CT Jewish Ledger • May 21, 2021 • 10 Sivan 5781 by 2020 Media

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INSIDE

this week

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | MAY 21, 2021 | 10 SIVAN 5781

4 Milestones

8 Briefs

17 Crossword

18 What’s Happening

19 Torah Portion

20 Obituaries

American Jews....................................................................... 5 A new study of American Jews by the PEW Research Institute reveals a community that is older, more educated, richer and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country.

George Floyd’s Yahrzeit....................................................11 In a landmark gathering for Jews of color, hundreds of Jews recited the Mourner’s Kaddish for George Floyd.

21 Business and Professional Directory

22 Classified

Conversation with…........................ 5 Rabbi Jonathan Berger is set to become the next head of school of Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford.

ON THE COVER:

As the Ledger went to press fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza intensified, leaving more than 150 Palestinians and 10 Israelis dead. The stories included here area as of May 16. For up-to-the-minute developments, visit the Ledger at www.jewishledger.com. Pictured on the cover: The Israeli Iron Dome missile defence system intercepts rockets fired by the Hamas from Gaza (Image: GETTY) PAGES 12 - 16 jewishledger.com

OPINION........................................................................................................................ 10 There aren’t two legitimate opinions about this conflict, writes Jonathan Tobin. If you care about Jews or Arabs, then those who lie about apartheid and target civilians must be defeated, not rewarded.

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Hartford Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon to receive JNF Tree of Life Award

ARTFORD – New England real estate executive Joshua Solomon, owner of the Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team and co-founder and president of The DSF Group, has been selected as the 2021 recipient of Jewish National Fund-USA’s (JNF-USA) prestigious Tree of Life Award in recognition of his outstanding community involvement, professional leadership, and dedication to the cause of American-Israeli friendship with the devotion to peace and the security of human life. Solomon will be honored at a virtual gala on June 8. featuring an intimate dialogue with Emmy-award winning actor, director, producer Henry Winkler and Academy-award winning actress, producer, and activist Marlee Matlin. “It’s a great honor to be recognized by such a highly esteemed organization for my commitment to improving the lives of others,” said Solomon. As president of The DSF Group, Solomon is very active in the real estate industry and has major philanthropic ties within the Hartford and Boston communities. Most notably, he is passionate about leaving a lasting impression on children and families in underserved areas by exposing them to programs and opportunities through the Yard Goats Foundation that provides education and job training in a way that can “change the entire outcome of their lives.” He is also dedicated to helping homeless families find permanent residences and

acquire life skills to find employment. For more than 12 years, he has been a board member and spearheaded the real estate committee of the nonprofit organization Heading Home, which provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, and supportive services to homeless and formerly homeless families and individuals in the Greater Boston area. “Helping young homeless families in need is a major part of our family’s life. It really puts things into perspective and brings you closer to the people you’re helping,” he says. The impact of Solomon’s philanthropic endeavors can also be felt overseas. The owner of the Double-A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies combines his lifelong passion for baseball and his love for Israel as a board member of the Israeli Association of Baseball and through his involvement with JNF-USA, the leading philanthropic organization for Israel that supports critical environmental and nation building activities in Israel’s north and south. The majority of his charitable donations to JNF-USA helps support Team Israel, the Israeli Olympic baseball team, and JNFUSA’s “Project Baseball” – an initiative focused on building state-of-the-art baseball and softball fields throughout Israel, while also supporting and teaching baseball and softball to Israeli youth through Little Leagues, summer camps, and clinics. Team Israel is currently making history by competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic games and is the first Israeli National Team to qualify for an Olympic team competition

since 1976. “This is the story of the Jewish people,” says Solomon. “The odds are always against them, and some way, somehow, they pull out these huge victories. It shows the world that Jewish athletes can compete with the best. Imagine the Israeli flag being raised on the medal podium while Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, is played on the Olympic stage for all the world to hear. I hope my involvement and support of JNFUSA contributes to the continued success of baseball in the state of Israel, as well as helping advance peace between Israel and its neighbors.” Event Chair and JNF-USA New England Treasurer Michael Blank added: “I have known Josh Solomon for years and admire his dedication to his family, his friends,

and his many charitable causes. Josh deserves recognition for his philanthropy to JNF-USA and the Hartford and Boston communities, and for just being an honest to goodness great guy.” The Tree of Life™ Award Ceremony Honoring Josh Solomon will be held June 8 at 8 p.m. To join the celebration, visit jnf.org/ treeoflifenewengland. For more information, contact Dar Nadler at dnadler@jnf.org or Sara Hefez at shefez@jnf.org.

UJA-JCC Greenwich donates 100 Dignity Grows packs to local food pantry

B’NAI MITZVAH

GREENWICH – During the month of May, UJA-JCC Greenwich gave the local food pantry ‘Neighbor to Neighbor’ 100 totes filled with essential hygiene supplies. The do-nation was made as part of the organization’s Dignity Grows program, which provides monthly personal and feminine products to those who cannot afford such products. It is estimated that one in five American women lack the means to purchase menstrual supplies and toiletries. While such products are often taken for granted, for those who must go without the upshot can mean missed days of school or work and and an ac-companying sense of shame and loss of income. Government benefits such as SNAP don’t cover menstrual products and toiletries. And UJA-JCC Greenwich is not alone in supporting Neighbor to Neighbor. The Greenwich chapter of Pitch Your Peers, which annually gives grants to local nonprofits serving people most in need, selected the Greenwich food pantry as their 2021 beneficiary with similar items. “We were aware of the Pitch Your Peers donation, and we wanted to make sure that Neighbor to Neighbor would have enough supplies to carry them through the summer,” said Margie Black, chair of Dignity Grows in Greenwich. “Building on Pitch Your Peers’ recent largesse, now Neighbor to Neighbor will have enough to offer everyone who uses their services.” “UJA-JCC Greenwich has a proud tradition of showing up and making a difference in our community,” said UJA-JCC Greenwich CEO Pam Ehrenkranz. “Our Dignity Grows program has supported Neighbor to Neighbor in the past, along with JFS Greenwich, Schoke Jewish Family Service in Stamford, YWCA Greenwich and MetCouncil on Jewish Poverty. It’s heart warming to see the responsiveness among Greenwich wom-en to the cause of alleviating period poverty. All are welcome to join us in future efforts to fulfill this very real human need.”

ALEC BERNSTEIN, son of Susan and David Bernstein, will celebrate his bar mitzvah on Saturday, May 22, at The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford.

For more information, visit www.ujajcc.org.

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The Pew study cheat sheet: 10 key conclusions from the new survey of American Jews BY BEN SALES

(JTA) – Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country. They’re overwhelmingly white, though Jews under 30 are more diverse. Most of them care about Israel, though one in 10 support the movement to boycott it. Most of their young adults are marrying non-Jews, though the growing Orthodox community is not. Those are some of the many findings of a study on Jewish Americans published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. It’s the second edition of a landmark 2013 study that changed the American Jewish conversation. The 2013 survey measured not only the size and makeup of American Jewry, but quantified what those Jews believed (or didn’t), how they practiced their religion (or didn’t), whom they married, how they raised their children and how they felt about Israel. The “Pew study,” as it came to be known in Jewish organizational circles, reflected the current state of American Judaism and influenced what Jewish nonprofits did and how they spent their money. Jewish leaders and pundits marshaled its data to buttress their arguments and advance their vision of what the Jewish community should look like. The new edition asks many of the same questions, and adds a few new ones based on the events and conversation of the past few years. For example, the survey delves much deeper into antisemitism, as well as

racial and ethnic diversity among American Jews. If this year is anything like 2013, the response will be reams written (including by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency) about what this Pew study means. Meanwhile, its authors have cautioned not to make direct comparisons between the data in the two surveys because of differences in methodology. But here are the basics: The American Jewish community is growing and increasingly diverse. It is largely educated, affluent and leans Democratic. Most of its young people are marrying non-Jews, though many of those families are still raising their kids Jewish. Orthodox Jewry is growing and the Conservative movement is shrinking. The more traditionally observant Jews are, the more likely they are to consume Jewish culture. More than 4,700 Jews took part in the survey, which has a margin of error of 3%, with larger margins of error for subsets. Questions pertaining to Orthodox respondents, for example, had a margin of error of 8.8%. Here are some of the highlights. 1. There are 7.5 million American Jews. The number includes approximately 5.8 million adults and 1.8 million children. About 4.2 million of the adults identify their religion as Jewish, while the rest of the adults are what Pew calls “Jews of no

religion.” The 7.5 million figure is up from the 6.7 million counted in 2013, which included some 5.3 million adults and 1.3 million children. And the 2021 figure is a bit larger than the Jewish population of Israel, which is around 6.9 million. Jews make up about 2.5% of the American population. They are slightly older than Americans overall, with a median age of 49 compared to the overall median American age of 46. 2. Most young Jews are either Orthodox or unaffiliated. The future of American Jewry appears to be one of polarization. The numbers of Orthodox and unaffiliated Jews are growing. The Conservative and Reform movements, which once claimed the bulk of the American Jewish community, are shrinking. Overall, the raw percentages belonging to each denomination haven’t changed much since 2013. But religious affiliation by age shows a changing community. Among Jews aged 65 and older, 69% are either Conservative or Reform, while just 3% are Orthodox. But among adults under 30, 37% are Conservative and Reform and 17% are Orthodox. Just 8% of those young adults are Conservative, as opposed to 25% of Jews over 65. And 41% of Jews under 30 are unaffiliated, compared to 22% over 65. 3. Some 15% of young Jewish adults are not white. The survey adds to a discussion that the Jewish community has been having in recent years: What proportion of American Jews are Jews of color, and have Jews of color been undercounted as a result of institutional bias? That conversation grew more intense during and after the protests over racial injustice that began last year. The survey did not ask about the term “Jews of color” specifically because of debates over its definition and researchers were concerned that respondents may not be familiar with it. But the survey aimed to

GRAPH COURTESY OF (PEW RESEARCH CENTER)

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West Hartford day school gets set to welcome new head of school

BY STACEY DRESNER

EST HARTFORD – Rabbi Jonathan (“Yoni”) Berger has been named new Head of School at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford. He succeeds Andrea Kaspar, who is relocating to Europe with her family. Rabbi Berger will start at Schechter on July 1. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Berger, 45, grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his father, Kenneth Berger, was rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom and his mother, Cheryl Berger, was a Jewish day school teacher at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County. “She was actually my teacher in fifth and sixth grade. So, I grew up in a home where there’s a lot of love of Judaism and love of learning, and good Jewish joy,” says Berger, who went on to attend the Frisch Yeshiva High School and then the University of Michigan, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He then received an MA in Bible and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). After spending 11 years as school rabbi at Hillel Day School of Metro Detroit, he went on to serve for four years as associate head of school for Judaic studies and programming at Gross Schechter Day School in Cleveland, Ohio. His wife Laura, who received an MSW from Columbia University and an MA in Jewish studies from JTS, is currently enjoying a second career as an ICU nurse. They are the parents of four children, tenth grader Talya; eighth grader Adina; and two twin boys, Rami and Benny, both first graders who will attend Solomon Schechter. Rabbi Berger recently spoke with the Jewish Ledger about his love for CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

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Jewish education and his excitement about taking over the reins at Schechter. JEWISH LEDGER: You were a counselor at Camp Ramah. How did that influence your interest in Jewish education? RABBI BERGER: I loved it. I was happy enough as a camper, I went back for a number of summers, but I didn’t love camp the way some people do as a camper. It wasn’t until I was on staff and helping to create amazing experiences for kids and help them grow up that I really fell in love with camp. But I also say that I spent some years a little unsure about what career path I should pursue. It was my sister Rachel actually who sat me down and said, ‘If you look at what you love to do, that’s what you love about camping – sharing Jewish life and education.’ She helped me realize that it actually meant something and that was a good sign. How being a congregation rabbi lead you to the field of Jewish day school education? My first job was at a high school in New York while my wife finished grad school. I then actually spent three years in a congregation in the Baltimore area, Beth Israel in Owings Mills. … [There I learned] to think about my work in terms of building community and helping people find their home. Since then, I’ve mainly been in the education world, although I did have a part-time pulpit in the Detroit area. But that piece of the work in the congregation of building community, helping people feel connected and making the congregation a home, those are the lessons that I’ve taken with me ever since. That definitely did shape me. When the time came to look around, the best fit for me was at Hillel Day School in Detroit. I was there for 11 years. I was school rabbi, which included some teaching but also community building, programming and a lot of thinking about the school’s mission and values. I had the fortune to work for a visionary school leader named Steve Freedman, who was head of school in Detroit. He took the school on a journey both towards religious pluralism, and progressive education that had a major impact on how I view the importance and the path for Jewish day schools, and the importance of trying to make sure that we educate all kids in inspiring ways, full of creativity that will help them forge their own path in the future. When – and why –did you switch your focus to becoming a head of school? 6

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It was in Detroit that I began to think about being a head of school. I loved my job as a school rabbi -- I did it for 11 years -- but I wanted to be able to have the bigger impact that you can have as a head of school. So, it was there that I enrolled in the JTS Day School Leadership Training Institute. [Former SSDS Head of School] Andrea Kaspar also was a part of that but in a different cohort. It’s an amazing place for people to grow into the role of school leader. How would you define your accomplishments at Gross Schechter? At the heart of good schools are good teachers and I did a lot of work these last four years helping teachers to grow as professionals and to see themselves as being on a journey of constant improvement. It can be easy as a teacher to find your comfort zone and stay there, and I was able to really build a relationship with teachers and to help them grow. I’m very proud of that. I also helped to strengthen, and in some ways, transform, our Jewish Studies curricula to become more student-centered, also making sure that, first of all, messages were connected to their lives; that their voices were crucial to the learning process; and that real joyous learning involved creativity, both on the part of the teacher, but even more on the part of the students. I also helped the school move on its path towards full accreditation. And I chaired our Covid reopening work which involved a lot of big picture thinking, but also details. We were able to reopen, as planned, in late August and, with only minor disruptions we’ve been open all year. What brought you to Hartford? I was ready for a new challenge and the more I learned about the Schechter of Greater Hartford and about the Hartford community in general the more excited my wife and I became. On the community level, the Greater Hartford community seems to combine many of the institutions and agencies, etc. of a large Jewish community, with a strong Federation and a JCC, and several congregations and a kosher supermarket which I’ve heard much about, but with a sense that everyone matters and that everyone’s contribution matters. That’s a really powerful thing to have in a community. When a community gets very big, people start to feel like their own piece isn’t as important. But I’ve gotten a sense from people in the Hartford community that they know that the community is as strong as it is because of what they’ve given to it. And that’s really exciting.

| MAY 21, 2021

What is your first impression of Schechter? First of all, though my network of leaders, I had heard Andrea’s name and read a few pieces by her and was already impressed with what I had heard and what I had read. When I began talking to the search committee, I was really impressed by their commitment to high-quality Jewish

education, their desire to build on her work, their dedication to their school, and their sense of how important it was. In addition, the professional team that’s on staff at Schechter was really impressive to me from our first conversations. The chance to work with a strong team is really appealing.

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measure the racial and ethnic diversity of American Jewry. It found that the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community identifies primarily as white – 92% – but that young adults are significantly more diverse. Some 85% of adults under 30 identify primarily as white, while 7% identify as Hispanic, 2% as Black, 6% as multiracial and less than 1% as Asian or Pacific Islander. By contrast, 97% of Jews over 65 identify primarily as white. And while most American Jews were born in the U.S. and identify as Ashkenazi (with roots primarily in Eastern Europe), those numbers drop among young adults as well. Among those under 30, 28% are either not Ashkenazi, identify with at least one racial minority or are the children of immigrants from countries with a largely nonwhite population. Overall, two-thirds of Jews identify as Ashkenazi, while only 3% identify as Sephardic, or following the traditional religious Jewish customs of Spain, according to Pew. Another 1% identify as Mizrahi, a term primarily used in Israel that refers to Jews with roots in the Middle East and North Africa. 4. Some 10% of Jews support the boycott of Israel – but half of young adults haven’t heard much about it. As in 2013, the survey asked American Jews how they feel about Israel, and the results provide fodder for Israel’s advocates as well as its critics. On one hand, more than 80% of Jews say that caring about Israel is an important or essential part of being Jewish. Nearly half of American Jews have been to Israel, and a quarter have been there more than once. But the survey also found that the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, or BDS, has made inroads into the American Jewish community. One in 10 American Jews – and a slightly higher proportion of young adults – said they either “strongly support” or “somewhat support” the BDS

movement. Some 43% of Jews oppose BDS, and another 43% haven’t heard much about it. (The survey did not define BDS – due to debates over its scope and aims – but instead asked people how much they had heard about it. Only those who had heard “some” or “a lot” were then asked if they supported or opposed the movement.) In that vein, the survey found that college campuses appear to be far from the hotbeds of BDS support that some have warned. While Jewish organizations have fretted about BDS activism on campus for over a decade, the survey found that nearly half of Jewish adults under 30 had heard little or nothing about the boycott movement. 5. Most young Jews are still intermarrying. For organizations that are invested in “Jewish continuity” (or, in plain English, urging Jews to marry Jews and have Jewish babies), the 2013 Pew study was a red flag. It found that the majority of Jews who married after 2000 wed non-Jews. When it came to non-Orthodox Jews, the numbers were even higher. The same is true of the 2021 study, though researchers say the numbers haven’t shown meaningful growth. In other words, plenty of young Jews are still intermarrying, but the number isn’t much bigger than it was in 2013. Due to changes in methodology and small sample sizes, the researchers emphasize that it’s unwise to compare results between the two surveys. The 2021 study found that in the past decade, 61% of Jews married non-Jewish partners. And nearly three-quarters of non-Orthodox Jews who married since 2010 wed non-Jews. Intermarriage is quite rare among Orthodox Jews. In total, 42% of married Jews have a spouse who is not Jewish.

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6. But among young adult children of intermarriage, nearly half are still Jewish. Whether intermarried couples are raising their kids Jewish has been a perennial concern of Jewish communal planners and institutions worried about the vitality of the Jewish future. The survey found that virtually all in-married couples are raising their children Jewish. In addition, most intermarried couples (57%) are raising their kids Jewish, with about half of that number saying they are raising their children to be Jewish by religion. Another 12% of intermarried couples said their children were being raised “partly Jewish by religion,” meaning that overall, the survey found that more than two-thirds of children of intermarriages are being raised with some Jewish identity. Among adult children of intermarriage, the study found that younger adults are more likely to be Jewish than older adults. Only 21% of adults over 50 with one Jewish parent identify as Jewish, as opposed to 47% of those under 50. The finding led the researchers to conclude that “the share of the offspring of intermarriages who choose to be Jewish in adulthood seems to be rising.” Across the survey’s respondents,

preventing intermarriage is not a high priority. For every age group, the respondents said it was more important that their grandchildren share their political convictions than that they marry a Jewish partner. 7. Most Jews have experienced antisemitism in the past year. Like a range of other recent surveys, this one asked Jews about antisemitism – something that was largely absent from the 2013 study. This one said that in the wake of antisemitic events from the Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally in 2017 to the deadly attacks on Jews in Pittsburgh in 2018 and Poway, California, in 2019, antisemitism appears to be a larger part of American Jewish life now than it was at that time. Like other studies, the 2021 Pew survey found that most Jews believe antisemitism in America has increased in recent years and said they feel less safe now than they once did. Five percent of American Jews said they have stayed away from a Jewish event or observance because of safety concerns. Over the past 12 months, the survey found, 51% of Jews have experienced antisemitism – either by seeing anti-Jewish

graffiti, being harassed online, being physically attacked or through another form of discrimination.

9. More than three-quarters of American Jews say remembering the Holocaust is essential to being Jewish.

8. Jews are wealthier and more educated than Americans overall.

While the survey highlighted differences across American Jewry, the survey found that the vast majority of Jews, 76%, believe remembering the Holocaust is essential to being Jewish. A similar number said the same of leading an ethical and moral life. At the other end of the spectrum, just 15% of Jews said observing Jewish law is essential to being Jewish, and 33% said being part of a Jewish community was essential. Among Orthodox respondents, though, the numbers were different: 83% called observing Jewish law essential, and 69% said the same about being part of a Jewish community. Slightly over half of Orthodox Jews said remembering the Holocaust was essential to being Jewish. Holocaust remembrance was also a lower priority among young adults – although it was still high. Sixty-one percent of respondents under 30 said it was essential to being Jewish.

In line with other recent studies, this one found that American Jews are significantly more educated than Americans overall, and wealthier. The majority of Jews have a college or postgraduate degree, as opposed to fewer than 30% of Americans overall. Jews also have higher salaries. The majority of Jewish adults have a household income of more than $100,000, including 23% above $200,000. Only 19% of Americans overall have a household income above $100,000. Jews also report being satisfied with their lives and communities at higher rates than Americans as a whole. Orthodox Jews appear to have a tougher time financially. Among Orthodox Jews, 45% reported having trouble paying bills over the past year, compared to just 26% of Jews overall.

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Briefs NY Times posts job for Palestinian affairs reporter (JTA) – As the world’s attention has turned to the crisis engulfing Israel and the Palestinian territories, The New York Times announced Wednesday that it is looking to hire a reporter who will focus on covering Palestinian affairs. The new reporter will be tasked with covering politics, culture and everyday life in both those places as well as across the West Bank, and throughout Israel proper, where a fifth of the population are Arab Palestinians. Whoever gets the job will join other local Times staff including Isabel Kershner and the newspaper’s new Jerusalem bureau chief, Patrick Kingsley.

Polish gov’t to give $50k to nationalist website headed by antisemitic student (JTA) – The Polish government will give $50,000 to a nationalist organization headed by a student who was suspended from the University of Warsaw partly for hate speech against Jews. Konrad Smuniewski’s Nowy Order website will receive the grant as part of the government’s annual funds to nongovernmental organizations. In 2016, Smuniewski caused controversy for calling Jews “communists” and “Bolsheviks” at a Chanukah party that featured Poland’s chief rabbi. He also wrote on Facebook that in Judaism there is “racism, xenophobia, hatred.” A year ago he was suspended from the university after using offensive words for LGBT people and proposing that Jews should be chased out of Poland at a rally. Smuniewski’s website received the money for “developing local watchdog organizations and civic media.” The conservative website rails against liberalism, criticizes LGBTQ people, the left and the West. Its authors are associated with nationalist organizations. Another organization that received support from the Polish government is the Independence March Association, which organizes a large nationalist march through the streets of Warsaw every year on Nov. 11. Robert Bąkiewicz, a leader in the movement to oppose Holocaust restitution claims to Jewish heirs, is associated with the organization. “These grants go way beyond the simple abuse of public funds, and constitute active support of purveyors of antisemitism,” Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Atty general to decide if anti-Israel graffiti at Maine college is a hate crime

referred to the attorney general’s office to be investigated as a possible hate crime. The Instagram account of the school’s Bates Leftist Coalition shared photos of chalk graffiti on campus that targeted the Jewish state. The graffiti read “Stop ethnic cleansing,” “Israel is killing innocent people,” “Free Palestine,” and “F*** ZIONIST ISRAEL.” The coalition did not condemn the graffiti and instead wrote on Instagram: “The settler-colonial occupations, ethnic cleansing, cultural genocide, and vaccine apartheid being perpetuated by the Israeli government in occupied Palestine need to become topics of central discussion in the Bates community. And no, as some will claim, this is not an act of anti-Semitism but of anticolonialism.” Bates College administrators contacted the Lewiston Police Department, which then informed the attorney general’s office about the possible hate crime, reported the Sun Journal. Gwen Lexow, the college’s director of Title IX and civil-rights compliance, told students in an email that people have reached out to her “expressing deep concern about the impact of the language contained in the flyers and graffiti, particularly on Jewish members of our campus community.”

Antisemitic acts take place outside synagogues in Germany and Spain (JTA) – Israeli flags were burned in front of two synagogues in Germany and the words “Free Palestine” were spray-painted on another one in Spain. The incidents last week are among the first manifestations of antisemitism in Europe connected to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In Germany, police arrested 13 people in Muenster after witnesses reported “a group of about 15 with Arabic appearance” shouting and burning an Israeli flag in front of the synagogue. In Bonn, police arrested three suspects in their 20s in connection with the burning of an Israeli flag outside a synagogue. A window in the door of the synagogue had been shattered. Bishop Batzing, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, called the incident an “unjustifiable act of pure antisemitism.” The incident in Spain happened in Ceuta, an enclave of that kingdom in North Africa. In addition to the slogan about Palestine, the perpetrators write AUAH, which stands for “Allah hu akbar,” “Allah is the greatest” in Arabic. In London, thousands protested against Israel on Tuesday, May 11, in a rally that turned violent when some demonstrators tried to lunge at a smaller gathering of pro-Israel protesters who had gathered there. Police separated the groups and extracted the pro-Israel demonstrators amid chants of “f***ing Jews” by some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

(JNS) Anti-Israel graffiti discovered at Bates College in Maine on Sunday, May 9, has been 8

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| MAY 21, 2021

Lakeith Stanfield apologizes for moderating Clubhouse room full of antisemitism (JTA) – Oscar-nominated actor Lakeith Stanfield apologized for moderating a room on the audio app Clubhouse in which participants made a slew of antisemitic remarks. “I entered an online chat room on Clubhouse about the teachings of Louis Farrakhan,” Stanfield, who was nominated for an Academy Award this year for his role in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” said Saturday, May 8, on Instagram. The room in question, titled “Someone Ended The Room About Farrakhan,” had split off Wednesday from another one shut down titled “Did Min. Farrakhan Tarnish His Legacy By Being Antisemitic?” “When the room’s participants noticed me, I was quickly made a moderator of this room,” Stanfield said in his Instagram post. “At some point during the dialogue the discussion took a very negative turn when several users made abhorrent antisemitic statements and at that point, I should have either shut down the discussion or removed myself from it entirely.” The Daily Beast first reported last week about the antisemitic tropes, which included themes that Farrakhan has peddled, among them conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the media and the slave trade, and comparisons between Jews and termites. “I was hearing a lot of antisemitism,” one Jewish woman in the room who remained anonymous told the Beast. “People were just allowed to go on and on.” On Instagram, Stanfield said “I unconditionally apologize for what went on in that chat room, and for allowing my presence there to give a platform to hate speech. I am not an antisemite nor do I condone any of the beliefs discussed in that chat room.”

Jews in Nigeria distribute 250,000 meals during Ramadan food rush (JNS) Amid food shortages among the poorest and most vulnerable in Nigeria as Ramadan comes to an end for the majority Muslim population, Chabad Lubavitch of Nigeria has launched its annual food drive to distribute 250,000 meals in five Nigerian cities, offering direct and real help to the population when and where it is needed. Since their arrival in Abuja in 2011, Rabbi Israel and Haya Uzan have directed Chabad of Nigeria and also sought to help the local community. Several years later, the Uzans invited Rabbi Mendy and Mazal Sternbach to join their team, further growing the Jewish center’s impact and effect. Among their programs, Chabad Lubavitch of Nigeria established a humanitarian focused effort called ChabadAid. In the past year during the coronavirus pandemic, they stepped up their activities to assist underserved segments of the population. “While we don’t observe Ramadan, we recognize that this month many people are

fasting and feasting, which brings unique challenges to many of Nigeria’s poorest,” said Uzan. “That’s why we’ve created this initiative – to reach out to our Muslim friends and neighbors who need it most during these troubled times, and what can be a financially challenging time of year.” The organization offers a broad slate well-developed range of services and programs, including revitalizing schools and recreational facilities, and launching an eyeglasses drive. “We are here to help people; it’s as simple as that,” said Sternbach.

200+ Americas sign up for Jewish People of Color Shabbaton (JNS) More than 200 people from around the United States have signed up for the first annual Jewish People of Color (JOC) National Shabbaton, which will be held virtually from May 14 through May 16. The Shabbaton will bring together Jews of color and their families, communities and institutions. Heather Miller, president of one of the event’s sponsors – the Flatbush & Shaare Torah Jewish Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. – said the Shabbaton is geared to help create “supportive spaces for members of the JOC community.” She added, “It’s a place for us to lean on each other and learn from each other. It’s going to be a moving experience just to be with so many people who immediately understand.” The program will address topics such as how to be a racially conscious and multiracial family, strengthening spirituality through Torah and the community, and black Jewish fatherhood. Among the featured speakers are Ilana Kaufman, executive director of the Jews of Color Initiative in San Francisco; Yoshi Silverstein, a Chinese American Jew and founder of the nonprofit Mitsui Collective; and Maryland-based Jewish educator Sabrina Sojourner. “It will be beautiful and empowering to be in a place where Jews of color are leading,” Harriette Wimms, who runs the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, said of the Shabbaton.

The Guardian: 1917 proZionist Balfour Declaration was a mistake (JTA) – In an article about its “worst errors of judgment” from its 200-year history, a Guardian writer implied that the storied British paper’s editorial support of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 – the then-British foreign minister’s approval of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine – was a mistake. “The Guardian of 1917 supported, celebrated and could even be said to have helped facilitate the Balfour declaration,” editorial writer Randeep Ramesh wrote in the article published Friday. “Whatever else can be said, Israel today is not the country the Guardian foresaw or would have wanted,” he added, arguing that the Guardian’s editor at the time, Charles Prestwich Scott, was ignorant about jewishledger.com

Palestinian rights. The Balfour Declaration, in which the United Kingdom committed itself to creating a national home for Jews in lands it controlled and today comprise the territories of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, was an important milestone for the Zionist movement.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict spills into NYC mayoral race (JTA) – The crisis in Israel and Gaza spilled into New York City’s mayoral race after a leading candidate, Andrew Yang, tweeted in support of Israel. “I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists,” Yang, a businessman and former Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted Monday, May 10. His tweet, coming after Hamas fired rockets into Israel and Israel responded with attacks on Gaza, was condemned by local pro-Palestinian activists . He was disinvited from a local event marking the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The Democrats’ biggest local star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, tweeted that it is “utterly shameful for Yang to try to show up to an Eid event after sending out a chestthumping statement of support for a strike killing 9 children, especially after his silence as Al-Aqsa was attacked.” Yang has been actively courting the Jewish vote, especially in the haredi Orthodox communities, where he has picked up some key endorsements ahead of next month’s Democratic primary. Two other centrists in the race also weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Businessman Ray McGuire tweeted a message saying, “I stand proudly with Israel,” and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said, “I stand shoulder to shoulder with the people Israel at this time of crisis.” Yang, however, appears to hold a slight lead in the polls and as a political neophyte has drawn more scrutiny and skepticism than his rivals. One progressive candidate also weighed in. Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, tweeted, “Our world needs leaders who recognize humanity and the dignity of all lives. Whether in NYC, Colombia, Brazil or IsraelPalestine, state violence is wrong. Targeting civilians is wrong. Killing children is wrong. Full stop.” Yang released a statement Wednesday, May 12, saying, “my tweet was overly simplistic in my treatment of a conflict that has a long and complex history full of tragedies.” He added that he “failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering of both sides.”

to misunderstandings about my position,” said Phara Souffrant Forrest, 32, who’s also a nurse. “I stand against apartheid because I believe that all people deserve to live under equal rights, regardless of ethnicity or religion.” The map, however, was just one of several anti-Israel tweets by Souffrant Forrest, who touts support from Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on her website. Serving her first term in office, Souffrant Forrest also posted: “It is a moral stain on our country and all who live here to have our government and elected officials continue to prop up an Israeli state dedicated to apartheid. We must change that. #BDS #FreePalestine.” Local Jewish community member Avi Lesches said, “In short, it is extremely disturbing and upsetting, to say the least, especially when this is coming from an elected official who represents a portion of Crown Heights,” the Brooklyn neighborhood that is home to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and one of the largest Jewish areas of New York City. Scott Richman, regional director of the ADL New York/New Jersey, said “it is incendiary and outrageous, especially at such a sensitive time, for any public official to make references to erasing Israel’s existence from the map or denying its Jewish history as well as leveling claims of apartheid.” Before deleting the tweet, Forrest doubled down and retweeted the map on Thursday, writing: “This is a map of historic Palestine. This land has a history of peaceful coexistence. Today, as an @hrw [Human Rights Watch] report states, the reality on the ground is apartheid. We need to make sure our tax dollar don’t support the oppression of any peoples.” Chaskel Bennett, a leader in the Orthodox Jewish community, called the post of the map “revolting.” “It is a very anxious time with Hamas’s indiscriminately targeting Israeli citizens, and yet here is a New York state assemblywoman weighing in with a map that says ‘Free Palestine.’ This is incitement and reckless language calling for the genocide of Jews.”

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NY lawmaker draws fire over tweet erasing Israel off map (JNS) Claiming that she was misunderstood, a New York state assemblywoman deleted a controversial tweet that replaced a map of Israel with Palestine and adorned with flowers. “I deleted a previous tweet that led jewishledger.com

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MAY 21, 2021

OPINION

When Hamas fires missiles at Israeli homes, forget nuance BY JONATHAN S. TOBIN

(JNS) It’s been almost seven years since the 2014 summer war in Gaza, but the discussion of the current fighting going on between Israel and Hamas seems as if it’s being read from the same script. Just like then, many voices are raised in defense of Israel. Others say they are supporting the Palestinians. But the most influential voices in the media and popular culture tell us to discard the two sides’ narratives or versions of history. They demand that we adopt a nuanced discussion of the conflict. Human suffering is deplorable, no matter the identity of the victims. It’s also true that the century-long conflict between Jews and Arabs is complex and all too often misunderstood. And, as in all wars, there are innocent victims on both sides. Even as we acknowledge those points to be true, there is a limit to what a global perspective in which the faults of both sides are noted can teach us about what’s really going on. The instinctual reaction of those who call down a plague upon both houses is to see all wars as mere madness in which the combatants are to be equally condemned. But at the core of the effort to promote nuance about the conflict between Israel and Hamas is something that is fundamentally dishonest. There are those, like Jodi Rudoren, the editor of The Forward, who previously presided over The New York Times’ biased coverage of the fighting between Israel and Hamas in 2012 and 2014, who tell us to forget about the history of the conflict because it is an endless argument that only prevents both peoples from moving forward and making peace. To a certain extent, that approach was echoed by Trevor Noah, the host of a far more important forum, “The Daily Show,” a politicized comedy show from which, sadly, many young viewers get most of their information about the news of the day. Noah, a South African-born comedian who poses on American television as a dispenser of insight, is equally dismissive of the past since, in his bowdlerized version of history, it’s just an endless argument in which no one is in the right. The point of this kind of commentary is not so much to advocate for greater 10

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understanding, but to depict the Palestinians as the more sympathetic underdogs who are being abused by the Israelis, routinely painted as the bullies of the situation. This is backed up, as was the case in 2014 by casualty statistics. As of this writing, seven Israelis have been killed by indiscriminate rocket and missile strikes launched by Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip at the Jewish state’s cities, towns and villages. By contrast, reportedly approximately 100 Palestinians have died in Gaza as the result of strikes by the Israel Defense Forces against Hamas positions. Many, but not all, of the Palestinians killed are Hamas operatives responsible for the attacks on Israel. Others were killed by Hamas projectiles that fell short and landed on their own people. But what is important to know is that Arab civilians were not and are not targeted by the IDF. Some died, as has happened in the past, because despite heroic efforts by the Israelis to warn noncombatants to flee Hamas positions and to hit only legitimate military targets, the terrorists use their fellow Palestinians as human shields. Like many claiming to promote a nuanced approach, Noah expects Israel to use more restraint. This familiar argument claims that the Jewish state’s response is disproportionate because more Palestinians have been lost in the fighting than Israelis. Talk of a proportionate response is disingenuous. Would Israel’s critics really be happy if it responded to Hamas attacks in a similar manner by simply lobbing shells in the direction of Palestinian population centers? Of course not. More to the point, if a greater number of Palestinians die, it is because their Islamist rulers in Gaza think that is an optimal outcome, which helps besmirch Israel’s reputation. If they cared about saving lives, they would build bomb shelters for their citizens. Gaza, which has what may be one of the world’s most elaborate and extensive tunnel systems, has shelters, but they are not used for people. They’re for the bombs they shoot at Israel and those who fire them. Would those who make such arguments be happier if more Israelis were dying? Perhaps. But the unwillingness of much

| MAY 21, 2021

DAMAGE TO HOMES IN THE ISRAELI CITY OF PETAH TIKVA WHICH WERE HIT BY ROCKETS FIRED BY HAMAS IN GAZA, INTO ISRAEL. MAY 13, 2021. (FLASH90)

of the international community, including those who purport to represent “human rights” organizations, to hold Hamas accountable is what’s wrong with the discourse on the conflict. Nor is there any real moral equivalence about the arguments that were supposedly the pretext for Hamas’s decision to fire what is now more than 2,000 projectiles into Israel this week. Despite the distorted coverage about the court case regarding property rights in the Sheikh Jarrah section of Jerusalem, Jews weren’t stealing Palestinian land. Claims about Israeli outrages on the Temple Mount are equally false since the mosques there were being used as storage places for projectiles and fireworks to use against police seeking to restore order amid riots and to disrupt Jewish worship at the Western Wall. Nor is there any room for “evenhanded” arguments about decades of Palestinian rejection of peace proposals or what followed as Hamas sought to one-up Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah Party, which fomented riots in the city by coming to the “defense” of Jerusalem by unleashing their missiles on Israeli civilians. Part of the problem is that too many people simply throw up their hands in the face of the complexity of the conflict and the suffering it causes. They see making judgments about the two sides as somehow granting legitimacy to war, rather than a moral response to a battle between an imperfect yet functioning democracy and a terrorist state. Unfortunately, many people view Israel through the lens of antisemitic attitudes about the Jews and the right of their state to exist. For those in the fast-growing left-wing of the Democratic Party, Israel is an oppressor colonial state imposing “apartheid” on innocent Palestinians. That’s the narrative that was heard about the conflict on Thursday evening when 11 leftist members of Congress spent an hour on the floor trashing Israel and depicting the Palestinians as innocent victims of an abusive power. To their credit, nine other Democrats rose prior to that to defend Israel and

denounce Hamas. The problem here is not just the fact that the Democrats’ leftist “Squad” has grown in numbers. Those trashing Israel have gained influence because their ideas are now fashionable. The intersectional ideology that they preach in which the Jewish state is falsely labeled as an expression of “white privilege” and “racism” has been legitimized by the acceptance of the Black Lives Matter movement and the ideas of critical race theory that underpin both. This places those who claim to support Israel while also backing those ideas in an impossible position since it is precisely intersectionality that allows those who rationalize the role of Hamas—a group pledged to the destruction of the only Jewish state on the planet—to pretend that they are speaking for justice rather than for murder. Those who respond to the current conflict by disparaging both sides and seeking an even-handed position are doing more harm than good. When Islamist terrorists rain down missiles on Israel, it’s not enough to talk about complexity or to pray for peace. The only moral thing to do in the face of the calumnies thrown at Israel is to denounce the lies about apartheid and terrorism, not to talk about restraint from both sides. If you care about justice, and the lives of Jews and Arabs, as well as the theoretical hopes for an end to the conflict, you have to support efforts to defeat Hamas, not appease or reward it as may be the case if international pressure forces a ceasefire before its capacity to do more harm is sufficiently reduced. Until Hamas is effectively disarmed, all talk of nuance is simply helping those who are deliberately shedding the blood of both Jews and Arabs to advance an agenda rooted in hate. Those who cannot grasp this or who cling to ideological talking points about privilege to justify their stands aren’t expressing compassion or even neutrality. They are aiding and abetting murder. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_ tobin. jewishledger.com

First Shabbaton for Jews of color to mark ‘yahrzeit’ of George Floyd BY ESTHER D. KUSTANOWITZ AND ASAF SHALEV

(JTA) – Across America, people whose lives changed when George Floyd was killed are planning to mark the one-year anniversary of his death this month. Floyd’s family is working to rebrand the date, May 25, as “Day of Enlightenment” because of how many people were awakened to issues of racial injustice. Concerts and public events will honor his legacy. And in a landmark gathering for Jews of color held last weekend, hundreds of Jews recited the Mourner’s Kaddish for Floyd. According to the Hebrew calendar, Thursday, May 13 was the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s murder – the time when Jews typically observe the yahrzeit of a loved one’s death by reciting the mourning prayer alongside a quorum of other Jews. Last week, the quorum will took place online during the Jewish People of Color National Shabbaton, a groundbreaking convening for Jews of color at a time when Jewish institutions and communities are grappling with how to make sure they are included. The Shabbaton started before Floyd’s murder, but the tragic event made doing so all the more critical, according to the event’s lead organizer, Harriette Wimms, an African-American psychologist who lives in Baltimore. “We felt as Jews of color on this anniversary, it was important to lift up the racial justice work that’s being done across the country and to also lift up George Floyd’s memory,” said Wimms, who goes by “Harriette Mevakeshet” in Jewish spaces and is a rising kohenet, or Hebrew priestess, studying at the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute. In addition to the commemoration ritual, the Shabbaton featured communitybuilding programs for Jews of color, their families and their supporters. The agenda included yoga, art, Torah study and facilitated conversations about topics such as healing from trauma, LGBTQ identity, and what white allies and multiracial families can do to support Jews of color. Participants heard from speakers who include longtime leaders Ilana Kaufman, executive director of the Jews of Color Initiative in San Francisco, and Sabrina Sojourner, a cantor and educator from Rockville, Maryland, as well as young organizers such as Yoshi Silverstein, a Chinese-American Jew based in Cleveland. As the Jewish community reckons with racism and strives to make its institutions more inclusive, the infrastructure for serving the diversity of Jews is growing. The Shabbaton, for example, is not a one-off jewishledger.com

event but part of an ongoing commitment by Wimms and others to come together as the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, an initiative that uses the Hebrew word for family. “The goal of JOC Mishpacha is to give Jews of color the opportunity to be in community with one another and learn, build relationships and build a network for folks to utilize as they need,” said Rachel Faulkner, a steering committee member who lives in Washington, D.C. “There are Jews that practice, observe and identify in different ways, and racial identity is one of the ways in which the community is diverse.” Estimates of the number of Jews of color vary because of debate over the definition of the term and a shortage of surveys that ask Jews about their racial and ethnic identities. The most comprehensive such survey was just published and found more diversity among younger Jews, suggesting a shift in the U.S. Jewish population. An estimated 15% of Jews under 30 identify as Hispanic, Black, Asian or multiracial, compared to 8% among Jews of all ages. Recognition of this growing diversity is reflected, at least to some extent, in the behavior of major Jewish institutions, which have been hiring diversity officers and funding racial justice initiatives, especially in the wake of Floyd’s murder. The UJA-Federation of New York and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation helped fund the Shabbaton, as did the Jews of Color Initiative, which itself has attracted more money and attention over the past year. It’s harder to track changes at the local level but, according to Andy Miller, chair of the social justice advocacy committee for Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Pikesville, Maryland, and a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, “These conversations are just beginning, and the growth of institutions created by Jews of color to give them a stronger voice may help in engaging the primarily white institutions.” Wimms said many still assume that anyone who looks Black or Asian isn’t Jewish. Building up a diverse leadership with the Shabbaton and other efforts, she said, will not only help Jews of color feel included, but could also help decrease the level of bias in the wider community. “We are part of the community, but rarely have white-skinned Jews seen Jews of color leading services,” Wimms said. “White allies need to witness Jews of color davening, and leading and building spiritual space.”

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MAY 21, 2021

ISRAEL UNDER FIRE

The following stories were breaking as the Ledger went to press on Monday, May 17 . For up-to-the-minute reports on the conflict in Israel, visit us at www.jewishledger.com.

Netanyahu: Israel to continue Gaza operation until ‘security of our people is restored’ (JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night vowed that the country’s military operation against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip would continue until the security of Israel’s citizens had been restored. The Israeli premier also condemned the violent anti-Jewish pogroms in multiple cities across the country, as well as the “unacceptable vigilantism” of the country’s Jewish citizens. “It has been five days since Hamas brazenly fired rockets at Jerusalem and other Israeli cities in a totally unprovoked attack,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement to the nation about an hour before Hamas made good on its threat earlier in the evening that it would be launching rockets into Tel Aviv at midnight. “This past week, millions of Israelis were forced into bomb shelters as missiles rained down on our cities. Several Israelis have been killed. Many more have been wounded. You know and I know, no country would tolerate this. Israel will not

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tolerate this,” he added. According to the Israel Defense Forces, some 120 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip on Saturday night alone. Israel’s air-defense systems downed “many dozens” of the rockets, and 11 failed to cross the Israeli border, coming down inside Gaza, said the military. Since the rocket-fire began last week, terrorist groups in Gaza have launched some 3,000 rockets at Israel, according to the IDF. As of Sunday morning, 10 Israelis had been killed and hundreds wounded by the rocket-fire, according to Israeli media reports. A disabled 55-year-old Ramat Gan resident was killed on Saturday, after not being able to make it to a bomb shelter in time. In response to the ongoing assault on its home front, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” carrying out the heaviest strikes against Hamas since “Operation Cast Lead” in 2014. “Israel has responded forcefully to these attacks and we will continue to

| MAY 21, 2021

respond forcefully until the security of our people is reinstated and restored,” said Netanyahu on Saturday. “We’ve eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists and taken out hundreds of terrorist sites, including missile launchers and buildings that Hamas used to plan and perpetrate these attacks,” he said. Israel had also destroyed Hamas’s “vast subterranean tunnel network,” he added, “significantly degrading” the terror group’s infrastructure. Netanyahu emphasized that Hamas was committing a “double war crime” by indiscriminately attacking Israeli civilians, while at the same time using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israel was doing “everything possible” to protect both its own and Palestinian civilians, said Netanyahu, including warning civilians in Gaza to vacate buildings about to be targeted by Israeli strikes. “That’s why you don’t hear of casualties from these collapsing terror towers, because we take special care to avoid these civilian casualties—exactly the opposite of Hamas,” he said. On Saturday, the IDF brought down Gaza’s al-Jalaa building, a 12-story tower housing the Gaza offices of the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other news media. According to Israel, the building also housed Hamas military intelligence. The building had been evacuated ahead of the strike, following a warning by the IDF. The tower is one of several high-rise buildings brought down by the IDF in recent days, The Israeli prime minister said that defeating Hamas was in the interests of all those seeking peace, stability and security in the Middle East, and expressed his thanks to the various countries that have expressed support for Israel amid the ongoing fighting. “I want to thank the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and I want

to thank the many countries, including European countries, who flew the Israeli flag in solidarity on their government buildings,” he said. “No one should have any equivocation about the choice that is so clear here, and I want to thank President Biden for his clear and unequivocal support. You cannot equate a democracy that values life with a terror organization that glorifies death,” he added. “I also want to say a word about the violence we have seen in recent days within Israeli towns, from Lod to Bat Yam, from Akko to Haifa. The Jewish state will not tolerate pogroms against our citizens. We will not allow our Jewish citizens to be lynched or to live in fear of murderous Arab gangs. We will not tolerate the torching of synagogues and the torching of property,” he said. “At the same time, we will not allow Jews to take the law into their own hands and attack innocent Arabs, or lynch an innocent Arab; there was one such case … We will not allow these attacks on innocent Jews or Arabs alike. To tolerate this unacceptable vigilantism and violence is to pave a way to anarchy.” Israel, he continued, is both a Jewish and a democratic state, in which all citizens were equal before the law, regardless of religion or ethnicity. “I am fully confident that Israel will be able to deal with these threats from without and these threats from within. I am confident in our army. I am confident in our police. And above all, I am confident in the resolve and determination of the people of Israel,” he said. “Just as we’ve always done, we will weather this storm and emerge stronger than ever. Thank you,” he concluded.

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A House Divided: Moderate and progressive Democrats clash over Israel BY DMITRIY SHAPIRO

(JNS) Two blocs of Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives gave dueling speeches on the House floor on Thursday evening, addressing the ongoing violence in Israel. The speeches started with one-minute addresses from nine pro-Israel Democrats speaking in front of a poster with pins of where the more than 2,000 rockets fired by the terrorist organization Hamas had landed so far. The pro-Israel contingent includes Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.). They said there were no comparisons between the State of Israel defending itself and the terrorist organization Hamas launching rockets at innocent civilians. “In case there is any confusion, Hamas is a terrorist organization designated by the United States, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, and which Congress has and must condemn for killing innocent civilians and using women and children as human shields,” said Gottheimer. “No one here should make excuses for a terrorist organization. Who is the next target of their sympathy? ISIS? Al-Qaeda? Hezbollah? Between terrorists and democracy, we should always choose the democracy.” Schneider, one of the organizers of the effort, said that Hamas was targeting frail seniors and children, who are huddled in fear while the terrorist organization launches rockets towards nearly every community in Israel. “Israel has overwhelming resources to defend itself, yet shows restraint. Hamas’s rockets are intended only for death and terror. Thankfully, with [the] Iron Dome [air-defense system], Israel has the technology to protect the lives of its citizens which in turn protects Palestinian lives as well,” he said. “The U.S. stands with Israel, and must do all we can to end Hamas terror attacks and swiftly restore calm to the region.” Sherman called each rocket sent by Hamas a war crime since they are aimed at civilians, and that the United States cannot accept at face value the reports of casualties in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes as the statistics come from Hamas itself. He commended Israel’s restraint and thanked Congress for supporting funding for Iron Dome batteries. Deutch said that Hamas is determined to wipe out the only Jewish state on earth and was launching rockets from schools and

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hospitals, using civilians and children as human shields. “Please don’t be fooled by false choices, Israel or Hamas. But if I am asked to choose between a terrorist organization and our democratic ally, I will stand with Israel every day of the week … ,” he said, reiterating that “America stands with Israel.” “We have a duty as Americans to stand by the side of Israel in the face of attacks of suicide bombers and malign regimes who again have the same goal in mind: to kill Jews,” said Luria. “Now is the time to stand with Israel.” While the speakers were all Democrats, Luria received applause from Republicans in the chamber.

‘Acknowledge, condemn disproportionate discrimination and treatment’

Following the pro-Israel speeches, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) led 11 representatives making impassioned ones censuring Israel and its policies towards the Palestinians. Unlike the pro-Israel bloc, which all talked separately, Pocan’s group was given a one-hour special order slot by the House Progressive Caucus. Pocan said their emphasis was not just about the violence that has occurred in the past week or the activities of the last month, but what has happened over the last year, decade and several decades, which he said has dehumanized and violated the human rights of too many people in the region. While condemning Hamas’s rocket attacks, he said that it does not make a “both sides issue.” “We must acknowledge and condemn the disproportionate discrimination and treatment that Palestinians face versus others in this region,” said Pocan. He compared Gaza to an open-air prison, and that the roads and checkpoints those in the West Bank must live under far too often look like apartheid South Africa. He said this puts the United States at greater jeopardy, potentially leading it to intervene in the violence. The group’s speakers included Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandra OcasioCortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.), André Carson (D-Ind.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). Tlaib, who has relatives in the West Bank, spoke for the longest duration, fighting back tears when speaking of the families with

children who live in fear of dying from Israeli airstrikes. She cited the organizations Human Rights Watch and the Jerusalem-based organization B’Tselem as calling the situation of the Palestinians in Israel “apartheid.” “This is what Palestinians living under Israel’s oppression have been telling us for decades,” she said. Tlaib added that reading the statements from U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, one “would hardly know that Palestinians existed,” and that there has been no recognition of home demolitions or evictions, the detaining of children, sustained harassment of worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque or of Palestinian humanity. The same lack of acknowledgment, she claimed, also came from her House colleagues. “Colleagues, Palestinians aren’t going anywhere, no matter how much money you sent to Israel’s apartheid government,” said Tlaib. “If we are to make good on our promises to support equal human rights for all, it is our duty to end the apartheid system that for decades has subjected Palestinians to inhumane treatment and racism.” Omar slammed the United States for failing to condemn what she called Israeli human-rights violations in the name of selfdefense and blocking actions in the United Nations condemning Israel. “When the 15-member United Nations Security Council proposed a resolution this week calling on the Israeli government to cease settlement activities, demolition and eviction, and urging general restraint, the United States reportedly blocked it from happening,” said Omar, noting that the United States has blocked two Security Council resolutions. McCollum, who chairs the defense subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee, said that while she supports

providing funding for Iron Dome, the $3.8 billion in military aid the United States provides Israel should have conditions. “There is an Israeli military occupation that abuses and tortures Palestinian children, demolishes Palestinian homes and steals Palestinian land. The unrestricted, unconditioned $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid … gives a green light to Israel’s occupation of Palestine because there is no accountability and there is no oversight by Congress. This must change.” Others, such as Pressley and Bush, drew comparisons between the plight of Palestinians and protests against police brutality in the United States, stating that the same tactics and methods used by police against the protests is being used by Israeli law enforcement against Palestinians. “Palestinians are being told the same thing as black folks in America; there is no acceptable form of resistance,” said Pressley. “We are bearing witness to egregious humanrights violations.” Schakowsky, who is Jewish, represented a more moderate, yet still critical view during the hour, saying she was horrified by violence from both sides. While she said Israel had a right to defend itself, the United States should play a role in trying to deescalate the situation. She also said that she was deeply disturbed by Israel’s intention to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah district in eastern Jerusalem. Earlier this week, the speakers signed onto a move, again led by Pocan, criticizing reports of Israeli evictions of a Palestinian family in a letter to Blinken. It was signed by 25 members of Congress. While those making speeches critical of Israel outnumbered the pro-Israel Democrats on Thursday, a letter from April 22 against placing conditions on military aid to Israel was signed by 331 members from both parties. CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

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Across Europe, mass protests a BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

MSTERDAM (JTA) — Many thousands of people protested against Israel in major European cities over the weekend as the latest Israel-Gaza conflict reached new heights. Several events featuring antisemitic rhetoric and rioting. In Brussels, London and Vienna dozens of men were filmed at rallies on Saturday shouting in Arabic: “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” The chant relates to an event in the seventh century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar, located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is widely understood as a battle cry when attacking Jews. At the London event, nine police officers were slightly injured when protesters hurled objects at them. The officers were preventing the protesters from reaching the city’s Israeli embassy, the end point for a march by thousands that began

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What to know about Arab Israelis as unrest sweeps the country BY BEN SALES

(JTA) — As Israel has begun yet another round of fighting with Hamas in Gaza, another

at Hyde Park. Organizers said 100,000 people attended that march. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, told the Jewish News of London. “I am deeply concerned about reports of hateful, intimidating and racist language being used on marches and social media this weekend. It is unacceptable to incite anti-Jewish or anti-Muslim hatred. This must stop now.” On Twitter, he added that he had given London’s police “my full backing for their zero-tolerance approach.” A motorcade of cars with Palestinian flags on Sunday drove through a heavily Jewish part of London with one person shouting through a loudspeaker: “F–k the Jews; rape their daughters.” At the Hyde Park march, a giant inflatable puppet dressed like an Arab with horns and a hooked nose led to some confusion. Some interpreted it as an antisemitic reference to

conflict, inside the country, has caught some by surprise: clashes between Israeli Arabs and Jews. On Tuesday, May 11, in the central Israeli city of Lod, Arab protesters burned synagogues, shops and cars. Photos showed Torah scrolls salvaged from torched interiors, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the early morning hours to declare a state of emergency. Crowds of Arab protesters in other cities also gathered and, in some cases, started fires on the street. The violence did not end there. On Wednesday, Jewish protesters took to the streets of the coastal city of Bat Yam, chanting “Death to Arabs” and vandalizing a reportedly Arab-owned ice cream shop. A crowd of Jews

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ISRAELI ARABS PARTICIPATE IN A PROTEST IN MARCH 2021. (JAMAL AWAD/FLASH90)

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against Israel; riots break out in Berlin, Paris and London Jews, but others concluded it was a caricature of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, one of several Arab nations to establish diplomatic relations with Israel last year. In Germany, many thousands protested Israel’s actions in Gaza. At the Berlin rally Saturday, police ordered the protesters to disperse citing COVID-19 measures. They were pelted with stones, bottles and rocks, resulting in multiple injuries, Tagesschau reported. In Paris, thousands disobeyed a ban on protests that police said would endanger public order. Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd Saturday. And in Amsterdam, about 3,000 people protested against Israel on the Dam Square, a central square that is the country’s main monument for victims of World War II, including

also protested in the northern city of Tiberias, while clashes resumed in Lod ahead of a curfew. An Arab and a Jew, respectively, were beaten in different cities. And on Thursday, in continuing unrest, a police officer in the city of Ramle was shot. The interethnic violence comes following weeks of fighting between Arabs and Jews in eastern Jerusalem — clashes that sparked the fatal exchange of bombs that began this week and shows no signs of stopping. Arab Israelis also protested Israel’s 2014 war in Gaza, but this week’s violence, which some have worried augurs a civil war, appears to be the most widespread civil unrest among Israeli Arabs in more than 20 years. The violence comes at a complex time for Israeli Arabs — following years in which they complained of rising discrimination and neglect, but also just as an Israeli Arab political party was about to clinch unprecedented influence in Israel’s government. Here’s a rundown of who Israeli Arabs are and what the ongoing unrest might mean for their place in Israeli society.

Arab Israelis make up about 20% of Israeli society. There are nearly two million Arab citizens of Israel, roughly one-fifth of the country’s population. The vast majority are Muslim, while fewer than 200,000 are Christian. In terms of citizenship and rights, Israeli Arabs are distinct both from West Bank Palestinians and from Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem. Arab Israelis largely descend from Arabs who lived within Israel’s borders before the jewishledger.com

the Holocaust. They carried signs accusing Israel of genocide and promising that “from the river to the sea, Palestinian will be free,” a phrase that About 50 people, mostly Jews and Christian supporters of Israel, staged a support rally for Israel about 500 yards away from the Dam Square event. Israel has seen additional displays of support in Europe, where many Jews are on high alert because of a history of antisemitic violence during clashes between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Austrian and the Czech presidential palaces flew the Israeli flag on Friday in solidarity with Israel. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a tweet Friday blamed Hamas for “firing rockets indiscriminately on civilian populations” and said the Netherlands “supports Israel’s right to self defense within the border of international law and proportionality.”

state’s establishment in 1948, and did not flee or get expelled. They are full citizens of Israel, and have the right to vote and equality under the law. Israeli Arab parties serve in Israel’s parliament and an Arab judge sits on Israel’s Supreme Court. Palestinians in the West Bank have none of those rights. They live under varying degrees of Israeli military control and do not have the right to vote in Israeli elections or access to Israel’s civilian court system. They cannot obtain Israeli citizenship. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are counted as residents of the city, have freedom of movement throughout Israel and can apply for Israeli citizenship. But they do not automatically receive the rights of Israeli citizens despite living in Israel’s capital. Most have chosen not to apply for Israeli citizenship because Palestinians generally view eastern Jerusalem as the site of their future capital and do not recognize Israel’s claims to the area. Though they’re separated by borders, Arab Israelis and Palestinians often come from the same families and have other social and communal bonds. A segment of Israeli Arabs identifies as Palestinian citizens of Israel. “We feel that we are more Israeli and more Palestinian at the same time,” Thabet Abu Rass, the co-director of the Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence organization, told Haaretz. “Personally, we are more Israeli; collectively, more Palestinian.”

Within Israel, Arabs have protested structural discrimination.

Arabs and Jews in Israel largely live in

DEMONSTRATORS AGAINST ISRAEL HOLD SIGNS AT A RALLY IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA, WHERE PROTESTERS CHANTED IN ARABIC ABOUT A MASSACRE OF JEWS, MAY 13, 2021. (COURTESY OF AUSTRIAN UNION OF JEWISH STUDENTS)

separate societies. Most cities in Israel are either Jewish or Arab, and Arab and Jewish Israelis attend separate schools, save for a small number who go to a handful of joint Jewish-Arab schools. Unlike most Jewish Israelis, Arab Israelis are exempt from mandatory military service following high school. The two groups are so separate that there are even programs to take Jewish Israelis on group tours of nearby Arab towns. Several cities in Israel are “mixed,” with large Arab and Jewish populations living side by side. While these cities are sometimes praised as models of coexistence, disparities between their two communities persist, and some of them, like Lod and Ramle, have seen harrowing violence this week. Although they have full rights as citizens, Arab Israelis have long protested discrimination in a variety of fields in Israel as well as funding disparities between Jewish and Arab cities. The poverty rate is higher among Arabs, some of whom have complained about discrimination in employment and elsewhere. Jewish extremists who view Arabs in Israel as a hostile threat have vandalized Arab Israeli schools and mosques as well. “Unquestionably, Israeli Arab society in general has made progress,” Abu Rass told Haaretz. “But there are a not small number of young people, especially without an education, among whom the anger and frustration is rising.” And Israeli Arabs have also protested what they see as official discrimination from the government. While Arab Israelis have representation in parliament, an Arab Israeli party has never been part of a governing coalition.

In particular, Arab Israelis objected to a 2018 law that declared Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people, and said only Jews had the “right to national self-determination” in the country.

Arabs have been integrating into Israeli society and appeared close to a political breakthrough — but now there’s fighting in the street.

In recent years, Israeli Arabs have seen gains in employment and higher education. Despite ideological differences, the data suggested that society was slowly integrating. And because of ongoing Israeli political deadlock, it appeared that an Arab Israeli party would act as kingmaker following the country’s most recent election. If an Israeli governing coalition needed to rely on an Arab party to form a government, it would give Israeli Arabs unprecedented power in Israel’s political system. But in the past three days, the situation has changed drastically. Instead of moving into an era in which Jews and Arabs would form a political partnership in an increasingly shared society, Israel’s leaders are pleading for Arabs and Jews not to kill each other. And the violence is happening in Israel’s few Arab-Jewish cities, where the two populations live together. Now, no one can say what the future holds in a society that appears more divided than it’s been in decades.

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Gal Gadot & Rihanna stand alone amid a sea of antiIsrael celebs

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(JTA) — The Israeli movie star Gal Gadot was so moved by the deepening conflict in her country that she posted a message to her 53 million Instagram followers on May 12. “My heart breaks,” the “Wonder Woman” star, who served in the Israeli army, wrote Wednesday, May 12.n“My country is at war. I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long. Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation. Our neighbors deserve the same … I pray for better days.” Gadot was one of countless celebrities to weigh in on the conflict. Almost all blaming Israel for being the aggressor and instigator of the conflict. In response to her post, Gadot was hit with an avalanche of antiIsrael comments — as was Rhianna (see below). Here’s are just a few examples of what celebs are writing:

Natalie Portman

Portman has criticized Israel’s government in the past — perhaps most notably in her refusal to accept the Genesis Prize, nicknamed the “Jewish Nobel,” in Jerusalem over her disapproval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On May 11, the Israeli-American star reposted a series of images amplified on Instagram by fellow Oscar winner Viola Davis titled “What To Know About Sheikh Jarrah,” the contested neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem where Israeli courts have threatened to evict Palestinian families in four houses.

Malala

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pakistani activist recorded a video message in which she expressed her “solidarity” with the Palestinians and called Israel’s actions a crime against humanity. “After decades of oppression against Palestinians, we cannot deny the asymmetry of power and the brutality from Israeli air strikes on women and children in Gaza,” she said.

Mark Ruffalo

The movie star and known activist called for sanctions on Israel in a tweet: “1500 Palestinians face expulsion in #Jerusalem. 200 protesters have been injured. 9 children have been killed. Sanctions on South Africa helped free its black people – it’s time for sanctions on Israel to free Palestinians. Join the call. #SheikhJarrah.”

Roger Waters

The former Pink Floyd frontman is a longtime anti-Israel activist and prominent supporters of a cultural boycott oft Israel. He posted a Twitter video calling for what 16

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he calls the “genocidal removal of people from their homes.” He also says he is starting a new campaign to get FIFA to stop allowing international soccer matches against Israel.

Halsey

The pop singer known for hits like “Without Me,” which has well over a billion Spotify streams, tweeted a note that ends with #FreePalestine and maintains that “It is not ‘too complicated to understand’ that brown children are being murdered + people are being displaced under the occupation of one of the most powerful armies in the world. It is willful ignorance to conflate these simple horrors with religion + geopolitics.”

AND THE OSCAR FOR MOST ANTISEMITIC POST GOES TO… VEENA MALIK

Veena Malik, an actress who has starred in over a dozen Pakistani and Bollywood films and shows, tweeted a series of antisemitic remarks about the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, including what she described as a quote about killing Jews by, Adolf Hitler (she was wrong). “I would have killed all the Jews of the world … but I kept some to show the world why I killed them,” Malik tweeted Tuesday, May 11. She also tweeted “#IronDome is doomed” with a laughing emoji, referencing Israel’s missile defense system, which has been overwhelmed by rockets fired from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Evidently, she’s hoping rockets kill Israeli children. By Wednesday afternoon, all of the tweets were gone from her account. No apology offered. The only remaining one about the conflict was a retweet of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan urging the “international community” to “take immediate action to protect the Palestinian people and their rights.”

THEN THERE’S…RIHANNA

Grammy-winning pop star Rihanna called for an end to the Israel-Gaza violence, saying her “heart is breaking” in a rare show of solidarity for both the Israeli and Palestinian sides by a mainstream U.S. celebrity. “Innocent Israeli and Palestinian children are hiding in bomb shelters…There needs to be some kind of resolve! We are sadly watching innocent people fall victim to notions perpetuated by government and extremists, and this cycle needs to be broken!” she wrote on Instagram to her over 95 million followers. Rihanna’s stance unsurprisingly drew an array of responses. Dozens of commenters praised the statement. But the singer’s post also drew dozens of comments with the hashtag #FreePalestine.

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THE KOSHER CROSSWORD MAY 21, 2021 “Insurance Options” By: Yoni Glatt

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ANSWERS TO MAY 14 CROSSWORD

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Across 1. Most Jewish sources say this was not the forbidden fruit of Eden 6. Bob Dylan’s primary live instrument, now 11. Near Miss.? 14. Great Rabbi Isaac 15. He was loyal to Shaul HaMelech 16. Pat 17. Like the idea of female clergy in Judaism, historically speaking 19. Contend 20. Chameleon cousins 21. Lord of Rivendell in “The Lord of the Rings” 23. Google product 24. Bring in a crop

27. “Just wait a ___!” 28. Name on a lipstick 30. Part of a Knesset controlled kibbutz? 34. Do mending 36. How one just learning Hebrew might pronounce the word for “life” 37. Yds. rushing, e.g. 38. Like Saul, at the end of his life 41. What most Jews were looking for when they came to Israel in the 40’s and 50’s 44. “Annie” characters? 45. Big American canal 47. “Back to the Future” actress Thompson 48. Ball or bass ender 50. The Israelites after leaving

Egypt, for quite a while 53. Rumba relative 57. Tyler who played the daughter of 21-Across 58. Name at the end of several Asian countries 60. Attendee 61. One davened for 64. Called it a career 66. Jet-setter’s problem 67. Existence for the largest percentage of American Jews? 70. Cartoon money that talks just a bit 71. Attach at the end 72. Spud 73. Fannie ___ (mortgage agency) 74. “Magniv” or “Boomer”, e.g. 75. Certain food fishes

Down 1. Alternative to Nordic 2. Mass dismissals 3. “Swann’s Way” novelist Marcel 4. Surgically ties 5. Make 6. Makes like Brady 7. ICU attachments 8. “___ Yosef, haod avi chai....” 9. Original “Party of Five” actress Campbell 10. “... unless you want trouble” 11. Champion of a cause 12. Do some shul work 13. Lying, maybe 18. “Give ___ to my words, O Lord,...” (Ps. 5:1)

22. Each NBA game has three of these 25. Deep down 26. “The Tonight Show” host between Allen and Carson 29. Not what you want to catch when fishing for a kosher dinner 31. “Mambo King” Puente 32. Sprinted 33. A lot of Switz. 35. He’s good and he’s free? 38. New York’s Polar Bear, Thor, or Doctor K, e.g. 39. Amtrak schedule abbr. 40. Some writers have an ear for it 42. They follow a queen 43. It comes before Shaini or

Shlishi? 46. Like Doeg, Jezebel, or Haman 49. Hava follower 51. Big todos 52. Java wrap 54. “Karate Kid” star Pat 55. Feuded, in 74-Across 56. They may be carried out 59. Father of 15-Across 61. Sea creature that’s no blabbermouth 62. Kind of olam 63. Time can do it 65. Times Sq. purchases 68. Union for some authors 69. “Hither” partner...or 75% of my first name

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WHAT’S HAPPENING Jewish organizations are invited to submit their upcoming events to the our What’s Happening section. Events are placed on the Ledger website on Tuesday afternoons. Deadline for submission of calendar items is the previous Tuesday. Send items to: judiej@ jewishledger.com.

p.m., hosted by UJF of Greater Stamford. For more information, visit ujfstamford.org.

THRU TUESDAY, JUNE 1

THURSDAY, MAY 20 THRU SUNDAY MAY 23

Art in Action: Young Artists’ Vision of 2020 The Mandell Jewish Community Center, in collaboration with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, will showcase “Art in Action: Young Artists’ Vision of 2020,” a collection of creative work that captured the thoughts and emotions of teens from across the Greater Hartford region during the Covid-19 crisis. During the fall of 2020, more than three dozen Greater Hartford artists, ages 13-19, submitted to the Hartford Foundation a variety of creative projects which reflected their energy and emotions during the pandemic. The artwork – in an array of art forms, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, poems and music – were subsequently featured at the Foundation’s annual stakeholder event and in a virtual gallery on the organization[’s website. The works will be on display at the Mandell JCC May 5–June 11. For more information, visit mandelljcc.org.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 Community Conversations on Racial Inequity The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Hartford and the Jewish Leadership Academy will launch a year-long community conversation on racism and its impact on Zoom, May 19, 7 - 8 .m. The conversation will begin with Isabel Wilkerson’s book The Warmth of Other Suns, which participants can read either as individuals or part of a group. Participants will receive a reading and conversation guide and invitations to a series of relevant, thought-provoking programs, initially over Zoom. To enroll in the program, email jody@jlahartford.org. For more information, email abutler@jewishhartford. org.

THURSDAY, MAY 20 Salud! Celebrating Jewish Life in Mendoza, Argentina

JFS Wellness Seminar Health Coach and Integrative Nutritionist Irina Degtyur will speak on the topic of “Everyday Wellness Made East” at a FREE seminar hosted by Jewish Family Services of Greenwich to be held online May 20 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit jfsgreenwich.org.

27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT The Israeli/German film “Kiss Me Kosher” will screen online, in Hebrew with English subtitles, at the 27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT on May 20 - 23. Sparks fly when two families from wildly different cultural backgrounds collide to plan a same-sex wedding, in this screwball romantic comedy that crosses all borders.. Movie link will be available to view from Thursday at 12:01 a.m. through Sundays at 11:59 pm. Screening will be followed May 23, 7:30 p.m. with director Shirel Peleg and producer Christine Günther. Admission if FREE (donations welcome). Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit JFEC.com. 27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT The short film “The Shaboos Goy” will screen online as part of the 27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT on May 20 - 23. In this delightful comedic short God literally forbids Chana to turn off her vibrator gone rogue, so she sets out on a quest to find someone who can. Movie link will be available to view from Thursday at 12:01 a.m. through Sundays at 11:59 pm. Admission if FREE (donations welcome). Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit JFEC.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 22 Outdoor Concert: Charm City Exiles Due and Sarah Browne Local performers Charm City Exiles Duo and Sarah Browne will open the JCC of Sherman’s outdoor concert series on May 22 at 7 p.m. Tickets must be purchased online (they will not be available at the door): $20/members, $25/ non-members. A limited number of tickets will be available to allow for safe social distancing. Bring a mask and a chair. Rain date: Sunday, May 23 at 7 p.m. For more information and COVID rules, visit jccinsherman.org.

Discover Mendoza, Argentina’s largest wine region, nestled in the foothills of the Andes and famous for its Malbec red wine, and learn more about its Jewish community on May 20 at 8 18

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SUNDAY, MAY 23 BTS FIlm Schmooze: “Hava Nagila (The Movie)” First, watch the film “Hava Nagila (The Movie),” a fun and fascinating journey through history, mystery and meaning of this great Jewish standard, featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Leonard Nimoy, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, Regina Spektor and more (available on Amazon Prime, iTunes and Google Play). Then join a virtual discussion of the film on May 23 at 7 p.m., led by Shari J. Cantor, who has an MA in Judaic Studies and has danced the hora at a wedding a time or two. For more information, call (860) 2433576. “L’Chaim 2Life,” virtual concert from “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” A virtual concert featuring selections from the hit Off-Broadway production “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” performed by the show’s award-winning star Steven Skybell, will be presented May 23 at 11 a.m. During the program, Skybell and Tony Award-nominated composer Zalmen Mlotek will share stories and first-hand experiences from the hit play. The program is presented by 2Life Communities, a Boston-area nonprofit senior living organization. The portion of the musical that is performed in Yiddish contains subtitles. The Yiddish-language production of “Fiddler on the Roof” was a huge Off-Broadway hit. Originally scheduled to run for eight weeks, the show played for more than a year and a half, winning the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. Skybell, who starred as Tevye, earned rave reviews. In addition to Skybell and Mlotek’s music, viewers will also get an introduction to the performance from Dr. Barbara Wallace Grossman, a renowned theater historian, director and professor at Tufts University’s Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies, and hear stories from 2Life residents about how the themes of “Fiddler on the Roof” connect to their own lives. The concert is FREE. For more information, visit 2LifeCommunities.org.

TUESDAY, MAY 25 “Hineni: Here for Each Other” virtual community celebration The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford presents “Hineni: Here for Each Other” on May 25, 7 - 8:15 p.m. The evening will feature a virtual interview with Lior Raz, star and co-creator of the hit Israeli Netflix series “Fauda, on May 25, 7 - 8:15 p.m. Attendees will receive a “celebration box” filled with kosher treats delivered to their door. Tickets are $36 per household. Paid reservations are required by May 11 to receive celebration box.

Attendees are also asked to make a gift to the Federation’s 2021 Annual Campaign, payable by Dec. 331, 2021. For more information or to register: http://bit.ly/Hineni2021RSVP.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2 Spring Dinner with Jean Chatzky

United Jewish Federation Women’s Philanthropy will host its Spring Dinner featuring guest speaker Jean Chatzky, CEO of HerMoney.com and host of the podcast HerMoney with Jean Chatzky, with live music by Arielle Eden. Masks required and all safety precautions and social distancing protocols will be observed. Zoom participation is also welcome. Pre-packaged dinner with wine tasting, crafts, Tricky Tray and silent auction at 6:30 p.m.; followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. $95/per person before May 21; $125/ after May 21. For Tricky Tray/auction ticket information, visit ujf.org.

THURSDAY, JUNE 3 THRU SUNDAY JUNE 6

27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT

“They Ain’t Ready for Me,” a feature-length documentary about Tamar Manasseh, the African American mother and rabbinical student who is leading the fight against senseless killings on the south side of Chicago will screen online at the 27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT on June 3 - 6. Tamar, who is both authentically Jewish and authentically Black, brings an understanding of both communities, even as she struggles for acceptance in the Jewish world. Screening will followed by director Brad Rothschild and Tamar Manasseh on June 6, 7:30 p.m. Movie link will be available to view from Thursday at 12:01 a.m. through Sundays at 11:59 pm. Admission if FREE (donations welcome). Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit JFEC.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 6 Friendship Circle Celebration

The Friendship Circle of West Hartford will host a Covid-safe concert featuring the Rogers Park Band on June 6, 3 pm, in the parking lot of West Hartford Town Hall. Outdoor socially distanced seating or stay-in-car options available.Celebrate bar/bat mitzvah milestone that occurred during the past pandemic year, and applaud the children, teens and young adults living with and without disabilities whose friendships endured through these challenging times. Limited space; reservations required. $36/adults; $18/children. Register a friendshipcirclect.com.

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JUNE 1 – JUNE 20 THURSDAY, JUNE 10 - SUNDAY, JUNE 13 27th Annual Jewish FilmFest of Eastern CT “Here We Are,” from Israel, in Hebrew with English subtitles, (2020, 92 minutes) will screen online on June 10 - 13 at 7:30 p.m. The story of devoted father, Aharon, who has spent his life raising his son, Uri, who is autistic. Now a young adult, it might be time for Uri to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready? Movie link will be available to view from Thursday at 12:01 a.m. through Sundays at 11:59 p.m. Admission if FREE (donations welcome). Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit JFEC.com.

TUESDAY, JUNE 15 Brexit: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead The JCC in Sherman’s Great Decisions 2021 series will discuss the topic of “Brexit: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead” on Zoom, June 15, 7 - 8:30 p.m. FREE. For more information: jccinsherman.org/greatdecisions.

THURSDAY, JUNE 17 Virtual Spring Celebration honoring Rabbi Herbert Brockman Rabbi Herbert Brockman, rabbi emeritus at Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, will be honored at a virtual celebration hosted by Jewish Family Services of Greater New Haven on June 17 at 7 p.m. The evening will also include a look at the impact of JFS of Greater New Haven on the community. For more info: (203) 389-5599 x110, jfsnh.org.

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Naso

BY SHLOMO RISKIN

hy is it that the PriestKohanim, the ministers of the Holy Temple and Torah teachers of the nation, must administer their priestly benediction “with love”? What has “love” to do with their specific leadership role? In our Biblical portion, Naso, the Almighty tells Moses to command Aaron (the High Priest-Kohen) and his sons, “… So shall you bless the children of Israel: Say to them, ‘May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; May the Lord lift His face towards (forgive) you and grant you peace’. And they shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:22-27). This priestly benediction was a regular part of the daily Temple service. To this very day, here in Israel, every morning during the repetition of the Amidah, the descendants of Aaron bestow this blessing upon the congregation. Prior to blessing the congregation, the Priest-Kohanim recite the following benediction; “Blessed are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with the sanctity of Aaron, and commanded us to bestow a blessing upon His nation Israel with love”. What is the significance of these last two words, “with love”? And if the Priest-Kohen does not feel love in his heart for every member of the congregation, does this disqualify his blessing? A Midrash asks why the command to bless Israel is prefaced by the words “say to them”. It answers that this teaches that the Cantor, the representative of the congregation who repeats the Amidah for all the congregants, must say each word of the benediction, which is then repeated word by word by the Priest-Kohen (Midrash Sifrei 6, 143). Rashi points out that the Hebrew Amor (say) is vocalized with a Kametz, as in Zakhor: Remember the Sabbath day, Remember the day you came out of Egypt). This implies an active form of the verb, as in remembering the Sabbath by our weekly repetition of the Divine primordial week of creation in which we too actively work for six days and creatively rest on the Sabbath, or in our re-experiencing the Egyptian servitude and exodus on the seder night. Apparently, the Kohen-priest must “actively” bless. Rashi adds that the Hebrew amor is spelled in the longest and fullest form possible, in order to teach us that the Priest-Kohen “must not bestow his blessing hastily but rather with intense concentration and with a full, loving heart”

(Rashi, ad loc). There is even a French, Hassidic interpretation of the word which claims that the Hebrew amor is akin to the French amour, meaning with love! Our God is a God of unconditional love, both before and after we sin, thus, the very opening of the Ten Commandments, God’s introduction to His Revelation of His laws, is “I am the Lord who took you out of the Land of Egypt, the House of bondage”. The Almighty is telling His nation that by taking them out of difficult straits of Egyptian slavery, He removed our pain thus demonstrating His love for us! It is almost as if he is explaining that His right to command them is based upon His having demonstrated His love for them. A religious wedding ceremony is fundamentally a ritual acceptance of the mutual responsibilities of husband and wife. The marriage document, or Ketubah, is all about the groom’s financial obligations to his bride. And yet, our Talmudic Sages teach us that the young couple must love each other in order to get married, that the over-arching basis for every wedding ceremony is “You shall love your friend like yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). The nuptial blessings refer to bride and groom as “loving and beloved friends” (B.T. Kidushin, 41a). Our Sages are telling us that there can be no real love without the assumption of responsibility; when I declare my love for you, I must take a certain degree of responsibility for easing your life and sharing your challenges. The Hassidic Rebbe, Reb Zushia told of how inspired he was by a marvelous conversation he overheard between two drunks at an inn. “I love you, Igor”,said one drunkard to the other. “You don’t love me”, said his friend. “I do love you,” protested the first. “You don’t love me,” insisted Igor. “How do you know that I don’t love you?” shouted the first in exasperation. “Because you can’t tell me what hurts me” answered Igor. “If you can’t tell me what hurts me, you can’t try to make it better. And if you don’t try to make it better, you certainly don’t love me.” Love and responsibility are inextricably intertwined. Indeed, the very Hebrew word ahavah is based on the Aramaic word for giving. The Kohen-Priest who is a Jewish teacher and a Jewish leader, simultaneously functions as the agent of the Almighty and of the nation. He must take responsibility for his nation, he must attempt to “brand” them with G-d’s name, with G-d’s love, and with G-d’s justice. He must communicate with his nation, symbolized by the cantor or shaliah tzibbur, he must know what hurts his nation and what his nation needs, and then he must actively try to assuage that pain while raising the nation closer to

the realm of the Divine. In short, he must love his people and take responsibility for them, as the benediction before the blessing explains so very well!

Post Script The Sages of the Talmud ordained that at the time of the priestly benediction, the congregation should think of their dreams – individual and corporate – crying out “Master of the Universe, I am yours and my dreams are yours…” The Hebrew word dream, khalom, has the same letters as khamal, love, compassion, as well as khaham, fight, struggle, wage war. Dreams which continue to engage us when we are awake are dreams of love and passion, such as the return to Zion which was “as in a dream” (Psalms 126:1). Dreams, as loves, are the beginning of responsibility, a responsibility which often means struggle and even war. Kohen-Teachers must love their student-congregants and take responsibility for them teaching them likewise to take responsibility for each other and for the dream. Only then will our dreams and God’s dreams be one dream: the perfection of the world, Tikkun Olam. Rabbi Shalom Riskin is founder and rosh yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone, and founding rabbi of Efrat, Israel.

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OBITUARIES KALETSKY Monty Kaletsky, 80, of Branford, died May 9. He was the husband of Phyllis (Kliger) Kaletsky. Born in New Haven, he was the son of the late Marion and Milton Kaletsky. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Marc Kaletsky, and Robin Briner and her husband Charles; his grandchildren, Ryan, Brett, Matthew Grant, and Ava Briner; his great-grandchild Charlotte Grant; and his sister, Barbara Rubin.

ABELES Rochelle (Shelly) Zarchin Abeles, 80, died May 7. She was the wife of Sig Abeles. Shelly was a member of Congregation Kol Haverim in Glastonbury. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her two children and six grandchildren. CASE Ann Magnuson Case died May 7. She was the widow of Dr. Arnold Case. Born and raised in Chautauqua County, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Philip and Phyllis Magnuson. She is survived by her brother Philip; her daughters, Beth Case and husband Steven Dolmanisth, Amy Case Rosenfield and her husband Michael, Sarah Case and her partner Greg Odell; her stepson Daniel Case and his wife Patti; and her grandchildren, Ally, Sophie, Lucy, Esther, Hanna, Rachel, Eliana, Jack, Carlin and Noel. CHERNOFF Shulamith (“Shula”) S. Chernoff, 98, died May 10. She was the widow of Dr. Hyman M. Chernoff of New Haven. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of Professor Zevi Scharfstein and Shoshana Goldfarb Scharfstein. She was also predeceased by her daughter, Dr. Naomi Charnott. She is survived by her children, Deborah, David, Jonathan, Daniel, and Joshua Chernoff.

LERNER Paul Jerome Lerner, 74, of Madison, died May 6. He was the husband of Margaret (nee Herzberger) Lerner. He was the son of the late Milton and Pearl Lerner. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Ellen Lerner and her husband Oliver Dettler, Lisa Lostetter, and Jeffrey Lerner and his wife Jennifer; his grandchildren, Maximilian and Nicolas Dettler, Milo, Iris, and Grace Lostetter, and Benjamin and Samuel Lerner; his brothers, Edward and his wife Ruth, and Steven and his wife Marcy Lerner; and other family members. WEINER Frances Frumin Weiner, 77, of West Hartford, formerly of Weatogue and West Simsbury, died May 9. She was the wife

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of Claire Kaplan. Born in Detroit, Mich., she was the daughter of Herman and Faye Frumin. She is survived by a sister, Marlene Schwartz and her husband Richard of West Bloomfield, Mich.; her children, Jennifer and her husband Bill of Philadelphia, Penn., Molly and her husband Jeff, Jake and his wife Maurine, and Joe and his wife Dixie,

all of Los Angeles, Calif.; her stepson, David of Denver, Colo.; her grandchildren, Olivia, Lucy, Ben, Phoebe, Emilia and Dottie. For more information on placing an obituary, contact: judiej@ jewishledger.

Former congressman Lester Wolff was known for surviving assassination threats and supporting Israel BY ASAF SHALEV

(JTA) – Lester Wolff, who served eight terms as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and was an important player in American foreign affairs in the 1960s and ‘70s, has died. At 102, the New York lawmaker was the oldest former member of Congress. Wolff died Tuesday at a hospital in Syosset, New York. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency profiled Wolff in 2018, painting a picture of a man who was five times targeted for assassination for his actions and political positions on controversial international issues, including Israel. Wolff won his first congressional election in 1964 to represent part of Long Island, in suburban New York City, and during the ’60s he worked closely with Robert Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson, and met Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. He stayed in Congress until 1981. At a time when support for Israel in Congress was not as widespread as it is now, Wolff fought successfully to approve

the U.S. sale of technologically advanced fighter jets to Israel. The former Jewish lawmaker spent his later years writing books, collecting art and attacking Donald Trump.

LESTER WOLFF, SPEAKS AT A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON FOR WORLD WAR II-ERA CIVIL AIR PATRWOLFF WAS A VETERAN OF THE CIVIL AIR PATROL. (DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES)

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CT SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY To join our synagogue directories, contact Howard Meyerowitz at (860) 231-2424 x3035 or howardm@jewishledger.com. BLOOMFIELD B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom/ Neshama Center for Lifelong Learning Conservative Rabbi Debra Cantor (860) 243-3576 office@BTSonline.org www.btsonline.org BRIDGEPORT Congregation B’nai Israel Reform Rabbi Evan Schultz (203) 336-1858 info@cbibpt.org www.cbibpt.org Congregation Rodeph Sholom Conservative (203) 334-0159 Rabbi Richard Eisenberg, Cantor Niema Hirsch info@rodephsholom.com www.rodephsholom.com CHESHIRE Temple Beth David Reform Rabbi Micah Ellenson (203) 272-0037 office@TBDCheshire.org www.TBDCheshire.org CHESTER Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek Reform Rabbi Marci Bellows (860) 526-8920 rabbibellows@cbsrz.org www.cbsrz.org

COLCHESTER Congregation Ahavath Achim Conservative Rabbi Kenneth Alter (860) 537-2809 secretary@congregationahavathachim.org

Temple Sholom Conservative Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz Rabbi Kevin Peters Cantor Sandy Bernstein (203) 869-7191 info@templesholom.com www.templesholom.com

EAST HARTFORD Temple Beth Tefilah Conservative Rabbi Yisroel Snyder (860) 569-0670 templebetht@yahoo.com

HAMDEN Temple Beth Sholom Conservative Rabbi Benjamin Edidin Scolnic (203) 288-7748 tbsoffice@tbshamden.com www.tbshamden.com

FAIRFIELD Congregation Ahavath Achim Orthodox (203) 372-6529 office@ahavathachim.org www.ahavathachim.org Congregation Beth El, Fairfield Conservative Rabbi Marcelo Kormis (203) 374-5544 office@bethelfairfield.org www.bethelfairfield.org GLASTONBURY Congregation Kol Haverim Reform Rabbi Dr. Kari Tuling (860) 633-3966 office@kolhaverim.org www.kolhaverim.org GREENWICH Greenwich Reform Synagogue Reform Rabbi Jordie Gerson (203) 629-0018 hadaselias@grs.org www.grs.org

MADISON Temple Beth Tikvah Reform Rabbi Stacy Offner (203) 245-7028 office@tbtshoreline.org www.tbtshoreline.org MANCHESTER Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Conservative Rabbi Randall Konigsburg (860) 643-9563 Rabbenu@myshul.org programming@myshul.org www.myshul.org MIDDLETOWN Adath Israel Conservative Rabbi Nelly Altenburger (860) 346-4709 office@adathisraelct.org www.adathisraelct.org

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NEW HAVEN The Towers at Tower Lane Conservative Ruth Greenblatt, Spiritual Leader Sarah Moskowitz, Spiritual Leader (203) 772-1816 rebecca@towerlane.org www.towerlane.org Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel Conservative Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen (203) 389-2108 office@BEKI.org www.BEKI.org Orchard Street ShulCongregation Beth Israel Orthodox Rabbi Mendy Hecht 203-776-1468 www.orchardstreetshul.org NEW LONDON Ahavath Chesed Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Sternberg 860-442-3234 Ahavath.chesed@att.net Congregation Beth El Conservative Rabbi Earl Kideckel (860) 442-0418 office@bethel-nl.org www.bethel-nl.org NEWINGTON Temple Sinai Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Bennett (860) 561-1055 templesinaict@gmail.com www.sinaict.org NEWTOWN Congregation Adath Israel Conservative Rabbi Barukh Schectman (203) 426-5188 office@congadathisrael.org www.congadathisrael.org

NORWALK Beth Israel Synagogue – Chabad of Westport/ Norwalk Orthodox-Chabad Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht (203) 866-0534 info@bethisraelchabad.org bethisraelchabad.org

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Temple Shalom Reform Rabbi Cantor Shirah Sklar (203) 866-0148 admin@templeshalomweb.org www.templeshalomweb.org ORANGE Chabad of Orange/ Woodbridge Chabad Rabbi Sheya Hecht (203) 795-5261 info@chabadow.org www.chabadow.org Congregation Or Shalom Conservative Rabbi Alvin Wainhaus (203) 799-2341 info@orshalomct.org www.orshalomct.org SIMSBURY Chabad of the Farmington Valley Chabad Rabbi Mendel Samuels (860) 658-4903 chabadsimsbury@gmail.com www.chabadotvalley.org Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation, Emek Shalom Reform Rabbi Rebekah Goldman Mag (860) 658-1075 admin@fvjc.org www.fvjc.org SOUTH WINDSOR Temple Beth Hillel of South Windsor Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Glickman (860) 282-8466 tbhrabbi@gmail.com www.tbhsw.org

WALLINGFORD Beth Israel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi Bruce Alpert (203) 269-5983 info@bethisraelwallingford. org www.bethisraelwallingford. org WASHINGTON Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish Life Rabbi James Greene (860) 868-2434 jewishlifect@gmail.com www.jewishlife.org WATERFORD Temple Emanu - El Reform Rabbi Marc Ekstrand Rabbi Emeritus Aaron Rosenberg (860) 443-3005 office@tewaterfrord.org www.tewaterford.org WEST HARTFORD Beth David Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchok Adler (860) 236-1241 office@bethdavidwh.org www.bethdavidwh.org Beth El Temple Conservative Rabbi James Rosen Rabbi Ilana Garber (860) 233-9696 hsowalsky@bethelwh.org www.bethelwesthartford.org Chabad House of Greater Hartford Rabbi Joseph Gopin Rabbi Shaya Gopin, Director of Education (860) 232-1116 info@chabadhartford.com www.chabadhartford.com

SOUTHINGTON Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation Reform Rabbi Alana Wasserman (860) 276-9113 President@gsjc.org www.gsjc.org TRUMBULL Congregation B’nai Torah Conservative Rabbi Colin Brodie (203) 268-6940 office@bnaitorahct.org www.bnaitorahct.org

Congregation Beth Israel Reform Rabbi Michael Pincus Rabbi Andi Fliegel Cantor Stephanie Kupfer (860) 233-8215 bethisrael@cbict.org www.cbict.org Congregation P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Shabbat Services Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (860) 561-5905 pnaiorct@gmail.com www.jewishrenewalct.org

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Kehilat Chaverim of Greater Hartford Chavurah Adm. - Nancy Malley (860) 951-6877 mnmalley@yahoo.com www.kehilatchaverim.org The Emanuel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi David J. Small (860) 236-1275 communications@emanuelsynagogue.org www.emanuelsynagogue.org United Synagogues of Greater Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Eli Ostrozynsk i synagogue voice mail (860) 586-8067 Rabbi’s mobile (718) 6794446 ostro770@hotmail.com www.usgh.org Young Israel of West Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Brander (860) 233-3084 info@youngisraelwh.org www.youngisraelwh.org WESTPORT Temple Israel Reform Rabbi Michael S. Friedman, Senior Rabbi Rabbi Danny M. Moss, Associate Rabbi Rabbi Elana Nemitoff-Bresler, Rabbi Educator (203) 227-1293 info@tiwestport.org www.tiwestport.org WETHERSFIELD Temple Beth Torah Unaffiliated Rabbi Seth Riemer (860) 828-3377 tbt.w.ct@gmail.com templebethtorahwethersfield. org WOODBRIDGE Congregation B’nai Jacob Conservative Rabbi Rona Shapiro (203) 389-2111 info@bnaijacob.org www.bnaijacob.org

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