1019, Westborough, MA 01581

PITTSFIELD

Temple Anshe Amunim Reform Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch (413) 442-5910 rabbiliz@ansheamunim.org www.ansheamunim.org 26 Broad St., Pittsﬁeld, MA 01201

SPRINGFIELD

WORCESTER

Temple Beth El Conservative Rabbi Amy Walk Katz (413) 733-4149 office@tbesprinfield.org www.tbespringfield.org 979 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA 01108

Congregation B’nai Torah Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe Rabbi Yakov Wolff (413) 567-0036 ofﬁce@bnaitorahma.org rabbi@bnaitorahma.org www.bnaitorahma.org 2 Eunice Drive Longmeadow, MA 01106 Neighborhood Minyan 124 Sumner Avenue Springﬁeld, MA 01108

WESTFIELD

Sinai Temple Reform Rabbi Jeremy Master (413) 736-3619 rblanchettegage@sinai-temple.org www.sinai-temple.org 1100 Dickinson St., Springﬁeld, MA 01108

Congregation Ahavas Achim Unaffiliated Cantor Colman Reaboi (413) 642-1797 ahavasachiminquiry@gmail.com www.congregationahavasachim.org Ferst Interfaith Center, Westfield State University PO Box 334, 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA 01086 Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AhavasAchimWestfield/

Central Mass Chabad Rabbi Mendel Fogelman, Rabbi Chaim Fishman, Rabbi Michael Phillips, Cantor Eli Abramowitz (508) 752-0904 rabbi@centralmasschabad.com www.centralmasschabad.com 22 Newton Avenue, Worcester, MA 01602 Congregation Beth Israel Conservative Rabbi Aviva Fellman (508) 756-6204 receptionist@bethisraelworc.org www.bethisraelworc.org 15 Jamesbury Drive Worcester, MA 01609 Congregation Shaarai Torah West Orthodox Rabbi Yakov Blotner (508) 791-0013 Brotman156@aol.com www.shaaraitorah.org 835 Pleasant St. Worcester, MA 01602 Temple Emanuel Sinai Reform Rabbi Valerie Cohen (508) 755-1257 amayou@emanuelsinai.org www.emanuelsinai.org 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609

To join our synagogue directory, contact Howard Meyerowitz at (860) 231-2424 x3035 or howardm@jewishledger.com majewishledger.com

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| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Around Massachusetts LGA takes to the outdoors

ander-Grinspoon Academy in Northampton is still operating hybrid, with students learning remotely three days a week and two mornings a week spent on campus for academics and social time. A few mornings a week students take to the outdoors. “Our skilled teachers are getting creative with how to make our academic program work outside, especially as the days get colder and - in some cases - more wet,” said Ellen Frank, LGA’s executive director. “We’ve had so much rain that the teacher decided to integrate art and science, and have the students paint with mud on cardboard! Shown here are some LGA students bundling up and enjoying the great outdoors while they work on assignments and create art with mud.

Outdoor adventures at LYA

ONGMEADOW - A sure sign of fall is falling leaves and for Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy’s preschoolers, fallen leaves are a sign of adventure. Pre-3 friends went on a leaf hunt with their teacher Ms. Kier, armed with an empty plastic bucket and wide smiles they embarked on a leaf adventure that began in the classroom, where they talked about where leaves grow and what makes them fall off of the trees. Older students are also spending lot of time outside learning in outdoor pavilions. Inside, LYA’s middle school students studied the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry, which began in 711 and lasted for 400 years under Muslim rule. In addition to being a time of peace, it was a time period where many great Jewish poets, doctors and philosophers flourished – like Shmuel Hanagid, Yehudah Halevi and Rambam (Maimonides). Students were challenged to dress up as Jew living in Spain and present a glimpse to their life. Each student created an interactive google slide that was used as a backdrop for their presentation.

PRESCHOOL STUDENTS ON A LEAF HUNT

BEN ADELSTEIN DRESSED UP AS A GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN PERSONALITY

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

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5 Hanukkah food hacks to make your holiday dinner easy and delicious BY LAUREN MANAKER This article originally appeared in Kveller.

s the Festival of Lights approaches, you might frying latkes and making applesauce in your dreams. The food is delicious and everyone is content and full, and above all, the meal is mess and stress-free. Then reality sets in: You are seriously so busy this time of year! While you may want to instill some tasty Jewish traditions in your family, do you really have time to shred a few bags of potatoes, or knead some finicky sufganiyot dough? Thankfully, this is 2020 and not 1920. These days, our grocery store shelves are stocked with convenience foods, so use them to your advantage! If you know what to do, it’s super easy to make a delicious, “semi-homemade” Hanukkah meal that will still create lasting memories. Read on for our top Hanukkah food hacks — they’re kind of like having your sufganiyot and eating it, too. For easy latkes, use preshredded hash brown potatoes. No Hanukkah celebration is complete without latkes, but the prep work can be extremely time consuming, tedious, and possibly a bit dangerous (especially if you have little helpers in the kitchen). But here’s some good news: It’s possible to have tasty not have bloody knuckles. Refrigerated and bagged shredded potatoes make frying up latkes a snap! Just swap out fresh taters with the bagged alternative in whatever recipe you use, and most people won’t even taste the difference. Pro tip: If you are trying to sneak in more veggies and/or have low-carb guests to entertain, check out this recipe for Cauliflower Latkes using pre-riced cauliflower instead of potatoes. Make zero-effort homemade applesauce in an Instant. Yes, you could just buy some jarred applesauce. But does anyone with teeth (and, um taste buds) actually like the stuff? If you have an Instant Pot — or any pressure cooker — you can make homemade applesauce in a flash! Just toss eight peeled, cored, and chopped apples into the pressure cooker with 1 cup of water, juice from ½ a lemon, and cinnamon to taste. After the lid is secure and the mixture is cooked on high pressure for 8 minutes, mash up your apples to the consistency of your desire. Of course, you have to then make the most important decision: chunky or smooth? Pro tip: Put a Johnny Apple Peeler on your Hanukkah wish list to help make the prep even easier! If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can still make easy homemade applesauce by using this recipe. Use pre-packaged biscuit dough for the easiest sufganiyot ever. Kids generally love making treats like sufganiyot in the kitchen with their family. But when you if you’re having guests over, or if you’re generally not the type who enjoys baking, there’s a hack for that: Use refrigerated biscuit dough — the kind that comes in a tube — instead. (Just don’t tell Bubbie!) Simply break apart the pre-portioned dough and fry the biscuits in heated oil until golden on both sides. Amazingly, you don’t even have to cut circles. The biscuits come pre-sliced! How perfect is that? If you happen to have a pastry bag in your kitchen, fill it with your favorite jarred jelly and push the tip into the middle of the donut. Squeeze the jelly into the doughnut until it is filled with enough sweetness to make your dentist cringe. If you don’t have a pastry bag, you have a couple of options: You can cut your donuts in

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half and put some jelly in the middle of the pastry, like a sandwich, or simply serve jelly as an accompaniment to the fried biscuit for dipping. Pro-tip: Not sweet enough for you? You can also sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on top of the warm doughnut to add a little more oomph if you wish! Let your slow cooker make the main dish. How exactly do you cook a brisket dinner for a crowd while also fulfilling all of your daily (as well as holiday-specific) obligations? By using a slow cooker, of course! This ultimate “set it and forget it” tool allows you to cook, slow and low, tough cuts of meat like brisket without any worries about overcooking. Even better? About 10 minutes of effort will reward you with a super-tasty result. Just toss a brisket (fat side up) in a slow cooker with some cans of broth, sliced onions, carrots, garlic, and spices. Cook the dish on the high setting of the cooker for about 6 hours, or until tender. That’s it! Serve your brisket with latkes and a salad, and your dinner is complete. Pro-tip: For an easy-peasy but delightful serving option, slice up the cooked brisket and make it fancy-looking with some sprigs of fresh parsley. Fancy up store-bought hummus f or an effortless appetizer. First things first: You can absolutely take a package of store-bought hummus, serve it in its original packaging with some store-bought crackers, and that’s that. We won’t judge! But why not add some color and flavor to an otherwise standard app? Take your container of ho-hum hummus and spread it onto a shallow bowl. Scoop a small space into the middle of the hummus, and top the dip with extra virgin olive oil, fresh rosemary leaves, crushed pistachios, and pomegranate arils. If you have the time or inclination, you can include some roasted, diced butternut squash as a topping for some extra color. Or add whatever floats your boat! The decorative additions will hide the fact that you didn’t make the hummus from scratch. Pro-tip: Think beyond pita! Try serving the hummus with fresh veggies or pretzels. Anything dippable will do!

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NOVEMBER 13, 2020

WHAT’S HAPPENING FRIDAY, NOV. 13 Springfield – Virtual Tot Shabbat with Rabbi Master and Sinai Temple and PJ Library of Western Mass., a Shabbat musical experience for families to celebrate Shabbat and connect, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; This program will also be live-streamed on Facebook; participants can choose to remain muted or turn off video if you do not want to be visible/audible on social media. Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/ meeting/register/tZcldO6tqjkpH9XXJhyk5f_ fuNMZOVmVzyCT (This link will be used for the full series of events, so you only need to register once); ALSO DEC. 11. Springfield – “The Language of Angels: How language helped the Jews find their way back to their homeland, and helped me find my way back to Judaism: A talk about Yiddish, Hebrew, Israel, Brooklyn, baseball, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Leonard Nimoy and me,” a Zoom Shabbat evening talk by Richard Michelson of Michelson Galleries, 7 -8:30 p.m., RICHARD Virtual Link: https:// MICHELSON sinai-temple. weebly.com/ uploads/9/8/6/2/98624574/michelson.pdf

Mak’hela CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

to the appropriate people as a reference, so everyone has what they need.” After the singers complete their performances, Ginsberg okays the videos and audio and sends them to Bender. As they “trickle in,” he mixes them all to create the video. In addition to several other important parts of the process, Bender synchs the recordings all up time-wise, adjusts everyone’s volume, and resizes the videos so that everyone’s video tile is consistent and fit on one screen. He is also able to pan the performances so that the bass singers sound comes out of say the right speaker while the soprano voices come out of the left speakers. “He is amazing,” Ginsberg said. Besides doing the sound and video mixing of the concert, Bender, along with members of the Jewish Community of Amherst Klezmer Ensemble, will both be accompanying Mak’hela on some of their numbers – Bender on tuba and trombone; his wife Anna Sobel, on percussion; Aaron Bousel on accordion; and Judy Gutlerner, 20

Registration: rblanchettegage@sinai-templel. org Western Mass. – Shabbat Shabloom on Zoom, with Aram Rubenstein-Gillis, a fun, song filled Shabbat morning sing-a-long time every 2nd Saturday on the month; 9-9:45 a.m., hosted by Congregation B’nai Israel; Zoom info: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/86814409262 Meeting ID: 868 1440 9262 Virtual Link: https://us02web. zoom.us/j/86814409262 Registration: mailto:molly@cbinorthampton.org Worcester – Torathon, an evening of online learning presented by the Jewish Federation of Central Mass., 6:30 p.m.; to register call (508) 756-1543, ext 201 or go to www. jewishcentralmass.org

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18 Springfield – Literatour Zoom event, featuring B. A. Shapiro, author of The Collector’s Apprentice, 3 p.m., co-sponsored by Glenmeadow Retirement Community; Admission is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required: bnadler@ springfieldjcc.org. Western Mass. – Jewish Family Jam; Explore Jewish holidays, language, culture and values through music, movement and drumming; presented by Jewish Family

both a member of Mak’hela and the JCA ensemble on clarinet. The klezmer ensemble will also be performing three pieces on their own, said Bender, who also leads his own klezmer group, Yiddishkeit Klezmer Ensemble, and performs with Little Shop of Horas, the Wholesale Klezmer Band and Klezamir. “I love it. It’s fun to put it all together and I think for the nursing homes we are giving these recordings to will enjoy it,” Bender said. “These are all great songs, and its always fun to play. I think its coming out well.” In addition to being Mak’hela’s music director and conductor, Ginsberg is also a composer and arranger and she used that talent on this concert. “Two of the songs we are doing I arranged for a four-part harmony and piano – “Mi Y’malel” and also I did a version of Debbie Friedman’s “Light These Lights” for four-part harmony, piano and flute,” she said. “So this will be the first time that it’ll be performed, which will be really nice. I’m looking forward to hearing all the voices put together.” Despite the technological issues and hard work, the members of Mak’hela were pros when it came to this project, Ginsberg

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

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NOV. 13 - DEC. 7 Service of Western Mass.; Join us on the LGA Facebook on Wednesday mornings; For children ages 0-5 and their caregivers; 10:30-11:30 a.m., Virtual Link: https://www. facebook.com/events/2511735252422400/ Registration: http://jfswm.org/jewish-familyjam Website: http://jfswm.org/jewish-familyjam. ALSO NOV. 25 & DEC. 2, 9, 16 & 23

THURSDAY, NOV. 19 Springfield – Experience Cuba with Miriam Levinson, Cuba expert and JCC travel professional; learn what the past, present, and future of life is like for a Cuban Jew; Zoom program begins at 7 p.m.; Free & open to the public; Pre-registration is required: arts@ springfieldjcc.org Springfield – “Honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Former Law Clerk’s Reflections,” a virtual discussion hosted by the Springfield Jewish Community Center and Jewish Federation of Western JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG Massachusetts, with Attorney Rachel Wainer Apter, clerk for the late Justice during the 2011-2012 Supreme Court term; with moderator Rebecca Cohen-Shrage Fischer, 7 p.m.; Free & open to the public. Pre-

said. “They’re enjoying it; they’re sticking with it,” Ginsberg said. “Each video that they make usually represents several hours of work – re-doing it and re-doing it because, you know, when you’re singing live with a group of people if you make the mistake, nobody’s going to notice it and everybody just keeps going. When you’re recording your own part and you know like this is set in stone, you don’t want to have wrong notes or wrong pronunciation. So it is a lot of work.” Mak’hela, which usually is supported by member dues, frants and general donations, received funding from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Longmeadow Cultural Council for the making of the virtual concert. “This technology is friendly fairly expensive. Because of that funding we were able to reduce what our normal dues would be for our members. We were able to make it a very minimal cost so we did put a big financial burden on our members.” When completed, the concert will be put up onto YouTube and the link will be on Mak’hela’s website and newsletter. “We’re also going to be encouraging our members to send it to people that they

registration is required: (413) 739-4715 or arts@springfieldjcc.org.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20 Springfield – Virtual Tot Shabbat with Marlene Rachelle; Grab an instrument and a favorite stuffy as we welcome Shabbat together, for families with children ages 7 or younger, 5:30-6:15 p.m.; a program of Temple Beth El and PJ Library of Western Mass., via Zoom and live streamed via PJ Library Western Massachusetts’ Facebook page. Register: https:// us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ tZIldOGtrjIjG93LsyTK8ANSe6VKaVF50Myj; For more information, contact Caryn Resnick at sklc@tbespringfield.org; ALSO DEC. 5 & 18

MONDAY, DEC. 7 Springfield – Literatour Zoom event with Fred Sokol, author of Destiny, 7 p.m.; Admission is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required. To register, contact Bev Nadler, director of Adult Programs, at bnadler@springfieldjcc.org.

know,” said Bruce Brewer. “Because it’s virtual, we can spread it around in so many different ways…the audience actually is unlimited.” They plan to release the concert on YouTube well before Chanukah, on or around Dec. 1. “That’s sort of our initial target date, because we want the link to be embedded in announcements, so when they are sent to one of the local synagogues or to the JCC, the link is embedded and it will be sent out to their members,” Bruce said. Ginsberg said that she hopes that next spring Mak’hela will be able to perform a live concert with a choir from an Amherst church that had to be post from last May. “We’ll postpone it for as long as there is Covid. Their director and I are really committed to the project.” And while labor intensive, she said she thinks the making of the virtual Chanukah concert has been a welcome reprieve from the concern about COVID. “Many of Mak’hela’s members are retired, or semi retired,” she said. “So this has been a wonderful thing to do duringIN BETTE MIDLER retirement and COVID, “COASTAL when whatELITES” you can’t do much of anything else, right?”

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Arabs from Gulf states rush to learn the Hebrew language The warm relationship developing between Israel, UAE and Bahrain hasled to a rise in the number of businesspeople in the Gulf learning Hebrew online. BY ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

(Israel21c) Maysoon Hameed comes home from work as a vice president at First Abu Dhabi Bank, spends time with her family— and then begins a 90-minute live Hebrew class online. “After the UAE signed [the Abraham Accords] with Israel, there are a lot of investment opportunities” for both sides, said Hameed. “To make connections and build relations, you need something in common with the other party no matter where in the world they are. You have to find a common comfort zone,” she added. “If I have colleagues from Israel, we don’t have to speak English all the time, even though that is the international business language,” said Hameed. “We will feel closer speaking in a mother tongue.” Hameed is one of nine Emirati students of Tel Aviv’s Citizen Café—six from Abu Dhabi and three from Dubai—plus four from Bahrain. “We have always had ambassadors and diplomats from around the world, so we barely noticed a few businesspeople from the UAE before,” said Tamar Pross, who founded the Citizen Café Hebrew language and Israeli culture school in 2015. “But when the peace agreement happened, an article in Israel about Emirati diplomat Omar Saif Ghobash mentioned that he’d been studying with us. Suddenly we noticed a huge amount of people contacting us. So we started to promote Citizen Café in the UAE and in Bahrain as well. We were the first to do it.” Pross says that Ghobash—whose selftaught Hebrew allowed him to enter Citizen Café at a high level—and other “extremely educated, sophisticated, lovely people from the Gulf tourism and business sector are all so excited and interested to engage with Israelis.” When UAE students are asked why they want to learn Hebrew, “some said they already have Israeli friends and wanted to impress them. Some are Jews living there and discovering their heritage,” said Pross. “They all tell us how motivated and eager they were to connect and engage with Israelis, and a lot said they can’t wait to visit. The Emiratis are very active on our social media groups.” According to Hameed, learning Hebrew “is super fun. The teacher is cool and casual. Each class is 90 minutes, but it feels like nine minutes.” ‘People are learning from just about everywhere’ Pross notes that the pandemic has been a busy time for Citizen Café. The fall majewishledger.com

semester encompasses 60 classes over Zoom. The staff was increased from 10 to 40 to meet the demand coming from countries spanning China to America. AN ONLINE Yoel Ganor, who HEBREW CLASS, cofounded Ulpan-Or in INCLUDING MAYSOON HAMEED 1995, said demand grew in FROM ABU DHABI, the first wave of infections MIDDLE LEFT. as people got comfortable CREDIT: COURTESY. using online platforms like Zoom. “People realized they could study Hebrew in a more condensed way and master a level in five or 10 days,” said Ganor. Ulpan-Or provides Hebrew lessons to about 100 middle and high schools abroad, mainly in North America. “Now schools in Germany and the U.K. have joined us, and COVID accelerated our development of an online program for preschools that we recently introduced in five sites to a very beautiful response,” said Ganor. “Even before COVID and the peace agreement, we had a few students from the Emirates and Bahrain, but they did it semisecretly; we paired them with teachers who work from countries outside of Israel. Now two of our students there tell us of growing interest from the younger population in learning Hebrew.” Gil Pentzak, director of Ulpan Aviv, also saw an increase in students—both adults and children—during the first wave of the pandemic in March. Ulpan Aviv’s one-to-one Hebrew lessons reach students in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. Typically, students are businesspeople, diplomats or Christians wanting to learn biblical Hebrew. “Right after the Abraham Accords were signed with the UAE, I started getting leads from people there. Every week now, I get a lead from Bahrain or the UAE and sometimes from countries such as Jordan, but it has not yet developed further,” said Pentzak. Ami Steinberger, founder and CEO of Ulpan La-Inyan, also has more classes now than in pre-pandemic times. “We moved to an online platform at the start of the pandemic, and now people are learning online from just about everywhere—Argentina, the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Italy and many other European countries,” said Steinberger. “We don’t have UAE students yet, but we would welcome them.”

CLINICAL TRIALS OF ISRAELI CORONAVIRUS VACCINE UNDERWAY (JNS) The first Israeli SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was administered at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan on Sunday to the first volunteer in a clinical trial. The vaccine, called “BriLife,” was developed by the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR), which has prepared 25,000 doses ahead of the 80-person trial. Half of the volunteers will be given the vaccine (or a placebo) at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, and half at Sheba Medical Center. In the first stage of the trials, the volunteers, ages 18 to 55, will be monitored for anti-bodies and side effects for three weeks after receiving an injection (vaccine or placebo). The second stage is set to begin in December, and will involve extensive safety tests on a group of 960 healthy volunteers in several medical centers across Israel. The third and final phase, scheduled for April or May, will test the vaccine’s efficacy with the participation of up to 30,000 volunteers. At a press conference at Sheba, IIBR head professor Shmuel Shapira said the vaccine represented “an incredible scientific achievement” which was made in record time, despite the fact that the IIBR had taken no shortcuts “of the kind enjoyed by the big corporations.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was present at the event, along with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, thanked Shapira, the IIBR and the Health Ministry for their work in developing the vaccine, but emphasized that Israel has also been working with the big pharmaceutical companies for access to their vaccines, and has reached out to various world leaders to ensure Israel “was at the front of the line, not the back.” “I do not think that this will happen immediately, but I do tell you that I already see the light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, I have one request: that you pay heed to the regulations of the Health Ministry and corona Cabinet, which are designed for the benefit of the citizens of Israel. This is to safeguard your lives and your health. Above all, wear masks over the nose and mouth,” he said. NURSE HELA LITWIN ADMINISTERS ISRAEL’S FIRST SARS-COV-2 VACCINE, BRILIFE, TO VOLUNTEER SEGEV HAREL AT SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER AT TEL HASHOMER IN RAMAT GAN, NOV. 1. (CREDIT:ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON’S OFFICE.

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OBITUARIES FEINBERG William (Bill) Feinberg, 84, of Boca Raton, Fla., formerly of Longmeadow and Newton, died Oct. 12. He was the husband of Margie (Berman) Feinberg. Raised in Newton, he graduated from Boston University, where he was a member of the Phi Alpha fraternity. He spent his summers as a camper and counselor at Camp Alton in New Hampshire. He moved to Longmeadow when he got married in 1960. He was the owner of Bel-Mar Insurance in Springfield, and past president of the Jewish Community Center of Springfield. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Lori Feinberg, and Susan Caplan (Peter); three grandchildren, Josh Feinberg, and Lindsay and Brett Caplan; a sister-inlaw, Barbara (Babs) Hirshfield; and niece, Jill Tilem (Matt). Memorial contributions may be made to the Springfield Jewish Community Center, https://www. springfieldjcc.org/donate-now/ (please note for William Feinberg), JF&CS of Boston https://www.jfcsboston.org/Give/Givingto-JF-CS, or the Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/. ASCHER-ZIMMERMAN FUNERAL HOME JORDAN Karen Eisenberg Jordan, 53, of Agawam, died Oct. 18 at home. She was the wife of Dennis Jordan. Born and raised in Bloomfield, Conn., she was the daughter of Richard and Marion Eisenberg. She attended Bloomfield High School and earned her certification in cosmetology at Connecticut School of Cosmetology in East Hartford. She was a hairdresser for many years. In adition to her husband, she is survived by her puppies, Priscilla, Banya and Lincoln; her sister, Genie Eisenberg Watsky and her husband, Russel; her brother, William Eisenberg and his wife, Susan; two nephews, Seth and Jonathon Watsky; three nieces, Erica, Julie and Renee Eisenberg; and many cousins. Memorial contributions may be made to North Shore Animal League America, 25 Davis Ave. Port Washington, NY 11050 or www. animalleague.org. ASCHER-ZIMMERMAN FUNERAL HOME KOWARSKY Howard Kowarsky, 95, of Springfield, died Oct. 22. Born in Springfield, he was he son of the late Abraham and Jennie Kowarsky. He was the widower of Claudia Kowarsky. He worked in the garment industry for 30 years. He was a proud World War II veteran. He is survived by two sons and their spouses, Nathan and Susan Kowarsky, and Lee and Cheryl Kowarsky; three grandchildren, Tiffany Kowarsky, Ashley Hope, and Nathan Collins; and a great-grandson, Kellen Hope. 22

He was predeceased by a brother, Sidney Kowarsky. ASCHER-ZIMMERMAN FUNERAL HOME RAYKHER Riva (Sandler) Raykher, 87, of Worcester, died Oct. 21 at UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus. She was the widow of Alexey Raykher. Born in Moscow, Russia, she was the daughter of Sergei and Jenny Sandler. In 1981, she along with her husband and daughters immigrated to Worcester to find a better life. She Riva worked for 15 years as an assembler at Frem Corporation, retiring many years ago. She is survived by two daughters, Bela Cohen and her husband, Steven, of Worcester, and Svetlana Liakos and her husband, George, of Arlington; five beloved grandchildren, Lenny Cohen, Jason Cohen and his wife, Sarah, and Emily, Elizabeth and Steven Liakos; and a great-grandson, Jacob. She was predeceased by a sister, Manya Sandler. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609, or to a charity of the donor’s choice. RICHARD PERLMAN OF MILES FUNERAL HOME OF HOLDEN SOLOMON Barbara Tesse (Gordenstein) Solomon, 88, formerly of Longmeadow and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died Oct. 14 in Westwood. She was the widow of Sidney Solomon. Born and raised in Springfield, she was the daughter of the late Samuel Gordenstein and the late Ethel (Blassberg) Gordenstein. She graduated from Classical High School in Springfield and attended Syracuse University, University of Connecticut, and Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM) in New York City. She worked in the fashion industry in New York as a buyer and editorial writer. She later moved back to Springfield, where she married, raised her family, and continued working part-time in fashion and editorial writing. She served as president of the Fort Lauderdale Ballet Company, now known as Fort Lauderdale Ballet Classique. She supported the Sunrise Swim Club, Masters Swimming, and volunteering as a swim coach for Special Olympics. She is survived by a daughter Susan (Solomon) Kaplan; a son-in-law, Evan Kaplan; two granddaughters, Sydney and Danielle Kaplan; a sister-in-law, Solange De Azambuja Lira; and several nieces and nephews, Jessica (Gordenstein) Greene, Samuel Lira Gordenstein (Mariana), Andre Lira Gordenstein (Carisa), Amanda Lira Gordenstein Montes (Alex) and Rebeca Lira Gordenstein (Daniel). She was predeceased by a brother, Arnold Gordenstein, and her son, Steven Solomon. Memorial contributions may be made

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| NOVEMBER 13, 2020

to Special Olympics Connecticut, 2666 State St., Suite 1, Hamden, CT, 06517. All donations will go directly to the swim team that Barbara coached. ASCHER-ZIMMERMAN FUNERAL HOME VOLIN Irwin Jack Volin, 95, of Worcester, died Oct. 12 at home in Boca Raton, Fla. He was the widower of Suzanne Volin. Born in Cedarhurst, N.Y., he was the son of Beatrice (Butler) and Dave Volin. He grew up in the town of Lawrence, N.Y. After high school he attended The Citadel Military Academy in Charleston, S.C. for one year until the outbreak of World War II. He joined the army and served in the 3rd Infantry Division of the Rock of the Marne. After receiving an honorary discharge, he attended Lowell Textile Institute, now UMass Lowell, and upon graduation, joined his brothers and father manufacturing ladies maternity dresses for Ed Volin Maternity on Broadway in the garment district in New York City. In 1960 he moved the family to Worcester, where he built West Boylston Bowl, one of the first ten pin bowling alleys in New England, and then later opened Bowler’s World in Natick. He eventually became an importer of latex goods from Bangkok, Thailand. In 1980 he opened the first Dunkin Donuts in Thailand, which is still open today as the flagship shop in Bangkok. He worked in importing until his early 90s. He is survived by two children, Kathy Pulda and her husband, Robert, of Worcester, and Lawrence Volin of Tamarac, Fla.; two grandchildren, Dana Pulda Acone and her husband, Chris, and Julie Pulda, all of the Boston area; two great-grandchildren, Ruby Pulda Acone and Sasha Pulda Acone; a brother and sister in law, Mitchell and Bea Winkler Bayer of New York City; a sister-in-law Claire Volin of Moorestown, N.J.; and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to MSPCA-Angell online or at 350 S. Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130; Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Jamesbury Drive, Worcester, MA 01609; or to the charity of the donor’s choice. RICHARD PERLMAN OF MILES FUNERAL HOME OF HOLDEN GLASS Stephen H. Glass, 77, died Nov. 4 at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He was the husband of Juliet A. (Natale) Glass. Born and raised in Worcester, he was the son of Benjamin and Lillian (Poliakin) Glass. He attended Midland Street School, Chandler Street Junior High, Classical High School Class of 1961, Worcester Junior College for two years, Rochester Institute of Technology for one semester and two years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He joined his family’s business, King Supermarkets until the

family sold the stores in 1985. He also owned a Laundromat and a photography studio until 1969. He then opened Heavens Above Satellite Systems in 1978. In addition to his wife of 53 years, he is survived by a son, Adam M. Glass and his wife, Michelle of Paxton; a daughter, Jennifer L. Conrad and her husband, Michael of Worcester; two brothers, Stuart E. Glass and his wife, Kathleen of Paxton and Frederick J. Glass and his wife, Nancy of Delray Beach, Fla; a sister, Sheila Schiffman of Worcester; five grandchildren, Liliana, Gabriella, Cecilia, Jordan and Samuel; his nephews and nieces and his beloved Yorkie, Kalie. Memorial contributions may be made to Tufts Medical Center, www.giving.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/ give or (617) 636-7656.

ISRAEL PRIZE-WINNING POET NATAN ZACH DIES AT 89 He published more than two dozen books, including several that were translated into other languages, and won a number of international prizes. BY RUTH KADOSH

(JNS) -- Natan Zach, an Israeli writer who had a major impact on the development of modern Hebrew poetry, died on Friday at the age of 89. Zach published more than two dozen books, including several that were translated into other languages, and won a number of international prizes. Israeli Culture Minister Hili Tropper called him “one of Israel’s greatest poets” and said his influence would be felt for “generations.” Born in Berlin in 1930, Zach emigrated to the Holy Land as a child. He taught at Tel Aviv University for several years before moving to Britain to complete a Ph.D. at the University of Essex. When he returned, he taught at Haifa University. Zach sparked controversy in a 2010 television interview when he made derogatory remarks about Middle Eastern Jews and suggested their culture was inferior to that of Jews of European descent. He also expressed support that year for the Turkish flotilla that sought to defy Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Both remarks led to calls for his works to be removed from Israeli textbooks. This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

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Sacks CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Laura Adkins. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because anger exposes the problem but never delivers the solution.â&#x20AC;? But he did take public stances on two topics that were often ensnared with European politics: Israel and anti-Semitism. Sacks spoke out publicly as Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Labour Party was engulfed in an antiSemitism scandal under its previous leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling Corbyn an antiSemite. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have an antisemite as the leader of the Labour Party and her majestyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opposition. That is why Jews feel so threatened by Mr. Corbyn and those who support him,â&#x20AC;? Sacks said in 2018 during an interview with the New Statesman. That judgement paved the way for the current British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to harshly condemn the Labour Party, a precedent-setting event in British Jewish life. Corbyn was replaced in April by centrist Keir Starmer, who has apologized for how antisemitism was allowed to flourish in Labourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ranks under Corbyn. Starmer, who is married to a Jewish woman, expressed his condolences to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the entire Jewish worldâ&#x20AC;? in a tweet on Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was a towering intellect whose eloquence, insights and kindness reached well beyond the Jewish community. I have no doubt that his legacy will live on for many generations,â&#x20AC;? Starmer wrote. Sacks was also vocal in his opposition to the forces that lead to antisemitism on the far left and the far right, as he wrote in a JTA op-ed in January. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Antisemitism has little to do with Jews â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are its object, not its cause â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and everything to do with dysfunction in the communities that harbor it,â&#x20AC;? he wrote. In 2017, in a widely circulated YouTube video, Sacks called anti-Zionism a new form of anti-Semitism, arguing that it denies Jews the â&#x20AC;&#x153;right to exist collectively with the same rights as everyone else.â&#x20AC;? The video was based on a 2016 speech Sacks delivered in Brussels, which is widely seen as having paved the way to Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adoption later that year of the International

Holocaust Remembrance Allianceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definition of antisemitism. But the video went far beyond political and academic circles, and became symbolic of Sacksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to reach mainstream audiences. Rachel Riley, a famous British Jewish game show television host, last year shared the video, telling her over 600,000 Twitter followers that it is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the best explanation of antisemitism Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen.â&#x20AC;? Sacks branched out beyond religious and Jewish cultural thought as well. In 2017 he delivered a Ted Talk about â&#x20AC;&#x153;facing the future without fearâ&#x20AC;? and what he called a â&#x20AC;&#x153;fateful momentâ&#x20AC;? in Western history after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, citing Thomas Paine and anthropologists to make an argument about returning a culture of togetherness. Born in London in 1948, Sacks studied at Cambridge University. While a student there in the 60s, he visited Rabbi Menachem Schneerson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the spiritual leader who is credited with turning the Hasidic ChabadLubatvitch movement into a powerful organizing force of Jewry around the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in New York City. Sacks credits that meeting with inspiring him to get involved with Jewish studies, as he detailed in a series of videos for Chabad.org in 2011. He became the rabbi of the Golders Green synagogue in Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most Orthodox neighborhood in the late 70s and then rabbi of the Marble Arch synagogue in central London. The U.K. Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl also released a statement on Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rabbi Sacks was a giant of both the Jewish community and wider society. His astounding intellect and courageous moral voice were a blessing to all who encountered him in person, in writing or in broadcast,â&#x20AC;? van der Zyl said. Sacks is survived by his wife Elaine, three children and several grandchildren.

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MA Jewish Ledger • November 13, 2020 • 26 Cheshvan 5781

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In Memoriam