CT Jewish Ledger • July 30, 2021 • 21 Av 5781 by 2020 Media

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| JULY 30, 2021

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JEWISH LEDGER

| JULY 30, 2021

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INSIDE

this week

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | JULY 30, 2021 | 21 AV 5781

14 Briefs

17 Crossword

18 Milestones

19 What’s Happening

20 Torah Portion

People of the Book.......................... 5 Recently, Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven packed up four cartons of prayer books and sent them to a tiny Jewish congregation in the Nigerian village of Kubwa. And that’s just the beginning of the story.

Joining Forces................................... 5 Three Connecticut kosher caterers team up to launch a new top-of-the-line catering service.

“I am Jewish”.................................... 8 For US Jews of color, encountering Israel’s diversity on a Birthright Israel trip is not only eye-opening, it’s also an affirming experience through which they can finally answer the question: ‘Who am I and where do I fit in?

OPINION.............................................10 “To an antisemite,” writes David Harris, “a Jew is a Jew is a Jews.”

20 Obituaries

21 Business and Professional Directory

22 Classified

ON THE COVER:

Stores pulling Chubby Hubby from their shelves, campaigns to remove kosher certification, accusations of anti-BDS law violations (on the books in 33 states)… Here’s what happened when the Vermontbased ice-cream company Ben & Jerry’s bowed to pressure from pro-BDS and antiIsrael forces to pull the plug on the sale of its ice-cream in Jerusalem and the West Bank. PAGE 12 jewishledger.com

KOLOT.................................................18 Shabbat is a special time at Camp Laurelwood in Madison, writes camp director Rabbi James Greene. Especially when Shabbat welcomes a new Torah scroll.

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| JULY 30, 2021

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UP FRONT CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | JULY 30, 2021 | 21 AV 5781

A New Haven synagogue. A Nigerian Jewish community. A long distance love story.

ROYAL FLUSH

Three CT kosher caterers launch a new full-service culinary enterprise

BY STACEY DRESNER

EW HAVEN – Earlier this month Rachel Bashevkin and Eric Dunsker packed up four boxes filled with prayer books that had been sitting unused in their synagogue, Congregation Beth El Keser Israel (BEKI) in New Haven. The 90 books – siddurim, machzorim (High Holiday prayerbooks) and chumashim (The Five Books of Moses) – were destined to go to a congregation in need, with the help of Kulanu, an organization that helps “isolated, emerging, and returning Jewish communities” around the world through education, research, networking, and fundraising. “It’s a shonda [Yiddish for ‘shame’ or ‘disgrace’] to have perfectly usable holy books just sitting in storage, so it’s really a mitzvah,” Bashevkin says. “It’s really incumbent upon us to share these books.” The donated books were earmarked for Tikvat Israel Synagogue, a congregation

numbering approximately 50 members, in the Nigerian village of Kubwa. The volumes weighed a total of 186 pounds. “Kulanu reaches out to these isolated, emerging congregations in far-flung places of the world and I was really relieved that Kulanu was not asking us to ship the books to Nigeria,” Bashevkin says with a laugh. “That would have been a challenging expense.” Instead, Bashevkin was given addresses in Philadelphia and New York to send the four separate boxes of books, each weighing around 46 pounds. Bashevkin was told people would be traveling to Nigeria and carrying the boxes with them on their trip. Around that same time, Bashevkin read a story in Hadassah magazine written by Eliana Saks, a production editor at a publishing company in Philadelphia who had recently read about the Igbo Jews of Nigeria while scrolling through Facebook and finding a post from Moshe Hezekiah

Nwafor, a leader of the Igbo community who had worked at Camp Ramah in Berkshires in 2019. The two became Facebook friends and Saks learned more and more about the Igbo community and Nwafor’s congregation. After spending months getting to know one another others on Facebook and FaceTime, Saks obtained a visa to fly to Nigeria in late 2020 where she could meet Nwafor in person. (Nwafor has not yet been able to get a visa to come to the U.S.) After meeting in Nigeria and spending several weeks together, Saks and Nwafor fell in love and became engaged to be married. As it turns out, the four boxes of books donated by BEKI will be carried to Nigeria by Saks and her family members and friends when they travel to Africa in August. “There is always an interesting story behind where these items go, but this story CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

BACK ROW, FROM THE RIGHT, SAR HABBAKUK NWAFOR, FOUNDER OF NIGERIA’S TIKVAT ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE (FAR RIGHT), WITH CONGREGANTS (L TO R) CHIZOBA MAGEN BAT HABAKKUK, HER BROTHER MOSHE HEZEKIAH NWAFOR, JAPHET ECHEGWO, YITZHAK BEN AVRAHAM AND JAPHET ECHEGWO. IN FRONT, SHMUEL BEN BARUCH AND ELIANA SAKS. (COURTESY ELIANA SAKS)

BY STACEY DRESNER

EST HARTFORD – For decades, Margery Gussak Catering, Abel Caterers, and The Crown Market were friendly competitors in the Connecticut kosher catering market, each providing their own special kosher cuisine and service at weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish celebrations and events. Now Andrea Gussak and Meredith Abel-Berei – second-generation members of the Gussak and Abel families – have joined gastronomical forces with The Crown Market to form Royal Catering and Events. “We’re going to be more of a fullservice catering department than Crown has had in the past, with full-service management and event planning, china, flatwear… being able to offer very large events and very small events – not just the shivas and kiddushes and baby-naming’s and brisses,” AbelBerei explains. “We’re really looking to capture the corporate market, the simchas, the Federation work, all of the non-profit organizations…all the different work that my family and Andrea’s family did over our careers; and we’re bringing all of that to the Crown.” Gussak will serve as executive chef of both Crown Market and Royal Catering and Events. The daughter of Margery Gussak, who owned and operated her Manchester-based kosher catering company for 35 years, Andrea spent years working in her mother’s business before Margery shut her doors in June 2018. Andrea Gussak joined Crown in 2019. Abel-Berei, director of catering for Royal Catering and Events, is the daughter of Neil Abel, who founded Abel Caterers in Woodbridge more than 45 years ago. Abel-Berei took over Abel Catering when her father died more CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

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JULY 30, 2021

Nigeria

Caterers

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

is just phenomenal,” Bashevkin says. “It’s got the love piece, the meeting online, and the lovers separated by visas and many, many miles.”

It was so bashert (fated).”

Help is on its way

The Igbo tribe, of which Moshe Hezekiah Nwafor is a member and leader, believe that they descend from one of the lost tribes of Israel, much like the Ugandan and Ethiopian Jews. The Igbo people practice male circumcision on the eighth day and, as Saks writes in her Hadassah story, follow dietary laws that “approximate kashrut.” Moshe’s father, Sar Habbakuk Nwafor, is the founder of Tikvat Israel Synagogue and is the congregation’s leader. When Saks travelled to Nigeria, she brought along with her tefillin, mezuzot, prayer books and tzitzit donated from both the Israel Center of Conservative Judaism in Flushing, New York, where her father Rabbi Moshe Saks is the spiritual leader, and Huntington Jewish Center on Long Island, where her brother Ari Saks is rabbi. Saks writes that the Igbo people are already committed Jews devoted to Jewish learning. “As the special guest, each Shabbat I spent in Nigeria I was tasked with giving a dvar Torah, something I hadn’t done since my bat mitzvah,” Saks writes. “I consulted with the rabbis in my family via FaceTime to come up with something new to teach my hosts and their congregants. But each Shabbat, most already knew the midrash or commentary I shared. Each Shabbat, it was me learning from them.” Despite their devotion to Judaism,

Jo Ann Friedman, Kulanu’s programming and development manager, praised BEKI for their donation. “These Jewish communities basically rely on us to get them prayerbooks so they can run services,” she says. “A lot of these communities have 10 different siddurim that that visitors have dropped off and that don’t match. They find it impossible to pray from. BEKI’s donation enabled an entire congregation to have services. They gave us matching high-quality prayerbooks and chumashim. “This is the second time BEKI has helped us. About four years ago, they were changing their machzor. They stored them there for us and we had couriers take them all over the world for us,” Friedman notes. Kulanu prefers that people flying to regions like Africa and South America volunteer to carry book donations with them. Friedman said that Kulanu doesn’t have space to store donated items and can’t really handle the expense of shipping items to the third-world countries where she says 90 percent of Kulanu’s communities reside. “We have travelers take an extra bag for us, and the timing of this was just unbelievable. Rachel contacted me and we actually had four people planning to travel to Nigeria next month. It was so amazing.

The Igbo people are devoted to Jewish learning

many in the Igbo community want to formally convert – to become halachachly Jewish. To that end, Rabbi Moshe Saks has formed a Conservative beit din, with Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, who leads the Abayudaya Jews in Uganda and Rabbi Gerald Sussman of Temple EmanuEl from Staten Island, New York. The three rabbis will travel to Nigeria in August to preside over a conversion of approximately 50 members of the Igbo Jewish community. Rabbi Sussman’s wife, Bonita Nathan Sussman, a Kulanu vice president and liaison to emerging Jewish communities, will also go on the trip. The wedding of Eliana Saks and Moshe Hezekiah Nwafor will take place when Moshe is able to get a visa to the U.S. so that Saks can be married with her whole family surrounding her. “When I read the Hadassah story, I understood why there were people willing to go to Nigeria and willing to shlepp the books,” Bashevkin says. “Eliana says that this a community of really committed Jews. It’s really a privilege to be able to support them and to help this shidduch between the rabbi’s daughter from the U.S. and the rabbi’s son from Nigeria.” For more information about Kulanu and its work, visit Kulanu. org. Kulanu seeks anyone flying to Africa or Latin America to volunteers to take an extra bag of items for Jewish congregations in need.

TIKVAT ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE IN THE VILLAGE OF KUBWA IN CENTRAL NIGERIA. (COURTESY ELIANA SAKS)

JEWISH LEDGER

| JULY 30, 2021

than 13 years ago. Last December, as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on catering firms everywhere, Abel-Berei decided to close Abel Catering’s doors. When Crown’s leadership learned that Abel was closing, they approached Abel-Berei, seeking to bring her on board to help with the catering business. She started at Crown on March 1. “Meredith helped us and was extremely instrumental, along with Michael Hansen, in reinventing our catering department, from the nuts and bolts on out,” says Crown’s Store Director Jay Dollinger. “Due to all of this work, we all thought it was in everybody’s best interest to spin off’ a whole new catering identity. Since we are The Crown Market and have been for 81 years, we thought, what better name than Royal Catering and Events?... It’s the ultimate kosher catering experience with more than 100 years of combined kosher catering expertise,” he says. Abel-Berei called her arrival at Crown “good timing in terms of revamping the catering department.” While Gussak’s experience is in the kitchen, Abel-Berei said hers is more “front of the business and warehouse.” “Andrea is a very talented person who knows how to get the job done,” notes AbelBerei. She puts out beautiful work and she understands how challenging catering is. It’s nice having a partner in catering who grew up in the business like I did. We both have the

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HartfordShakespeare.org THE NEW ROYAL CATERING AND EVENTS TEAM (L TO R) MEREDITH ABEL-BEREI, MIKE HANSEN (CATERING MANAGER), AND ANDREA GUSSAK, MEET AT THE CROWN MARKET IN WEST HARTFORD.

same goals in mind, and I think we both have enough experience and enough work ethic to work together to make great products and great parties.” Gussak agrees. “We’re all on the same page and we’re all working to make this new Royal Catering and Events the best premier catering in Connecticut and hopefully beyond,” Gussak says. “Over the years Meredith and I had never met in person. We had always sort of heard of each other. Even though we were friendly rivals, so to speak, we had never met, and we never really overlapped much. There’s always that hesitation meeting someone new but it’s been fantastic. We collaborate well, we communicate well. We get each other. We come from a similar background; we’ve been there, done that. It’s been great.” In terms of menus, Gussak said that Royal Catering and Events will focus on providing clients with not only classic kosher fare, but also the popular farm-to-table food items many clean-eating clients are looking for these days – all fully supervised by the Hartford Kashrut Commission (HKC). “My background has always been in a very farm-to-table aesthetic,” said Gussak. “I’ve always used whatever is fresh and in-season and created from that, and I’ve kind of been bringing that same feel to the store and overlapping it into the catering menus as well.” As executive chef, Gussak says she has been introducing a lot more vegan and jewishledger.com

vegetarian and seasonal items at the store and in the catering menus. “The menus are ever evolving. Meredith and I have been talking a lot about this. There will always be the ‘core’ things that people can choose from – basic chicken, meat, fish; and the appetizers for the most part won’t change. But we want to really be creating new menus for each customer based on their needs, dietary restrictions, allergies – all of that stuff. What we are creating now is sort of a ‘feel’ of what we can do, and then, once we can actually sit down and meet with the clientele, we will, through conversation, create a menu specifically for them and their event.” With their combined contacts, Royal Catering and Events plans to cover most of Connecticut, south to Westchester and north to Boston and Vermont. Already Royal Catering is hearing from clients excited to start planning events again now that the pandemic is over. “I’m excited to see the Crown continue to grow,” Abel-Berei says. “The Crown weathered the storm and we’re going to come out of this stronger and with the catering part, I feel that the right pieces are being put into place to continue to be a success.” Says Gussak: “I think it’s going to be a great marriage of all of us. And I only see great things ahead.”

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For these US Jews of color, encountering Israel’s diversity was an affirming experience BY MICHELE CHABIN

ERUSALEM – Arel Moodie, the son of a white Jewish mother and a Black father, experienced a core identity struggle through most of his teenage years. “It was one of the biggest pieces of turmoil in my adolescence,” said Moodie, who was raised in a predominantly AfricanAmerican neighborhood in Brooklyn and attended Jewish camps every summer. “I asked myself, ‘Who am I? Where do I fit in?’ I felt like I had to make a choice between the Jewish side, the white side, the Black side.” Moodie, now 37, began to find some answers during a Birthright Israel trip several years ago, where a chance encounter changed the way he thought about himself. Excited at seeing a Black Israeli soldier wearing a kippah, Moodie decided to approach him. “I went up to him expecting that this incredible, long-lost brother would hug me,” he said. “It was like, ‘Omigosh there’s more of us!’ I sort of pantomimed, ‘You’re a Brown Jew, I’m a Brown Jew. That’s amazing!’ But he told me, ‘No, we’re just Jewish.’” Moodie said the encounter led him to “own” his Jewishness, whereas previously he would elude the issue by telling himself and others that he was simply raised Jewish or that his mother was Jewish. “I had always put a qualifier to my Jewish identity,” Moodie said. “I realized I can just be Jewish while honoring my African-American identity. I don’t have to choose between my identities.” Today he goes to synagogue regularly and his children attend Jewish day school. Since its AREL MOODIE inception in (COURTESY OF MOODIE) 1999, Birthright has had a mission to ensure Jewish continuity by strengthening the Jewish identity of Jewish young adults as well as their connections to Israel and each other through an allexpenses-paid trip to Israel. Birthright’s open-tent approach to recruitment has meant that many of its participants have a hyphenated identity, either ethnically or religiously, or both. So being a Black Jew or Asian Jew or Latino Jew or Persian Jew has made their lives 8

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BIRTHRIGHT’S OPEN-TENT APPROACH TO RECRUITMENT HAS MEANT THAT MANY OF ITS PARTICIPANTS HAVE A HYPHENATED IDENTITY, EITHER ETHNICALLY OR RELIGIOUSLY. (SARAH KORBLUH)

richer – but often more complicated. “For some Jews of color, what seems to be society’s insistence on choosing one identity over another – for example, you’re Black in one space and Jewish in another – has led to internal identity struggles,” said Tema Smith, a diversity advocate and Jewish community builder. “What is needed now is for the Jewish community to broadcast loudly that Jews can hold multiple identities and that there is no conflict between a Jewish identity and being from another group.” From its outset, Birthright enthusiastically welcomed Jewish young adults regardless of their racial or ethnic background, affiliation with Jewish institutions or religious observance. Zohar Raviv, Birthright’s vice president of educational strategy, described it this way: “We believe that whereas unity among Jews has always been a value, uniformity between Jews has never been a value.” Amy Albertson, a Chinese-Jewish resident of Sacramento, California, who came on Birthright in her early 20s and ultimately lived in Israel for several years, said the experience exposed her to a Jewish diversity she never knew existed. Ultimately that made her feel more comfortable in her own identity as both a Jewish and Chinese American. “I grew up around Jews who looked a certain way: Eastern European,” Albertson said. “Until I went to Israel I didn’t know there were so many other types of Jews.

| JULY 30, 2021

In Israel, there were Jewish people from everywhere: I was able to interact with Mizrahim, Russians, Ethiopians and so many others.” For Albertson, now 30, the opportunity to meet a diversity of Jews in Israel was a happy revelation. “I didn’t grow up with a lot of Jewish tradition, and I would always get nervous in Jewish spaces because I didn’t know how to do this or that” religious ritual, she said. Although Albertson became very Jewishly active in college, it wasn’t until she traveled to Israel for the first time with Birthright that she realized “to feel Jewish, all you have to do is exist. In Israel, Shabbat feels like Shabbat. It doesn’t matter if you go to shul or light Shabbat candles.” Albertson recalled a Birthright activity with the Israel soldiers who accompanied the group. “We were asked to share a Jewish memory, but I was like, ‘I don’t have many Jewish memories,’” she said. “The soldier I was paired with said, ‘I guess all my memories are Jewish, but I’m secular.’ That’s when I realized that I don’t need to do anything to be Jewish. I am Jewish.” Benjamin Sklar, 29, visited Israel several years ago on Birthright Excel, a 10-week professional experience designed to foster economic and social partnerships between Jews from the Diaspora and Israel. An experience on the trip inspired him to decide to move to Israel and join the Israeli army (he later moved back to the United

States and become a lawyer). The group met with the Arab-Israeli CEO of Jerusalem’s YMCA and learned about how the Y builds bridges between Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem. “It was valuable to be exposed to an Arab living in Jerusalem and not just Ashkenazi Jews,” said Sklar, who is Mexican American and was raised in an interfaith home in Houston by his Catholic mother and Jewish father. “I felt the organizers made an effort to expose us to Reform, ultra-Orthodox, Sephardim, Ashkenazim. We experienced all the different angles of Israel.” Even as he decided to join the army, Sklar said he wanted to devote his career to helping the Palestinian-Israeli relationship. “I just had a feeling on Birthright that I wanted to be an Israeli soldier; I felt they were superheroes,” Sklar said. “I wanted to serve the country and be part of the team. I thought to myself, ‘Are they more Jewish than me?’ I served in the paratroopers.” For Emily Nassir, whose mother is an American-born Ashkenazi Jew and her father a Persian Israeli, growing up in a diverse home helped her appreciate the various customs and rituals practiced by different communities. “It taught me to respect other people’s ways of living,” said Nassir, 25, of New York. Nassir’s trip to Israel with Birthright in March 2019 exposed her to an even wider swath of Israeli culture. At a time when antisemitism is rampant, Nassir said that engaging with Israelis with different viewpoints, as she did during her Birthright experience, “is the only way to understand” Israel as a living, breathing place. Albertson said experiencing Israel and Israelis firsthand has enabled her to fight antisemitism and anti-Zionism with facts. “Israel as a Jewish country and homeland is not just a story or an idea. I’ve seen it, tasted it, touched it. I’ve witnessed and felt the Jewish connection to the land, and that is a powerful feeling,” she said. “When I face antisemitism,” Albertson said, “I know that I am part of this legacy and this nation. And I know that in the worst possible case scenario, I always have a home as a Jewish person.” This story was sponsored by and produced in partnership with Birthright Israel. It was produced by JTA’s native content team. jewishledger.com

Fashion podcaster accused of antisemitism apologizes BY BEN SALES

(JTA) – Recho Omondi, a fashion podcaster who was accused of antisemitism for comments in a recent interview she conducted with a Jewish writer, has posted a lengthy apology to her listeners. “I owe the Jewish community and anyone else who’s offended by my words an apology,” Omondi said in a six-minute segment uploaded Tuesday morning, July 19, to her podcast channel, The Cutting Room Floor. “I said some really crass and reductive things about Jewish people, painting them with one big, broad stroke, and it really stereotyped and insulted a lot of my friends, and fans of the show, and strangers.” Omondi has faced accusations of antisemitism following the interview with fashion blogger Leandra Medine Cohen nearly two weeks ago. Medine Cohen had stepped down last year from the publication she founded, Man Repeller, after facing blowback for firing one of her few Black employees a few months before the summer’s racial justice protests. In the introduction to her interview with Medine Cohen, Omondi, who is Black, claimed that “many” of the country’s racist white founders, including slave owners, were Jews. That false claim echoes a a stereotype promoted by some prominent American antisemites. At the end of the podcast, Omondi referred to Medine Cohen as a “Jewish American Princess” and added, “At the end of the day you guys are going to get your nose jobs and your keratin treatments and change your last name from Ralph Lifshitz to Ralph Lauren and you will be fine.” Medine Cohen’s comments in the interview with Omondi were widely panned as not self-aware. But listeners were offended by Omondi’s words. Those listeners included several donors of small contributions to support the podcast. The Anti-Defamation League called on Omondi to apologize. A widely read article about the podcast in The Cut, a style and culture publication, appended a note about the antisemitism accusations. The day after the podcast was uploaded, Omondi posted on Instagram, “I want to recognize that I understand Leandra does not represent ALL Jewish people or the vast culture whatsoever.” A few days later, she erased the comments about Jewish slave owners and the “Jewish American Princess” segment from the podcast. In her apology, Omondi, also a designer with an eponymous fashion brand, said she had not understood the nuances and diversity of Jewish life. jewishledger.com

RECHO OMONDI, RIGHT, PICTURED IN 2016, WAS ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITISM FOR CALLING LEANDRA MEDINE COHEN, PICTURED IN 2020, A “JEWISH AMERICAN PRINCESS.” (GETTY IMAGES)

“It’s taken a second, because I was having to really come to terms with my own thoughts, biases, where those biases came from,” she said. “So I’m really sorry for all the people that I disrespected and alienated from my own lack of understanding for, really, the depth of Jewish culture. I knew it was vast, but I didn’t understand how nuanced it was. And now I’m aware of the difference between, like, Ashkenazi and Sephardic and varying Jews of color and Black Jews, and the difference between it being an ethnicity, or the religion or a nation state.” Omondi added that she hadn’t understood that “Jewish American Princess” was a slur, saying that she thought it was “a b***y thing to say” but didn’t know about the “whole history behind it that’s still very alive and well for Jewish people.” She also said her comments about keratin treatments and nose jobs were “dark.” Within the fashion industry, she said, “most of my experiences with Jewish people usually included a lot of racist, anti-Black energy, and it led me to judge the community as a whole unfairly, to be honest, but I realized there’s a lot more black and Jewish solidarity and organizations and initiatives towards racial injustice than I ever knew about.” Omondi said that she was grateful to those who called out her comments. She said “all of my grievances about Leandra truly have nothing to do with her Judaism.” “I’m not gonna say and act like I know everything about Jewish culture, because I’m learning about it, but, you know, I’m not ashamed to say when I f***ed up,” she said. “I’m not ashamed to learn more.” Medine Cohen has not addressed Omondi’s apology on Instagram or her personal newsletter. JTA has emailed Medine Cohen for comment.

At the Hebrew Center for Health and Rehabilitation, we understand that comfort and familiarity is a key part of the journey to wellness. We also understand that maintaining your religious beliefs and principles is fundamental in continued enrichment of life. Our Kosher meal services allow residents to maintain their dietary requirements throughout their stay with us. At the Hebrew Center, we ensure we follow all principles of Kosher including purchase, storage, preparation, and service.

At the Hebrew Center for Health and Rehabilitation, we also offer a variety of other services and amenities to ensure your stay is as comfortable as possible. THESE SERVICES INCLUDE: • Passport to Rehabilitation Program • Long-Term Skilled Nursing Care • Specialized Memory Care • Respite Care Program • Palliative Care and Hospice Services Coordination

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JEWISH LEDGER

JULY 30, 2021

OPINION

To Antisemites, a Jew is a Jew is a Jew

BY CHARLES JACOBS AND AVI GOLDWASSER

BY DAVID HARRIS

he antisemites came for Israelis. They relentlessly attacked the lone democracy in the Middle East and the realization of a 3,500-year-old vision, with the aim of its destruction. No sovereignty allowed for nearly seven million Jews! They attacked Israelis at home and abroad through rockets and missiles, tunnels, kidnappings, plane hijackings, bus bombings, incendiary balloons, and embassy assaults. Meanwhile, their supporters and enablers added on 24/7 demonization, delegitimization, flotillas, BDS campaigns, and legal maneuvers. But, hey, I wasn’t Israeli, so it didn’t really touch me. For decades, they repressed millions of Soviet Jews. They identified those Jews by internal Soviet passports that declared a person’s nationality based on the nationality of the parents – and, since the days of Stalin, Jews were officially deemed a nationality. No escape from that. Through scapegoating and vilification, they made life impossibly difficult for Jews when it came to education, jobs, street life, and more. And they sought to ensure that Jews had no access to accurate information about Judaism, Jewish history and tradition, Hebrew language, or Israel – in other words, cultural genocide. But, hey, I wasn’t a Soviet Jew, so it didn’t really touch me. They made life tough for Ethiopian Jews. Frequently the targets of persecution and discrimination, Ethiopian Jews, one of the world’s most ancient communities, lived in constant fear of their non-Jewish neighbors, to the point that thousands died while seeking to escape on foot to neighboring Sudan – and eventually find refuge in the Israel at the center of their millennia-long prayers. But, hey, I wasn’t an Ethiopian Jew, so it didn’t really touch me. They emptied most Arab countries of their Jewish communities. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, who had lived for centuries in what are today Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, all fled hatred, deadly mobs, and unending persecution. Only small communities remained in Morocco and Tunisia. And the Jewish populations in neighboring Iran and Turkey declined dramatically, while in Afghanistan the Jews are no more. But, hey, I wasn’t a Mizrahi or Sephardic Jew, so it didn’t really touch me. Beginning just over 20 years ago, the 10

The Boston stabbin

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antisemites re-emerged with a vengeance in Europe. Jews were targeted and killed in Paris, Toulouse, Brussels, Burgas, and Copenhagen. Synagogues and cemeteries were assaulted and desecrated. Jews became, once again, the targets of outlandish conspiracy theories. AntiIsrael protesters went into the streets of European cities waving the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, genocidal terrorist groups. Some public schools became impossible for Jewish children to attend. A number of Jews, especially in France, had to change neighborhoods because of threats. Thousands of Jews made aliyah. But, hey, I wasn’t a European Jew, so it didn’t really touch me. They bombed the AMIA building, the heartbeat of Argentinian Jewry, the largest Jewish community in Latin America. (And the next day, they blew up a domestic flight in Panama, in which the majority of passengers were Jewish.) Eighty-five people were killed in Buenos Aires. 300 were injured. The perpetrators were Iran and Hezbollah. To this day, the community is scarred, and no one sits in prison. But, hey, I wasn’t a Latin American Jew, so it didn’t really touch me. The haters came for pro-Israel Jews gathering peacefully in the U.S. to show their support for Israel. That was too much for the antisemites. Freedom of assembly be damned. The very sight of people waving an Israeli flag, supporting an American ally in the Middle East, opposing the unbridled terror of Hamas, or associating with Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, triggered a thuggish, violent response. Those Jews needed to be put in their place. But, hey, I wasn’t pro-Israel, not even, heaven forbid, a Zionist, so it didn’t really touch me. Pro-Israel students on numerous campuses were under assault in the classroom or on the quad. Hostile faculty members, aggressive student groups, the impact of intersectionality, and some weak-kneed administrators combined to create toxic environments in a number of places. A few Jews were even being questioned about their eligibility for student government positions based solely on their identity. But, hey, not only was I not one of “those” victimized students, but I avidly supported the victimizers, so it didn’t really

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touch me. Wait a second. The walls are starting to close in. All those “woke” movements I support seem to find more and more reasons to point the finger at Jews, to blame Jews, to label Jews, to exclude Jews, to demonize Jews. I thought I was ultra-safe in my space. I joined in all the ritualistic denunciations of Zionism. I always put the universal, not the particular, first and foremost. I distanced myself from those “clannish” Jews, those Jews who could never let go of their own history. It was a point of pride to put other Jews last, not first, in my list of priorities. I was totally convinced the danger to everyone only came from the far-right, the neo-Nazis, the QAnon crowd. All my attention was single-mindedly focused on them. I tried to show that this Jew could be relied on, even as I was being used, it turns out, to shield “my” own groups from charges of antisemitism. After all, if I was a part of the crowd, and often pushed to the front when convenient, how could they possibly be accused of antisemitism? Oh my goodness, they’re now starting to question me. But, wait, there’s no one left to defend me. Darn, why didn’t I bother to learn the history of the Jewish people? Antisemitism is antisemitism is antisemitism. Which means a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. So, to the antisemites, my “good” (Jewish) credentials don’t count for much, at least not for long. No exemptions, it seems. I thought I could save myself by, in effect, selling out millions of other Jews. Instead, I sold my dignity and got nothing, absolutely nothing, in return, except a punch-in-the-gut lesson in reality. David Harris is CEO of American Jewish Committee (AJC). Follow him on Twitter @ DavidHarrisAJC. This article first appeared in The Times of Israel, July 19, 2021.

(JNS) The July 1 stabbing attack on Rabbi Shlomo Noginski in front of a Jewish day school in Boston was not a total surprise for those who have studied Jewish history and have seen the recent consequences of the demonization of Jews in Europe. A growing and powerful leftist/Islamist (Red/Green) alliance in Europe has led to numerous attacks on Jews there. This alliance is fueled by a lethal brew of progressive ideology which dehumanizes the West and Israel, and a large influx of Muslims from antisemitic cultures. This poison has come to America. After establishing beachheads in the universities and the mainstream media, it has now captured key American institutions: the high schools, the liberal churches and the activists of the Democratic Party. Sadly, despite being warned for years, American Jewish leaders willfully ignored Europe’s lesson. Enchanted by left-wing utopian ideologies that deny fundamental cultural differences – fearful of risking their liberal bona fides and the cloak of “virtue” it confers – Jewish leaders have ignored the threat of Islamic Jew-hatred. They hoped to charm hostile immigrants who came from the most antisemitic cultures in the Middle East with kindness and generosity. They adopted false analogies – “we were also immigrants” and “welcome the stranger” – which confused the community. They embraced the progressive taboo against mentioning bad behavior by “vulnerable minorities,” which included keeping quiet about the threat of Muslim antisemitism. The ADL, for example, has simply ignored the implications of its own polling data, which clearly indicate that Muslim societies are far more antisemitic than any other societies on earth. Days before the stabbing incident, a fatal shooting of two black Americans in another suburb of Boston was immediately labeled a hate crime, yet an Arab stabbing a rabbi in front of a Jewish day school was thought to require a thorough investigation of the motives. Why? Only because Jewish leaders in Boston neglected to educate local authorities that when an Arab attacks a rabbi in front of a Jewish day school, they should not be baffled about his motive. In a typically weak manner, Boston’s Jewish organizations responded to the attack by hosting a “gathering” across from the school. There were fine speeches from prominent public officials. Yet not one speaker referred to the probable cause; not one named the hatred that they all understand must not

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be named. Full of good intentions, Jewish leaders here decided more than a decade ago to embrace the radical Islamic Society of Boston and its Roxbury mega-mosque. Founded in 1981 by ranking Muslim Brotherhood operatives, original mosque board members included antisemitic celebrity cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi, who has said that Hitler was among those Allah visited upon the Jews to “punish them for their corruption.” Another founder, Abdurahman al-Amoudi, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2004 for financing Hamas (for which he publicly pledged his support at a rally near the White House in 2000). No fewer than 14 people associated with the ISB are dead, in jail or on the run from authorities, having been tied to terrorist activities; the most infamous are the Tsarnayev brothers, who bombed the Boston marathon in 2013. Preachers associated with the ISB have accused Israelis of trying to take over and harm the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem; railed against homosexuality; expressed support for convicted terrorists; and proclaimed that America “will, by God, be brought to its knees,” among much else. Boston’s Jewish leaders, forever hopeful, ignored the facts and adopted the comfortable and more “virtuous” path of “interfaith dialogue.” This included allowing the mosque’s rabidly anti-Israel former sheikh to speak at Boston’s vigil for the victims of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue massacre and encouraging Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to visit the mosque in 2019, thereby making it “kosher.” One prominent rabbi even invited a member of the mosque – a

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representative from the Muslim Justice League, an organization that campaigns against FBI counter-terrorism measures – and a local leader of CAIR (Council on AmericanIslamic Relations) to his synagogue to speak and raise money from his congregation in 2017. CAIR has been an active supporter of Hamas. Moreover, when their actions were criticized, some of Boston’s Jewish “leaders” condemned the criticism as “defamation of Boston-area Muslims” or “Islamophobic.” They also censored and ostracized those who dared speak the most obvious truths they had chosen to ignore. Our leaders are supposed to be the “watchmen” over our community, and its safety and well-being. As the Torah notes in Ezekiel 33:6: “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life … I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.” The Jewish community needs strong and brave leadership. We can only hope that the stabbing of a rabbi becomes a teaching moment for our leaders. Charles Jacobs is president of Americans for Peace and Tolerance. Avi Goldwasser is a filmmaker and co-founder of the David Project.

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JULY 30, 2021

Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott ripples through the Jewish world BY FAYGIE HOLT AND SEAN SAVAGE

(JNS) The fallout over the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to no longer sell its products in what the company calls “occupied Palestinian territory,” which includes parts of Jerusalem, immediately rippled throughout the Jewish world, with Israel’s leaders and pro-Israel groups urging action and threatening legal consequences against the ice-cream company and its corporate owner, Unilever. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Unilever CEO Alan Jope on Tuesday, July 19, saying that the Jewish state takes the move very seriously. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bennett told Jope that he views the decision as “anti-Israel” and that this action will have “severe consequences, including legal, and [Israel] will take strong action against any boycott directed against its citizens.” He also said Ben and Jerry’s “decided to brand itself as an anti-Israel ice cream.” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the architect of the current ruling coalition who is generally to Bennett’s left regarding the Palestinians, went even further, calling the decision a “shameful surrender to antisemitism, to BDS and to all that is wrong with the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish discourse.” He called on US states to take

domestic action against Ben and Jerry’s based on state laws that prohibit government contracting with entities that boycott Israel. Israeli cabinet minister Orna Barbivay posted a TikTok video of her throwing a pint in the trash. At the same time, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said that he has written to 35 U.S. governors noting that the decision by Ben & Jerry’s violates individual states’ anti-BDS legislation. The activity came hours after Ben & Jerry’s, which since 2000 has been owned by Unilever but maintains autonomy when it comes to social causes, posted a letter on Monday, July 18, saying that it will “end sales of our ice-cream in the occupied Palestinian territory. We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.” The letter went on to say that the company will not renew its license agreement with its Israeli counterparts when it expires next year, but will otherwise remain in Israel. According to NBC News, the statement that was sent out by Unilever on Monday was at odds with the wishes of the independent Ben

& Jerry’s board. Unilever’s statement included a promise to remain in Israel, a decision not backed by the Ben & Jerry’s management team. In an online post, Avi Zinger, the head of the company that produces Ben & Jerry’s in Israel, said in Hebrew that he will continue to sell his product in all of Israel, adding that “ice-cream is not politics,” a reference to the BDS movement believed to be behind the corporate decision. He also urged people in Israel to continue buying his product, a request that was echoed by others in the Jewish state. Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of International Law at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, who was instrumental in overturning the Airbnb boycott, said the situation actually exposes the weakness of BDS. “Ben & Jerry’s extreme ideology has made them adopt a policy that leaves both Jews and Palestinians without a scoop. But it is actually a sign of the failure of the movement to boycott Israel, which can only score victories with consciously ‘woke’ companies. Indeed, Ben & Jerry’s is more anti-Israel than many Arab states, which are opening full economic relations with Israel.”

‘Boycotts are discriminatory and inflame Israeli-Palestinian conflict’ Several pro-Israel groups are urging their supporters to boycott the creators of Phish Food and Chunky Monkey, or at the very least let the company know they are opposed to the decision. Mort Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, said “Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream’s antisemitic refusal to sell their high-fat, high-sugar, overpriced product to 800,000 Jews in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem only emboldens Jew-haters throughout the world and the terrorist groups of Hamas/Fatah/Iran. Their action will cause more Jewish deaths and injuries than their unhealthy ice-cream will.” Among their recommendations in an action statement to supporters ZOA encouraged people to stop buying the products and to call or email not only the ice-cream company, but Unilever as well, to express their disappointment. Similarly, StandWithUs suggested emailing

BEN & JERRY’S ICE CREAM SHOP. CREDIT: JOSHUA SMALLPHOTOGRAPHER/ SHUTTERSTOCK.

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the company and telling them to “reject hate, reject BDS, and do what they can to uplift Israelis and Palestinians alike.” The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations further emphasized reversing the pronouncement. “This decision, pushed by BDS activists who are now stating that Ben & Jerry’s did not go far enough by not boycotting all of Israel, demonstrates that some who push these boycotts are not guided by concern over ‘disputed’ territory, but rather seek any excuse to demonize the State of Israel,” Dianne Lob, chair, CEO William Daroff and vice chair Malcolm Hoenlein said in a statement. Noting that more than 30 U.S. states have anti-BDS laws, the Conference of Presidents urged Unilever to recognize “that boycotts of Israel are discriminatory and further inflame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” “Given their fiduciary responsibilities, Unilever should consider the restrictions that exist in some states on pension fund investments and state purchasing. We call upon Unilever to override the decision of its subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s.” Many kosher supermarkets in Jewish neighborhoods – including Cedar Market and Glatt Express in Bergen County, N.J.; Seasons in Passaic County, N.J.; Gourmet Glatt on Long Island, N.Y.; and Aron’s Kissena Farms in Queens, N.Y. – have pulled Ben & Jerry’s products from their shelves in protest and making it clear, as more than one said, that “we stand with Israel.” The boycott is not limited to American kosher markets. Kosher Kingdom Food Market in Melbourne, Australia, announced that it is selling off its remaining Ben & Jerry’s inventory at a discount and will not be restocking the product. Unilever did not respond to questions by press time. In a public statement, they said, “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a very complex and sensitive situation. … We remain fully committed to our presence in Israel, where we have invested in our people, brands and business for several decades.”

How US laws against Israel boycotts could hit Ben & Jerry’s BY RON KAMPEAS

(JTA) – Ben & Jerry’s decision this week to pull out of an agreement that allowed its Israeli franchisee to sell its product in what the company terms “Occupied Palestinian Territory” has angered some Jewish-owned businesses. But the move also could have legal repercussions in the United States. As a result of a campaign since the mid2010s led by center-right and Christian proIsrael groups, 33 states have passed laws or issued executive orders targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, according to a database maintained by Lara Friedman on behalf of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and Americans for Peace Now, groups that oppose the anti-boycott legislation. (In addition, at least one state, Connecticut, has an anti-boycott law that predates the movement popularly known as BDS.) The laws vary in their details, but they all mandate ending state business with any company that observes a boycott of Israel. Some consequences for the company range from disinvestment from state employee pension funds to losing out on contracts at universities and other state-run organizations. It’s unclear whether Ben & Jerry’s pullout from what it considers to be “occupied” territory will fall under the jurisdiction of these laws, but some experts say there is a good chance it could. Following a series of First Amendment challenges to the laws, many states now set a minimum amount of $100,000 in trade before anti-BDS measures can be triggered against a contractor. That would mean that smaller Ben & Jerry’s contracts would remain unaffected, even in states with anti-BDS laws. But Friedman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that future contracts could be jeopardized. “If Ben & Jerry’s bids annually for a contract to provide ice cream for the University of Texas, and the University of Texas has an anti-BDS clause that you have to sign when you’re putting in a bid, that could be a problem,” she said. On Tuesday, July 19, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Gilad Erdan, wrote to the governors of each of the states requesting that they take action according to their antiBDS laws. The letters, he said on Twitter, were coordinated with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

PHOTO BY (LINDA GRADSTEIN/JTA)

“I ask that you consider speaking out against the company’s decision, and taking any other relevant steps, including in relation to your state laws and the commercial dealings between Ben & Jerry’s and your state,” Erdan wrote. Ben & Jerry’s did not explicitly mention BDS in its statement, which pledges “We will stay in Israel through a different arrangement.” There may be a wrinkle: Unilever, the British multinational conglomerate, bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 from its Jewish founders, Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, under a unique arrangement that allows an external board to determine how the company embraces social and political causes. And the board now says that the final statement issued to the public, specifically the pledge to remain in Israel, “does not reflect the position of the independent board, nor was it approved by the independent board.” The board’s chairwoman, Anuradha Mittal, was furious with Unilever’s response, telling NBC that Unilever was “trying to destroy the soul of the company. We want this company to be led by values and not be dictated by the parent company.” Mittal, an outspoken critic of Israel on social media, is the founder of the Oakland Institute, a progressive think tank that advocates on issues including trade and land rights. Even though the current Ben & Jerry’s pledge says it will keep selling in the rest of Israel that it does not consider “occupied,” that may not protect the company from legal repercussions. Among the 33 states with anti-BDS laws, 21 have measures that target boycotts that include areas controlled by Israel – meaning the West Bank. The language usually reads as it did in the Illinois law passed in 2015: “‘Boycott Israel’ means engaging in actions

that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.” Ben & Jerry’s could not credibly claim that it does not understand that boycotting settlements would effectively lead to a boycott of all of Israel, argues Eugene Kontorovich, the director of the Center for the Middle East and International Law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Kontorovich, who is widely seen as an “intellectual architect” of the anti-BDS legislative push, noted that Israel’s laws effectively ban boycotts of the West Bank and that the term “Occupied Palestinian Territory” likely includes eastern Jerusalem, which Israel regards as its sovereign territory. (The company’s statement did not specify from which territories it was seeking to extract its ice cream.) “Ben & Jerry’s is doing this in full awareness that this will basically end their business with Israel,” Kontorovich said. “Under Israeli law, a business can’t discriminate amongst Israeli citizens, regardless of where they live, and certainly in Israeli sovereign territory,” he added. “The licensee, in this case, understands this full well, and has explained to Ben & Jerry’s that [the licensee] really has no choice but to end its association with Ben & Jerry’s.” Another avenue of legal damage that Ben & Jerry’s critics can enforce involves pensions. Twelve states mandate disinvesting retirement funds for state employees from companies that observe BDS. One is Illinois, where Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser to former Gov. Bruce Rauner, drafted one of the first antiBDS laws in the nation in 2015. These laws represent a real threat to Unilever, Goldberg said, because the anti-BDS

state pension law is applicable to parent and affiliate companies of the offending party. (Its individual workers, employed by private companies, would not be affected by the state’s law.) “Unilever, being the parent company in this case, is responsible and is liable and is subject to the state anti-BDS laws as they are written,” Goldberg said. Goldberg, now a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the disinvestment language – modeled on earlier laws mandating disinvestment of state employee funds from Iran and Sudan – could result in Unilever being removed from state employee index funds. That’s “a massive amount of money just across 12 states invested in international equities,” he said. Goldberg said he was taken aback by how little wiggle room Ben & Jerry’s left itself. Conventionally, he said, companies divesting from Israel do not explain why they are taking such action, which gives them more legal cover against anti-BDS laws. “This is dead to rights because you have a very formal, explicit announcement from Ben & Jerry’s announcing, very clearly, that they are taking a step to inflict harm on an Israeli company,” he said. “There really never has been a clearer case, and so high-profile, for a statement that would violate the BDS laws.” The last time a major company pulled out of business with Israeli settlements was in 2018, when Airbnb announced it would stop listing lodgings from settlements. Lawsuits alleging discriminatory practices were filed in the U.S., and Airbnb stood down within months, settling with the litigants. That may not be possible in the Ben & Jerry’s case: The ice cream ban on sales in the West Bank affects both Israelis and Palestinians in the territory, while Airbnb’s plans focused only on settlements.

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Briefs

Naftali Bennett calls for ‘global defense shield’ against cyber threats

Several existing drugs may be effective against COVID19 By Abigail Klein Leichman (Israel21c) New research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests that several existing drugs should be studied as potential treatments for COVID-19. Professor Isaiah Arkin of HU’s Department of Biological Chemistry and his team looked for antiviral drugs that exploit a weak link in many viruses–proteins called ion channels. Ion channels allow the virus to regulate the acidity and salinity of its internal and external environments; blocking those channels makes it difficult for infections to spread. To date, only one ion channel blocker is approved as an antiviral treatment, and that is for influenza. Arkin and his group focused on the E protein ion channel in the coronavirus membrane. They scanned a small library of substances already approved for use in humans and found two that block it: gliclazide (a drug used to treat diabetes) and memantine (used to treat Alzheimer’s disease). Then they scanned a broader library of 2,839 substances and found eight more E protein inhibitors, as reported in the scientific journal Pharmaceuticals. Since all the inhibitors found are already approved for use in humans, Arkin expects a swift path to regulatory approval for clinical research. “Thirty percent of the drugs available today have been approved in this way, including the drugs currently available against the coronavirus or those recently tested against this virus,” said Arkin. Indeed, earlier Israeli research identified several other existing drugs that could be used to treat COVID-19. He added that it’s safe to assume inhibitors of the E protein–an essential component of SARS-CoV-2–would be relevant to variants, even those against which current vaccines are less effective. “The general feeling in Israel and around the world is that if there are vaccines, there is no reason to continue working on [treatments for] the virus because we have found a solution. Unfortunately, if we rely on one solution, the vaccine, we may find ourselves in a situation where a new variant [resists the vaccine],” said Arkin. “We’re not there yet, but the variants around the world are a warning light.” “The stage is now set for in vitro and in vivo studies [in appropriate biosafety facilities] to examine the effects of the compounds on the virus,” the researchers concluded.

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(JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Wednesday for the creation of a “global defense shield” against cyberattacks. Speaking at the annual Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University, Bennet said, “We have already signed agreements with a dozen countries–instead of each country or company being alone the defense will be integrated. We invite good countries to join us in this initiative,” according to Calcalist. Israel decided an international effort was needed after reaching the conclusion that recent threats to cyber security were too great for any one country to handle alone, according to the report. Just prior to Bennett’s address, Yigal Unna, director general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, presented statistics regarding cyber attacks during the past year, according to which one in five Israeli businesses suffered an online attack in 2020. About 47 percent of Israeli high-tech companies were attacked last year as well. The high numbers are not unique to Israel, and were spurred in part by the coronavirus pandemic which led to a jump in cybercrime, according to Calcalist. “Everything is under attack. Why is that? Because it’s easy,” said Bennett. “If you want to attack, the best, easiest and cheapest method is through cyberattack. That is why it will increase as time goes on. I believe cyberattacks have become one of the significant threats to world peace,” he added. The prime minister also spoke of establishing a cyber center in Beer Sheba. “For every $100 invested in cyber, $41 is invested in Israeli cyber,” he said.

Harry Rosenfeld, key editor in exposing Watergate, was 91 (JTA) – Harry Rosenfeld, a refugee from Nazi Germany who became the Washington Post editor who helped two dogged reporters expose the Watergate scandal, has died at 91. His daughter, Amy Rosenfeld Kaufman told The Washington Post that her father died July 16 from COVID-19 complications, at his home in Slingerlands, New York. Rosenfeld was the assistant managing editor for metropolitan news in 1972 when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were closing in on the scandal behind the bungled burglary at the Democratic campaign headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C. Their reporting would eventually directly implicate President Richard Nixon in the crime and the cover-up, and bring about his resignation. As the parameters of the story’s seriousness grew clear, the Post’s editorin-chief, Ben Bradlee, wanted Rosenfeld to replace Woodward and Bernstein with more seasoned reporters. But Rosenfeld wouldn’t stand down. “They’re hungry,” he

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told Bradlee. “You remember when you were hungry?” The line was immortalized in the move about the Post’s coverage of Watergate, “All the President’s Men.” He was born Hirsch Moritz Rosenfeld in Berlin in 1929 and witnessed the carnage of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-led pogroms, in 1938. The US approved his father’s application, made five years earlier, for the family to immigrate. He recounted his experience in his memoir, From Kristallnacht to Watergate: Memoirs of a Newspaperman. Raised in New York, he was a hard-driving editor. Bradlee demoted him when Rosenfeld published an expose of an extramarital affair between Bradlee’s sister-in-law and John F. Kennedy. Rosenfeld left in 1978 to become editor of the Albany Times Union, where he worked until he retired in 1996 and to which he contributed until his death. Despite – or because – of the hard time he gave his reporters, some of them remained loyal to him. “Harry was always the great, aggressive, hard-charging editor,” the Post quoted Woodward as saying. “But his message to his reporters was that we gather hard facts, listen to all and listen some more. Careful, patient listening was the key.”

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio rips Ben & Jerry’s, saying he’ll lay off Cherry Garcia (JTA) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined critics of Ben & Jerry’s, saying July 20 that he “will not be eating any more Cherry Garcia for a while,” referring to a popular flavor of the ice cream brand. De Blasio’s remarks came a day after the Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, announced that it would not sell its ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territory.” De Blasio was responding at a morning news briefing to a question from a reporter who reminded him that he is. “BDS is a movement that will undermine peace in the Mideast. It’s as simple as that,” said the Democratic mayor. “You cannot have peace if you undermine the economic reality and create divisions. I just believe that’s absolutely the wrong approach and Ben and Jerry shouldn’t be doing that.” De Blasio also noted that Israel has a new government, with “a potential for a different path forward” – presumably one less hardline than the former government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. A number of New York-area retail outlets, including the Jewish-owned supermarket chain Morton Williams, said they would limit or halt sales of the ice cream.

The AP predicts that Israel will win 7 Olympic medals (JTA) – Will it be a historic Olympics for Israel? The Associated Press thinks so. On its list of predicted medalists for each event in Tokyo published Monday, July 19, the news agency includes seven Israeli athletes. The Jewish state has won nine medals in its entire

Olympics history. This year, Israel is sending its largest delegation of athletes by far – 90, compared to its previous high of 47 at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Here are the Israelis on the AP list: Artem Dolgopyat, Gold in men’s gymnastics, floor exercise; Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Silver in women’s marathon; Sagi Muki, Silver in men’s 81 kg judo; Team Israel, Bronze in baseball; Linoy Ashram, Bronze in women’s rhythmic gymnastics; all-around Team Israel, Bronze in women’s rhythmic gymnastics, group category; Katy Spychakov, Bronze in women’s windsurfing

Argentina’s VP rails against AMIA trial on anniversary of bombing (JTA) – On the 27th anniversary of the AMIA Jewish center bombing in Buenos Aires that killed 85 and injured hundreds, Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called the imminent trial into her alleged efforts to cover up Iran’s role in the attack a “monumental scandal.” “This is a judicial panel to persecute opponents of Mauricio Macri,” she said Friday, Juy 16, referencing Argentina’s previous president, in an angry video speech given during the same time as the annual commemoration ceremony for victims of the bombing. She called for her trial, set to start later this year, to be dropped. Kirchner, a progressive leftist who was the country’s president from 2007 to 2015, was indicted by a federal judge in 2018 for obstructing the investigation into the 1994 attack. After conducting his own investigation into the case, Jewish prosecutor Alberto Nisman claimed in 2015 that Kirchner had a secret back channel with Iranian officials who were involved in the bombing and worked to keep them free of suspicion. Nisman was later found dead in his apartment, on the day he was to present his findings in court. His death was eventually ruled a homicide, after being initially deemed a suicide. Argentine Jewish umbrella group DAIA, which is part of the group leading the accusations against Kirchner and has its headquarters housed on a floor of the AMIA building, had requested Kirchner’s public hearing on Friday be moved. It was pushed ahead only one hour, and Kirchner’s fiery speech began just after the commemoration ceremony. “July is a month of remembrance, tribute and claim for justice. It is not a month to politicize a cause. To do his audience on the same day is offensive,” DAIA president Jorge Knoblovits said. “If the feelings of the victims of the greatest terrorist attack of the 20th century are disrespected, it is very difficult to reach justice and end impunity.” Fernandez de Kirchner also remains indicted in multiple corruption scandals from her time as president.

‘Fauda’ becomes first Israel TV show to be dubbed in Farsi (Israel Hayom via JNS) Critically acclaimed Israeli TV series Fauda is about to mark another historical achievement by being dubbed into Farsi. The Farsi version of the show is slated to air on Manoto TV, an international Persian-language channel based in London. Manoto TV is available via six satellite signals in Iran, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and West Asia and reaches about 25 million Farsi speakers worldwide. According to a BBC report, in 2008 Manoto TV reached 30 percent of households in Iran.Fauda, which means “chaos” in Arabic, became a global hit after its first season aired in Israel. The show, which has bilingual scripts in Hebrew and Arabic, has been praised internationally for its gritty realism and unsparing portrayal of undercover commandos who pose as Arabs to pursue terrorists in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The New York Times listed it as one of the best shows of 2017, while proPalestinian campaigners have criticized it as Israeli war propaganda. Considered to be the strongest TV brand exported by Israel. To date, it has aired in 190 countries through Netflix.

Omri Casspi, first Israeli player in NBA, retires from pro basketball (JTA) – Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to make it to the NBA, has retired from playing basketball professionally. Casspi, 33, began his career with Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli team, and made history in 2009 when he was selected in the NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. A forward, he played in the NBA for a decade, with stints in Cleveland, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, Minnesota and with the Golden State Warriors. He wore the number 18, which in Judaism signifies life. When the Warriors won the championship in 2018, Casspi got a ring even though he was not on the postseason roster. After the following season, he left the NBA and returned to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He announced his retirement Sunday. “Basketball has given me a lot over the years. I reached the peaks of European and world basketball that I never dreamed of,” he said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel. “I did not believe I’d make those dreams come true.”

Ayelet Shaked visits Ben & Jerry’s Israel factory in show of support (Israel Hayom via JNS) Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday visited the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Israel in a show of support of its CEO, Avi Zinger, who is fighting the parent company’s recent decision to halt sales in Judea and Samaria. “It’s not

the Israeli Ben & Jerry’s that needs to be boycotted,” she said. “On the contrary, we need to buy Ben & Jerry’s Israel. …The CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Israel has been fighting tooth and nail for years against BDS organizations. He refuses to accept the terms of the [parent company] to boycott parts of Israel, and we will do what needs to be done to overturn their decision,” she said. During the factory visit, Shaked said that the government was working with Jewish groups, evangelical communities and Israel supporters in the United States to boycott the ice cream brand there, until it reverses its decision. “The board of directors of Ben & Jerry’s chose to pander to terror and antisemitic groups, instead of being loyal to the Israeli franchisee, which for many years has been an exemplary Israeli manufacturer. The Israeli government will do what it can on the legal, consumer and diplomatic levels against the American manufacturer, in order to change this decision,” Shaked continued. “I call on Israeli citizens to keep buying Ben & Jerry’s Israel. This factory employs 160 workers and many dairy farms in the area. We have a year and a half to change this antisemitic decision,” she concluded. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett slammed Ben & Jerry’s decision, tweeting on Monday, “There are many ice cream brands, but only one Jewish state. Ben & Jerry’s decided to brand itself as the anti-Israel ice cream. This decision is morally wrong and I believe that it will become clear that it is also commercially wrong.” The company’s Israeli franchise holder said in a statement: “Ben & Jerry’s decided not to renew the agreement with us in 18 months’ time because of our refusal to stop selling the product across Israel. We call on the government and on consumers not to allow a boycott of Israel. This is an unprecedented action on the part of Unilever, the owner of Ben & Jerry’s Inc. Ice cream is not part of politics. We call on Israelis to continue buying the local product, which provides a livelihood to hundreds of workers in the south.”

Pope Francis restricts Latin Mass that caused controversy with Jews (JTA) – Pope Francis has restricted the use of the Latin Mass, a form of the liturgy favored by traditionalist Catholics that calls for the conversion of the Jews and that until 2008 included a reference to Jewish “blindness.” Francis’ declaration on Friday, July 16, is a repudiation of an earlier decree by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 made it easier to use the Latin Mass. At the time of that declaration, Jewish groups expressed concern because the Latin Mass recited on Good Friday included a “prayer for the Jews” that called for their conversion to Christianity and referred to the Jews’ “blindness.” Jewish groups worried at the time that Benedict’s decision signified a retreat from the Second Vatican Council,

or Vatican II, which declared in a 1965 document known as “Nostra Aetate” that the Jews were not guilty of killing Jesus, and condemned antisemitism. Accusations that the Jews killed Jesus have long motivated antisemitic attacks. In 2008, Benedict reaffirmed his commitment to Nostra Aetate and omitted the word “blindness” from the Good Friday prayer. Francis said he was restricting use of the Latin Mass out of concern that those who favor it also reject Vatican II. Vatican II made a number of sweeping changes to Catholic ritual and practice – including allowing for Mass to be recited in the vernacular. A faction of Catholics who split from the Church over Vatican II had continued reciting the Latin Mass before Benedict’s declaration.

Kochavi: Israel to respond to attacks from Lebanon in ‘overt or covert manner’ (JNS) Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi publicly addressed the rocket attacks carried out on northern Israel from Southern Lebanon on Tuesday, July 20, stating, “We will respond and attack, in an overt or covert manner, to every violation of sovereignty from Lebanon,” said a report by Maariv. He noted that Lebanon is in the “process of collapse” while at the same time stressing “Hezbollah has a role to play in this collapse. But we do not intend, as a result of this collapse, to allow this fire that occurred in the early hours.” Kochavi said Israel would respond to whoever was behind the attack. The IDF fired artillery shells at southern Lebanon after two Grad rockets were launched at northern Israel early on Tuesday, triggering sirens in the Galilee region. There were no reported injuries or damage in Israel or in Lebanon. Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that the Jewish state is interested in seeing an economically prosperous and stable Lebanon, adding that the situation in Israel’s northern border is deteriorating and that Hezbollah is operating against the interests of the Lebanese people.

during her relatively short time in hiding,” explained the film’s Israeli director Ari Folman, who was nominated for an Oscar for 2008’s “Waltz With Bashir” and is the child of Auschwitz survivors. The Anne Frank Fonds Basel, which was founded by Anne’s father Otto Frank after World War II, approached Folman eight years ago with the idea of making an animated movie. The film’s artistic director, Lena Grubman, said the hope was that animation would make Frank’s story “more accessible” to a younger generation. The film also aims to draw a link between the Holocaust, discrimination and antisemitism, according to Deutsche Welle.

Israeli teens take home silver, bronze in Informatics Olympiad By Abigail Klein Leichman (Israel21C via JNS) Four Israeli teenagers won silver and bronze medals in the 33rd International Olympiad in Informatics. Hosted virtually by the National University of Singapore School of Computing from June 19-25, the IOI attracted some 351 exceptional high school students from 88 countries. Each country can enter a squad of up to four contestants to complete timed tasks in informatics skills such as problem analysis, design of algorithms and data structures, programming and testing. This year marked Israel’s 25th consecutive participation in the IOI, but it was only the second time that all four teammates won medals. Yanir Edri and Gonen Gazit won silver medals. Yoav Katz and Lior Yehezkeli won bronze medals. They all finished 12th grade this year and it was the first time each competed in the IOI. The boys trained at the Future Scientists Center for the Advancement of the Talented and Gifted, run by the Ministry of Education and Bar-Ilan University. Since 1996, Israel has won seven gold medals, 32 silver medals and 33 bronze medals in the IOI.

First Anne Frank animated film debuts at Cannes festival (JNS) The first animated film based on “The Diary of Anne Frank” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews from film critics, reported Deutsche Welle. “Where is Anne Frank?” which premiered last week, revolves around a character named Kitty, Frank’s imaginary friend and alterego to whom she dedicated her diary. The film is set in present-day Amsterdam and across Western Europe, as Kitty embarks on a journey to find Frank by referencing the latter’s diary. Along the way, she meets other youngsters who are fleeing conflict. “That reminds Kitty of Anne and the fact that Anne did not have an opportunity to flee JEWISH LEDGER

JULY 30, 2021

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THE KOSHER CROSSWORD JULY 30, 2021

“Surprisingly Common Syllable” By: Yoni Glatt

Difficulty Level: Medium

Vol. 93 No. 31 JHL Ledger LLC Publisher Henry M. Zachs Managing Partner

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ANSWERS TO JULY 23 CROSSWORD

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Across 1. What some call Navi 5. LGA letters 8. Dr. Henry Jones Jr. might search for one 13. “Dodi” preceder 14. Debits’ counterparts: Abbr. 15. Shulchan ___ 16. “B’yad ___uv’zroa netuya...” 18. “Know” Hebrew? 19. No Clue 20. Bronco-riding events 22. ___-Boy (furniture) 23. Theater co. whose stock has been a major story 25. Mess up 26. Writer Victor 27. Afternoon gathering, for some

Jews 30. Astuteness 32. Pair on a slope 33. Like a hitter you want up down one run in the ninth 36. Metaphor for a no-hitter, e.g. 37. Big kashrut no-no 38. Number cruncher, briefly 41. State capital on the Colorado River 42. Iconic literary captain or Israelite king 43. Arrives a la the Iceman 46. Use a Hula-Hoop 48. Painter’s picks 49. Letters in an APB 52. Big name in cheese balls 53. An ocean: Abbr.

54. “Come for ___” (what a guest does) 56. No Clue 58. Word between “eretz” and “chalav” 60. What yeshiva students do when going over previously learned material 63. Like many athletes in Tokyo right now 64. Novelist Follett or Kesey 65. 1984-2008 Olympic legend Torres 66. Lake Victoria country 67. Python’s warning 68. Ding-a-ling

Down 1. No Clue 2. Post-workout feeling 3. Some shul VIPs 4. ___-mat (dangerous cargo) 5. Clothing designer Marc 6. Kind of deadline in sports 7. Portion of Israel, once 8. Some catch them on a nice summer day 9. “Din” or “ranch” ending 10. Robert who wrote about Jason Bourne 11. 2002 animated film with four sequels 12. Shabbat before Tisha B’Av 17. Part of the foot

21. Sermonizing 24. Hosts, in brief 26. “Say what?” 27. Notable arena that’s gone decades without a championship team, for short 28. First name in jelly beans 29. “Now!”, to Naftali 31. “Down on the Corner” band, for short 34. Rowing muscle, for short 35. Israeli weapon 37. Ripped 38. Yiddish “junk” 39. One way to stand 40. Big name in America and western religion, for short

41. ‘50s Dem. candidate 42. Garfunkel, for one 43. Word repeated when reading the end of a sefer in synagogue 44. Cause of a flashing alarm clock, perhaps 45. Ingram or Gordon of the NFL 47. Nincompoop 50. Plays soccer 51. Remnants of a bonfire 54. “I ___ lot and boy am I full!” 55. Holm and McKellen 57. Fruit-filled confection 59. Raisman who was the captain of two Olympic teams 61. Bring on 62. No Clue

JEWISH LEDGER

JULY 30, 2021

KOLOT The Magic of Shabbat at Camp Laurelwood

BY RABBI JAMES GREENE

habbat is a special time at Camp Laurelwood in Madison. It is where the magic of camp comes to life, and where we celebrate the uniqueness of our community. Shabbat is also a welcome opportunity to take a breath. The weeks at camp are full of non-stop fun and activity, as our campers spend their days connecting, exploring, and inspiring. As we head into Friday night, there is the push and pull of excitement and energy. The ruach (spirit) of camp is most alive for me on Friday nights. At once, camp is buzzing with excitement for Friday night Shabbat services, dinner, and song session while at the same time looking forward to

THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATED THE ARRIVAL OF sleeping in and WHICH a late breakfast on Saturday A TORAH SCROLL, WE “ROLLED OUT” OVER CAMPERS, ALLOWING THEM TO TAKE morning! NOTE OF ITS UNIQUE FEATURES. This summer, there are new traditions

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being made, old traditions continuing, and new generations of campers who are coming to see Laurelwood as their home. Last week, when we gathered for our first Shabbat back at camp, it felt like the weight of the longest journey lifted. Our community is back home after 22 months, and the traditions of our 84-year history are continuing. This summer, we are also celebrating the arrival of a new Torah scroll on camp. This Torah, which came to us from the Jewish Foundation and Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, is just another reminder of the power of our community. Together with our counselors and Cornerstone fellows (third year Laurelwood counselors selected to receive additional training through a program run by Foundation for Jewish Camp. This year, part of their project is to expand and improve our Shabbat service experiences), we rolled out the Torah over our campers as a reminder of the ways in which they are the inheritors of this beautiful camp that has been lovingly cared throughout the generations. This means that we had campers sit down so the Torah rested on their legs and we literally rolled the Torah out over them. This ritual allowed campers to take note of so the unique features of the Torah. We then talked about their own uniqueness, and how each of them makes camp a more special community, just as the crowns on the letters and the markings of the scroll make this Torah special. Visitors are typically a regular part of Shabbat at camp. Alumni, community members, and other stakeholders often return to camp for services, dinner, and song session on Friday nights. It is something that our entire community looks forward to every year. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible this year, and so we made a video to give you a small taste of the joy, the excitement, and the energy of Shabbat at camp. In years to come, we hope that you will come back and join us on Friday nights for homemade challah fresh from our kitchen, matzah ball soup and roasted chicken. We can’t wait to see you wearing white on our Shabbat walk, or singing your heart out at song session. Until then, we are sending you love, Shabbat-o-grams, and songs from Camp Laurelwood! Rabbi Green is director of Camp Laurelwood, Connecticut’s only Jewish overnight camp, located in Madison.

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MILESTONES Mandell JCC named ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ by West Hartford Chamber of Commerce WEST HARTFORD – The Mandell JCC has been recognized as ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ by the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce. The JCC was honored along with other members of the community for their positive impact during the COVID-19 pandemic, at the organization’s annual meeting on Monday, June 28 at the Farmington Polo Club. “I am honored and privileged to lead an amazing group of professionals at the Mandell JCC,” said Executive Director David Jacobs. “The way our staff pivoted during this crisis is nothing short of inspiring. They are all leaders in their own right, recognizing that just because we didn’t have a building, we could still find many ways to build community during this extraordinary time.” The Mandell JCC closed its doors on Friday, March 13, 2020, and was up and running online Saturday, March 14, offering free programming, including fitness and wellness classes. “Many people during the crisis realized that having those community relationships was so critical,” said Annie Keith, the JCC’s chief operating officer for the Mandell JCC. “We also used this time to expand our footprint in the area of wellness, expanding our relationships with Saint Francis Hospital | Trinity Health of New England, Hartford Healthcare, ProHealth Physicians and Starling Physicians. We are so grateful to them for providing us with the experts necessary to navigate this pandemic and working with us to provide meaningful programs to the community.” In addition to broadening its relationships with their healthcare partners, the Mandell JCC also partnered with Holistic Health Options to integrate a holistic approach to their wellness programming. “What has evolved over the last year and a half is a new reality in which we all need to be proactive in taking responsibility for our health, and that starts with having the right expertise and meaningful partnerships,” said Keith. “Keeping our employees healthy, and protecting the health of our communities, is essential and we want to do our part to reinforce the importance of having a strong, healthy and vibrant community.”

Hartford Jewish Federation appoints Community Security Director WEST HARTFORD – Law enforcement veteran John Colangelo has been appointed the first community services director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, it was announced recently by Federation President and CEO David Waren. Colangelo will serve as a representative of the Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America. He will work full-time to develop and administer a comprehensive program that provides threat mitigation and security consultations and trainings to Jewish institutions throughout the region. Colangelo has nearly 30 years of experience in law enforcement – 24 of those with the Town of Canton, Connecticut, where he retired at the rank of detective. In addition to extensive investigative work, Colangelo served as a field training officer and conducted Critical Incident Management training. He also served as the town’s terrorism liaison after 9/11 and was a member of the regional Emergency Services Team. During his law enforcement career, Colangelo advised the Juvenile Review Board, a juvenile offender diversionary program; spearheaded the Canton Police Department’s college internship program,

and served as the primary liaison to state and federal agencies for large-scale, multi-jurisdictional investigations. He has presented nationally and internationally on the importance of interdepartmental collaboration. In addition, Colangelo served on the regional Multi-Disciplinary Team investigating crimes against children and on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. “We are thrilled to have John join our Federation as the first community security director,” said Federation President and CEO David Waren. “With the dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents and acts of hate over the past several years, Jewish communal security has never been more important. John’s tremendous knowledge and expertise will help keep our local community safe and secure.” Colangelo will serve as an expert advisor to Jewish institutions such as synagogues and day schools and establish a system of collaboration, coordination, and communication among organizations. He will also serve as a liaison to local, state, and federal law enforcement and represent the Federation and the Jewish community in public security forums. “I am excited to join the Federation and contribute to the safety and security of Greater Hartford’s Jewish community,” Colangelo noted. “I hope to use my extensive law enforcement and security background to protect the community from all forms of threats.” jewishledger.com

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.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28 Elm City Winds Concert in the Courtyard Elm City Winds will perform in concert in the courtyard of Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI). Composed of Jennifer Sidney Silva, flute; Caesar Storlazzi, oboe; Laura Caruthers, clarinet; Adrienne Gallagher, bassoon; and Emily Fine, French horn, this woodwind quintet performs both classical and popular music; July 28, 7p.m. Reservations required: office@beki.org or 203.389.2108. FREE, but donations to Jewish Family Services requested. At BEKI, 85 Harrison St., New Haven. Rain date: Thursday, August 5.

THURSDAY, JULY 29 Emanuel Synagogue Solar Panel Celebration

JULY 28 – AUGUST 2

Rejoice and reconnect at the 15th Shoreline Jewish Festival

UILFORD – The 15th annual Shoreline Jewish Festival will take place Sunday, August 1, from 12-5 p.m. on the Guilford Green. The festival features various styles of Jewish music, traditional and Israeli fair food (all kosher), Jewish book sale, vendors and crafters, and children’s crafts and activities. “People of all ages and backgrounds enjoy it and have come to regard the Jewish Festival as a Shoreline summer tradition.” says Rabbi Yossi Yaffe, director of Chabad of the Shoreline and festival coordinator. “Last summer we had to cancel the festival because of the pandemic. After such a difficult time, people are looking to celebrate and reconnect with friends and family. What better way than with the Shoreline Jewish Festival? This year’s event will be joyous AND safe!” This year’s musical lineup features the following entertainers: LAZER LLOYD BLUMEN

The Emanuel Synagogue will unveil its solar energy project at a ceremony to be held July 29, 5 p.m., on the grounds of the West Hartford synagogue at 160 Mohegan Dr. For more information, see story p5)

Their performance schwarma grilled chicken, potato knishes, will include a drum homemade doughnuts, cotton candy, snocircle with audience cones and more. participation! Children’s activities also include Talking Hands inflatable bouncy fun, as well as JewishTheater brings themed arts & crafts projects. Biblical adventures, Admission is free. Food, crafts, and vendor items are for sale. MARLON “MOSHE” Jewish folk tales and SOBOL Chassidic stories to For more information, visit www. life. Anna Sobel and ShorelineJewishFestival.com and facebook. her handmade puppets entertain children com/ShorelineJewishFestival. For more by engaging their minds, imaginations and information, contact Rabbi Yaffe at (203) senses of humor. 533-7495 or chabad@snet.net. Artists and artisans will sell a variety of Judaica, jewelry, clothing and artwork. Books, videos and games of Jewish interest for both children and adults will be available for sale. Festival-goers can choose from a variety of (kosher) fair favorites, including hamburgers, hot dogs, TALKING HANDS THEATER falafel (an Israeli fried chickpea specialty),

SUNDAY, AUGUST 1 The 15th annual Shoreline Jewish Festival The 15th Annual Shoreline Jewish Festival – A celebration of Jewish life will be held August 1, 12-5 p.m. on the Guilford Green. Jewish music from around the world, children’s programs, Israeli food, and other fair favorites. Jewish book sale, artists featuring Judaica and Jewish art, crafts for kids. Admission and entertainment is FREE. Food, crafts, Judaica, books are for sale. For more information, visit shorelinejewishfestival.com and facebook. com/ShorelineJewishFestival. To reserve a booth, call (203) 533-7495 or email chabad@snet.net. (For more details see story this page.)

MONDAY, AUGUST 2 27th Annual Or Shalom Golf Tournament Save the date for the annual Or Shalom Gold Tournament to be held August 2, 8 a.m. at Orange Country Club. Breakfast and a BBQ lunch are included in the entry fee (kosher dietary laws observed). For information and to register: (203) 7992341. jewishledger.com

Lazer Lloyd Blumen and his everevolving sound is a Shoreline Festival favorite. Blumen played in local bands during his youth in Madison, CT. He writes and performs songs that touch on life, love, and struggle. Lazer’s music defies genre, with his instrumental performance ranging from acoustic meditation to blues rock fire. Shlepping Nachas brings inspirational energy and joy into a jam band that seamlessly blends folk rock, psychedelic jam, and roots rock reggae with Chassidic music. Brian Bender & Little Shop Of Horas blend klezmer music with Latin, Caribbean, African and Middle Eastern rhythms. Their melodies – both traditional and original compositions – dance right into the heart and soul of the audience. Marlon “Moshe” Sobol, internationally-known percussionist, leads his band as they spread sounds of joy and jubilation, engaging the audience in an expansive Jewish musical experience.

BRIAN BENDER & LITTLE SHOP OF HORAS

SHLEPPING NACHAS

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JULY 30, 2021

TORAHPortion

OBITUARIES KETAINECK Lillian (Lil) Ketaineck, 97, of New Haven, formerly of West Haven, died July 15. She was the widow of Rubin (Ruby) Ketaineck. She was born in Summit, N.J. She was a World War II veteran, having served in the Women’s Army Corps stationed in San Francisco. She is survived by her sons,, Stephen and Francie Ketaineck and his wife Francie of East Haven, Stuart and Elizabeth Ketaineck and his wife Elizabeth of Palm Coast, Fla., and David and Karen Ketaineck and his wife Karen of South Windsor; her grandchildren, Scott (Azanet), Beth (Joel), Matthew, Alexander, Zachary and Lindsay; and four great grandchildren. LUBINSKY Judith Joyce (Coleman) Lubinsky, 86, of Simsbury, died July 16. She was the wife of Theodore Lubinsky. Born in Hartford, she was the daughter of Samuel and Dora (Becker) Coleman. She was one of the founding members of the Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation. She is survived by her brothers, Earl Coleman of East Hampton, Conn., and Gordon Coleman of West Hartford; her Martin Lubinsky of

Milton Vt., Matthew Lubinsky of Simsbury and his fiancé Carolyn Augur, Ellen DiResta and her husband Jay of Ellington, Kenneth Lubinsky and his wife Koren of Colchester, and Steven Lubinsky and his wife Jennifer of Harwinton; and her grandchildren, Nicholas, Daniel, Mitchell, Coleman, Sarah, Vivian, Madisen and Gavin; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was also predeceased by her brothers Martin Coleman and Saul Coleman, and her sistersin-law, Marjorie, Jean and Sylvia. SILVERMAN Lillian Silverman, 85, who lived at The Towers in New Haven, died July 5. She was the daughter of the late Ida and George Suslew. She spent much of her childhood in The Jewish Home for Children in New Haven and was also raised by her beloved aunts Belle Hoffman and Ruth Shiffrin. She is survived by her daughter Ina Silverman (Jay Sokolow) and son Abe Silverman (Deborah); her four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, who affectionately called her “Grandma Bubbles”; and other loving relatives and friends.

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Ekev

BY RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

ike in any genre, there are better books and worse books on the subject of raising children. I have noticed that many of them fail to include a chapter on one of the most important components of child rearing: discipline. With few exceptions, the most that these books contain on the subject of discipline is a chapter on “setting limits.” In my experience, discipline is an essential component of all parenting and teaching relationships. And discipline is not just about “setting limits.” It is also about “setting goals” – clear and achievable goals and objectives for children to reach, and then recognition of the achievement of those goals. My experience as a parent myself, as a teacher for many years, and as a psychotherapist for much of my adult life, has borne out the wisdom of these two steps: First, lay out the expectations that you have of the child and clearly define the nature of the task at hand. Second, when the child has accomplished the task, even if not totally successfully, give him or her feedback and recognition, whether in the form of a verbal compliment or a nonverbal gesture. Discipline does not just involve “setting limits.” Indeed, saying “no” and issuing restrictive commands may not at all be what discipline is about. Rather, it involves “setting goals.” It is about extending a challenge, with the implicit confidence that sends that child the message, “You can do it!” This, to me, is the essence of discipline. It is not synonymous with punishment. It is synonymous with learning and personal growth. And this is what I think is meant by the passage in this week’s Torah reading, Ekev, “Bear in mind that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son” (Deuteronomy 8:5). The Torah has much to say, even if the parenting books don’t, about discipline. It takes for granted that parents will discipline their children, and that teachers will discipline their students. After all, that is why students are called disciples. The Torah insists, moreover, that the Almighty, too, disciplines us. And He does so in much the same way as successful parents do. He sets clear expectations for us, and He shows us His favor when we meet those expectations and His disfavor when we fail to do so. The Lord really is a father in this sense.

It is no wonder then, that the book of Proverbs cautions us to “heed the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.” Notice: first discipline, and then instruction. First “mussar,” and Torah only afterwards. As usual, there is an even deeper message in the word that the Torah uses for discipline. The root “YSR” is the root of both “discipline” and “suffering.” Judaism teaches us that there is a meaning to our suffering. Sometimes that meaning is obvious to us; more typically though, the meaning eludes us, and we desperately search for it. But one thing is clear. We learn through discipline, and we also learn through suffering. The words of Victor Frankl, the psychologist and Auschwitz survivor, who certainly knew a thing or two about suffering, are very instructive here: “ . . . On the biological plane, as we know, pain is a meaningful watcher and warder. In the psycho-spiritual realm it has a similar function. Suffering is intended to guard man from apathy, from psychic rigor mortis. As long as we suffer we remain psychically alive. In fact, we mature in suffering, grow because of it – it makes us richer and stronger.” It is through the processes of discipline and suffering that we develop and are transformed. Both processes are painful, sometimes profoundly so. But through both, we widen our horizons, enhance our spirits, and attain a deeper understanding of our life’s purpose. Discipline and suffering: important to us all as individuals, as part of the Jewish people, and as mortal humans, struggling to cope and, ultimately, to grow. Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is the executive vice president, emeritus of the Orthodox Union.

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