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Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania AUGUST 1, 2013
VOLUME XI, NUMBER 15
Super Sunday comes to the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania Mark Silverberg, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, has invited all families to visit the Scranton Jewish Community Center on Sunday, September 29, from 11 am-4 pm, for a day of “Music, Munchies and Mitzvahs” to begin the 2014 Federation fund-
raising season. The JCC will provide various activities for children in the gym, with live music for the adults by the Hester Street Troupe in the Goodman Lounge. A free boxed lunch, prepared by the Social Adult Club, will be available in the JCC kitchen and there will be a
Red Cross blood drive in the Koppelman Auditorium. During the hours of the event, the job of soliciting funds for the many Federation endeavors will be held in the JCC’s Linder Room. Volunteers will make phone calls to help raise funds to support Jewish agencies in
Scranton and the Poconos, as well as giving financial help to Jews overseas, especially in Israel. Volunteers will be needed for various jobs and posts throughout the day. For more information or to volunteer, contact Dassy Ganz at 961-2300, ext. 2, or dassy.ganz@jewishnepa.org.
News analysis
Israel reacts strongly to new EU guidelines that may change little on the ground By Cnaan Liphshiz THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA) – The intensity with which Israel reacted to new European guidelines prohibiting support for projects based in disputed territories surprised not only EU diplomats, but also their Israeli counterparts. The guidelines, which preclude already nonexistent EU grants to Israeli entities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene an emergency meeting and release a sardonic statement telling Europe to butt out and go deal with Syria or Iran. Other Israeli officials quickly followed suit. Housing Minister Uri Ariel compared the guidelines to persecution of Jews prior to the Holocaust. Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it would make peace more difficult to achieve. And Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin said it would only fuel Palestinian rejectionism. “The European Union and its important members have been very careful not to invest or incentivize what they regard as Israeli settlements,” a senior Israel diplomat told JTA. “Territorial clauses exist in virtually all contracts between Israel and the union.” The diplomat added, “This whole thing is much ado about nothing. I don’t know why they are making so much noise about it in Jerusalem.” The Israeli outburst over the relatively marginal issue of grants is even more inexplicable considering the silence with which Netanyahu’s office has greeted similar and seemingly more consequential EU resolutions. Netanyahu issued no response to the EU’s recent move to label goods produced in Israeli settlements. Nor did he react to the statement by EU foreign ministers in December saying that agreements with the union don’t apply to territories Israel has controlled since 1967. Those with inside knowledge of IsraelEU negotiations on this issue offer varying explanations for the apparent inconsistency, including an aggressive attempt at damage
Israeli Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, left, sampled some halvah at a factory in the West Bank Jewish settlement city of Ariel on June 4. (Photo by Assaf Shilo/Israel Sun/Flash 90/JTA) control and Israel’s supposed interest in escalating a crisis with Europe to diminish its influence on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace drive. But whatever Netanyahu’s reasons, a knee-jerk reaction to a surprise announcement likely isn’t among them, despite claims to the contrary in the Israeli media. The four-page guidelines, a copy of which was obtained by JTA, were sent on July 5 by the European Commission’s Middle East diplomacy chief, Christian Berger, to Israel’s mission to the European Union. According to a senior diplomat serving in Europe, they were urgently transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from there to the Prime Minister’s Office. Berger’s letter suggests that Israeli officials knew about them as early as May 31. The text, which applies to “grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU,” restricts the support to “Israeli entities having their place of establishment within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.” Their aim is to “ensure the respect of EU positions and
commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the EU of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967,” the document says. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, was scheduled to send the guidelines on July 26 to its various departments for implementation starting in 2014. They apply only to EU bodies, not individual member states. Sandra de Waele, deputy head of mission at the EU embassy to Israel, was baffled by the Israeli reaction. In an interview with the Times of Israel, she confirmed that Israel had known about the document ahead of its release. “If people knew what it was really about, they would be much less upset,” she said. When the document reached Jerusalem, it may have raised more questions than it answered, according to Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to the EU and now a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies. The document’s ambiguity, he said, is key to
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Poland bans shechita
Law of return
In the Negev
understanding Jerusalem’s worry. A severe interpretation could lead to withholding EU funds from institutions within the pre-1967 borders if they employ settlers, Eran said. A mild interpretation would merely formalize the existing situation in which EU institutions carefully steer clear of projects based in or directly connected to Israeli activity in disputed territories. “The truth is no one knows what these guidelines will mean on the ground because no one knows precisely to what degree they will be carried out and interpreted,” Eran said. “It could end up being harmless or cost hundreds of millions of euros in grants, or something in between.” Netanyahu’s attempts to sound the alarm may be a move to push the European Union in the milder direction. But other observers connect the storm to Kerry’s upcoming visit to Israel, the sixth in a series of thus-far unsuccessful attempts to get the Palestinians to return to negotiations and persuade Israel to facilitate the effort with goodwill gestures. “Over the past weeks, European leaders increasingly pitched in Kerry’s drive,” a pro-Israel lobbyist from Brussels told JTA on condition of anonymity. “But the U.S. and the European Union have different attitudes. The Europeans believe Israel should come under greater pressure and have moved to apply it. It may be that Israel See “EU” on page 8
Federation on Facebook
The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania now has a page on Facebook to let community members know about upcoming events and keep connected.
Candle lighting August 2.................................................8 pm August 9...........................................7:52 pm August 16.........................................7:42 pm August 23.........................................7:32 pm
A ban on kosher slaughter, and the Portugal now has a law on the books Israel plans to invest millions to ensuing antisemitic outburts, stirs granting citizenship to descendents bring residents and businesses to PLUS unease in Polish Jews. of Jews expelled in the 1500s. Beersheva in the Negev Desert. Opinion...........................................................2 Story on page 5 Story on page 7 Story on page 16 D’var Torah.................................................12
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a matter of opinion New mother, leading a secular life, feels tuggings of her Jewish past By Judy Batalion (JTA) – “Ba’shana haba’a neshev,” I clapped giddily along as I crooned the Hebrew song about hope, wishing that my husband and 1-year-old daughter would join in. They were enjoying the band on Israeli Independence Day at a Conservative synagogue, but of course neither uttered a lyric. My daughter’s usual Manhattan sing-alongs chanted about bath time and taxis; Jon sang tunes from his own indie rock band. But I belted out the tune, wildly waving a plastic Star of David flag, denying the reality: My daughter is unlikely to know Hebrew. Or Yiddish. She probably will never know this song. Jon is Jewish, but a British Jew, from a different edge of the tribe. His family includes generations of knighted lawyers. He attended Christian public school. On our first trip to Israel together, he gave me a tour of Jerusalem churches. I, on the other hand, am the daughter of immigrant-poor, kosher-keeping Holocaust survivors. I studied at a Zionist socialist school in Montreal, where we learned Yiddish grammar and 1960s Israeli poetry about army medics. Despite our differences, we meshed. Like me, he was neither self-hating nor Godfearing. We enjoyed Jewish things, but not exclusively. We married at an Orthodox synagogue for the architectural details (Queen Anne benches!), but sans kosher caterer. We were “lobster Jews” who attended services on Yom Kippur – and only Kol Nidre. We hosted Passover seders because I love the haggadah’s celebration of our five senses,
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Opinions The views expressed in editorials and opinion pieces are those of each author and not necessarily the views of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Letters The Reporter welcomes letters on subjects of interest to the Jewish community. All letters must be signed and include a phone number. The editor may withhold the name upon request. ADS The Reporter does not necessarily endorse any advertised products and services. In addition, the paper is not responsible for the kashruth of any advertiser’s product or establishment. Deadline Regular deadline is two weeks prior to the publication date. Federation website: www.jewishnepa.org How to SUBMIT ARTICLES: Mail: 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 E-mail: jfnepareporter@jewishnepa.org Fax: (570) 346-6147 Phone: (570) 961-2300 How to reach the advertising Representative: Phone: (800) 779-7896, ext. 244 E-mail: bonnie@thereportergroup.org Subscription Information: Phone: (570) 961-2300
not to mention any excuse to sing “ma-l’cha ha’yam” in both soprano and tenor. Jon and I were a unified, secular Jewish couple – until the birth of Zelda. Upon the arrival of my daughter, whom we named for my Warsaw-escaping bubbe – values I didn’t even know I held festered up like my maelstrom of hormones. I wanted my daughter to have a Jewish life, to be defined by her roots. Jon wanted her to have a worldly existence, to be celebrated for her broadness. It began with lullabies. When she was just days old, I rocked my minuscule Zelda to sleep, instinctively singing melodies my bubbe had sung to me, melodies I hadn’t heard in decades. Teary, I serenaded her in Yiddish about being lost at sea, about bonfires, and repeated “Oifn Pripechik” (“In the Hearth”), about a rabbi teaching children the aleph-bet. Soon, Jon wanted in on bedtime. Together we swaddled our girl, laying her on her back in the oversized crib, and I launched into an old Bundist ballad. Jon stood, silent. This was not a good “family” activity I realized. “Frogs on a log?” he suggested. Gradually, musical tales of Poland were replaced with farmyard chants. Then, at 6 months, Zelda was ready for real, if pulverized, food. Our babysitter mashed sweet potatoes, peas, chicken. “Where’d you get that?” I panicked when I saw her spooning the mash. “We’re kosher!” We weren’t. That night, I turned to Jon nervously. “How do you feel about keeping a kosher home?” I asked. He looked at me quizzically, especially because as at that moment we were eating
chicken and cheese burritos. “We aren’t kosher,” he said. “Besides, you’ve spent your whole life running away from your family’s 12 sets of plates and fishburgeronly rules.” How could I argue? He was right. Plus, he hadn’t signed up for kashrut. Sure, marriage meant growing with each other, but Jon hadn’t rubber-stamped the ketubah envisioning a doctrinaire life disturbing his 40-year-old meal habits. I decided to table the kosher talk until Zelda was off formula. The food debate was minor compared to our disagreement about school, which is why we were sitting in the New York shul that day, me showing Jon how “fun” synagogue was. This one had baby classes and even a preschool. Though I’d always wished I’d attended an all-girls academy with uniforms, athletics and an English curriculum not centered on Elie Wiesel, I now yearned to send Zelda to Jewish school. It was not about religion but culture: songs for Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat – the chorus of her roots, the passionate pieces that would endow her with history, belonging. Jon, however, feared religious education, Britishly saw it as indoctrination and worried our daughter would believe in a God that we didn’t. Even on the way over, he expressed his usual refrain: “You spent 30 years running away from your provincial community, trying to be global. All you’ve done your whole life is rebel.” “Exactly,” I snapped. “I could.” I had a firm cultural identity which, though suffocating, was something to rebel against. Negotiating this identity drove my ambitions, my explorations. That’s what I
wanted for Zelda. Now, in the pews, I witnessed toddlers scurrying around, wondering who was already registered. At least Jon agreed to come, learn, listen, I thought as I waved the flag in Zelda’s face. She ignored it. Its corners, I noticed, drooped down, sullen, cheap. “Daddy, out!” Zelda commanded. Jon dutifully took her to the bima and chased her as she chased boys twice her age. (It starts early.) I watched, wondering if my genetic offspring would ever learn these tunes, love them, feel the connection to the grandmother who had so firmly shaped me. Would my own daughter be assimilated and partially lost, like my husband, whose most nervous moment was being called up to the Torah? Should I force Jon to give up his treif? And what would that do to our relationship? Zelda, with her chubby cheeks and veiny forehead, was a mix of both of us. She would have so many influences on her over which I’d have no control. My daughter will not be Jewish like me, just like she won’t be shy like me. It’s hard to imagine that the things that so define us might not define our children. The band played “Al Kol Eileh,” Naomi Shemer’s song about appreciating the bittersweet. I could teach Jon this tune, I reasoned, so he could play it on guitar while I sang. There was always compromise. Then I got up to join them at the altar, wondering how it could be that I was smack in the middle of New York City and still had no idea how to be a Jewish mother. Judy Batalion, a writer based in New York, is working on a memoir about motherhood, daughterhood and the mess in between.
Turkey, amid Islamization and antisemitism, fit for EU membership? By Ben Cohen JNS.org It’s a familiar pattern. The citizens of a Middle Eastern state explode with frustration against their corrupt, repressive government. They gather for noisy, impassioned demonstrations in their capital city. The authorities react violently. Images of middle-aged women and wheelchair-bound individuals being tear-gassed, clubbed, and sprayed with water cannon race across social media platforms like wildfire. The protests then spread to other cities. The authorities step up their repression. And then, inevitably, the country’s political leaders snarl that outside forces are stoking the discontent. Newspapers and websites are suddenly full of lists of American neoconservatives, illustrated with lurid graphics that superimpose the logos of organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over pictures of demonstrations. No one needs to say the word “Jew” in order to know who’s being referred to here. So where is this happening? In Bahrain? Egypt? Tunisia? Actually, no. What I’m describing is taking place in a non-Arab, inwardly Muslim but outwardly secular candidate nation for European Union (EU) membership: Turkey. The protests there began on May 31, when an initially small group of activists gathered in Istanbul to voice opposition to the redevelopment of the city’s Gezi Park. But the anger quickly escalated into an all-out confrontation with the Islamist government of Reccep Tayyip Erdogan. Many Turks are fed up with the slow yet inexorable Islamization of their country, which Erdogan has begun.
Specifically, they are fed up with Erdogan’s promotion of conservative Islamic dress codes; with his demand that married couples have at least three children; with his prohibitions on the sale of alcohol and his opposition to abortion; with his scolding of couples who dare to smooch in public; and with his clampdown on freedom of speech and of the media, which has resulted in Turkey having more journalists in prison than any other country in the world. As the German magazine Der Spiegel pointed out recently, Turkey’s enthusiasm for incarcerating journalists – by some estimates, more than 60 are currently in jail – beats the records of even China and Iran. It was always unrealistic to expect that an arrogant autocrat like Erdogan would actually listen to the demands of the protestors. His standard response has been to fulminate against shadowy plots hatched by Marxists, Kurdish separatists and – most of all – Jews. As the Turkish demonstrations were reaching their height this month, the conservative newspaper Yeni Safak published an article which featured a “rogues gallery” of prominent American neoconservatives – Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and so forth – as well as a photo of a masked protestor flanked by the logos of the American Enterprise Institute think tank and AIPAC. The thrust of the article was clear: the protests are being actively encouraged by a group of Jews hell-bent on war with the Islamic world. In tone and substance, it was thoroughly in line with other antisemitic screeds published by Yeni Safak – for example, a 2005 article that warned “Jewish paranoia” was at the root of the Middle Easts conflicts and predicted that
this same paranoia would one day “destroy the Jews themselves.” If you really want to see a plot, though, look no further than Erdogan himself. Yeni Safakis owned by Berat Albayrak, who is married to Erdogan’s daughter (their wedding ceremony was broadcast live on Turkish television.) Berat’s brother, Serhat Albayrak, is a press advisor to Erdogan, while their father, Mustafa, is the head of Albayrak Holdings, a construction company that has prospered visibly under the present Islamist government. The company recently issued a nervous denial that it had been awarded the contract to build a shopping mall on the ground currently occupied by Gezi Park – the very same affront which sparked the protests in the first place. When this intimate network of familial and business ties is properly considered, it stretches credibility to think that Erdogan is somehow unaware of Yeni Safak’s vile Jew-baiting. Indeed, when you introduce Erdogan’s consistent assaults on Israel into the equation – like his recent, outrageous declaration that Zionism is a “crime against humanity” – you can see perfectly well how such attacks serve his broader political interests. After all, blaming the Jews is what Middle Eastern autocrats do. Which brings me to the issue of Turkey’s bid for membership of the EU. There’s a widespread impression that the bid, launched as far back as 1999, is unlikely to result in full membership. But that’s not what Erdogan believes. He is adamant that Turkey is entitled to EU membership and his virulent reaction to the European Parliament’s recent condemnation of his government’s repressive acts – “I don’t See”Turkey” on page 7
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community news Congregation B’nai Harim to present “The Story of the Secret Jewish Fleet”
The story of “Aliyah Bet and the Secret Jewish Fleet” will be presented as part of the Lox Academy programs at Congregation B’nai Harim, scheduled for Sunday, August 18, at 11 am. Congregation B’nai Harim is located on Route 940, at Pocono Crest Road and Sullivan Trail, in Pocono Pines. Historian Bruce Tucker will present the story of the
secret rescue operation and “a rag-tag armada” of 10 rusted transport ships and former Canadian warships that became makeshift rescue ships for refugees from the European Holocaust. The effort involved many Jewish American veterans recently home from the war; such as Navy Lieutenant Paul Schulman, as well as celebrities like Frank
Sinatra and some “notable” New York gangsters. The Lox Academy brunch will be served between 11 am-noon. The program will begin at noon. The cost will be $15 per person. For reservations or more information, call 646-0100. For directions and more information, visit www. bnaiharimpoconos.org.
Founding member of Manhattan Transfer coming to the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms By Enid Goldberg The Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms will present “An Evening with Erin Dickins and Stef Scaggiari,” a musical program featuring Erin Dickins, an award winning jazz vocalist and a founding member of The Manhattan Transfer, on Saturday, August 17, at 7:30 pm, at the Fellowship. Organizers have strongly recommended purchasing tickets in advance. General admission will be $20 for Fellowship members or $22 for non-Fellowship members. Tickets on the day of the performance will be sold for $25.
After five years of singing ensemble music with The Manhattan Transfer, Dickins continued to “expand her musical horizons,” and has been called one of the top studio singers in New York. Dickins performed, toured and recorded with numerous artists, including Leonard Cohen, Bette Midler, James Taylor, The Talking Heads, James Brown, Barry Manilow, Ashford and Simpson, Jaco Pastorius and more. Dickins continues to perform and record, and is currently on tour in Australia. Joining Dickins will be the pianist Stef Scaggiari, an
Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms High Holiday services 2013/5774 High Holiday services for this year, 2013/5774, will be held at the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms. The schedule will be: Rosh Hashanah evening service – Wednesday, September 4, at 8 pm First day of Rosh Hashanah – Thursday, September 5, at 9 am Tashlich – Thursday, September 5, at 4:30 pm, at a location to be announced
Second day of Rosh Hashanah – Friday, September 6, at 9 am Kol Nidre – Friday, September 13, at 7 pm Yom Kippur – Saturday, September 14, at 9 am Healing service – Saturday, September 14, at 4:30 pm Mincha/Neilah service – Saturday, September 14, at 5:30 pm For more information, call the Fellowship office at 775-7497.
Scranton Hebrew Day School kindergarten graduation held on June 13
experienced artist and jazz improviser familiar with Ellington, Gershwin, Mozart and Rachmaninoff. He has recorded more than 30 records and his music is heard by millions every week on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Saturday. Scaggiari has also performed at the Kennedy Center with Marvin Hamlisch, at Carnegie Hall with Eugene List and at the Concord Pavilion with the Stef Scaggiari Trio. For more information, contact the Fellowship office at 775-7497.
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DEADLINE
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Thursday, August 1............................ August 15 Thursday, August 15.......................... August 29 Tuesday, August 27, early........... September 12 Tuesday, September 10, early...... September 26
Friends, thank you for your plaques and donations during my recent accident. Also, your goodwishes for my special birthday.
Jack Suravitz
Above: The kindergarten class of 2013 at the Scranton Hebrew Day School attended a graduation ceremony on June 13.
The kindergarten class of 2013 performed at their graduation on June 13 at Scranton Hebrew Day School.
Rabbi Nosson Adlin (right) presented a diploma to Yaakov Moshe Guttman (center) at the SHDS kindergarten graduation on June 13. Looking on was teacher Fraidel Tzuker (left).
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
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Ban on kosher slaughter stirs unease among Polish Jews
Book Review
These lazy, hazy, reading days of summer By Rabbi Rachel Esserman The summer heat can become so enervating that it’s too hot to move; fortunately, though, it’s never too hot to read. In fact, reading is a great way to escape the heat. One summer years ago, I could see beads of sweat forming on my skin due to the thermometer-breaking heat in my apartment. Yet, the novel in my hands was so exhilarating, I completely forgot about the record-setting temperatures. Not all the works in this review are that exciting, but each offers something of interest. “Jo Joe” When 13-year-old Judith Ormond moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to live with her white, Christian grandparents, she faces true prejudice for the first time. The problem? Not only is she Jewish, but biracial. After finishing high school, Judith promises never to return. However, she breaks that vow 17 years later when an anonymous message arrives saying her grandmother needs her help. Unfortunately, Judith returns too late: her grandmother is already dead. In “Jo Joe” by Sally Wiener Gotta (Pixel Hall Press), Judith finds herself revisiting the violence and hatred that filled her teen years, in addition to discovering family secrets that might just change the course of her life. The reason behind Judith’s introspection is an unexpected bequest in her grandmother’s will, which leaves her feeling dismayed and betrayed. She starts to take action again the only person she ever allowed to break her heart: her high school boyfriend. Unfortunately, her decision creates dissension, not only with the newly formed Jewish community in town, but with the friends of her grandparents. When events occur that make her fear for her life, Judith learns surprising things about the town she longs to leave behind. Wiener Gotta does a wonderful job cre-
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ating moving and powerful scenes. While parts of the plot were predictable, there were still some unexpected twists. The best part of “Jo Joe,” though, is Judith. Her pain, joy and fear were so palpable that I found myself getting angry over the slights and hardships she faced. In fact, it didn’t take long before she felt like a friend, someone I wanted to console and help. The novel is perfect for book clubs since it offers numerous topics – from prejudice to forgiveness – to discuss. However, what readers will want most is to befriend its marvelous main character. “City of Slaughter” Life in the early 20th century can be brutal. Fourteen-year-old Cassie Akselrod learns that lesson early when her parents are killed in a pogrom. Seeking to escape the dangers of the Russian Pale, Cassie decides to immigrate to New York City with her younger sister, Lilia. In “City of Slaughter” (Fithian Press), Cynthia Drew follows the two young women as they make their way to the Lower East Side and try to free themselves from poverty and despair. Cassie is an interesting character whose growth and development are the core of the story. While her early life makes it difficult to open herself emotionally to the people she meets, Cassie does find herself drawn to the Labor Movement, particularly those who support equal pay for women. However, politics only forms part of the plot: the large cast of characters includes sweat shop owners, gangsters and con artists, in addition to fellow immigrants who are also looking to improve their lives. Although “City of Slaughter” is filled with tragedy, the absorbing plot keeps the pages turning, while at the same time successfully portraying its characters’ complexity. Those who love reading about the Lower East Side in the early 1900s may want to explore Drew’s imagining of the time period.
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“The Other Side of the World” While mixed reactions to a book are not uncommon, I had great difficulty deciding how I felt about “The Other Side of the World” by Jay Neugeboren (Two Dollar Radio). When the narrator, Charlie Eisner, returns to the U.S. from Singapore after the death of his close friend Nick, his first stop is to visit his father, Max, a writer and retired professor. To his surprise, Charlie finds one of his father’s former students, Seana, living in his house. Seana is not only a successful writer, but controversial and unpredictable in print and life. When she and Charlie travel to offer their condolences to Nick’s family, Charlie finds himself re-evaluating his relationship to his friend and his connection to Seana, in addition to deciding whether or not to return to his job in Singapore. Parts of “The Other Side of the World” are wonderful: The vivid descriptions of settings – from the neighborhoods of New York City to the wilderness of Borneo – are extremely well done. The author’s excellent analysis of Charlie’s relationship to his father forms the emotional core of the book. However, the violent events that occur were severely disturbing (to say more would spoil the plot), as was the fact they are never adequately discussed or examined. That made it difficult for me to appreciate the novel as a whole. “Zix Zexy Stories” Somewhere there is a perfect audience for Curt Leviant’s “Zix Zexy Stories” (Texas Tech University Press). Leviant is capable of great descriptions and clever plots. The story “The Golden Necklace” – which features an architect who makes an unexpected and surprising discovery at a conference is Europe – is also very moving. “Say It Isn’t So, Mr. Yiddish” uses an ingenious plot device to perform a character assassination of Israeli professor Shmulik Gafni, while pretending, at the same time, to defend him from a charge of adultery. Teenage friendship and lust form the core of “Mooncake,” which also focuses on the fear of antisemitism. A nasty American version of a French farce – including locked doors and confused identities – can be found in “The Metamorphosis of Freddy Cole.” Unfortunately, I soon grew tired of these tales, which featured men who not only confused lust with love, but saw women only as objects of desire. The wise-guy narration also grated at times. Yet, objectively, I can appreciate what Leviant accomplishes in these seven stories. That also left me with a question: why does the title say “Zix” and not “Zeven”? “Venus in the Afternoon” Judaism is not the only religion that plays a role in Tehila Lieberman’s short stories in “Venus in the Afternoon” (University of North Texas Press). The author also manages to write convincingly and movingly about Catholics in a collection that won the 2012 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Her tales focus on relationships – good and bad – as she explores her characters’ reactions to love, grief, illness and hope.
In the heart-breaking “Fault Lines,” an orphan learns the true meaning of love and forgiveness. “Waltz on the East Side” not only explores a woman’s relationship with her Holocaust survivor mother, but the deep effect the past has had on her own life. The Irish Catholic narrator of “The Way I See It” so misses his late wife that he begins to see death everywhere. The rich and wonderful “Anya’s Angels” focuses on the search for meaning as its narrator, his mother and an elderly rabbi support a young woman during the last days of her life. Lieberman explores three different characters in the impressive “Cul de Sac” in order to portray the disintegration of a marriage. In the title story, “Venus in the Afternoon,” the narrator discovers a secret that will change his life forever. In two stories – “Flammable Vacations” and “Into the Atacama” – women become aware of the limitations and benefits of their marriages. Lieberman’s collection is consistently excellent, a rare treat in a book of short stories. I look forward to seeing more of her work. Books for teens and tweens “The Path of Names” For years, I’ve longed for someone to write a Jewish fantasy novel that would appeal to the tween population in order to entice lovers of such works as the Harry Potter series. My wish has finally come true: in “The Path of Names” (Arthur A. Levine Books), Ari Goelman has not only created a wonderful heroine and a great plot, but a book adults and children will both find exciting. Dahlia Sherman does not want to attend a Jewish summer camp, especially one where her brother is an older counselor. Unfortunately, things take a troubling turn almost from the minute she arrives: Dahlia sees two small girls dressed in old-fashioned clothing walking through the walls of her cabin. Then she begins having nightmares about events that occurred more than 70 years before. Even more puzzling is the nearby hedge maze and the camp’s very strange caretaker, who tries to prevent her from visiting the maze. Dahlia seeks to solve these mysteries, but the answers will lead her to great danger. “The Path of Names” is so thrilling I kept forgetting to take notes for this review. Goelman has produced a marvelous, suspenseful work that lovers of fantasy – no matter what their religion or age – will want to experience. “Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust” There’s a debate about the best way to teach children and teenagers about Judaism. One approach emphasizes the importance of instructing them about the Holocaust and other tragedies. Another suggests that their education should focus on positive reasons to be Jewish. The teenage narrator of “Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust” by Leanne Lieberman (Orca Book Publishers) would agree with the latter approach. Traumatized after learning that members
By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – In their Krakow home, Anna Makowka Kwapisiewicz and her husband, Piotr, skim through an online article about Poland’s recent ban on kosher slaughter. What they find even more disturbing than the actual news are the comments posted by other readers. Hundreds of comments calling on Jews to leave Poland have appeared beneath news articles in the days since the country’s parliament defeated a bill that would have reversed a ban on kosher slaughter, or shechitah, first imposed in January. “The ban is bad enough because it’s the result of disinformation, but it opened the door to antisemitism that’s very evident in these comments,” said Piotr, who with his wife is a founding member of Czulent, an association of young Krakow Jews. The shechitah ban and ensuing antisemitic outbursts come as painful reminders that despite years of government-led projects celebrating Jewish tradition, Poland still has a a long way to go to become a place “where minorities feel at home and not just guests,” as Anna put it. “There’s a view that Poland is a paradise for Jews,” Anna said. “But now everyone sees there’s no paradise and Poland is a country like all others. It needs to work on tolerance during difficult times, when populism and nationalism flourish throughout Europe.” In January, a constitutional court, responding to a petition filed by animal welfare activists, outlawed religious slaughter in Poland. A law that would have reinstated shechitah was rejected by the Sjem, the Polish parliament, on July 12 by a vote of 222-178. On July 16, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had no plans to reintroduce legislation to lift the ban. The Polish ban is not the first time a
Polish animal rights demonstrators held a rally in Warsaw opposing ritual slaughter, or shechitah, on July 11. (Photo by Empatia PL Facebook) European country has put animal welfare concerns above the religious freedom of its Jewish and Muslim minorities. In 2011, a large majority of the lower house of the Dutch parliament passed a bill banning the practice, but it was scrapped by the Dutch Senate. Laws banning kosher slaughter also are on the books in Norway, Switzerland, Latvia, Sweden and Iceland. The view of Poland as something of a Jewish paradise has been bolstered by initiatives such as Warsaw’s ambitious $100 million Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Krakow’s Jewish Culture Festival, a weeklong affair that attracts tens of thousands of participants – projects carried out with significant government support.
Poland also is seen as a robust Israeli ally. But the government has lagged on other issues of Jewish concern, like Holocaust restitution. It is the sole European country that does not offer private property restitution to survivors and their heirs. Poland also has shown a worrying indifference to instances of antisemitism. In June, a prosecutor in the northern city of Bialystok called swastikas “symbols of prosperity” in explaining the refusal to investigate the painting of Nazi symbols on municipal property. Earlier that month, a Polish official said the courts were “powerless” to stop a declaredly antisemitic political party from running in elections. In April, a survey found that 44 percent
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of 1,250 Warsaw teenagers polled said they would rather not have Jewish neighbors. More than 60 percent said they did not want Jewish spouses. A year ago, Jonathan Orenstein, director of the Krakow Jewish Community Center, told JTA that “there’s no better place to be Jewish” than Poland. Interviewed again the week of July 22, the New York-born Orenstein sounded less upbeat. “For the first time in my 11 years in Poland, I feel that things are going backwards,” he said. Poland is home to some 25,000 Muslims, according to a 2010 U.S. government estimate, and a Jewish population of approximately 40,000, according to Michael Schudrich, the country’s American-born chief rabbi. But Jews and Muslims are not the only ones affected by the ban, which has shut down the country’s robust export industry of kosher and halal meat. Estimates place the value of the ritual slaughter industry at more than $500 million. “Yet the talk in media and online was about how the Jews should not be allowed to make money off the misery of animals,” said Piotr Kadlcik, president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland. “This kind of talk created a very uncomfortable feeling.” The ban has created a rift as well within the Jewish community. In the wake of the parliamentary vote on July 12, the director of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, called on Schudrich to resign. Representatives of two other European Jewish groups also told JTA that they were dissatisfied with Schudrich’s performance in connection with the July 12 vote. Schudrich told JTA that Margolin’s words constituted “unwarranted hate,” adding that he had been in contact with the European See “Ban” on page 8
See “Book” on page 6
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
THE LIFECYCLIST
Double wedding in Seattle caps rapper’s transformation By Debra Rubin (JTA) – Five years ago, he was D-Black, a hip-hop artist rapping about the violence, gang activity and drugs of his African-American ‘hood. Today, he’s Nissim Black, an Orthodox Jew davening in a Sephardic shul in Seattle and writing songs he describes as rap/urban alternative that
The wedding of rapper Nissim Black and his wife, Adina, in Seattle on March 5. (Photo by Adar Images)
“speak a message of hope and inspiration.” The shift in his musical message will be on full display with his new album, “Nissim,” due for release on July 16. Meanwhile, the changes in his personal life were underscored earlier this year when the 26-year-old musician was one of two grooms in a double Jewish wedding ceremony that became a communitywide project. The story starts in 2008: Newlywed with an infant girl and then called Damian Black, he found himself at a crossroad after a friend was shot and killed at a nightclub where Black had been performing. Soon after, he lost his day job working with autistic children. “I had a ton of questions and no answers,” Black recalls. There were questions about “religion, about God, about Christianity, about why aren’t Christians Jewish if Jesus was Jewish.” Black began researching religion, reading about the Torah and begging his wife, Jamie, to study with him. “We almost got a divorce,” she says. “We didn’t see eye to eye.”
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But the more she read, the more she, too, found herself attracted to Judaism, ultimately taking the Hebrew name Adina. “If this is something that can give me answers, I wanted it,” she says, adding that she felt like Judaism, unlike Christianity, welcomed questions. “It’s like a breath of fresh air.” Adina began urging her younger sister (by 10 months) and best friend, Sheree, to study with them. Nissim and Sheree together pulled in Bradley Brown, Black’s close friend since kindergarten, fellow musician and Sheree’s future husband. They, too, have taken Hebrew names: Chana and Yosef. By 2010, the two couples – each with two young children – had moved to an Orthodox enclave in Seattle’s Seward Park and were studying for conversion at the Sephardic Bikur Cholim Congregation. Their conversions were finalized with visits to the mikvah, ritual bath, on February 27. As is traditional with a conversion at the congregation involving someone already married, a Jewish wedding ceremony was next. That’s when the four of them came under the wing of congregant Beth Balkany, who was saddened that each couple previously had had wedding ceremonies with just a handful of guests and no celebration. She was determined to make the couples’ Jewish wedding celebrations they wouldn’t forget. Under Balkany’s direction, the March 5 double wedding became a community project. “I was really excited to help them,” she says, adding that others felt the same way, often asking her, “How can I help?” Through the local bridal gemach, a lending resource, Balkany found gowns that required just hems for each of the women. Nissim and Yosef provided a playlist for the DJ. A couple who married the previous day donated their flowers. The caterer donated his time, the photographer hers. Someone contributed money for a videographer, someone else makeup for the brides. “I raised the money to pay for whatever goods and services, whatever couldn’t get donated,” Balkany says. She pulled off a sit-down dinner for 170 people. Rabbi Simon Benzaquen officiated at the two separate ceremonies; his wife, Cecilia, walked each bride down the aisle. The guests came not only from their congregation, but also from Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, the Seattle Kollel and Ezra Bessaroth, Seattle’s other Sephardic synagogue. “People just opened up their hearts and wallets and came out and danced,” Balkany says. The couples were ecstatic. “We had no idea that it was going to be as big and as fabulous as it was,” Adina says. Says her sister: “The love you felt in the room; it was just amazing.” If you know of a lifecycle event that would make a great story, send an e-mail to Lifecyclist@jta.org.
Rabbi Simon Benzaquen recited the Sheva Brachot at the wedding of Chana and Yosef Brown in Seattle on March 5. (Photo by Meryl Alcabes)
Book
Continued from page 4 of her grandmother’s family were killed during World War II, Lauren has officially declared herself not Jewish. Unfortunately, she hasn’t told her parents, but that decision is just one reason she asked to attend a secular high school, rather a Jewish one. Much to her mother’s dismay, Lauren also avoids events sponsored by her synagogue’s youth group. She still can’t seem to escape the Holocaust, though, since her father is a Holocaust historian and most of their vacations focus on locations connected to his expertise. After an unfortunate event (to say more would spoil the plot), Lauren find herself facing the most important decision of her young life. Although “Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust” might sound too serious for summer reading, the opposite is true: Lauren is very funny and the novel contains a great deal of humor. While the ending was not entirely convincing, that’s a very minor quibble because religious schools and/or youth groups will find it a great way to stimulate discussion. Parents may also be interested to learn what their children would decide under similar circumstances, making the work perfect for joint teen/adult book club meetings.
In Portugal, Jewish law of return moves from Facebook to law book By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – Until 2009, right-wing Portuguese politician Jose Ribeiro e Castro didn’t have much interest in the expulsion of his country’s Jewish community in the 16th century. That changed once Ribeiro e Castro opened a Facebook account. Online, the 60-year-old lawmaker and journalist connected to several Sephardic Jews, descendants of a once robust Jewish community numbering in the hundreds of thousands, many of whom were forced into exile in 1536 during the Portuguese Inquisition. Eventually, the encounters morphed into a commitment to rectify a historic injustice. For Ribeiro e Castro, correcting the injustice meant spearheading a bill to naturalize the Jewish descendants of expelled Jews, a measure that unanimously passed the Portuguese parliament in April and recently went on the books. “The law is a commendable initiative,” said Nuno Wahnon Martins, the Lisbon-born director of European affairs for B’nai B’rith International. “It has economic considerations as well, which do not subtract from parliament’s worthy decision.” Portugal’s initiative comes as countries across Europe continue to invest millions to develop Jewish heritage sites – an effort they say is rooted in their belated recognition of the continent’s vibrant Jewish history, but often is also an acknowledged attempt to attract tourist dollars at a time of economic stagnation. Last year, Spain announced a similar repatriation plan to Portugal’s, though the effort has yet to advance. And the country boasts a network of nearly two dozen cities and towns, known as Red de Juderias, aimed at preserving Spain’s Jewish cultural history in an effort to attract tourists. In July, Portugal will open a $1.5 million learning center in Trancoso, a town once home to many Jews. The prime minister is slated to attend the July 19 opening of the center, which will be aimed at the area’s anusim, descendants of Jews forcibly converted during the Inquisition. “The tourism drive and the repatriation effort in Portugal and Spain are connected on several levels,” said Michael Freund, founder and chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit that runs outreach programs for anusim and will operate the Trancoso center. “The Sephardic Diaspora can be viewed as a large pool with the potential to benefit Spain and Portugal’s economies, provided that pool can be drawn to visit, settle and invest.” Ribeiro e Castro, a soft-spoken man who tends to gesticulate vibrantly when discussing politics, insists he has no ulterior motives for promoting the legislation. “For me, this is purely a historical and emotional goal,” he said. “These efforts got stuck in Spain had remained stuck also in Portugal for a long
Turkey recognize you!” he roared in response – is a sign of his growing impatience. To their credit, EU leaders have, thus far, proven that they have something of the backbone that many observers have doubted they possess. Stefan Fule, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, told an audience in Istanbul, which included Erdogan, of the need to “aspire to the highest possible democratic standards and practices... These include the freedom to express one’s opinion, the freedom to assemble peacefully and freedom of media to report on what is happening as it is happening.” Now Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, is stepping up the pressure on Erdogan. Following Merkel’s description of the government’s response to the protests as “appalling,” the Germans are blocking forthcoming talks to move Turkey’s accession bid further down the line.
Jose Ribeiro e Castro spoke at the Portuguese parliament in 2012. Photo by Portugal’s National Assembly) time, until we move them along.” According to Ribeiro e Castro, his involvement in the project began as an experiment. In 2010, he encouraged several of his Jewish Facebook friends to apply for Portuguese citizenship, “just to see what happens.” At first, Portugal’s powerful Socialist Party was none too thrilled about inviting descendants of Portuguese Jews to return. But the Socialists eventually came around, submitting their own bill to naturalize Sephardic Jews that ultimately was incorporated into Ribeiro e Castro’s amendment to the Law on Nationality. The new legislation says “the government will give nationality... to Sephardic Jews of Portuguese ancestry who belong to a tradition of a Portuguesedescended Sephardic community, based on objective prerequisites proving a connection to Portugal through names, language and ancestry.” The law names Ladino, the Spanish-based Jewish dialect spoken by some 100,000 people worldwide, as a viable “linguistic connection.” Whatever his motivation, focusing international attention on the Catholic Church’s dark history is a bold choice for Ribeiro e Castro, a Catholic himself and former director of the Church-affiliated TVI network. He attributes his decision to an old high school buddy who taught him about Sephardic traditions in Portugal, and to his father, who served as Portugal’s colonial governor in Angola in the 1970s. “My father was an admirer of what he called ‘small history,’ minor developments with a huge impact,” Ribeiro e Castro said. “Naturalizing the Sephardim could be that.” For the law to have any impact, bureaucrats in Lisbon first need to address a host of complications. The Portuguese Bar Association already has warned that the law could compromise the constitutional principle of equality before the law. And then there are practical issues. “Differentiating between Jews whose families were exiled [from] Spain and those who fled Portugal is very difficult,” said See”Portugal” on page 8
Continued from page 2
But the fundamental question remains unresolved: Should Turkey be admitted to the EU? One can see how membership of the EU would boost the fortunes of those courageous Turks who have risked life and limb in their confrontation with Erdogan. Equally, the Europe that emerged after the Second World War cannot, by its very nature, tolerate the kind of government that has hospitalized more than 7,000 of its own citizens simply for exercising their right to peacefully protest. And it certainly cannot tolerate the kind of antisemitic agitation that brings to mind the worst excesses of the 1930s. Ben Cohen is the Shillman Analyst for JNS.org. His writings on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Ha’aretz, Jewish Ideas Daily and many other publications.
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
THE REPORTER
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
ROSH HASHANAH
5774
(August 29 issue) August 21 deadline
Once again this year, The Reporter is inviting its readers and local organizations to extend New Year’s greetings to the community by purchasing a New Year’s greeting ad, which will appear in our August 29 issue. Rosh Hashanah begins this year on the evening of September 4th. You may choose from many different designs, messages & sizes. You may also choose your own message, as long as it fits into the space of the greeting you select. The price of a small ad is $18 (styles B & E), a larger one is $36 (styles A & C), and the largest one is $72 (not shown). To ensure that your greeting is published or for more information on additional styles, sizes & designs, please contact Bonnie Rozen at 1-800-779-7896, ext. 244 or bonnie@ thereportergroup.org. Checks can be made payable to The Reporter and sent to: The Reporter, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.
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The National Museum of American Jewish History will hold the exhibit “Hemmed Up: Stories through Textiles” through August 25. Philadelphia-based artists Keir Johnston and Ernel Martinez developed the textile installation as part of their Hemmed Up project for the museum’s inaugural year of its OPEN for Interpretation artist-in-residence program. The team said they were inspired by the American Jewish relationship to the textile industry and the themes of immigration, labor, and struggle. For more information, call 215-923-3811 or visit www. nmajh.org.
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The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy will present “The Ruins of the Borscht Belt,” a photography exhibit and meet and greet with artist Marisa Scheinfeld on Sunday, August 11, at 11 am. Scheinfeld’s photographs depict the relics of several Catskill, NY, resorts, the setting for a bygone era in American-Jewish history. Scheinfeld has spent the last three years photographing the remains of the hotels that once dotted the Catskills Mountains, a region known to Jewish Americans as “the Borscht Belt” – a popular vacation destination for Jewish cuisine, recreation and stand-up comedy. In the exhibit, Scheinfeld presents selections of the 80 photographs in the series. The LESJC Kling and Niman Family Visitor Center is located at 400 Grand St., between Clinton and Suffolk streets, New York City, NY. The suggested donation for “The Ruins of the Borscht Belt” is $5. For more information, call 212-374-4100.
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Jewish off-Broadway musical
“Timmy the Great” is a new, multi-cultural family musical based on the children’s book “King Timmy the Great,” written by Sandra Hochman and Tad Danielak, and inspired by the Polish martyr Janusz Korczak’s anti-war book, “King Matt the First.” The musical looks at a world where children make the decisions and the adults play. Performances begin at the Theater for the New City, 155 1st Ave., New York City, NY, on Thursday, August 15, and run through Sunday, September 1. For more information, visit www.timmythegreat.com or contact the theater at 877-783-3087 or info@timmythegreat.com.
Portugal
Continued from page 7
Jose Oulman Carp, president of Lisbon’s Jewish community. “Clearly the Jewish communities [of Portugal] will need to be consulted on the screening process and we can provide some input, but the distinction is nearly impossible in many cases.” But whatever the end result, merely the effort to lure back Portuguese Jews constitutes, in Freund’s mind, an ironic twist of history. “Five centuries ago, the expulsion happened partly because the Iberian rulers wanted the Jews’ assets,” Freund said. “Now we see efforts to welcome back the Jews partly for the same reason.”
Ban
Continued from page 5 Jewish Congress and the Conference of European Rabbis about the issue. Schudrich has said he would resign if the bill is not reversed. Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler, the Chabad movement’s emissary to Warsaw, told JTA he believes this will happen because “there is enormous interest and good will toward Jews in Poland.” Back in Krakow, Anna and Piotr are less certain. “We are certainly working to make this happen through education and the struggle against intolerance, but there are no guarantees,” Anna Makowka Kwapisiewicz said. “Not in Poland or anywhere else.”
EU
Continued from page 1 is taking the opportunity to escalate the guidelines into a full-fledged yet temporary crisis to block the European involvement.” The connection between Kerry’s initiative and the guidelines was made as well by European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor, who met with Netanyahu on June 28, the day the new guidelines were adopted. “On the eve of another visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the hope of restarting negotiations,” Kantor said on July 16, “some in the EU have decided that now is a good time to throw a spanner in the works and inflame tensions between the parties.”
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
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Challenger Division $500 - $999 Dr. & Mrs. Shaya Barax Atty. & Mrs. Richard Bishop The Dime Bank Mr. Julian Falk Atty. David Fallk Mr. Shlomo Fink Dr. Vitaly Geyfman Mr. Richard Goldenziel Mr. Alan Goldstein Dr. Scott Gordon Mr. Michael Greenstein Mr. Leonard Hopkins Dr. Kenneth Jacobs Mr. Harold Kornfeld Mr. Jeffrey Leventhal Mr. Meyer Levine Dr. & Mrs. John Lewy Rabbi Baruch Melman Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Mogel Atty. Edward Monsky Dr. Mordekhai Moritz Atty. & Mrs Morris Raub Milt & Lillian Rosenzweig PACE Mr. Barth Rubin Rabbi Samuel Sandhaus Mr. & Mrs. Phil Schneiderman Atty. & Mrs. Ben Schnessel Mr. & Mrs. Louis Shapiro Dr. Douglas Sheldon Mr. Alan Silverman Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Spira Dr. Jonathan Sullum Mr & Mrs Art Sussman Mr. & Mrs. Barry Tremper Dr. Melvin Ufberg Mr. & Mrs. Larry Weinberger Dr. Jeffrey Weiss Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Weiss Mr.& Mrs. Ruben Witkowski Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Wizwer Mr. Lewis Ziman
General Division $100 - $499
Mr. Murray Abeloff* Mr. Irwin Adler Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Appel Mr. & Mrs. Vladimir Aronzon Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Balaban Mr. Mark Berger Dr. & Mrs. Abraham Berman Dr. & Mrs. Eli Berman Dr Lee Besen Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Blau Mr. & Mrs. Steven Bleier Mr & Mrs John Brezack Laura Sonneberg & Werner Brodman Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Seymour Brotman Dr. & Mrs. Bruce Brownstein Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Cardonick Dr. & Mrs. Alfred Carin Chatiner Hatikvoh Ferein Mr. Lawrence Chimerine Dr. & Mrs. Mitchell Cohen Mr. Sanford Cohen Mr. Geoffrey Cutler Mr. Gary Davis Mr. & Mrs. Mark Davis Dr. Leonard Denis Mr. Michael Diamond Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Dreyer Mr. Irving Effross Dr. & Mrs. Benjamin Eisenberg Dr. Steven Eisner Rabbi & Mrs Mayer Elefant Mr. James Ellenbogen Dr. Scott Epstein Mr. Richard Feibus Mr. Howard Feinberg Mr. & Mrs. William Fiegleman Rabbi Mordechai Fine Mr. Moshe Fink Dr & Mrs Gerald Fragin Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Fredericks Mr. & Mrs Paul Fried Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Friedman Mr. Jack Friedman Carlucci, Golden, Desantis Funeral Home Mr. Alex Gans Mr. Jeffrey Ganz Mr. Ricky Gelb Mr. & Mrs. Peter Gelbart Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Gilbert Mr. Eugene/Art Glantz Mr. & Mrs. Martin Gold Mr. Sheldon Goldstein Mr Ward Goodman Mr Sam Goosay D. & B. Greenberger Endow Fund Dr. Larry Grossinger Mr. & Mrs. Martin Hainer Hebrew Orthodox Center Mr. Joseph Hollander
The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania would like to thank those community members who gave of themselves, whether financially and/or by volunteering, to continue our community’s tradition of tzedakah. In these difficult times, especially when other victims of other tragedies also need our support, we continue to aid the Jewish vulnerable, rescue and resettle those oppressed or in need in other lands, and otherwise help guarantee the continuance of our community here, in Israel and elsewhere around the world. We now honor our 2012 Annual Campaign donors and volunteers for caring about their fellow Jews… and doing something about it. To the fullest extent possible, we have tried to include all donors and volunteers in our Honor Roll – except those who advised us, prior to publication, that they wished to remain anonymous. If, for any reason, your name has been omitted, please notify the Federation office at 570-961-2300, and allow us the privilege of publishing your name/s in a subsequent issue. On behalf of world Jewry – thanks!
Dr Milton Hollander Honesdale Nat’l Bank Jewish War Veterans Mr. Joel Joseph Mr. Irwin Kalisher Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Kapitansky Mr./Mrs. Marvin Kaplan Mr Wallace Katz Mr. Bernard Kaufman Mr. & Mrs. Bob Klomp Atty. & Mrs. Edwin Krawitz Mr. & Mrs. Charles Kudosh Dr. Barry Kurtzer Dr. Joel Laury Mr. & Mrs. Steve Levine Mr. Albert Levy Mr.& Mrs. Alan Lipschutz Mr. Len London Mr. & Mrs. Larry Mandel Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Manglaviti Mr. & Mrs. Avrum Marcus Mr. Sidney Markowitz Mr. & Mrs. Alan Meyerowitz Mr. & Mrs. Larry Milliken Mr. Jerry Mizrachi Mr. Michael Morrow Mr. & Mrs. Mark Myers Mr. & Mrs. David Nagelberg Mr. & Mrs. Steven Natt Mr. & Mrs. Neil Nissel Mr. & Mrs. Roman Novak Mr. & Mrs. Harry Olenberg Mr. & Mrs. Joel Ostro Mr Alvin Pachter Mr. Howard Pachter Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Pallas Mr. & Mrs. Harold Plotkin Mr. Marvin Pollack Mr. Robert Pollack Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Rice Mr. Filmore Rosenstein Mr. Howard Rosenstein Mr Melvin Rosenthal Atty. Howard Rothenberg Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Rothman Mr. David Rubinow Rabbi & Mrs. Yehuda Salkow Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Schlamowitz Rabbi Jacob Schnaidman Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Schneider Mr. & Mrs. Philip Schulder Mr. Richard Schwartz Scranton Printing Company Mr. & Mrs. Al Silverstein Mr. Alan Smertz Mr. Gary Smertz Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Stolzenberg Mr. Stephen Sugarman Mr. Jack Suravitz Milton & Arline Swartz Endow Fd Mr. & Mrs. Allan Trynz Mr. & Mrs. Joel Vener Mr. & Mrs. Eric Weinberg Mr. & Mrs. Paul Weinstock Mr. Barry Weiss Mr. Jay Weiss Mr. Jack Weissberger Mr. Seymour Weissberger Atty. & Mrs. Marc Wolfe Mr. & Mrs. Irwin Wolfson Cantor & Mrs. Marshal Wolkenstein Dr. & Mrs. Barry Yoss Mr. Irving Zlatin Mr. Alan Zuckerman
Super Sunday $1 - $99
Dr. Neill Ackerman Rabbi & Mrs. Nathan Adlin Rabbi & Mrs Jeff Aichenbaum Mr. A. Albert Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Arcus Dr & Mrs. P Bachman Mr./Mrs. Robert Bamford Mrs. Tobi Barnett Mr. Robert Baron* Mr. & Mrs. Philip Barr Mrs. Barbara Bashe Mr & Mrs Joseph Bedrick Mr. Mikhail Berlin Rabbi Yaakov Bilus Mr. Leonid Boguslavsky Mr. Jack Braunstein
Rabbi & Mrs Chaim Bressler Rabbi & Mrs. Daniel Brotsky Mr. Sheldon Charick Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Cohen Rabbi & Mrs Eli Deutsch Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Dichter Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Eckstein Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Einhorn Mr. & Mrs. Meshulem Epstein Mrs. Ella Ettinger Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Feinman Mr. & Mrs. Howard Feltman Mr. & Mrs. Richard Feman Rabbi & Mrs. Jacob Fensterheim Dr Emanuel Fineberg Atty. & Mrs Allen Finkelstein Rabbi Shmuel Flam Mr. Alex Fookson Mr. & Mrs. Michael Friedman Mr Ken Ganz Mr. Leyzer Gelberg Mr & Mrs Marc Gerson Mr. Yuriy Gidalevich Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Ginsberg Mr. Murray Glick Rabbi & Mrs. Samuel Goldberg Mr. Yevgeniy Goldenberg Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Goldstein Mr. & Mrs. Howard Goldstein Mr. Morris Goldstein Mr. & Mrs Samuel Green Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Greenfield Rabbi & Mrs Yosef Guttman Mr. & Mrs. Martin Hamer Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Hirshman Rabbi & Mrs Yehuda Itkin Mr. Dale Jaffe Mr. & Mrs. Alan Kagan Mr./Mrs. Barry Kaplan Rabbi & Mrs Avrum Karp Mr. & Mrs. Richard Katz Mr. & Mrs. Russell Kaufman Mr David Kellerman Mr. & Mrs. Louis Koshar Dr. Michael Krakow Atty Steven Krawitz Leonard Krieger Memorial Fund Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Kusnitz Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Landon Mr & Mrs Gerald Leisten Prof. Michael Liberman Mr. Sheldon Liberman Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Loewenberg Mr. & Mrs. Stuart Lorber Mr. & Mrs. Mark Love Rabbi Joseph Luchins Mr. & Mrs. Dan Marcus Mr. Ivan Margolies Rabbi & Mrs. Joseph Mendelsohn Mr. David Meyer Mr. Don Minkoff Mr. Joseph Moskowitz Mr. Marshall Needle Mrs Patricia Nerlinger Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Newman Mr. & Mrs. Irving Norkin Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Oliveri Mr Allan Pisarz Mr. & Mrs. Stuart Pollack Mr. & Mrs. Howard Popkin Rabbi & Mrs Nathan Pritzker Rabbi & Mrs. Benny Rapoport Dr. & Mrs. Steven Ratner Mr. & Mrs. Robert Richman Rabbi & Mrs Isaac Ringel Rabbi Dovid Rosenberg Mr. & Mrs. Martin Rosenberg Mr. & Mrs. Jay B. Rosenstein Mr. Joel Roth Mr & Mrs Stanley Rothman Mr & Mrs Kenneth Rudin Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Rudner Rabbi David Saks Mr. & Mrs. Harold Schechter Mr. & Mrs. Al Schips Allen Schwartz Memorial Fund Mr. Steve Selincourt Senior Adult Club Mr Steven Sherman Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Shtekhman Mr. Joel Silberstein Dr. Gary Silverstein
Rabbi Hillel Sittner Mr. & Mrs. Peter Slipak Mr. Herbert Smith Mr. & Mrs. Shawn Smith Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Smith Mr. Melvin Spatt Mr. & Mrs. Steven Strauchler Rabbi Daniel Swartz Mr. & Mrs. Peter Talman Dr. & Mrs. Morton Tener Mr. Al Tragis Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Trumpaitzky Rabbi & Mrs. Abraham Turin Rabbi & Mrs. Hershel Tzuker Rabbi & Mrs. Eliezer Vann Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Waite Wayne Bank Rabbi & Mrs. Chaim Weg Mr. Alfred Weinberg Mr. Michael Weinberg Mr. Neil Weinberg Mr. Robert Weinman Mr. David Weinstein Mr Martin Weiss Rabbi Zvi Weiss Dr. & Mrs. Alan Westheim Mr. Gary Wilmet Mr. & Mrs. Harold Wilshinsk *(Of Blessed Memory)
Women’s 2013 Campaign Honor Roll Lion of Judah 2 $10,000 - $19,999 Sare Family Fund
Lion of Judah 1 • $5,000 - $9,999 Mrs. Jeanne Atlas Mrs. Eileen Feibus Mrs. Marion Glassman Mrs. Susan Jacobson Mrs. Bernardine Kaplan* Mrs. Beverly Gelb Klein Mrs. Lillian Levy Mrs. Sondra Myers Arley Wholesale S & A Partnership Dr. Margaret Sheldon Mrs. Goldye Weinberger
Guardian Division $3,000 - $4,999 The Betty Goldsmith Endow Mrs. Audrey Kaufman
Hineni Division $1,000 - $2,999 Mrs. Claire Dubin Mrs. Lois Dubin Mrs. Roselle Fine* Dr Jennifer Gell Mrs. Dorothy Gordon Mrs. Bonnie Green Mrs. Susan Herlands Mrs. Shirley Hollenberg The Jaffe Family Fund Mrs. Rose Levine Mrs. Jennie Levy The Schwartz Mack Fndn Mrs. Barbara Nivert Mrs. Faye Rosenberg The Ida Rosenbluth Trust Mrs. Betty Stahler Dr Meredith Stempel Mrs. Arline Swartz Mrs. Laney Ufberg Mrs. Elaine Utan Gussie Weinberger Memorial*
Pacesetters Division $500 - $999 Mrs. Harlene Arenberg Mrs. Joyce Douglass The Bernice Dubin Mem Fund Mrs. Ruth Fallick Mrs. Miriam Gans Ms. Judith Ginsberg Mrs. Sheryl Gross Mrs. Mildred Harris The Hyers Family Mrs. Claire Jacobson Mrs. Helene Kornfeld Mrs. Leah Laury Mrs. Dale Miller Mrs. Sara Morris Mrs. Sheila Nudelman-Abdo
Mrs. Nettie Pinkus Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Pollock Mrs. Lola Schwartz* The Bessie Todres Starr Mem Fund Mrs. Gail Ufberg Mrs. Ingrid Warshaw Mrs. Paula Wasser The Anne Wertheimer Phil Fund Mrs. Mary Ziman
Kadima Division $200 - $499 Mrs. Rose Brody Mrs. Phyllis Chazan Mrs. Susan Colombo Diamond Mrs. Gail Dickstein Mrs. Gloria Dinner Mrs. Nancy Dressel Mrs. Marylu Eisner Mrs. Rosalie Engelmyer Mrs. Shirley Friedman Ms. Natalie Gelb Mrs. Kristina Gregory Mrs. Molly Grossinger Honorial & Memorial Mrs. Helene Hughes Mrs. Madeline Jacobs Jewish Woman International Mrs. Carol Leventhal Mrs. Odessa Levine Mrs Iris Liebman Mrs. Jill Linder Ms. Marlene Mandel Mrs. Sheila Miller Mrs. Ann Monsky Mrs. Tamar Moritz Mrs. Mildred Myers Ms Gail Neldon Mrs. Harriet Noble Mrs. Carol Nogi Miss Lynn Pearl Mrs. Ilise Rubinow Mrs. Molly Rutta Mrs. Renee Schectman Atty. Elizabeth Schneider Mrs. Anne Silverman Mrs. Elma Starr Mrs. Lisa Starr Dora Troy Memorial Fund Ms. Lynn Van Winkle Mrs. Judy Weinberger Mrs. Nancy Weinberger Ben Dov Mrs. Arnine Weiss Mrs. Jan Weiss Dr. Nancy Willis
Bereshit Division $100 - $199 Ms. Esther Adelman Mrs. Eileen Baine Mrs. Adele Baldinger Mrs. Harriet Brotter Ms. Judith Brown Mrs. Susan Connors Mrs. Ruth Davis* Mrs. Lainey Denis Mrs. Bertye Dietrick Mrs. Syvia Eisenberg Mrs. Sandra Epstein Mrs. Donna Fiegleman Mrs. Doris Fine Mrs. Deborah Fink Mrs Martha Fisler Mrs. Nancy Friedman Mrs. Esther Friedmann Ms Marion Gardner Saxe Mrs. Marian Goldstein-Beckhorn Mrs Ellen Goodman Mrs. Doreen Henstell Ms. Irene Hochman Mrs. Robin Jacobson Mrs. Nancy Johnson Mrs. Miriam Joseph Mrs. Denise Krafchin Mrs Esther Kurlancheek Mrs. Hannah Leiter Mrs. Mitzie Levy Mrs. Helen Masowicki Mrs. Claire Morrow Mrs. Ann Moskovitz Mrs Vivian Needle Ms. Roberta Nelson Mrs. Shirley Nudelman Mrs. Lee Pachter
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■ Ms Barbara Parker Bell Mrs. Helen Pinkus Mrs. Carol Rubel Mrs. Sonia Sandhaus Ms Elaine Shepard Mrs. Dorothy Silverman Mrs. Jayne Simon Ms. Sydell Spinner Ms. Michelle Star Mrs. Gladys Suravitz Temple Hesed Sisterhood Mrs. Mildred Weinberg Mrs. Gail Weinberger Miss Evelyn Wolfe Mrs. Lila Zipay
Super Sunday $1 - $99
Mrs. Michele Ackerman Mrs. Dolly Baron Ms Rhoda Barris Mr. & Mrs. Charles Berenbaum Mrs. Svetlana Berlin Ms. Charlene Berman Mrs. Penina Bilus Mrs. Fern Blum Ms Joanne Blum Mrs. Lyudmila Boguslavsky Mrs. Yvette Brauner Ms. Elaine Brown Mrs. Rose Chaskin Ms Deborah Costanza Mrs. Eileen Coyne Mrs. Mildred Davis Mrs. Bernice Ecker Ms Deborah Eisenberg Mrs. Rhonda Fallk Mrs Roberta Feinman Mrs. Etty Fink Mrs. Esther Flam Mrs. Inna Fookson Ms Lillian Freidlin Mrs. Leah Gans Mrs. Dassie Ganz Mrs. Shelly Garber Gelb Family Fund Ms. Rose Gelbard Mrs. Mira Gelberg Ms. Klara Gervits Mrs. Lida Glaser Mrs Marsha Glick Mrs. Nelli Goldenberg Mrs. Cookie Goldman Ms. Esther Graves Mrs. Gayle Greenstein Mrs. Joy Greenwald Ms. Harriet Gross Mrs. Bella Groysman Ms. Iris Grubler Mrs. Charlotta Gurevitz Ms. Audrey Harrell Mrs. Dale Hersh Mrs. Ruth Hollander Ms Helen Kaminski Mr. & Mrs. James Kane Ms. Madlyn Kane Mrs. Beverly Klein Ms. Ruth Klein Mrs. Ellen Kline Mr. & Mrs. Charles Koloski Mrs. Donna Kostiak Ms Gladys Kremen Mrs. Nina Kurtser Mrs. Ruth Kurzweil Ms. Lindsay Leventhal Mrs. Eleanor Liberman Miss Marlene Lieber Mrs. Anna Lisak Mrs Miriam Litvak Rae & Fred Magliocchi Ms. Barbara Maiman Mr. & Mrs. Radcliffe McGowan Mrs. Marlene Meyer Miss Arlene Michaels Mrs. Sandy Mittelman Mrs. Sally Moskovitz Ms. Florence Moskowitz* Ms. Amy Moulton Miss Marcia Myers Miss Ann Nathan Dr. Frances Olick Mrs. Elaine Pachter Ms Natalie Pichler Mrs. Charlotte Pollack Mrs. Marylyn Preven Miss Esther Rosenfeld Mrs. Lorraine Rosenthal Mrs. Joan Ruben Mrs. Malka Saks Mrs. Rika Schaffer Mrs. Pearl Schnaidman Ms Barbara Schneiderman Ms Marilyn Schwab Mrs. Ellen Seitchik Miss Anne Shaffer
THE REPORTER
Mrs. Lynn Shaffer Mrs. Malca Shapiro Ms Dolores Siarniak Mrs. Shira Silverberg Mrs. Nina Silverman Mrs. Rochelle Sittner Ms. Bonnie Strohl Mrs. Rhonda Sugarman Ms. Dorothea Szczesniak Mr. & Mrs. Tom Tschampel Mrs. Sarra Ufberg Mrs. Arlene Walker Ms. Mary Lil Walsh Mrs. Arlene Weinberg Mrs. Phyllis Weinberg Miss Lois Weisberger Mrs. Rachel Weisberger Ms Miriam Weiss Mrs. Rachel Weiss Mrs. Tova Weiss Miss Rachelle Werbin Mrs. Phyllis Wint *(Of Blessed Memory)
Community Division 2013 Honor Roll Dr. Linda Barrasse Mr. William Bowen Breig Bros Inc Contractors Dr. Harmar Brereton Burkavage Design Assoc. Atty. Brian Cali Caljean Vending Machine Serv Atty. Brigid Carey Carpenters Local 645 Mr. Stephen Casey Chamberlin & Reinheimer Ins, Inc Citizens Saving Bank Mr. James Clauss Costa Drugs, Inc Diamond K Incorporated Diocese of Scranton Dunmore Roofing & Supply Co Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Earl Mr.& Mrs. Robert Eckersley Mr. John Egan Fidelity Dep & Discount Bank First Liberty Bank & Trust First National Community Bank Gertrude Hawks Chocolates, Inc Dr. Albert Giallorenzi Ginader Jones & Company W D Iacono & Company The Jesuit Community Keystone Community Resources, Inc La Trattoria Restaurant Landmark Community Bank Mrs. Anne Lavelle Mr. William Lees Atty. John Lenahan M & T Bank Corp Drs. Miriam O’Malley & Kenneth Miller Atty. Joseph Murphy Mr. Jamie O’Donnell Mr. Peter O’Donnell One Point Mr. John Palumbo Partridge Wirth Company PDQ Print Center Penn Security Bank F Pesavento & Sons Pioneer Dist Co PNC Bank Dr. & Mrs. J Anthony Quinn Atty. James Reid RJ Burne Olds Cadillac Inc Mr. James Ross Mr. Robert Rossi Ms. Olga Rupinski Hon. & Mrs. William Scranton Scranton CLU Scranton Label Scranton Times-Sunday Times Sibio’s Restaurant Mr. Donald Simpkins Ms. Kathryn Smith Steamfitters Local #524 Mr. & Mrs. David Tressler University of Scranton Atty. Myles Wren
* - Of Blessed Memory
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d’var torah ABINGTON TORAH CENTER
Rabbi Dovid Saks President: Richard Rutta Jewish Heritage Connection 108 North Abington Rd., Clarks Summit, PA 18411 570-346-1321 • Website: www.jewishheritageconnection.org Sunday morning services at 8:30 am Call for other scheduled services throughout the week.
BETH SHALOM CONGREGATION
Rabbi Yisroel Brotsky 1025 Vine St., Scranton, PA 18510, (corner of Vine & Clay Ave.) 570-346-0502 • fax: 570-346-8800 Weekday – Shacharit: Sun 8 am; Mon, Thurs. & Rosh Chodesh, 6:30 am; Tue, Wed & Fri, 6:45 am; Sat & Holidays, 8:45 am. Mincha during the week is approx. 10 minutes before sunset, followed by Maariv.
BICHOR CHOLEM CONGREGATION/ CHABAD OF THE ABINGTONS Rabbi Benny Rapoport President: Richard I. Schwartz 216 Miller Road, Waverly, PA 18471 570-587-3300 • Website: www.JewishNEPA.com Saturday morning Shabbat Service 9:30 am. Call or visit us online for our bi-weekly schedule
CHABAD LUBAVITCH OF THE POCONOS Rabbi Mendel Bendet 570-420-8655 • Website: www.chabadpoconos.com Please contact us for schedules and locations.
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL
Affiliation: Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi Allan L. Smith President: Henry M. Skier Contact Person: Ben Schnessel, Esq. (570) 222-3020 615 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431 570-253-2222 • fax: 570-226-1105
CONGREGATION B’NAI HARIM
Affiliation: Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum President: Phyllis Miller P.O. Box 757 Sullivan Rd., Pocono Pines, PA 18350 (located at RT 940 and Pocono Crest Rd at Sullivan Trail 570-646-0100 • Website: www.bnaiharimpoconos.org Shabbat Morning Services, 10 am – noon; every other Saturday Potluck Shabbat Dinner with blessings and program of varying topics, one Friday every month – call for schedule.
JEWISH FELLOWSHIP OF HEMLOCK FARMS
Rabbi Steve Nathan President: Steve Natt Forest Drive 1516 Hemlock Farms, Lords Valley, PA 18428 570-775-7497 • E-Mail: jfhf@enter.net Friday evening Shabbat service 7:30 pm, Saturday morning Shabbat Service 9:30 am.
MACHZIKEH HADAS SYNAGOGUE Rabbi Mordechai Fine President: Dr. Shaya Barax 600 Monroe Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 570-342-6271
OHEV ZEDEK CONGREGATION
Rabbi Mordechai Fine 1432 Mulberry St, Scranton, PA 18510 Contact person: Michael Mellner - 570-343-3183
TEMPLE HESED
Union of Reform Judaism Rabbi Daniel J. Swartz President: Eric Weinberg 1 Knox Street, Scranton, PA 18505, (off Lake Scranton Rd.) 570-344-7201 Friday evening Shabbat, 8 pm; Saturday morning Shabbat, 11:15 am
Good and good by RIVKAH SLONIM, EDUCATION DIRECTOR, CHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH STUDENT LIFE AT BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY Re’eh, Deuteronomy 11:2616:17 Good and evil, positive and negative, blessing and curse: Everything in life seems to belong in, or fall, somewhere on the continuum bracketed by these categories. In the opening verse of this week’s parasha, one of the most famous in all the Torah, God sets forth this paradigm with the words: See, I have placed before you today the blessing and the curse. In the subsequent verses, it becomes clear that these words are an exhortation to man to choose good, to hearken unto God’s instruction, to choose “life.” Axiomatic to Jewish theology is the notion of man’s autonomy and the necessity for freedom of choice. It is imperative to the fulfillment of the Divine plan, that man choose God of his or her own volition. Only man’s ability to freely embrace or spurn God makes each human action meaningful and creates the possibility for man to partner with God in shaping the world’s destiny. To choose virtue, there must be the possibility for iniquity. Additionally, more subtle, nuanced lessons are extracted from this verse – as with each verse in the Torah – by the commentators. Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, one of the greatest talmudic sages (it was said of him that when he studied Torah, birds flying above his head would die by irradiation due to the spectacular energy that he emitted) wrote his commentary on the Torah in Aramaic. In his comment on this verse, he renders the word curse as chilufa, exchange or transmutation. This is interesting, as elsewhere he does not shy away from using the more stark, negative Aramaic term for curse, m’latitaya. What might he be teaching us in choosing this particular explanation in this verse? In essence, Rabbi Yonatan, in his precise, cryptic style, is addressing one of the most existential questions of all time and giving voice to what countless midrashim and other commentaries teach on this subject. What is evil? Where does it come from? And what is its purpose ? Clearly the verse is teaching that evil comes from God: See I give you today the blessing and the curse. But do we not have a tradition that states “no evil descends from above?”
Indeed, teaches Rabbi Yonatan, evil does not descend from heaven. While good and evil, the basic definers of life, are understood by many to be polar opposites and inherently disconnected from each other, Judaism teaches differently. There is only one source of all; only one essential energy. Evil, is in fact, a front, a façade for its alleged antithesis. There are merely two types of good. One category is revealed and manifestly good; it is clearly a blessing. The other is its transmutation; of the same essence as the first, but deeply shrouded and obscured. Why do we sometimes experience the Divine beneficent flow in a manner so concealed and distorted? To this question we ultimately have no answer. For reasons that we can never understand – and must never make peace with – there are things humanity has to accomplish with our freedom of choice that are spurred on only by the darkness we confront in our lives. This is the challenge of life in a state of exile. Our job, as set forth in the verse under study, is to choose good in the arena of our choices. As to that which is beyond our control, Rabbi Yonatan helps us understand that ultimately, there is no duality. There is only Hashem echad, one God from which all emanates, and it is all – in essence – good. In his fascinating book “Hebrew: the Source of Languages,” Rabbi Matisyahu Glazerson teaches that the biblical word for tent, ohel, is etymologically linked with the concept of celestial light. He asserts that when the Bible speaks of the tents of the matriarchs and patriarchs, it speaks also, if not primarily, about a unique light and energy they exuded. Hallel, praise, he explains, is the act of “shining light” upon God. Alah, one of the biblical terms for curse, is comprised of the same characters as the word ohel1 but transmuted, configured differently. It is the same essential light, but expressed in perverted fashion. May we ever merit seeing, and experiencing in our lives, only the obvious and revealed goodness. Endnote 1. In the English language, the word halo is etymologically extracted from this root, as is the salutation, hail, and its contemporary derivative, hello. Greetings are a form of casting light upon others.
Remnants of “King David’s palace” unearthed southwest of Jerusalem By JNS staff (JNS.org) Two large structures believed to have been a part of King David’s palace have been unearthed in a joint seven-year excavation led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Antiquities Authority, the two announced on June 17. The discovery was made in the site of the ancient city of Khirbet Qeiyafa, located southwest of Jerusalem and bordering Beit Shemesh and the Elah Valley, Israel Hayom reported. The city dates back to the early 10 th century B.C.E. and archeologists believe it met a
sudden end around 980 B.C.E. Antiquities Authority researchers Professor Yossi Garfinkel and Saar Ganor identified one of the structures as King David’s palace and the other as a large storehouse structure on the royal compound, which, according to archaeologists, stretched some 1,000 square meters (about 11,000 square feet). “The ruins are the best example to date of the uncovered fortress city of King David... This is indisputable evidence of the existence of a central administration in Judea during the time of King David,” the Antiquities Authority said.
TEMPLE ISRAEL OF DUNMORE
President: Isadore Steckel 515 East Drinker St., Dunmore, PA 18512 Saturday morning Shabbat 7:30 am; also services for Yizkor
TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS
Affiliation: United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Rabbi Baruch Melman President: Dr. Sharon Alfonsi Contact person: Art Glantz 570-424-7876 711 Wallace St., Stroudsburg, PA, 18360 (one block off Rte. 191 (5th Street) at Avenue A) 570-421-8781 • Website: www.templeisraelofthepoconos.org E-Mail: tipoc@ptd.net Friday evening Shabbat, 8pm; Saturday morning Shabbat, 9 am
TEMPLE ISRAEL OF SCRANTON
Affiliation: United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Rabbi Moshe Saks 918 East Gibson St., Scranton, PA, 18510 (located at the corner of Gibson & Monroe Sts.) 570-342-0350 Fax: 570-342-7250 • E-Mail: tiscran@epix.net Sunday, 8 am; Mon & Thurs, 7:15 am; Tue, Wed & Fri, 7:25 am; Rosh Hodesh & Chagim weekdays, 7 am; Shabbat Morning Service, 8:45 am; evening services: Sun – Thurs, 5:45 pm; Friday Shabbat and Saturday Havdalah services, call for times.
The Khirbet Qeiyafa ruins, believed to be remnants of King David’s palace. (Photo from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authorities and Skyview)
THE REPORTER
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AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
In quest for open dialogue, Germans and Jews thinking outside and inside the box
By Jeffrey Barken JNS.org BERLIN – Here in Berlin, there is a simultaneous sense of urgency and growing patience. While Germans embrace the cultural history of the Jewish people, whom they persecuted during the Holocaust, they are seeking additional forums through which they can break down barriers to dialogue with Jews in their communities today. This quest can lead modern Germans to challenge what is considered politically correct. The most striking recent example of this trend is “The Whole Truth,” a controversial current exhibit at the Berlin Jewish Museum that confronts many Germans’ shame about the Holocaust as they explore their own curiosities about Judaism and the Jewish people. Subtitled “everything you always wanted to know about Jews,” the exhibit employs a large glass box installation positioned in the center of the hall. Each day, one or more Jewish guests volunteer to sit in that box, fielding questions about their identity as museum patrons pass by. “Germany needs a lot of boxes, because different groups of people don’t have the chance to meet and mingle as much as they should,” Bill Glucroft, an American Jew living in Berlin who has volunteered to sit in the box on several occasions, tells JNS.org. The exhibit, which opened in March and will close in September, is now about halfway through its scheduled run time. Michal Friedlander, its curator, believes a misinformed press has hyped up controversy about the exhibit, but is pleased by what she says is the overwhelmingly positive experience most American visitors report after touring the museum. “The harshest criticism initially came from the U.S., where there was some misunderstanding about the exhibition concept,” Friedlander tells JNS.org. “It is very important to understand that the showcase with the Jewish guest is not an exhibition in isolation,” she adds, explaining that the box with a live person in it “is situated within the context of an entire exhibition and is a response to just one of over 30 questions which are posed throughout the show.” The immediate question posed by the exhibit – “Are there still Jews living in Germany?” – is answered resoundingly
Just added to the Jewish Federation’s Film Lending Library! Non- Feature Films Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy Orchestra of Exiles The Flat Feature Films Avalon The Other Son The World of Sholom Aleichem
by the presence of resident German Jews who volunteer to sit in the box. The span of religious devotion among the volunteers runs from the totally non-observant Jew to the ordained rabbi. “They are simply people who happen to be Jewish,” Friedlander says. This personal and private interaction between museum visitors and volunteers who sit in the box fulfills the museum’s primary goal of introducing Germans who may never have met a Jewish person before to a real and approachable member of their society. Asked how he conducts himself while in the box, Glucroft says, “I’m just myself. I answer questions to the best of my ability. If visitors expect some grand answer to their questions, then they don’t understand Jewish culture – the best answer to a question is another question.” Critics have labeled the exhibit “dehumanizing,” believing that the show made a spectacle of a human being and stirred up distasteful memories and vulgar stereotypes of a past era. Stephan Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, rhetorically asked when the exhibit opened, “Why don’t they give him a banana and a glass of water, turn up the heat and make the Jew feel really cozy in his glass box?” In an effort to make room for new But exhibit organizers are seeking to move the display titles, the Jewish Federation has “like past its inflammatory image and hope for it to be regarded new” DVD’s on sale. as an important and positive teaching tool. The box toys Please Dassy at 570-961-2300 with memories of contact Germany’s troubled past with the goal or honesty Rae (x4) to make of provoking(x2) new and opena purchase. dialogue. That being said, volunteers like Glucroft proceed with a The following are available for $5 each: certain level of caution. “When the young groups come by A Film Unfinished – the student groups – you want to be on your best behavior,” A Woman Called Golda Glucroft says, admitting to some trepidation before greeting Angel Levine, The different audiencesBroken while in the box. “Teenagers are so impresSilence sionable and who Budapest knows what lasting effect the experience to Gettysburg may have on them.” Couple, The Neverthless, openness remains the You prevailing theme I Have Never Forgotten of the exhibit, according to Friedlander. “One day I got a In Darkness Nora’s Will call from the information desk, a Holocaust survivor was Rashevski’s Tango “He told me that he’d on the line,” Friedlander recalls. Sarah’s Key seen the exhibition showcase empty and offered to go immediately and Ushpizin sit in the box. From his perspective, it was imperative that we make the most of the opportunity for Jews to interact with non-Jews and he was prepared to share his story.” Bold techniques that force public dialogue will be successful as long as the discussion “is self-generated and not imposed by some government office of integration,” Glucroft says. Despite the growing interest and enthusiasm surrounding the exhibit, it may be important that the display not overstay its welcome in Berlin, says Glucroft, with an eye on the
exhibit’s scheduled closure in September. “The exhibit is meant to be in your face and controversial, and that sensation rubs off after a while,” Glucroft says. Until September, the exhibit will continue to pursue its objective of fostering a larger dialogue on the moral imperative to engage and accept minorities worldwide. But for those who sat in the box, a different process is underway. Glucroft seems emotionally exhausted from the experience, and needs time to reflect on the questions he was asked by museum visitors before being able to ask new questions himself. “My Jewish identity ebbs and flows,” Glucroft concluded after his third and final stint in the box. “At the moment, I’m actually getting a little tired of talking about and debating this.”
Exhibit on R. B. Kitaj
The Jewish Museum of New York City will hold the exhibit “R. B. Kitaj: Personal Library” through September 13. The exhibit features the series “In Our Time,” which is composed of 50 screenprints based on enlarged photographs of the bindings or jackets of books in his personal library. The range of texts and typographies conveys Kitaj’s interests and tastes. Most are prewar editions, conveying a slightly nostalgic tone. For more information, visit www.thejewishmuseum.org or contact the museum at 212-423-3200 or e-mail info@ thejm.org.
Jack Goldstein exhibit
The first American retrospective of the Canadian-born artist Jack Goldstein (1945-2003) brings to light his legacy and will be held at The Jewish Museum in New York City through September 29. The exhibit frames Goldstein as a central figure of the Pictures Generation of the 1970s and 1980s. It features his paintings, films, installations, writings and sound recordings. Exhibit highlights include his film of a growling Metro-GoldwynMayer lion and the film “The Jump,” which features a leaping diver performing a somersault and disintegrating into fragments. For more information, visit www.thejewishmuseum.org, e-mail info@thejm.org or call 212-423-3200.
Please contact Dassy at 570-961-2300 (x2) or Rae (x4) to make a purchase.
Notice to our Pocono Readers 911 Emergency Management Services has been updating mailing addresses in Monroe County and Lehman Townships in Pike County. Please don't forget to notify the Federation so you will continue to receive The Reporter. Thanks, Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – After two months of Jewish communal squabbling following the disclosure of a flubbed opportunity to detect a massive fraud scheme at the Claims Conference years before it was stopped, the Claims Conference appears to be moving on. At its annual meeting held the second week in July, the organization’s Board of Directors debated for more than six hours the circumstances surrounding an anonymous letter sent to the conference in 2001 alleging that multiple false claims had been approved for restitution payments. Despite two investigations that year into the letter’s allegations, fraud was not detected. Claims Conference employee Semen Domnitser, who was implicated in the letter, was able to continue running his scheme until 2009, racking up more than $57 million in fraudulent payouts over 16 years. He was convicted at trial two months ago. Faced with a public outcry following the revelation of this missed opportunity, a specially appointed Claims Conference committee commissioned an investigation into the 2001 episode. But the committee’s final report on the issue, sent to the board just before the meeting in New York, proved highly controversial. It was disavowed by two of its four members and rebutted in a 21-page missive by the chief executive of the Claims Conference, Greg Schneider. So after the lengthy debate, the board had a choice on July 10: Investigate further and possibly purge the organization of the remaining Claims Conference leaders associated with the failure, or move on. The board chose to move on, albeit with added measures of caution. It voted unanimously to endorse the Claims Conference slate of officers – including Chairman Julius Berman, who as pro bono counsel oversaw one of the botched 2001 probes into the anonymous letter, and Schneider, who discovered the fraud four months after becoming chief executive in 2009. The board also voted unanimously to endorse the special committee’s recommendations to form a new committee to review the administration, management and governance structure of the Claims Conference. But the board stopped short of endorsing the special committee’s controversial report or the ombudsman’s disputed findings, and it did not agree to any additional outside oversight, as some critics have demanded. Though outsiders will be included on the new committee that is to review organizational governance, the committee will not have any power other than to issue a report and make recommendations to the board. Essentially, the board reaffirmed a central tenet of how it operates the Claims Conference: Outside critics may complain and demand more of a say in how the billions of dollars in restitution money from Germany are handled and distributed, but ultimately the board will do what it wants. As one critic of the process told JTA on condition of anonymity, it’s business as usual at the Claims Conference. To some outside critics, this is unconscionable. In their view, heads should roll for the conference’s failure to detect a $57 million fraud. They point to the disputed ombudsman’s report, which found a “litany of lack of diligence, competence and judgment” among senior Claims Conference leaders for their handling of the 2001 episode. They complain that the organizations that comprise the board, formed in 1951 and little changed since, is unrepresentative of the current Jewish world, insufficiently transparent and uninterested in outside input. In their view, there could not be a clearer need for change. But Claims Conference leaders say that misses the point. Yes, they say, there were significant failures in 2001 – yet even the ombudsman’s report does not lay the blame on any one person and said there is no evidence that anyone tried to cover up the 2001 episode. It was the Claims Confer-
ence that discovered the fraud in 2009 and brought it to the authorities. All 31 people who perpetrated the fraud were arrested and convicted of their crimes. And since 2009, new systems and controls were put into place to prevent recurrence of fraud, including two outside auditing firms – one of which reports to the Germans. The staffers responsible for the failures in 2001 are gone from the Claims Conference – dead or retired. Though Berman played a role overseeing one of the failed 2001 probes and many outsiders called for his resignation, the board appears to endorse the view that Berman is not to blame and is better off at the board’s helm than off it. (Berman also is a member of the JTA board.) “The plain truth is that there is one person to blame: the convicted criminal,” Schneider wrote in his letter to the board. “All the main players... missed it. And, I am sure that each regrets it. But, people are fallible.” Perhaps most notably, in the years since the fraud was discovered, Claims Conference officials say, they have been able to maintain the confidence of the German government, which bore the full cost of the $57 million fraud. That confidence is evident in the successes Claims Conference
negotiators have had with Germany since 2009, including getting more classes of survivors eligible for pensions and restitution payments, and dramatic increases in funding for home care for infirm survivors. Even though the number of survivors drawing restitution payments has dwindled as they have died, the total amount of restitution Germany provides actually has increased since 2009, Claims Conference officials note. It’s unlikely that this will be enough to placate critics. If anything, the board’s recent decisions may amplify their calls for reform. But there’s little the critics can do about it. The committee created by the board may recommend additional changes to how the Claims Conference operates, and it’s possible that some changes eventually will be adopted. Ultimately, however, that will be up the board of the Claims Conference. And as long as the Germans keep treating the Claims Conference as the sole representative of the Jewish people on restitution matters, those who have a problem with the way the organization operates – whether it’s the Israeli prime minister or a survivor living in Florida – won’t be able to do much more than kvetch.
h a l a l n a d H , Hone d e s y He Continuing a Rosh Hashana fundraising tradition started by Roseann Smith Alperin (O.B.M.), as we begin 5774. • Proceeds benefit Youth Religious Education •
Gift Bag $20 • Mums $22
• A gift bag with a Kosher Challah (plain or raisin), apples, a container of honey, candy, and two Yom Tov candles. • A large flowering plant—mums. Last year the mums were huge and beautiful. This is the ideal gift for someone who cannot accept outside food items. To order: Please make checks payable to “Temple Hesed Sisterhood”. Specify plain or raisin challah or the flowering mum. Mail to: Carol Leventhal, 125 Welsh Hill Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18411. For more information, call Carol at 570-587-2931 or email jeff@graphicsart.net.
We are delivering the fresh Challah gift bags and the beautiful mums on Erev Rosh Hashanah: Wednesday, September 4. DELIVERIES WILL BE MADE TO ANY ADDRESS IN SCRANTON OR THE ABINGTONS All Orders Must Be In By August 28, 2013
Volunteers Needed! To assemble gift bags at 1 pm, Tuesday, Sept. 3 at the Leventhal residence located at 125 Welsh Hill Road in Clarks Summit. To make deliveries on Wednesday morning, September 4 Call Carol or Jeff at 570-587-2931 to volunteer.
Hesed, Hallah and Honey Order Form Order before August 25 • Delivered September 4 Name___________________________________________ Address__________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Phone___________________________________________ Name___________________________________________ Address__________________________________________
Congregation B’nai Harim, a Reform Congregation, located in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, needs a teacher for our “one room school” type of religious school. Classes meet every other Saturday morning for 3 hours. There is an aide to help with the younger children and the Rabbi will be the school director. For additional information, please contact the temple at 570-646-0100 or visit our web site at www.bnaiharimpoconos.org.
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Enclose check, made payable to: Temple Hesed Sisterhood Mail order to: Carol Leventhal 125 Welch Hill Road Clarks Summit PA 18411
¨ Challah______= $20/each ____ Plain _____Raisin ¨
Mums_______= $22/each
Phone___________________________________________ G ETTING GI FTS
The following are available for $5 each: A Film Unfinished A Woman Called Golda Angel Levine, The Broken Silence Budapest to Gettysburg Couple, The I Have Never Forgotten You In Darkness Nora’s Will Rashevski’s Tango Sarah’s Key Ushpizin
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Rebuffing critics, Claims Conference re-elects chairman and looks ahead
YOUR NAME
In an effort to make room for new titles, the Jewish Federation has “like new” DVD’s on sale.
The Berlin Jewish Museum’s “The Whole Truth” exhibit, in which Jewish men and women sit in a glass box and answer questions from visitors about Judaism. (Photo courtesy of Jüdisches Museum Berlin/Linus Lintner©)
THE REPORTER
Name___________________________________________ Address__________________________________________
¨ Challah______= $20/each ____ Plain _____Raisin
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Mums_______= $22/each
Phone___________________________________________ Name___________________________________________ Address__________________________________________
¨ Challah______= $20/each ____ Plain _____Raisin
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Mums_______= $22/each
Phone___________________________________________
ÊVisit the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania on the web at www.jewishnepa.org or on Facebook
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
Creating modern Israeli heroine, LeBor crosses Lisbeth Salander and biblical Yael
By Ruth Ellen Gruber BUDAPEST (JTA) – There’s a new Jewish heroine on the block, a tough but tender Israeli who does undercover work for the United Nations and stars in a new series of thrillers by British author and journalist Adam LeBor. The first installment, “The Geneva Option,” was released in the United Kingdom in April and recently hit U.S. booksellers. It spins a tale of corporate greed, international corruption and insidious plans for mass murder, with intrigue spanning the globe from New York to central Africa to Switzerland. The protagonist is Yael Azoulay, an auburn-haired Israeli army veteran forced to use subterfuge, computer savvy and Krav Maga skills to thwart the villains. “As far as I know, she’s the first Israeli woman protagonist in a thriller,” said LeBor, a Budapest-based correspondent for The Times of London, the Economist and other publications. The story pivots on an unholy alliance between superpowers and multinational corporations aimed at cornering the market on raw materials essential for 21st century technology. “I wanted to look at the tension between the moral aims of the U.N. and the actual results of superpower politics in the U.N. – there’s a pretty serious gap there,” said LeBor, who drew on his own dealings with the world body as a reporter in Bosnia during the 1990s. “But I don’t see the book as an indictment of the U.N. or of the people who work there,” he added. “There are obviously a lot of good people in the U.N. committed to its values. At the same time, there are some really dreadful people there, just placed there by their governments, or careerists out to milk the machine for as much as they can.” LeBor drew inspiration for Azoulay from many sources, including Lisbeth Salander, the hacker heroine of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy, and Azoulay’s biblical namesake, Yael, who sheltered an enemy commander in her tent and then killed him by hammering a stake into his head. “What if there was someone working for the U.N. with a powerful moral drive to do good, yet who was forced
Adam LeBor (above, right) in “The Geneva Option,” his second venture into fiction, introduces Yael Azoulay, an Israeli army veteran who is caught up in the world of international intrigue. (Harper Publishing) to operate in the shadows? Even to kill?” LeBor wrote in a recent op-ed in The Times of Israel. Azoulay, he wrote, is “a modern woman – a 21st century heroine, haunted by her past, with a complex identity, but one firmly rooted in Israel.” Azoulay faces more than just physical enemies. In her mid-30s ,she’s also contending with the biological clock. To complicate matters, the potential love interest for this proud Israeli is a PalestinianAmerican journalist. “There’s always tension between career women and the call of relationships and family,” LeBor told JTA. “The basis of drama is conflict and you need inner conflict in the protagonist.” “The Geneva Option” is Lebor’s second venture into fiction, having already authored more than a half-dozen non-fiction books. His latest, “Tower of Basel,” is an investigative history of the Switzerland-based Bank for
P A C E
Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment
Your gift to the Annual Campaign DOES A WORLD OF GOOD. Endowing your gift allows you to be there for the Jewish community of NEPA forever. A Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment (PACE) is a permanent fund that endows your Jewish community Annual Campaign gift as a lasting legacy. A PACE fund will continue to make an annual gift in perpetuity on your behalf. To determine the amount you need to endow your entire campaign gift, multiply your current annual gift by 20. You can fund your PACE by adding the JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA to your will, or by making the Federation a beneficiary of your IRA. All contributions to establish a PACE are tax deductible.
Let your name be remembered as a blessing. Endowments can be created through a variety of vehicles, some of which do not necessitate funding during your lifetime yet still provide your estate with considerable tax benefits. They also enable you to perpetuate your commitment to the Annual Campaign in a way that best achieves your own personal financial and estate planning goals.
Examples Of Ways To Fund Your Pace Gift Are:
* outright contribution of cash, appreciated securities or other long-term * capital gain property such as real estate * charitable remainder trust * gift of life insurance * charitable lead trust * gift of IRA or pension plan assets * grant from your foundation * reserved life estate in your residence * bequest
Using appreciated property, such as securities or real estate, affords you the opportunity to eliminate the income tax on the long-term capital gain, will in some instances generate a full income tax charitable deduction and will remove those assets from your estate for estate tax purposes. For more information contact Mark Silverberg at Mark.Silverberg@jewishnepa.org or call 570-961-2300, ext. 1.
International Settlements that also was recently published in the United States. Many of his books have a Jewish or Israeli theme – including “The Believers,” about the swindler Bernard Madoff’s impact on the American Jewish community, and “City of Oranges,” the story of Israel told through the sagas of three Arab and three Jewish families in Jaffa. His previous novel, “The Budapest Protocol,” posits a shadowy World War II conspiracy aimed to achieve Nazi economic domination of Europe. “I guess it’s a way of exploring part of my own identity in a way, being brought up Jewish in England, having gone to two Jewish schools, having lived on a kibbutz in my gap year, having studied Hebrew and also Arabic,” he said. “I realized when I got to the level of being able to write nonfiction books, I thought that there were some interesting things I can explore here.” LeBor says writing fiction is more difficult than nonfiction, but often more satisfying. “When you get fiction going, it’s true what you read about – the characters just come alive,” he said. “You wake up in the morning still half asleep and you know what to do. You end a chapter on a cliff-hanger. You think how on earth is she going to get out of that; you sleep on it. And you know what to do. It’s really an amazing high. It’s like flying when it works.” As for Yael Azoulay, her next full-length book adventure will be set partly in Vienna. Until then, LeBor and his publisher will be taking advantage of new technology to issue occasional short stories or novellas that can be published as e-books within weeks of being written. The first, “The Istanbul Exchange,” came out recently. Azoulay “is going to get into a lot more trouble, for sure,” he said. And, LeBor said, he plans little by little to reveal more about her past. “It’s not spelled out in ‘The Geneva Option’ if [Azoulay] has any connections with Mossad, and if so, what they might be,” he added. “So you have to wait to see that in later volumes.”
Beersheva is hoping to bloom in the Negev By Ben Sales BEERSHEVA, Israel (JTA) – In four years, it’s slated to be bigger than New York’s Central Park and consist of open fields, a sports complex, and a lake and a river filled with recycled water. Now, though, Beersheva River Park looks like much of the area surrounding the desert city of Beersheva: a panorama of sand and dirt, with a bit of trash and, on a good day, some dirty water trickling through a gorge. In one patch of empty space, workers in hard hats walk up and down rows of stadium seats covered in plastic. At the bottom is a round stage with the foundations of a back wall that is scheduled to open in October as a 12,000-seat amphitheater – Israel’s largest. The cost is $16 million. Alongside the park, Beersheva looks like one large construction zone. Cranes towering above rising skyscrapers dot the sky. Museums and restaurants are popping up near a formerly dilapidated central district. Ten new upscale suburbs are in the works north of the city. The Israeli Defense Forces is building a training complex with seven bases next door. On July 14, the Israeli government announced a fiveyear initiative to invest nearly $140 million into bringing new residents and businesses to the Negev Desert. “The city is waking up,” says Natan Jibli, CEO of Israel’s Negev Development Authority. “There’s culture and things to do and students and artists.” Israelis long have viewed Beersheva as the country’s largest “development town,” the first and sometimes only stop for immigrants from Morocco, Ethiopia, India or Russia. Squat brown public housing known simply as “residences” crowd neighborhoods devoid of names and identified only by a series of letters. In its outer districts, though, Beersheva features rolling green hills – even in July – trees, single-family homes and traffic circles anchored by central fountains. In its Old City, which dates back to 19th-century Turkish rule, dilapidated buildings are now buffeted by sleek apartments and trendy restaurants opening on the ground levels of many peeling residences. Some of the apartments house students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, a bustling campus in northern Beersheva with smooth concrete buildings. More than 100 of the students live in apartments subsidized by the school and in return they give eight hours per week to their community in the form of volunteer programs. University officials hope to engage the students in the city – and keep them there after they graduate. “The university was created See “Beersheva” on page 18
See why everyone describes this as Unforgetable, the trip of a liftime!
Tel Aviv Caesaria Army Base Tiberias Sea of Galilee Jerusalem Tzfat (Safed) Golan Heights Masada Dead Sea Haifa
THE REPORTER
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Saturday, October 12 Tuesday, October 22, 2013 We’ll arrive Sunday evening into Israel and stay overnight in Tel Aviv. The next morning we’ll travel up the coast of the Mediterranean to Caesaria, and then travel to the city of Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where we’ll stay for two nights. We’ll travel throughout the Galilee, and we’ll visit the mountaintop city of Safed, and there we’ll go up to the Golan Heights. Then it’s off to Jerusalem, a truly magical city. We’ll go through the Old City, go to the Western Wall, and see many other sites throughout the city that are so special and so sacred. One day will take us down to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, and a visit to the mountain fortress of Massada. You will also have the chance to become “Archeologists For a Day”, as we take part in an active archeological dig, which is one of the most productive digs in the country! Near the end of the trip we will go to an IDF Army Base. We’ll have an opportunity to meet and talk with some of the youngsters who are serving in the Army today. We’ll also visit Tel Aviv, where we’ll sit in the actual place where Ben Gurion declared the state, in May, 1948, & then it’s off to the airport for our trip home. The cost of the trip is $3895 or $2965 for the land portion only. To sign up for the trip call Mark Silverberg at 570-961-2300 xt1. Questions? Call Barry Weiss, 570-650-0874 or Jay Weiss, 570-565-9515, or email bjtravel4@ gmail.com.
ISRAEL, 2013 Home to the World’s 3 Great Religions!
This journey will touch you spiritually, no matter who you are. Come and share an experience so unique, it will be like nothing else you’ve ever done!
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
Beersheva
New Season of
Films!
August 2013
• Non-Feature Films •
Blessed is the Match - In 1944, 22-year Hannah Senesh parachuted into Nazi- occupied Europe with a small group of Jewish volunteers from Palestine. Theirs was the only military rescue mission for Jews that occurred in World War II. *Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy - This entertaining documentary, narrated by the award winning Joel Grey, examines the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical. There are interviews alongside standout performances and archival footage. Budapest to Gettyburg - The past and present collide as a world-renowned historian confronts a history he has refused to study-his own. Gabor Boritt is an expert on Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War. But it took his son’s urging to get him to return to his native Hungary and learn about the Jewish experience there from the time of his childhood until, together with his family, he escaped to the United States. Constantine’s Sword, is a 2007 historical documentary film on the relationship between the Catholic Church and Jews. Directed and produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Oren Jacoby, the film is inspired by former priest James P. Carroll’s 2001 book Constantine’s Sword. Inside Hana’s Suitcase - A real-life Japanese schoolteacher, who appears throughout the film, sparked this entire story by gathering artifacts for a Holocaust educational center she was developing along with a group of girls and boys called The Small Wings. After applying to receive Holocaust artifacts, a large box arrives with a handful of artifacts, including a battered brown suitcase labeled with Hana Brady’s name. The teacher and her students begin searching for the story behind the suitcase. What they discover will surprise you. They wind up unlocking--and showing us in the film--a whole series of deeply moving memories and other related artifacts and photos. Finally, Hana’s surviving brother George travels to Japan to meet the Japanese students. Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story - This excellent documentary, narrated by Dustin Hoffman, portrays the contributions of Jewish major leaguers and the special meaning that baseball has had in the lives of American Jews. Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story was shown at the Opening Event for the 2012 UJA Campaign. The Case for Israel: Democracy’s Outpost - Famed attorney, Alan Dershowitz, presents a vigorous case for Israel- for its basic right to exist, to protect its citizens from terrorism and to defend its borders from hostile enemies. *The Flat - This gripping autobiographical documentary tells the story of the filmmaker, Arnon Goldfinger who travels to Tel Aviv to clean out the apartment of recent deceased German-born Jewish grandmother. Goldfinger discovers, while going through her belonging, he finds evidence that his grandparents were good friends with Leopold von Mildenstein, a leading official within the Nazi propaganda agency and that they remained friends after World War II. He journeys to find out the details of this disturbing revelation. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg - As baseball’s first Jewish star, Hammering Hank Greenberg’s career contains all the makings of a true American success story. *Orchestra of Exiles - This riveting documentary tells the story of how Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman, watched Jewish musicians being fired from classical orchestras when Hitler came to power. Huberman decided to build a new orchestra in Palestine encountering many obstacles along the way. He ultimately succeeds and the Palestine Symphony gave its first performance December, 1936. (When Israel gained independence in 1948, the orchestra was renamed the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, which remains to this day a world class orchestra.)
• Feature Films •
A Matter of Size - Winner of numerous international awards, this Israeli comedy is a hilarious and heart-warming tale about four overweight guys who learn to love themselves through the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. (not rated) Avalon- Sam Krichinsky and his extended family arrive in American to find the American dream in a place called Avalon. We watch the Krichinsky family move from poverty to prosperity,facing their changing world with enduring humor and abiding love. Crossing Delancey - This is a warm comedy taking place in New York City. Isabella Grossman desires to rise above her family’s Lower East Side community but her grandmother has other matchmaking plans. Footnote - The story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors who have both dedicated their lives to work in Talmudic Studies departments of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Though the father shuns overt praise for his work and the son is desperate for it, how will each react when the father is to be awarded the most sought after prize, the Israel prize? This Oscar nominated film will entrance from the start. Frisco Kid - It’s 1850 and new rabbi Avram Belinski sets out from Philadelphia toward San Francisco. Cowpoke bandit Tom Lillard hasn’t seen a rabbi before but he knows when one needs a heap of help. Getting this tenderfoot to Frisco in one piece will cause a heap of trouble- with the law, Native Americans and a bunch of killers. Good - In an attempt to establish its credibility, the new Nazi government is seeking out experts to endorse its policies and they come across Johnnie Halder’s novel of a husband who aids his terminally ill wife in an assisted suicide. Because of this the Nazis flatter Johnnie arranging for high paying and prestigious positions. Never evil, Johnnie Halder is an Everyman who goes along, accepts what he is told without question until he is an unwitting accomplice to the Nazi killing machine. Hidden In Silence - Przemysl, Poland, WWII. Germany emerges victorious over the Russians, and the city comes under Nazi control. The Jewish are sent to the ghettos. While some stand silent, Catholic teenager Stefania Podgorska chooses the role of a savior and sneaks 13 Jews into her attic. Every day, she risks detection--and immediate execution--by smuggling food and water to the silent group living above her. And when two German nurses are assigned to her living quarters, the chances of discovery become dangerously high. This is the true story of a young woman’s selfless commitment and unwavering resolve in the face of war. Noodle (PAL version- can only be played on computer NOT regular DVD players) - At thirty-seven, Miri is a twice-widowed, El Al flight attendant. Her well regulated existence is suddenly turned upside down by an abandoned Chinese boy whose migrant-worker mother has been deported from Israel. The film is a touching comic-drama in which two human beings- as different from each other as Tel Aviv is from Beijing- accompany each other on a remarkable journey, one that takes them both back to a meaningful life. Operation Thunderbolt - The true story of the Entebbe hijacking and rescue. “Operation Thunderbolt,” was filmed in Israel with the full cooperation of the Israeli government, and is an exciting re-creation of the events of those tense days. We see the full scope of the story, from the original hijacking to the passengers’ captivity in Uganda to the agonized debates at the highest levels of the Israeli government over a diplomatic vs. a military solution. “Operation Thunderbolt” is the thrilling and true story of how one small country refused to let their people be killed by terrorists and took action to prevent it. People who claim that Israel is a “terrorist state” should see the film and be reminded who the real terrorists are. Orthodox Stance (documentary-2007) - Dimitriy Salita, a Russian immigrant, is making history as a top professional boxer and rigorously observant Jew. While providing an intimate, 3-year long look at the trials and tribulations faced by an up and coming professional boxer, ORTHODOX STANCE is a portrait of seemingly incompatible cultures and characters working together to support Dmitriy’s rare and remarkable devotion to both Orthodox Judaism and the pursuit of a professional boxing title. Playing for Time - An outstanding cast brings life to this Fania Fenelon autobiography about a Jewish cabaret singer and other Jewish prisoners whose lives were spared at Auschwitz in exchange for performing for their captors. The Angel Levine - Things couldn’t get worse for Jewish tailor Morris Mishkin (Zero Mostel). His shop has gone up in flames, his daughter has married outside the faith and, worse yet, his wife is slowly dying. But just when he decides to give up on God, a mysterious man (Harry Belafonte) appears, claiming to be his Jewish guardian angel! Doubtful that the stranger is Jewish, never mind an angel, Mishkin must overcome his skepticism if he wants one last chance at redemption. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Set during World War II, this is the story of Bruno, an innocent and naïve eight-year old boy who meets a boy while romping in the woods. A surprising friendship develops.
Continued from page 16 with a mandate to bring development to the region,” said Faye Bittker, director of the university’s department of publications and media relations. “We want to build an ecosystem. You have academia, the army, high-tech and a hospital.” The university boasts a well-regarded computer engineering program and is pinning its hopes on a new high-tech park next door. The first of the park’s 20 planned buildings opened in July and houses seven companies along with two incubators for early-stage startups. When completed, the park will house up to 60 companies, bringing 10,000 jobs to the area. “The park is big technology news for Beersheva and the Negev,” said Sima Kachlon, general manager of the city’s Proactive Center for Business Promotion. “You finish an engineering degree and you have somewhere to join.” The center also hopes to attract large communications and electric companies to Beersheva and create a commercial district in the Old City. Kachlon laments that chain clothing stores and cafés have been reluctant to open in a city some still regard as backwater. For upper- and middle-class Israelis still wary of Beersheva, the government has planned 10 new suburbs to the city’s north: affordable, quiet bedroom communities for people working in Beersheva or even Tel Aviv, which is about one hour, 15 minutes away by car and an hour by train. The Jewish National Fund in the past 10 years has invested $40 million into attracting half a million Israelis here within two decades, working alongside the Or Movement, which shares that goal. The Israeli immigration organization Nefesh B’Nefesh also has offered incentives to families who move to Israel’s South. In past decades, “the state took initiative, but now, as we see on Facebook, innovation comes from the people and the young generation,” said Roni Flamer, CEO of the Or Movement. “If you know how to create a good model, the state will see it.” To attract residents to Beersheva, the government is improving its connections to Tel Aviv. A new train track will carry passengers between the cities in 50 minutes, and the Negev Development Authority is pushing to build Israel’s second international airport in the area even though Beersheva has few hotels. Like Beersheva River Park, some of the planned communities still leave much to the imagination. One planned town, Karmit, has one structure, the synagogue – it was paid for by American donors. JNF envisions the town with 2,500 families, half religious and half secular, and is counting on existing infrastructure like the synagogue attracting prospective buyers. Karmit’s first lots won’t be populated until 2016. The 10-suburb plan has its critics. Ronit Ze’evi, Beersheva’s district manager for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, says she’d prefer that neighborhoods be added instead to nearby depressed towns. The new suburbs, she said, will separate the upper and lower classes while costing the government more money in infrastructure development. “They’ll hurt the existing towns,” Ze’evi said. “If you have communities of villas, the well-off population will leave the city and go to these villas. It’s less socially equitable.” Fifty families – a progressive Orthodox community equal parts immigrant and native-born Israeli – has settled in the heart of Beersheva. Since arriving in 2010, they’ve tried to boost the district socially and religiously, volunteering in immigrant absorption centers, hosting lectures and social events, and founding a liberal Orthodox prayer group. “What makes us different is being a progressive religious community,” said Ravit Greenberg, former chairwoman of the community’s board. “When you go into a school and say pluralism matters to us, you’re doing something important.” Beersheva’s biggest boost may come from the new IDF training base complex, which is set to arrive by 2015, along with the army’s computer unit. The army estimates that this will streamline its operations and create 10,000 jobs. Ben-Gurion University plans to collaborate with the army on research and courses, and will encourage soldiers to find jobs here after their discharge. As with many projects, Beersheva residents will have to wait and see what happens. But for Flamer, who noted that the Negev Desert covers most of Israel, a new and improved city is just on the horizon. “We’re talking about the state’s biggest dream,” Flamer said, “to affect the whole population, to take 60 percent of Israel and make it 100 percent of its future.”
The Couple - Based on the true story of a Jewish Hungarian’s desperate attempts to save his family from the Nazi death camps. Mr. Krauzenberg (Martin Landau) is forced to hand over his vast wealth to the Nazis for the safe passage of his family out of occupied Europe, only to find his two remaining servants are left trapped in a web of deceit and danger. Their only hope for survival relies on the courage of Krauzenberg.
*The World of Sholom Aleichem - Three of Sholom Aleichem short stories are adapted for the stage and broadcast on the 1959 television series “The Play of the Week”.
Patrons ate lunch in a row of recently opened restaurants on the ground floor of public housing in central Beersheva. (Photo by Ben Sales/JTA)
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NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA
Israeli lawmakers agree to release Palestinian prisoners
Israel’s Cabinet voted to release 104 Palestinian prisoners as part of the renewed peace process. Following late-night phone calls and several hours of debate, the Cabinet in a 13-7 vote backed the release of Palestinians jailed in Israel since before the 1993 Oslo Accords. Limor Livnat and Silvan Shalom of the ruling Likud Party abstained from the vote. The release is scheduled to take place over nine months, with the first one in the coming weeks. Initial meetings between Israeli chief negotiator Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat are scheduled to begin on July 30. Israeli-Arab prisoners included in the list of 104 will be released in the last group of prisoners, according to Haaretz. A ministerial committee set up to manage the prisoner release is comprised of Livni, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Science Minister Yaakov Peri and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. “This moment is not easy for me,” Netanyahu said before the vote. “It is not easy for the ministers. It is not easy especially for the families, the bereaved families, whose heart I understand. But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the country, and this is one of those moments.” Prior to the vote, hundreds of family members of the Palestinian prisoners’ victims and their supporters protested in front of the Knesset. “Releasing murderers brings a lot of bereavement and it is a mark of disgrace against Israel,” Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, a member of the coalition government, told the protesters before the vote. “Anyone on the other side [the Palestinians] who today calls for the release of murderers and burners of children and women does not deserve to be called a partner.” “Terrorists need to be wiped out, not released. We will vote against releasing murderers.” The start of the meeting was delayed by about an hour as Netanyahu continued to work for support for the measure from his Cabinet ministers.
Dermer approved officially as Israel’s U.S. envoy
Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved the appointment of Ron Dermer as Israeli ambassador to the United States. The appointment of Dermer, a former senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was approved on July 28 during the regular weekly Cabinet meeting. Dermer, who immigrated to Israel from Florida 15 years ago, succeeds Michael Oren, a New Jersey native. Oren announced on July 5 that he would be vacating his post in the fall. “Ron is one of the most talented and dedicated people I know,” Netanyahu said after the vote. “No one is more appropriate. He will continue the exceptional work of outgoing Ambassador Michael Oren; I am certain that Ron will continue this work.” Dermer is scheduled to take the post next month, but could be delayed because of a strike by Foreign Ministry employees. The ministry’s workers are refusing to arrange his diplomatic passport, process his transfer to Washington or arrange for his departing airplane ticket, according to the Times of Israel. In addition to not having completed his diplomatic paperwork, Dermer has not received a preparation course required for new diplomats. The embassy also has not requested permits from the United States needed for a new ambassador, according to the Times of Israel.
Law for referendum on land withdrawal passes Israeli Cabinet
The Israeli Cabinet approved a measure that would require a public referendum or vote on any peace agreement that involves withdrawing from land Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Cabinet approved the legislation, which will create a new Basic Law, at its regular meeting on July 28. The legislation will be brought to a vote of the full Knesset on July 31 for a first reading. “It is important that every citizen have a direct vote on fateful decisions such as these that will determine the future of the state,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Cabinet before the vote. The legislation only refers to land under Israel’s sovereign control, meaning a referendum will not have to be held in order to give areas of the West Bank to the Palestinians. Any peace deal that requires giving away parts of Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, or land swaps, will have to be put to a popular vote.
In retaliatory measure, Israel nixing West Bank projects with EU
Israel will refuse to cooperate with the European Union in West Bank areas under Israeli control in retaliation for the EU’s new guidelines concerning the occupied territories. Under the orders of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, the Israel Defense Forces’ civil administration will stop cooperating with the European Union on joint projects to benefit the Palestinians. The decision to cease cooperation with the EU in Area C of the West Bank was first reported on Hebrew news websites in Israel on July 25 and confirmed by The Jerusalem Post the following day. Under the orders, no travel documents will be issued or renewed for EU personnel to travel to the West Bank or Gaza. Projects that will suffer include a program to train Palestinian Authority police officers as well as a waste removal program, according to The Jerusalem Post. Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, told Reuters that the EU has not received any “official communication” from Israel regarding the orders. The orders come less than two weeks after the European Commission announced new guidelines making Israeli entities and activities in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights ineligible for EU grants and prizes. The guidelines are a follow-up to a decision made by the foreign ministers of EU member states at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Dec. 10 in which they said that “all agreements between the state of Israel and the European Union must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the
territories occupied by Israel in 1967, namely the Golan Heights, the West Bank including East[ern] Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”
Women of the Wall request use of sacred site’s Torah scroll
Women of the Wall asked the rabbi of the Western Wall to allow the group to use one of the site’s Torah scrolls. In a letter sent on July 28, Women of the Wall made the request to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz for their Rosh Chodesh prayer service, marking the start of the new Jewish month. The group asked to use one of the site’s 100 scrolls available for public use or to bring in its own. According to regulations established several years ago by Rabinowitz, worshipers are not allowed to bring a Torah scroll from outside the site. The Torah scrolls available to the public are kept in the men’s section and are not available to female worshipers at the wall. Attempts to provide the women’s section with a Torah scroll have been quashed in the past, according to Ynet. “We cannot accept the continuation of a policy which prevents women from accessing the Torah at the Western Wall,” read the letter, which was signed by Anat Hoffman, chairwoman of Women of the Wall. “Through his own ordinance and regulations, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz prohibits women and only women from reading from the Torah scroll, as men have free access to the hundreds of scrolls at the Western Wall. This regulation does not meet the standards of good governance over a public space nor do the discriminatory practices of the rabbi, as a publicly appointed authority.” Hoffman said it was “absurd” that Rabinowitz has refused Women of the Wall’s offer to donate a Torah scroll to the Western Wall for use by female worshipers there. The letter was copied to Israeli President Shimon Peres, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky, who have been working on a plan to bring egalitarian prayer to the site. Women of the Wall gathers at the beginning of each Jewish month for a women’s Rosh Chodesh service at the wall. Members have been arrested for wearing prayer shawls because of a law forbidding any practice that falls outside of the wall’s “local custom.” In April, a judge determined that the group’s activities did not contravene the law. Since then, none of the women have been arrested.
Turkey frees bird accused of Mossad ties
Turkey released a bird it accused of working for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The bird was set free following an X-ray examination that determined it was not equipped with a microchip or other bugging device, the Hurriyet Turkish daily newspaper reported on July 26. Turkish authorities had detained the bird after residents of the Altinavya village had become suspicious upon finding a metal ring around its leg stamped with the words “24311 Tel Avivunia Israel.” The tag reportedly was placed on the bird in order to track migration routes.
Hamas shutters critical media in Gaza Strip
Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip shuttered two news outlets that published reports tying Hamas to the Muslim Brotherhood recently ousted from power in Egypt. The French news agency AFP reported on July 25 that the attorney general in Gaza’s Hamas-run government ordered the closure of the Gaza bureaus of the Palestinian Ma’an news agency and the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV news network. A Hamas official told AFP that Al Arabiya’s office was shuttered “for distributing false news regarding the smear campaign against Hamas and Gaza about what’s happening in Egypt.” Both agencies have reported that Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood-backed president ousted earlier in July by the Egyptian military, may stand trial for spying for Hamas, among other charges. “We received the closure notice and an official statement from Al Arabiya will be published to respond to this decision,” its Gaza correspondent, Islam Abd Al Kareem, told AFP. Ma’an reported separately that Hamas officials accompanied by security forces on July 25 delivered a closure notice to the Gaza offices of Ma’an. The officials questioned Ma’an’s Gaza bureau chief in his office over a Ma’an report that quoted information translated from a Hebrew-language news site, the agency reported. That report said that six Muslim Brotherhood officials had smuggled themselves into Gaza to plan an uprising against the military in Cairo. A ministry official told Ma’an’s bureau chief that the report was false. The official accused Ma’an of “seeking to intensify the incitement in Egypt against the Strip,” Ma’an quoted the ministry official as saying. “Ma’an deliberately publishes false news reports seeking to incite against Gaza. It has become complicit with Egyptian media outlets in incitement against the Strip,” the official said. Ma’an’s editor-in-chief, Nasser Lahham, said Hamas “takes any possible occasion to wage tough attacks against Ma’an news agency for no reason.” Hamas is an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood chapter launched in Gaza during Egypt’s 1949-1967 control of the strip, which borders Israel and Egypt. Israel controlled Gaza from 1967-2005.
Chabad rabbi shot in Russia recuperating at Israeli hospital
A Chabad rabbi shot in what is believed to be an antisemitic attack in southern Russia was recuperating in an Israeli hospital following a second surgery. Rabbi Artur Ovadia Isakov, 40, had surgery to repair his liver on July 26 at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. His condition has been upgraded to satisfactory, Chabad.org reported. Isakov arrived in Israel on July 26 morning in a chartered medical plane. He received a visit on the night of July 27 from Rabbi David Lau, the newly chosen Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, according to Chabad.org. Isakov was shot on July 24 as he exited his car and headed into his home in Derbent, in the predominantly Muslim Republic of Dagestan near Chechnya. According to Chabad.org, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that the rabbi’s Jewish appearance “is among the possible motives investigators are considering for the attack.”
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*The Other Son - The dramatic tale of two babies switched at birth, The Other Son creates a thoughtful presentation of what could be a soap opera type event. Instead, director Lorraine Levy and a wonderful screenplay takes the viewer down a very different path allowing each to come to his/her own conclusions.
*Just added to the Jewish Federation’s Film Lending Library!
THE REPORTER
www.jewishnepa.org
The Debt - Academy Award winner Helen Mirren and two-time Academy Award nominee Tom Wilkinson star in The Debt. In 1966, three Mossad agents were assigned to track down a feared Nazi war criminal hiding in East Berlin, a mission accomplished at great risk and personal cost… or was it?
Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story - Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story is an incredibly riveting, Emmy award-winning, fact-based story about a hero who helped over 100,000 Hungarian Jews escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
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THE REPORTER ■ august 1, 2013
AUGUST 1, 2013 ■
THE REPORTER
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New to the community?
Are you new to the community? The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania would love to learn more about you and your family! We’d like to arrange an interview that would be featured in an upcoming issue of The Reporter. For more information, call Mark Silverberg at 961-2300, ext. 1. “Welcome to Northeastern PA.”
New to the community?
Are you new to the community? The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania would love to learn more about you and your family! We’d like to arrange an interview that would be featured in an upcoming issue of The Reporter. For more information, call Mark Silverberg at 961-2300, ext. 1. “Welcome to Northeastern PA.”
The Jewish Federation of NEPA extends its condolences to the family of
Jewish Community Center of Scranton 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 Phone: (570) 346-6595 Fax: (570) 346-6147
Jewish Community Center of Scranton 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 Phone: (570) 346-6595 Fax: (570) 346-6147
BOARD OFFICERS: President: Eli Arenberg 1st Vice President: Ed Monsky 2nd Vice President: Doug Fink Treasurer: Michael Roth Secretary/Executive Director: Edward M. Basan Assistant Secretary: Filmore Rosenstein
PROFESSIONAL STAFF: Executive Director: Ed Basan Membership Registrar: Gary Beckhorn Business Manager: Alice Berger Bookkeeper: Carol Gallitz Senior Luncheon Manager: Leah Gans Aquatics Director: Julia Goretsky Program Director: Vince Kalinoski Recreation Specialist: Scott Moskovitz Early Childhood Director: Rika Schaffer Senior Adult Director: Ilona Thurston Development Director: Marie McTiernan
AGENCY MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of the Jewish Community Center is to develop and conduct a comprehensive program of activities, including education and recreation aimed at assisting individuals to meet their personal, social, recreational, educational, physical health and cultural needs/interests in order to achieve an affirmative identification with Jewish life and a deep appreciation of their reponsibilities as citizens of the community, the state and the nation.
BOARD OFFICERS: President: Eli Arenberg 1st Vice President: Ed Monsky 2nd Vice President: Doug Fink Treasurer: Michael Roth Secretary/Executive Director: Edward M. Basan Assistant Secretary: Filmore Rosenstein PROFESSIONAL STAFF: Executive Director: Ed Basan Membership Registrar: Gary Beckhorn Business Manager: Alice Berger Bookkeeper: Carol Gallitz Senior Luncheon Manager: Leah Gans Aquatics Director: Julia Goretsky Program Director: Vince Kalinoski Recreation Specialist: Scott Moskovitz Early Childhood Director: Rika Schaffer Senior Adult Director: Ilona Thurston Development Director: Marie McTiernan AGENCY MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of the Jewish Community Center is to develop and conduct a comprehensive program of activities, including education and recreation aimed at assisting individuals to meet their personal, social, recreational, educational, physical health and cultural needs/interests in order to achieve an affirmative identification with Jewish life and a deep appreciation of their reponsibilities as citizens of the community, the state and
ÊVisit the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania on the web at www.jewishnepa.org or on Facebook