June 20, 2013 Edition of the Federation Reporter

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Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania JUNE 20, 2013

VOLUME XI, NUMBER 13

Federation announces chairman for the 2014 Annual UJA Campaign Michael Greenstein, president of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, has announced that Don Douglass has agreed to chair the Federation’s forthcoming 2014 UJA Campaign. The Campaign is scheduled to begin in September and continue through May 2014.

“Don is an established leader of our community and his community involvement dates back decades,” said Greenstein. “He has chaired many Jewish organizations and is actively involved in numerous charitable enterprises in the general community as well.

We’re honored that he has agreed to chair our 2014 Annual UJA Campaign, which is the lifeblood of our Jewish community.”

Federation Executive Director Mark Silverberg said, “When one reads his history of involvement in both the general and Jewish communities, it becomes clear immediately that he brings to this position

courts, he practiced law in Scranthe wisdom and experience that ton from 1968-2007, specializing this Federation will require as we in taxation, with a focus on estate plan for the future of Northeast planning and administration.

Pennsylvania Jewry.”

A former president of the Estate Douglass was born in PhiladelPlanning Council of Northeastern phia, PA, to the late Reba and Art Pennsylvania, Douglass’ commuDouglass. He moved to Scranton nity service efforts have included at the age of 3 and was educated in being a board member of United the Scranton public school system.

Cerebral Palsy of Lackawanna After high school, he pursued County and serving as vice presia bachelor’s degree in political dent at Hillel Academy. As a past science at Marietta College in Don Douglass president of Amos Lodge B’nai Marietta, OH, graduating in 1965.

He then attended Cornell University Law B’rith, Jewish Family Service of Lackawanna School, receiving a doctor of jurisprudence County and the Jewish Community Center degree in 1968. Graduating first in the class Officers’ Association, Douglass has been among all full-time students, he received a involved in Jewish communal life for the master of laws in taxation (L.L.M.) from past 35 years.

His involvement with the Federation the Boston University Graduate School of Law in 1974. Being admitted to practice and its Annual UJA Campaigns began in before the various Pennsylvania and federal the early 1970s and has continued to the

Marching in the Celebrate Israel parade At left: The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania marched in the annual Celebrate Israel parade in New York City on June 2. L-r: Murray Fallk, Casey Friedman and Rachel Friedman held a theme banner.

See page 6 for article and more photos.

present. In 1979, he and Richard Bishop established and served as the first co-chairmen of Operation Genesis, a telethon campaign conducted by members of the Amos Lodge of B’nai B’rith. The campaign attempted to reach members of the Jewish community who had not contributed previously to Federation UJA Campaigns. As a result of its initial success, the project was continued through 1982, with Douglass serving as cochairman. Starting in 1983, the Federation began its Super Sunday Campaign event and Project Genesis was merged into it.

Currently, Douglass is a member of the board of Temple Israel in Scranton, the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service of Lackawanna County and the Jewish Home of Eastern Pennsylvania, and serves on various committees with each organization. He is also a member of the Federation Board of Trustees and serves as chairman of its Personnel Committee.

Residing in Clarks Summit, he is married to the former Joyce Stein, and is the father of three adult children – Stephanie, Stephen and David Douglass.

2013 UJA paign Update Cam Pay it forward & give to the 2013 Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania Annual Campaign!

$895,814

as of June 13, 2013

Scranton’s Jewish Food Festival to feature local chef/vendors

Organizers of the annual Jewish Food Festival have announced that restaurants and vendors from the local area will team up to prepare the food stations featured at the upcoming Sunday, July 21, event.

Riccardo’s Kosher Deli in Dunmore will prepare a selection of deli meats, including corned-beef brisket and pastrami on New York rye. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet owner Rocco Riccardo and enjoy a deli sandwich with specialty pickles, olives and condiments direct from the Lower East Side of New York City. The station will also feature Zabar’s mushroom, potato and spinach knishes.

Scranton’s Posh Restaurant, directed by executive chef Jim McNally, will present a “gourmet falafel station” featuring “exotic” salads, spicy falafel balls, traditional humus, roasted eggplant and

fresh-baked pita bread. “The station will transform the famous Mediterranean street food into an epicurean delight,” said organizers of the program. The station will provide those present with an opportunity to experience Posh Restaurant’s cuisine prepared kosher.

The Food Festival will also feature a wing station. Peggy Cosgrove, inventor of Peggy’s Wing Sauce and co-owner of Kelly’s Pub in South Side, will share her family’s buffalo wings. Patrons will enjoy a variety of dishes prepared with Cosgrove’s sauce, which is certified kosher.

Prior to the featured concert by the 8th Day Band, participants will enjoy desserts prepared by local pastry chefs, as well as Starbucks coffee.

To purchase tickets, visit www.JewishFoodFest.com or call 570-587-3300.

Jewish brewer

Goal:

880,500

$

(Please MEMO your pledge or gift 2013 UJA Campaign)

Federation on Facebook Peggy Cosgrove attended a recent Scranton street fair. Jewish Food Festival attendees will have an opportunity to meet Cosgrove and sample the flavors of her wing sauces.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Google Glass

For information or to make a donation call 570-961-2300 ext. 1 or send your gift to: Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510

Superman’s creators

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 June 14..............................................8:20 pm June 21..............................................8:22 pm June 28.............................................8:22 pm

The creator of Google Glass believes Jeremy Cohen’s business, Shmaltz Superman’s Jewish creators found PLUS it will revolutionize Jewish life and Brewing, is thriving amid the craft their own supehero, Neal Adams, education. beer boom. to advocate for them.

Opinion...........................................................2 Story on page 7 Story on page 10 Story on page 12 D’var Torah.................................................10

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THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

JUNE 20, 2013 ■

a matter of opinion Terror knows no boundaries

By Emily Amrousi JNS.org / Israel Hayom How comforting it must be to cultivate the delusion that everything begins and ends in the territories. But the reality is that certain things are not contained; there is osmosis.

Terror doesn’t recognize boundaries, neither red lines nor green lines. But the mainstream media is hushing up any evidence that might suggest otherwise.

News consumers, here’s a little test: Have you heard of the terror attacks perpetrated against Jews in Ramle in central Israel? Just this week, the windshields of about 10 cars were smashed there. Families driving their children to an after-school activity, or coming back from the supermarket, had bricks hurled at their cars. Did you happen to catch any coverage of the 10-year-old boy from Lod who was beaten and whose eye was blackened by a group of Arab teens as he was coming home from school? Did you hear a shred of a story about the group of Jewish schoolchildren who were forced to leave an arcade due to violence, spitting and cursing by a group of Arabs? Try to imagine what would happen in the media if the ethnicities were reversed.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Let’s put aside the terror in Judea and Samaria, which continues to sow fear in varying degrees. (This week, among other incidents, firebombs were hurled at a bus carrying children in Samaria. Boring. Nothing to report.) Let’s pretend that terror in Judea and Samaria is a case of dog bites man.

Let’s pretend that the ambushes by rockthrowing Palestinians on access roads to quiet communities are as exciting as rain in January. But what about the terrible attacks

by Bedouin outlaws against the residents of the Negev community Retamim? Here’s just

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an example from the last few days: Rocks were thrown at women and children, cars were set ablaze, a married couple were attacked with a crowbar, violent ambushes awaited farmers in their fields and a number of terror attacks were attempted along the roads – in the Negev.

And what about the recent firebombing at a home in Mount Scopus, not far from Hebrew University in Jerusalem? Did you hear anything about that? What about the racist Arabic graffiti on the walls of a synagogue at Beit Safra in central Jerusalem?

The mass gravestone vandalism at the Mount of Olives? The Ha’ohel synagogue in Bat Yam that has been vandalized four times in the last month, with swastikas spray-painted on its walls and its doors destroyed? The nationalistically motivated arson of the woods in Armon Hanatziv?

Anything?

An Israel Railways train was recently pelted with rocks in the “occupied” Ramle station. Two University of Tel Aviv students were lightly hurt when windshields shattered, spraying shards everywhere. If

you heard about this incident, you deserve a medal.

Here’s another news flash: Several days ago, two Israeli Arabs were indicted for allegedly trying to burn a Jewish family near Nahariya. They prepared a firebomb, hid on the side of the road in the Western Galilee and threw the bomb at a car as it was turning to enter the Jewish community of Tal-El. They then rolled a burning tire into the road. All the media outlets were notified about this incident by the Justice Ministry. All the media outlets chose to ignore it. Even the Israeli Arab resident of Shfaram who met with Hezbollah agents in Mecca and handed over classified military information for an extended period of time got less screen time than the weather forecast.

Compare all this with the coverage of Jewish “terror” – price-tag attacks involving despicable vandalism of Arab property, which, by Israeli media standards, is tantamount to 9/11. Everyone knows that the hotline recently set up by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni for reporting acts of racism wasn’t intended for acts perpetrated by

Arabs. According to the newspeak dictionary, the word “terror” means an abominable act perpetrated only by individuals whose mother is Jewish. On the other hand, an abominable act perpetrated by an individual whose mother is not Jewish will be defined as “flying objects” or “act of mischief” or “a metaphor of resistance.”

Indifference toward the terror directed at settlers has long been a cornerstone of Israeli journalistic ethics. Now this terror has spread into the rest of the country. Europe’s efforts to label products manufactured in the settlements, which were very well-received by the media, will also not remain confined beyond the Green Line. All Israeli exports are on the line.

Terror organizations have understood how the mechanism works: The trickle of racially-motivated murder attempts from the Judean Mountains to the Galilee, from the Negev to central Israel, is made possible by the Israeli public’s silence. First they came for the settlers and you didn’t speak out.

Emily Amrousi, a journalist living in Samaria, is a columnist for Israel Hayom.

More peace, less process: The key to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

By Ben Cohen JNS.org U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has already visited the Middle East four times since President Barack Obama named him to the post back in February. Perhaps anticipating the large number of yawns that such a statistic is likely to produce, Kerry directly addressed, during his latest jaunt, the growing number of peace process skeptics on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide.

“There have been bitter years of disappointment. It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, we can lay out a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people, but certainly exhaust the possibilities of peace,” Kerry told them.

However much Kerry would like us to believe that there are routes to peace that haven’t yet been explored, there is a dreary sense of deja vu about his words. Every day, it seems, an American politician declares that time is running out, that windows of opportunity are closing, that the Israeli-Palestinian dimension of the broader Middle East conflict is propelling the region toward apocalypse. Obama himself comes to mind in this regard. In 2010, he told the United Nations General Assembly, “[W]hen we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations – an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.”

But it’s now 2013, and there is no state of Palestine, only a Palestinian Authority that shuns direct negotiations in favor of a unilateralist strategy to secure recognition of an independent Palestinian state by everyone except Israel. Moreover, the Palestinians are openly distrustful of U.S. efforts. “I’m hesitant to say we are seeing a miraculous transformation in American policy and its blind strategic alliance with Israel,” said the PLO’s Hanan Ashrawi upon Kerry’s arrival, conveniently regurgitating the widespread myth in the Arab world that American Middle East policy is determined solely by Israeli imperatives.

Nor has Palestinian rhetoric changed for the better. The eliminationist desires of the Palestinian leadership – and I’m

not talking here about Hamas, but about our ostensible peace partner, the P.A. – remain as ingrained as ever. At the end of April, for example, Rabi Khandaqji, the P.A. governor of the West Bank City of Qalqilya, reaffirmed that the Palestinians would never abandon the so-called “right of return.” Palestinian refugees, Khandaqji declared, would return “to Haifa, Nazareth and Acre” – all cities that lie inside the pre-1967 borders of Israel. This isn’t code for the destruction of Israel. It’s an explicit call for the destruction of Israel.

The traditional approach of American and western negotiators has been to play down this kind of rhetoric as ideological baggage that will disappear once meaningful progress has been made. Time and again, this patronizing, even racist, manner, which treats Arab politicians as tantrum-prone children who say things they don’t really mean, has been proved wrong by events.

And yet, the template for peace negotiations has barely been modified during the last 20 years.

Which is why negotiators at the State Department would be wise to consult an important new paper published by two Israeli academics, Joel Fishman and Kobi Michael, in the academic journal, the Jewish Political Studies Review. Introducing the notion of a “positive peace,” Fishman and Michael warn against efforts to create a Palestinian state without worrying about its governance and internal political culture, since this would increase “the chances of bringing into being one more failed and warlike state that would become a destabilizing force in the region.”

Positive peace, the authors assert, is not just the about the absence of war, nor about elevating the right of national self-determination above all other considerations. “The real problem,” they write, “is that, long ago, the would-be peacemakers, in their haste and fear of failure, did not frame the problem correctly. They failed to ask the right question. In order to avoid disagreement, they concentrated on process and postponed the substantive issues of content. They hoped that the dynamic of congenial negotiations would facilitate a favorable outcome. By taking refuge in process and hoping to keep the negotiations ‘on track,’ they neglected

the real goal: building a stable and sustainable peace, or positive peace.”

In the Israeli-Palestinian context, a positive peace entails a complete overhaul of the zero-sum attitude toward Israel that has become institutionalized in Palestinian politics. For decades, the Palestinians have regarded negotiations as simply one of several avenues in pursuing their war on Israel’s existence: armed struggle, more accurately defined as terrorism, has been another, while the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign is yet another.

Fishman and Michael cite the pioneering Israeli scholar Yehoshafat Harkabi’s observation that in Arab discourse, the idea of peace with justice is equivalent to the vision of a Middle East without Israel.

And in marked contrast to American worries that time is running out, they point out that as far as the Palestinians are concerned, we’ve got all the time in the world. When the late Yasser Arafat spoke, in 1980, about “a war which will last for generations,” he was being sincere. And Arafat’s view persists because, in spite of all the economic incentives waved at the P.A., the near-metaphysical belief in a struggle to the death has prevailed over the rational, sensible notion of territorial partition.

Fishman and Michael should consider writing a second paper about how these realizations might guide policymakers, so that the peace process is more about peace and less about process. Though they don’t say it explicitly, there is a strong sense in the paper that negotiations that are not preceded by meaningful, internal political reform in the Palestinian entity will share the miserable fate of the Oslo Agreement. And if that’s correct, then the “path that could conceivably surprise people,” as John Kerry put it, begins not with discussions about settlements, water rights or the size of the Palestinian security forces, but with what the Palestinians themselves believe about the world around them – and whether they are capable of change.

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, Haaretz, Jewish Ideas Daily and many other publications.

THE REPORTER

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community news Bais Yaakov tribute dinner to be held on June 23 Bais Yaakov of Scranton has scheduled its tribute dinner for Sunday, June 23, at 5:30 pm, at the JCC. Bais Yaakov high school will pay tribute to a group of honorees consisting of Phyllis Barax, special educator of the year; Herschel and Zlati Krycer, parents of the year; Bais Yaakov of Scranton class of 5751; and the late Rebbitzin Becky Charlop, Ohr Netzaeh memorial.

Barax moved to Scranton more than 10 years ago. She graduated from Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women with a B.A. and a degree in Hebrew teaching. Her post-graduate degrees and training include certification in elementary education, a master’s degree in special education from Adelphi University and a certificate in interior design from the New York School of Interior Design.

In addition to her many credentials, Barax has years of “hands-on” classroom experience as an elementary Judaic studies teacher. She eventually became the director of the Secular Studies Resource Room at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, where she was responsible for both student remediation and diagnostic testing.

She is currently a special education consultant working privately as a learning disabilities specialist for Out of the Box Therapy. She is also a special education and curriculum consultant at Bais Yaakov, as well as the director of teacher training.

Barax currently serves on the boards of the Jewish Home of Northeast Pennsylvania, the Jewish Federation and Bais Yaakov. In addition, she has recently resumed her position as chairwoman of the secular board of the Scranton Hebrew Day School.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Herschel Krycer moved to America in 1997. The son of a Holocaust survivor, he studied under the Chabad in Melbourne, with which he still remains in contact. He then studied in Ohr Sameach. After getting married, he lived in Australia for a few years and then moved to Monsey, NY. From there, he continued on to Scranton, where he stayed for a little more than three years. From there, he settled in Dallas, TX. Herschel still remains in close contact with the rosh kollel in Melbourne, Rabbi Binyamin Wurtzburger. Herschel presently works as a systems engineer and a realtor.

Zlati Krycer, originally from Brooklyn, attended Rutgers University and Brooklyn College, and later married Herschel Krycer and moved to Australia. She has been called “a multi-talented musician and song writer,” and has performed and has had others perform her compositions in order to raise money for charity. The Krycers’ daughter, Devorah, is presently a junior at Bais Yaakov of Scranton.

Dr. Gila (Sandhaus) Jedwab graduated from Bais Yaakov in 1992, and continued her education in Israel in Michlalah.

Congregation B’nai Harim names religious school for founder and director

By Lee Emerson Barbara Kapitansky recently announced her retirement as director of the religious school at Congregation B’nai Harim. Kapitansky was the founder of the school and helped to write the curriculum, as well as monitor the progress of each student to pass through the classes. She was honored during services on June 1, and afterward a plaque naming the school in her honor was unveiled. The new name will be The Barbara Kapitansky Religious School at Congregation B’nai Harim.

Barbara Kapitansky

Former students, teachers, family and congregation members gathered to recognize the achievements that were made in “the one-room school.”

Students of all ages were taught in “a unique learning situation” and post-bar and bat mitzvah students were part of the teen group. “This made for close friendships through the school years and long after,” explained a school representative.

Congregation B’nai Harim is located in Pocono Pines. For more information, call the message center at 646-0100 or visit www. bnaiharimpoconos.org.

Seniors at Webster Towers attended “Baking with Chany”

L-r: Bernice Ecker and Fern Blum rolled dough for custard fruit-pies at the program “Baking with Chany” Rapoport.

She graduated Michlalah and then continued on to Stern College, where she graduated in 1996. She then pursued a dental career and graduated from UMDNJ Dental School in 2000. She is married to Dr. Joshua Jedweb, and they are the parents of four children. She presently has a dental practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Yael (Herman) Marcus graduated from Bais Yaakov in 1992 with a scholarship to Stern College. She studied in Michlaleh in Jerusalem and began pursuing a speech degree.

She lives with her husband, Yitzchak, who is a rabbi and teacher, and their family in Brooklyn.

Shoshana (Silverberg) Pasternek continued her studies at Bnos Chaim Teacher Seminary in Israel. She went on to Moalot and received her computer degree. She presently resides in Israel with her husband, who is studying in the Mir Yeshiva, and their family.

Chaviva (Silverberg) Braun, a graduate of Bais Yaakov, continued her studies in Israel. She married Rabbi Shmuel Braun and moved to Sunnyvale, CA, to do community outreach work. She now resides in Monsey, NY, with her husband and son.

Miriam (Sandhaus) Froimovich graduated in 1993 and continued on to Stern College for her undergraduate degree.

She then pursued a degree in occupational therapy. She lives with her husband, Dr. Alexander Froimovich, and their children in Los Angelos.

The late Rebbitzin Becky Charlop, a former student of Bais Yaakov of Scranton, was considered “a very integral part” of Bais Yaakov. “Her creativity and her desire to do chesed truly made her an exceptional human being,” said a Bais Yaakov representative. “She brought so much life and energy to Bais Yaakov and served as a role model and an inspiration for the other students. She is sorely missed.”

S E N I L D A E D The following are deadlines for all articles and photos for upcoming Reporter issues.

DEADLINE

ISSUE

Thursday, June 20.....................................July 4 Thursday, July 18................................. August 1 Thursday, August 1............................ August 15 Thursday, August 15.......................... August 29

L-r: Sara Morris and Malka Shapiro filled a pie shell with strawberries, blueberries and custard.

At left: Seniors at Webster Towers attended one of the “Baking with Chany” programs held throughout the year.

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4

THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

JUNE 20, 2013 ■

Israel under the radar

Shabbat table setter, prom plea and appealing apps

by MARCY OSTER JERUSALEM (JTA) – Here are some stories out of Israel that you may have missed: Record-setting Shabbat table?

The central Israeli city of Bnei Brak set what is believed to be the world’s longest Shabbat table. At 197 feet long, the table set with china plates, crystal goblets and silver candlesticks, as well as traditional Shabbat foods, comfortably seats more than 300, Ynet reported. The municipality, in conjunction with the Bnei Brak-based CocaCola company and the haredi Orthodox advertising agency Meimad, set the table in an attempt to set a Guinness record. The table is also gunning for the world record for the best-set table.

Prom plea Tone down your proms. That was the request to Israeli high school seniors from the nation’s education minister, Shai Piron, writing on his Facebook page. “Think about the way you celebrate graduation. Maybe

I’m conservative, but I don’t really like the word ‘ball.’ I don’t like the great expense that puts students who are hard-up in an awkward position,” Piron wrote. Piron suggested on Facebook that the seniors replace the prom with a charity or social action project. The Knesset’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee, the National Parents’Association and the Education Ministry met recently and called for an end to the excesses sometimes associated with the year-end proms.

Prom is a reasonably recent phenomenon in Israel. The big dance found its way into the country along with American television dramas about young people in the mid-1990s, according to Allison Kaplan Sommers, writing in Haaretz. Israeli proms are organized by the students and not sponsored by the schools. Like their American counterparts, the Israelis purchase expensive clothing and rent limousines – and perhaps imbibe a little more than they should.

Soldiers, not locusts A crop-dusting plane spreading pesticide

on swarms of locusts accidentally sprayed a battalion of Israeli soldiers in southern Israel.

The planes spread out during May to attack armies of juvenile locusts that had hatched from eggs laid by a swarm of locusts invading Israel from Egypt right before Passover.

One crop-duster veered off course, spraying a paratrooper brigade operating near the border with the Gaza Strip, the Times Of Israel reported. The soldiers were treated at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva.

Israeli moms place in the world – 25th Israel was ranked as the 25th best country – the top 20 percent – to be a mother.

The Mothers’ Index of the 2013 State of the World’s Mothers prepared by the Save the Children charity ranked 176 countries.

The United States was 30th on the list. The countries were assessed based on maternal health, children’s well-being, women’s educational status, women’s economic status and women’s political status. The lifetime risk of maternal death in Israel is one in

5,100 mothers, compared with one in 16 in bottom-ranked Somalia. Mothers in Israel have an average of 15.7 years of schooling and a gross income of $28,930.

Scanning for kashrut Now all you need in Tel Aviv to determine the standard of kashrut at a restaurant is a smartphone. The Tel Aviv Rabbinate has started issuing kashrut certificates with quick response bar codes, enabling diners to scan the code to receive kashrut information about the establishment. One can find the level of kashrut, ranging from regular to mehadrin, as well as the phone number of the kashrut supervisor. A Kosher Checker app, or Bodek Kashrut, also is available for download. Meanwhile, consumers without a smartphone can call a 24-hour line, provide the bar code number of the kashrut certificate and acquire the same information. The bar codes are designed to prevent restaurants from offering fake or expired kashrut certificates.

THE REPORTER

JFHF Sisterhood hosted guest speaker Sam Einhorn, Holocaust survivor

By Judy Hamer The Sisterhood of the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms had Sam Einhorn as its guest speaker on May 19. Einhorn spoke about his life before, during and after World War II. His presentation was called “heartrending” and “emotional.”

“We were awed by his perseverance, resilience, an extraordinary courage, in spite of all the adversity he Sam Einhorn answered encountered,” said a Sister- questions from the audience of Jewish Fellowship of hood representative.

Einhorn was born in the Hemlock Farms Sisterhood United States to an American members. father and a Polish mother.

His family moved to a small town in Poland when he was very young. Before the war, his father returned to the United States and Einhorn and the rest of his family remained in Poland. Once the war began, his family was unable to leave

See “Radar” on page 12

5

At right: Sam Einhorn (at right) presented the visa for Cuba that finally enabled him to get to the United States.

Sitting next to him was his wife, Mariene Einhorn.

Poland and he was forced into slave labor. At the program, Einhorn spoke about the different concentration camps he was sent to and the hardships he endured. A recurrent theme was “hard work and little food.”

When Einhorn returned to Poland after the war he learned that he was the lone survivor of his immediate and extended family. Having no papers to prove his identity, he was unable to obtain a visa to return to the

United States. Finally, in France, the Cuban government granted Einhorn a visa to Cuba that included a 60-day pass to the United States. He went to the United States first and, with the help of a lawyer, Einhorn reinstated his United States citizenship.

He and his wife, Mariene, have been married for 66 years. They have two children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

YU launches Jewish genetics resource

By JTA staff (JTA) – Yeshiva University’s school of medicine launched a website to educate Jews about the risks of genetic diseases. GeneSights, a project of the university’s Program for Jewish Genetic Health and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was launched in May. The site provides lessons on selected topics related to Jewish

genetic health conditions, including specific diseases, treatment technologies and bioethical issues.

The site is free to registered members, who are granted access to seminars by experts on genetic topics. New lessons are expected to appear on the site approximately every two months. For more information, visit www. genesights.com.

The actual visa issued by France for Sam Einhorn to travel to Cuba, featuring a photo of Einhorn taken after World War II, was presented to Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms Sisterhood members.

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6

THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

First person

Federation members marched in Celebrate Israel parade in New York City

By Dassy Ganz The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania marched in the annual Celebrate Israel parade in New York City on June 2. Though the region was under a heat wave, we rode in an air-conditioned, charter bus, armed with cold drinks provided by the Federation, and headed to the parade. The march is so much fun, and the opportunity to join thousands of Jews and Gentiles in support of the Jewish homeland is so unforgettable, that we knew we wouldn’t let the weather get the best of us.

This year, a number of newcomers joined the group, including Jean Blom, the featured speaker at the Federation’s Yom Ha’atzmaut event. Jean and her son, Jacob, who also attended the parade, spent two weeks in Israel volunteering on an army base. Blom brought friends and family along, too, because she “can’t get enough of Israel.”

We were pleased at the growing number of young people, members of our local B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, who marched carrying our banners, as well as the banner of the Scranton JCC.

And there were the many people, from school age to golden age, who have consistently marched with us since the Federation became a part of the parade.

After making our way down Fifth Avenue, we boarded our bus and went to Teaneck, NJ, for what we call “the second best part of the day.” As we have been to this lovely Jewish community before on parade day, most everyone had their favorite kosher restaurant to enjoy – Chinese, fusion, steakhouse, deli, fast food or dairy pizza and vegetarian cuisine.

Our wonderful day ended with great memories of time spent enjoying ourselves and supporting our true Jewish homeland.

Thank you to all our participants from Scranton and the Poconos. Thank you to Barth Rubin, owner of Budget Inn and Suites, for the use of his establishment as our Pocono pick-up point. Thank you to Martin Weiss, of the Poconos, who brought along huge Israeli and American flags to add to our presentation. Thank you to Becky Schastey, who created our photographic mosaic theme See “Parade on page 7

The parade group from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania marched in the Celebrate Israel parade in New York City.

A free t! concer

presents

Foreground (l-r): Scranton BBYO members Rachel Pollack, Rachel Kislin, Becky Fallk, Rachel Linder and Rebecca Telese held the JCC banner. Background: Seth Gross, Sandra Alfonsi and Suzanne Tremper held the Federation banner.

A show for all ages

!

Israel Scouts Tzofim Friendship Caravan JCC of Scranton - Koppelman Auditorium 601 Jefferson Avenue Monday July 1 Doors: 6:00pm • Showtime: 6:30pm FREE & open to the community!

Refreshments will be available For more information: www.scrantonjcc.org 570-346-6595

Bringing Israeli culture and goodwill through their unique blend of smiles, songs & dances!

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Refereshments!

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3•for•3 Summer Challenge Use your love of fitness to have fun, lose weight, and win a prize!

Google Glass portends brave new Jewish world

By Yaffa Klugerman HIGHLAND PARK, NJ (JTA) – Over the past few weeks, strangers have begun stopping high school computer science teacher Chaim Cohen on the street. A few accuse him of recording them without their knowledge. Even fewer blame him for all of society’s ills. But many just want an answer to a simple question: Is he wearing Google Glass?

Cohen is among the approximately 2,000 developers throughout the United States who are trying out the search giant’s much-hyped wearable computer, a futuristic Internet-connected gadget that users wear like a pair of glasses and enables them to stream information from the Web directly into their field of vision. Using voice commands and hand gestures, Google Glass users can take pictures, record videos, get directions and send messages.

Well before Google Glass is expected to be publicly available sometime in 2014, the device already is generating controversy.

Critics worry that users will be able to surreptitiously take photographs with an app that permits wearers to snap pictures just by winking. Some bars and casinos, citing privacy concerns, have preemptively banned the device. In West Virginia, legislators have tried to make it illegal to wear Glass while driving.

But none of this concerns Barry Schwartz, CEO of the Web development firm RustyBrick, who can hardly wait to get his hands on it. Schwartz is one of the 8,000 “explorers” chosen by Google to receive the device for $1,500 apiece. “We would be programming Jewish-related apps to help Jewish people use the technology to live their Jewish lives,” said Schwartz, whose company has already developed popular Jewish applications for smartphones, like a digital prayer book and Hebrew translator.

Schwartz’s vision of a Glass-enabled Jewish life sounds incredibly futuristic.

Notifications flash when it’s time to pray.

Nearby synagogues or kosher restaurants are instantly located. Important Jewish dates such as yahrtzeits and holidays are never forgotten.

Parade

Google Glass, which is generating controversy even before hitting the market in 2014, is being seen as a powerful technology for Jewish applications. (Photo courtesy of Google) Recently, a Chabad rabbi at Stanford University set up a Google Glass tefillin stand. Men who chose to don the ritual leather straps then put on Glass and the blessing flashed before their eyes.

Potential Jewish applications for Glass are endless, Schwartz says. “Let’s say you want to buy an etrog,” he said. “You can create a Google Hangout and have a rabbi look at the etrog as you are looking at it.

The rabbi can ask you to turn it to the right and turn it to the left, and can give you an opinion about it right away.”

Mike Vidikan of the Washington, DCbased organization Innovaro, which provides insights about how new technologies will shape the future business environment, expects that Glass also could significantly change how consumers shop for kosher food. “As they start inspecting a particular group of foods,” he explained, “notifications could pop up with information about the kosher certifications, as well as reviews, and who in their social networks recommend it.”

In education, where information technology already is transforming the classroom experience, Glass could be yet another game-changer. Hebrew school classes could tour Israel virtually, seeing the country though the eyes of a guide equipped with the device. Students in various locations could participate in classes together, following text as seen through the eyes of a teacher.

Despite the enthusiasm, tech experts from Jewish day schools are skeptical. Price is one factor. At $1,500, Glass is significantly more expensive than an iPad or similar See “Google” on page 13

Continued from page 6

banner. And, of course, thank you to Mark Silverberg and the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which underwrote most of the cost of the event.

Program Guidelines: • Participants must take 3 classes per week (June - August) • Program begins June 3rd and ends August 29th • Advance registration is required • Fee: $15 for JCC members, $30 for non-members • Measurement & weight will be taken at the first-and final class.

Zumba Classes at JCC To Choose From: Sunday .............. Boot Camp ..............12-1pm Monday ............ Basic Zumba...........7:15-8am Monday ............ Aqua Zumba...........6-6:45pm Monday ............ Toning Zumba........7-7:45am Wednesday ...... Basic Zumba...........7:30-8:30am Thursday........... Aqua Zumba...........6-6:45pm Thursday........... Boot Camp ..............7-8pm A booklet tracking attendance will be kept by the instructor and a new healthy recipe will be distributed each week.

Prizes will be awarded to those who lose the most weight and inches during the program.

Prizes!

1st Prize - $100 off JCC membership 2nd Prize - 2 Personal Training Sessions 3rd Prize - $25 gift card to Wegman’s

For more information or to register contact Cara at 346-6595, ext 117 or cara@scrantonjcc.org

JCC group leader Dan Cardonik blew his whistle during the Celebrate Israel parade in New York City.

Jacob Blom and Courtney Harding, of Halstead, as well as Gwen Pole, attended the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s march in the Celebrate Israel parade in New York City.

Jewish Federation of NEPA

Facebook ® is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc

JUNE 20, 2013 ■

THE REPORTER

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THE REPORTER

Thank you to everyone who particpated in the 25th Symposium Anniversary Recognition Event!

Jerry and Phyllis Chazan sit with Annie Monsky while Frida Herskovits, Tova Weiss and Manya Perel pose with them.

Kathy Brotman and Jim Alperin are glad to spend time together.

Lil Walsh, former Federation bookkeeper

Dassy Ganz presented the award to Tova Weiss for her involvement with the Teen Symposium from its inception in 1988 to the present.

Timothy Shaffer, a student from Western Wayne HS, led the Pledge and spoke.

LaneyUfberg, Phyllis Brandes, Bob Ufberg and Rabbi Saks pose together.

Pictured are the honorees with Marywood Faculty and Board members. Seated L to R are Kathy Brotman, Seymour Brotman, Tova Weiss, Sister John Michele Southwick, IHM. Standing L to R are Joseph Garvey, Dr. Ellen Boylan, Sr, Cathy Luxner, Dr. Alan Levine, Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, Mark Silverberg, Dr, Patricia Dunleavy, Renee Zehel and Ann Chase.

Standing together are Bill Burke, Tova Weiss, Carol Burke and former Commissioner Michael Washo.

25th Anniversary Committee Recognition Event Committee members, from L to R are: Laney Ufberg, Annie Monsky, Co-chair, Laura Santoski, Mary Ann Answini, Susie Connors, Tova Weiss, and Dassy Ganz.

Missing is Co-chair Barbara Nivert.

Irwin Shneider, Alan Goldstein and Rabbi Dovid Saks enjoy themselves.

Harpist Hannah Canty enhanced the evening with beautiful background music.

Susie and Jim Connors stand with Natalie Gelb

Atty. David Fallk presented the award to Seymour and Kathy Brotman for their visionary work in founding the Teen Symposium.

R to L: Dan Cardonick, Rabbi Dovid Rosenberg and Mark Silverberg eye the desserts.

Natalie Gelb served as Toastmistress of the evening’s program.

Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, delivered brief remarks.

Joanne Monahan and Manya Perel at the reception.

Guests line up for dessert

Seymour Brotman made brief remarks as the evening’s Keynoter.

2012-13 HERC Highlights: • Teacher Training, November 2012 • 45 educators trained in Echoes and Reflections Workshop • 94 educators participate in 2013 Teen Symposium • New Facilitators trained • 25th Anniversary Recognition Event

Former Federation Executive Director Seymour Brotman and current Executive Director Mark Silverberg presented the award to Marywood University for its unwavering commitment to the Teen Symposium. Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, Marywood’s President, accepted.

Guest speakers who shared their experiences at Marywood UIniversity earlier in the day pose in the Federation office. Seated L to R are: Dr. Micha Tomkiewicz, Elly Gross, Frida Herskovits, Sonia Goldstein, Manya Perel and Ronnie Breslow. Standing L to R are: Michael Herskovitz, Carole Frank, Dr George Frank, Anneliese Nossbaum, Ela Weissberger, Sam Rosen, Judith Sherman, Alan Moskin and Arnold Vanderhorst.

H In

Memoriam H

Irwin Shneider, Alan Goldstein and Rabbi Dovid Saks enjoy themselves.

2013 Teen Symposium Highlights: • 25th Anniversary of the event • 1500 participating students and teachers in 2 days • 24 schools in 7 Counties represented • Special presentations

We are saddened over the recent loss of Lola Weintraub Schwartz, a teen survivor of the Holocaust who was very active in helping to educate area youth. Originally from Lodz, Poland, Lola’s family was relocated to the ghetto there, and in early 1944, sent to Auschwitz. She and two sisters were selected for labor and later shipped to other labor camps, finally ending up in Bergen-Belsen. She always credited her survival to the fact that the sisters managed to stay together. The three young girls “adopted” another girl whose mother died in her arms, and who was left totally alone. The four of them remained lifelong friends. The girls were liberated in Bergen-Belsen by the British on April 15, 1945 and moved first to a Displaced Persons Camp, then to a nearby town where Lola served as an instructor for young children. It was in the DP camp that the three sisters were reunited with their brother, from whom they had been separated; he searched for them by walking from DP camp to DP camp together with another teen survivor. Lola later moved to Israel, eventually met and fell in love with Melvin Schwartz from Scranton, when he visited there, married and moved to the United States. Lola will be remembered as a scholarly and worldly woman, compassionate and kind, and a very articulate speaker. She is greatly missed by all who knew her.

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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

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: Suzanne Tremper 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 President: Michael Mardo 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.

Transforming darkness

by RABBI BENNY RAPOPORT, DIRECTOR, JEWISH DISCOVERY CENTER Balak, Numbers 22:2-25:9 The naming of this week’s parasha after the wicked Moabite king Balak seems somewhat odd. King Solomon (Ecclesiastes 10:7) states, “The name of the wicked shall rot.” The Talmud goes as far as advising that one should not name his or her child after an evil person. Why would the Torah affix this man’s name to our parasha and choose to perpetuate his memory?

Balak, we know, was not a typical enemy king. When traditional warfare was ineffective against the Jews he hired Balaam to curse them, hoping to defeat them on the spiritual battlefield. When that was unsuccessful, he had the Moabite women seduce the Jewish men to worship idols and behave immorally, hoping that would lessen their spiritual merit and forfeit God’s protection. (He was almost successful!)

Yes, Balak had no reservations using nefarious means to destroy the Jewish people. Why, then, would Torah choose to name this portion “Balak” and forever memorialize his wickedness?

The answer is that there are two modalities in serving our Creator; one is simply doing good, adding light into our world. The second is transforming darkness into light; negativity into positive action. One who

transforms their life from one of sin to virtue, says the Talmud, stands on a higher level than one who lived in righteousness all their life.

Balak had a very famous descendant, Ruth the Moabite.

Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David and the progenitor of the Davidic lineage, out of which will come the messianic king. Balak thus represents the force of holiness that comes out of evil. Naming our parasha Balak symbolizes the potential spark of goodness that can be redeemed and harvested from negativity.

The lesson is clear: If a person is in a less-than-desirable state of spiritual accomplishments, he or she should never despair, nor become depressed. Rather, remember the message of our parasha, that one has the potential to overpower and even transform unholiness into the absolute highest level of sanctity.

Conversely, when it seems that another fellow is distant from Torah or mitzvot, one should not issue judgment, but rather assist them by tapping into their inner core of goodness and helping them express their divine soul into action.

May our efforts bring about the coming Moshiach and, as we say thrice daily in the Amidah, “Return in mercy to Jerusalem... speedily establish therein the throne of David our servant, and rebuild it, soon in our days, as an everlasting edifice.”

Shabbat shalom.

Jewish brewer thriving amid craft beer boom

By Lisa Alcalay Klug NEW YORK (JTA) – With the creation of David’s Slingshot Hoppy Summer Lager, beer maker Jeremy Cowan is evoking the image of the legendary battle between David and Goliath – a match-up that’s also apt for Cowan himself.

Though still a small player in the world of craft beers, Cowan is catapulting himself onto a much larger field.

After years in which his company, Shmaltz Brewing, paid others to produce its He’Brew beers, Cowan is preparing to open his own brewing facility in suburban Albany, NY. The Clifton Park facility, which will open on July 7, includes a 1,700-square-foot tasting room, custom-made brew tanks and a 120 bottle-per-minute Italian packaging line.

On May 13, local officials and community leaders participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Now the only thing left to do is wait for the hops to brew.

It’s certainly been “shofar so good” for the beer maker, who has relied on Jewish puns and assorted kitsch to move 3 million bottles in 2012 alone. Those 125,000 cases – Cowan’s largest run yet – have grossed $3.9 million, a 42 percent increase over 2011. Cowan’s libations are now sold by 4,000 retail specialty shops in more than 30 states.

Cowan recognizes that members of the tribe don’t typically drink as much as other barflies. So if it’s not Jewish consumers lugging home those distinctive six packs, or throwing one back at the legions of bars where He’Brew and its sister label Coney Island Lagers are sold, just who is consuming his booze? “You don’t have to be Irish to drink Guinness. You don’t have to be Belgian to drink Chimay.

And you don’t have to be Jewish to drink great Jewish beer,” Cowan says. “If the beer tastes great and the shtick is funny, then why wouldn’t anybody like it?”

Though Jews carry a reputation as lightweight drinkers, Jewish brewers have a storied history in the United States.

One of the earliest Jewish-owned breweries in the country, Rheingold Beer, was founded in 1850 by Samuel Liebmann and became quite popular.

Today, beer lovers looking for Jewish-inspired alternatives to He’Brew can choose from Maccabee, marketed in the United States by Israel’s Tempo Beer Industries; Lompoc Brewing’s 8 Malty Nights, a chocolate rye porter; and the microbrews of New York-based Lost Tribes, which incorporates exotic ingredients from the Middle East.

But Shmaltz has embraced its Jewish side with a gusto

A menorah made of Shmaltz Brewing’s He’Brew beer bottles. (Photo from Shmaltz Brewing Facebook) unmatched by any of the others. Its newest addition, David’s Slingshot Hoppy Lager, joins a host of quirky labels including Funky Jewbilation, Hop Manna, Genesis Dry Hopped Session Ale, Messiah Nut Brown Ale and Rejewvenator.

Cowan, a Stanford University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English, devises the shtick, as well as the written product descriptions and marketing concepts. His art director, Nat Polacheck, interprets the concepts into the company’s signature style.

The new brewery is a far cry from the brand’s humble beginnings in 1996, when Cowan started selling cases from his grandmother’s Volvo – a story he shares in his memoir, “Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success.”

The company’s success owes much to the burgeoning appeal of the wider craft beer industry. Sales of craft brew increased to $10.2 billion in 2012, up from $8.7 billion in 2011. The ranks of small breweries are larger than they’ve been at any time since before Prohibition.

“Since the 1970s, the growth has been small, but linear,” See “Beer” on page 13

THE REPORTER

ADL’s Foxman analyzes intersection of online hate and free speech in new book

By Alina Dain Sharon JNS.org Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, on June 4 is releasing his new book “Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet,” co-written with attorney Christopher Wolf, a pioneer in Internet law.

The book discusses how racists and antisemites are using the Internet to disseminate their hateful information and poses tough questions about the responsibility of the public to fight against this phenomenon in the U.S., whose laws highly protect free speech.

Foxman gave the following exclusive interview to JNS. org about the book.

JNS.org: Why did you decide to write about this topic now?

Foxman: In the last 10 years, we’ve seen a communication revolution in terms of the Internet changing the way we talk to each other. It had magnificent impact, but it also provided a super highway for communicating hate.

That’s why we decided to do a book to analyze this and to alert people out there that, yes, it’s a wonderful addition to the way we communicate, but be aware that it’s also a very serious, threatening vehicle for bigots, racists and antisemites.

JNS: Has hate speech online been identified and appropriately defined?

Foxman: We live in the United States, where the First Amendment and freedom of expression is of a high social, democratic and moral value. But now we’re finding a situation where this new freedom is destroying privacy, even destroying civility, so at what point does it cross the line?

Look at the issue of bullying. Bullying is an expression of free speech, if you will, in the school yard, on the sports field, [but] bullying is bigotry, [it is] “I don’t like you because you’re tall” [or] “I don’t like you because you’re Jewish.”

We’ve lived with it and almost tolerated it for many years.

Now comes the Internet, and bullying becomes cyber-bullying, and now we’e seeing kids killing themselves. It’s one thing to manage bullying in a court yard, and it’s quite another if you’re being projected globally in this manner.

In the book we’re trying to say that first and foremost we need to better understand [Internet hate’s] impact and take responsibility for it. A lot of people have responsibility: parents, schools, and probably more so the providers, the people who disseminate this stuff. Hopefully the book will open up a vibrant debate as to where responsibility lies before we rush to legislation or litigation.

JNS: How does U.S. treat hate speech differently than other countries?

Foxman: The U.S. is unique in terms of our Constitution and First Amendment. I don’t think there’s any country in the world that has such a broad, encompassing protection of freedom of speech. In Europe, there are laws all over the place, especially after the Second World War, against hate speech. There are laws against Holocaust denial, laws against racial epithets, etc. It creates a problem because if you cannot buy in Germany “Mein Kampf,” which is a hateful book, you can order it on the Internet from a U.S. website. Ironically, while they have laws against hatred and we do not, the level of intolerance in Europe is much

standing, learning and being sympathetic to higher. Our constitution says “you have a right the lessons of the Holocaust. The Google and to be a bigot,” but also it says “you need to take Yahoo people’s first answer [was] “Why don’t responsibility for bigotry.” Therefore what hapyou tell your community to bombard Google pens in our country, more than what happens with good stuff?” and in fact about two years globally, is that there are consequences for being we did that. The Jewish community sent out a bigot. Mel Gibson at one point in his life was word to “go out there and bombard with ‘I love the number one celebrity in this country. He was Jews’ and nice stuff about Jews.” It worked, but exposed to be a bigot and paid a price. It wasn’t it’s crazy. You can’t expect to wake up in the the laws that were used against him; it was social morning and your job becomes to defend the ostracizing. I think in terms of the Internet, that Jewish people, the African-American people, really is our first line of defense. the Hispanic people. So far what happens is that JNS: In the book you discuss the fact that when there are egregious abuses, I would say websites run by extremists are often ranked seven out of 10 times, the major companies that among the leading search results for a topic on Google, such as Jewwatch.com for the search A D L N a t i o n a l run these websites do respond and do remove result “Jew.” Has ADL ever tried to take up this Director Abraham “the content.” But there is another problem: issue, and what has been the response or result? Foxman (Photo by That stuff never dies on the Internet. You can take it off but it finds its way back, and it always Foxman: What we found is that bigots operate Justin Hoch) 24-7. They’re out there all the time sending their messages exists somewhere in the stratosphere.

JNS: What can regular Internet users do to mitigate the of hate or defamation, and due to this [search engine] algorithm process, when you press the [search] button on prevalence of anti-Jewish material?

Foxman: They should be alert to it, complain to us [at “Jew,” first you’re going to get anti-Jew [content] because the “Jew” word is being bombarded by bigots rather than ADL], to the providers, share with the legislators. First being embraced by friends and loving people. You have of all, it’s awareness. Number two is to use the [online] the same thing with Holocaust denial. There are more vehicle for good speech. We can also ask the providers to See “Book” on page 14 people out there propagating hate and denial than under-

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THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

Superman

Saving Superman’s Jewish creators

By Rafael Medoff JNS.org Millions of Americans will flock to movie theaters to see “Man of Steel,” in which Superman will once again be called upon to save the world from some menace. But back in 1975, Superman’s Jewish creators found themselves broke, nearly homeless and desperately in need a hero of their own. It’s a story with the pathos and drama of a comic book adventure – and it has a happy ending.

As teenagers growing up in Cleveland’s mostly-Jewish Glenville neighborhood in the 1930s, writer Jerry Siegel and his artist friend Joe Shuster created Superman, the mighty costumed hero who has been a fixture of American pop culture ever since.

Siegel later wrote that he and Shuster were influenced by a combination of “being unemployed and worried during the Depression and knowing hopelessness and fear,” and “hearing and reading of the oppression and slaughter of helpless, oppressed Jews in Nazi Germany.” The Superman character emerged from their “great urge to help the downtrodden masses, somehow.”

Comics historians have compared Superman’s origins to both the Jewish immigrant experience and the biblical story of young Moses. With the planet Krypton on the verge of destruction, desperate parents send their infant off in a rocket ship to Earth, where he is raised by strangers – Jonathan and Martha Kent taking the role of Pharoah’s daughter. Whether disguised as the Midwestern newspaper reporter Clark Kent, or as an Egyptian prince whose Jewish roots are hidden, our hero would prefer to quietly assimilate into his surroundings but his outrage at injustice propels him into the role of rescuer.

Not realizing the fortune Superman would reap, Siegel and Shuster sold their first 13-page Superman comic strip, and the rights to the character to National Periodicals (later known as DC Comics) for $130.

Within a few years, the character had branched out into movies, cartoons, a weekly radio show and a daily newspaper comic strip. Siegel and Shuster took no steps to reassert ownership of their creation. They were making a good living as the full-time creative team on the Superman comic book and decided not to rock the boat.

In 1941, Siegel pitched DC the idea of “Superboy,” a series based on their hero’s adventures as an adolescent.

DC turned down the proposal. But when Siegel and Shuster returned from service in World War II, they were stunned to find DC publishing a Superboy comic book, for which

a proper pension or health coverage. And these were the guys who had basically created our entire industry.”

In one early conversation, Shuster told Adams about a new “Superman” Broadway show. “Joe described to me how he would watch all these celebrities going into see a show based on his character, movie stars and politicians and other famous people – he was so proud and flattered.

I asked him, ‘Joe, what did you think of the show?’ and he said, ‘I couldn’t afford to see it; I didn’t have enough money,’” Adams recalls.

See “Superman” on page 13

Radar

L-r: Joe Shuster, Neal Adams, and Jerry Siegel shortly after their victory over DC Comics, which gave Superman creators Shuster and Siegel financial assistance, medical benefits and credit by name in every Superman comic.

(Photo courtesy of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies) they received no credit or royalties. They sued DC and won a $400,000 judgment.

But it was a bittersweet victory. Most of the money was eaten up by their legal expenses and comic book publishers grew wary of hiring them. By the early 1970s, Siegel was working as a $7,000-a-year clerk and Shuster, who had been working as a messenger, but gave it up because he was losing his eyesight, was boarding with relatives.

Enter Neal Adams. Bursting onto the comic book scene in 1967, Adams’s powerful and ultra-realistic style of illustration – rooted in his background in the world of advertising art – quickly won him the admiration of his peers and the adoration of comic book fans.

The innovative and articulate Adams was soon elected president of the Academy of Comic Book Arts. It was then that he learned what had happened to Siegel and Shuster.

“It was shocking,” Adams tells JNS.org. “Joe was sleeping on a cot in front of a taped-up window. They didn’t have

Friends of The Reporter Dear Friend of The Reporter, Each year at this time the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania calls upon members of our community to assist in defraying the expense of issuing our regional Jewish newspaper, The Reporter.

The newspaper is delivered twice of month (except for December and July which are single issue months) to each and every identifiable Jewish home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Continued from page 4

Keep the “café hafuch” (that’s a latte) coming Another smartphone app will have appeal for Tel Avivians with an insatiable desire for coffee. A new loyalty program called CUPSTelAviv allows consumers to pay an all-you-can-drink fee per month or a smaller fee for one cup of coffee per day. An app locates the coffee shops and kiosks participating in the program; servers put a code into the app on the smartphone. A half hour after ordering, coffee fiends can order a refill – or go to another shop sooner for a second cup. Most of the 40 participating cafes are independent, neighborhood coffee shops. The program started last September with nine locations. The $45 fee may be worth it, considering a cup of the Israeli favorite café hafuch – the equivalent of a latte – is about $4 a cup.

CUPSTelAviv CEO Alon Ezer told the Times of Israel that he is ready to expand beyond Tel Aviv.

Mr. Toad of the Golan Students from an elementary school in the Golan Heights returned a rare toad to the wild after finding it in a stream near their school. The Eastern Spadefoot toad, an endangered species, was discovered near the Avital elementary school at Kibbutz Marom Golan. “Finding the toad made the children happy. They took pictures of it and returned it to the stream, hoping it would help bring about the next generation of its kind,” Yael Sela, head of the education and public relations department at the Kinneret River Authority, told Haaretz. The toad is native to the Galilee, the Golan Heights and the Mediterranean coast. Tadpoles of the same endangered species were found last year near Kibbutz Gaash along central Israel’s coastline.

Flying menagerie to Turkey Israel and Turkey may be arguing over reparations payments for the Mavi Marmara, but they are in harmony on animals. In May, 45 animals and their Israeli handlers from the Safari Zoological Center in Ramat Gan flew Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, passed through Customs and took a truck to the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Natural Life Park as part of an exchange program, the Turkish Hurriyet Daily reported. The animals – nyalas, koatis, marmosets, fruit bats and sacred ibis – are the first of their kinds at the Turkish park. The exchange had a price tag of more than $500,000. Israel sent an elephant named Winner to Izmir in 2008, and Winner sired the first elephant born in Turkey in 2011.

Jerusalem cable cars on the way The Jerusalem Municipality has proposed a plan to build a cable car system to connect the Western Wall with other areas of Jerusalem. The two-line system would connect the Old City’s Dung Gate with the Mount of Olives and with the Khan Theater. According to the plan, the system will be able to transport up to 6,000 passengers per hour for the four-minute trip. The system reportedly would work in conjunction with the light rail system. “Beyond being a transportation solution, a cable car will be an innovative and unique tourist attraction and offer breathtaking views of the city,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement. “It will also strengthen and increase the number of tourists arriving in Jerusalem.”

Absolut-ly Tel Aviv Israel’s city that doesn’t sleep, Tel Aviv, will be enshrined in a special edition Absolut vodka bottle. The bottle is being released as part of the Absolut Blank series designed by Pilpeled, or the artist Nir Peled, Ynet reported.

It is dedicated to the ficus-tree streets of Tel Aviv, and the design is inspired by the night life of Nordau, Rothschild and Chen boulevards. A limited edition of 150,000 bottles will be released.

Absolut vodka’s s p e c i a l Te l Av i v b o t t l e edition, which is inspired by the famous Nordau, Rothschild and Chen boulevards, and their ficus trees.

(Photo courtesy Absolut)

Superman (Photo courtesy of DC Comics)

Google

Continued from page 7 devices. Educators also are understandably uneasy about a device that can snap pictures, literally, with the wink of an eye. Others point out that since Glass’ apps are still being developed, its educational value remains to be seen.

“In a traditional classroom, I don’t see where wearing the computer on my face is an enormous quantum leap in ease of use, efficiency and productivity over traditional computer modalities,” said Seth Dimbert, director of educational technology at the Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach, FL. “It’s actually less useful if only I can see a computer screen. Classrooms are about collaboration with the people around you and making screens bigger and more portable, so more people can gather around them at once.”

Ultimately, however, many believe that it’s just a matter of time before Glass becomes more widely accepted. Many technologies now considered indispensable were greeted initially with skepticism. “If people adopt it at the rate that they adopted smartphones,” Schwartz predicts, “then it will have a huge impact on Jewish life.”

Participants wearing Google Glass during Google’s I/O Developers Conference in San Francisco on May 1. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty/JTA)

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.

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THE REPORTER

13

Continued from page 12

Adams knew that from a legal perspective, Siegel and Shuster did not have much of a case for reclaiming Superman; they had knowingly signed away their rights, no matter how a bad a decision that was. “But something doesn’t have to be legal to be right and it doesn’t have to be right to be legal,” Adams says.

Instead of going to court, Adams decided to go to the court of public opinion. It was not an easy fight, in part because Shuster was not especially forceful in advocating their cause.

“Joe was just such a nice guy,” Adams says. “One time he was on the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder, and Snyder asked him how he felt about what had been done to him, and he answered that it was hard to feel bad when millions of children were reading comic books with his character.

Which is very sweet, but it’s no way to win a fight.”

Siegel and Shuster needed a strong voice – someone from inside the industry who could also reach out beyond the comics world. Adams, who was the most popular artist at DC and the cover artist for Superman, became that voice. Even though it meant going up against his own employer, Adams launched a series of media appearances, press conferences, and meetings to drum up support for the Superman creators.

“It carved four months out of my life,” Adams recalls, “but they were pretty good months.” He was fighting the good fight – and he won. DC finally agreed to provide Siegel and Shuster with financial assistance and medical benefits.

They were also credited, by name, in every subsequent Superman comic. Siegel (who passed away in 1996, at age 81), and Shuster (who died in 1992, at 78) were able to live their remaining years in dignity.

For Adams, it would be just the first in a series of campaigns for underdogs. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he won a long battle to convince both major comics publishers, DC and Marvel, to return pages of original artwork to the artists. This reversal of industry policy was a remarkable victory for creators’ rights.

In recent years, he has led the effort to pressure Poland’s Auschwitz State Museum to return portraits painted by Dina

Babbitt when she was a prisoner in the Nazi death camp.

A comic strip drawn by Adams about Babbitt’s plight was published by Marvel. Babbitt herself passed away from cancer two years ago, but her family is still battling for return of the paintings.

Adams is now illustrating “They Spoke Out,” a series of animated shorts about Americans who protested against the Holocaust, with Disney Educational Productions and the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. The first six episodes will be released on DVD this summer by Disney.

Siegel and Shuster created a fictional hero devoted to truth, justice and the American way, and “Man of Steel” will bring that story once again to movie screens around the world. Neal Adams, for his part, continues to bring those ideals into his own real-world struggles for truth and justice.

Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, www.

WymanInstitute.org and co-author, with Craig Yoe, of the forthcoming book “Cartoonists Against the Holocaust.”

Beer

Continued from page 10 says Cowan, who spearheaded the creation of the non-profit New York City Brewers Guild in 2012 and currently serves as its president. “In the last four or five years, there have been more breweries opening every year than ever before.”

According to the Brewers Association, small craft brewers produce fewer than six million barrels of beer annually. Like Shmaltz, these brewers typically take distinct, individualistic approaches to connecting with their clients. They also use both traditional and non-traditional ingredients, like the fruit juice found in He’Brew’s Origin Pomegranate Ale. With his new facility, Cowan is now brewing 50-barrel batches every two to three weeks, with an annual capacity of 20,000 barrels. “It’s incredibly exciting, incredibly gratifying to be part of an industry that is going through positive change right now,” Cowan says.

Quick Reference Guide to Planned Giving

Use this planned giving quick reference guide to help determine the best strategy for achieving your philanthropic and financial goals.

For more information or to discuss these planned giving options, please contact: Mark Silverberg, Executive Director, Jewish Federation of NEPA, 570-961-2300 (x1) or at mark.silverberg@jewishnepa.org.

If Your Goal is to:

Then You Can:

Your Benefits May Include:

Make a quick & easy gift

Simply write a check now

An income tax deduction and immediate charitable impact

Avoid tax on capital gains

Contribute long-term appreciated stock or other securities

A charitable deduction plus no capital gains tax

Defer a gift until after your lifetime

Put a bequest in your will (gifts of cash, specific property, or a share or the residue of your estate

Exemption from federal estate tax on donations

Receive guaranteed fixed income that is partially tax-free

Create a charitable gift annuity

Current & future savings on income taxes, plus fixed, stable payments

Avoid capital gains tax on the sale of a home or other real estate

Donate the real estate or sell it to a charity at a bargain price

An income tax reduction plus reduction or elimination of capital gains tax

Avoid the two-fold taxation on IRA or other employee benefit plans

Name a charity as the beneficiary of the remainder of the retirement assets after your lifetime

Tax relief to your family on inherited assets

Give your personal residence or farm, but retain life use

Create a charitable gift of future interest, called a retained life estate

Tax advantages plus use of the property

Make a large gift with little cost to you

Contribute a life insurance policy you no longer need or purchase a new one & designate a charity as the owner

Current & possible future income tax deductions

Receive secure, fixed income for life while avoiding market risks

Purchase a charitable gift annuity or create a charitable remainder annuity trust

Tax advantages & possible increased rate of return

Give income from an asset for a period of years but retain the asset for yourself or your heirs

Create a charitable lead trust

Federal estate tax savings on asset & income tax deductions for donated income

Create a hedge against inflation over the long term

Create a charitable remainder unitrust

Variable payments for life plus tax advantages

Make a revocable gift during your lifetime

Name a charity as the beneficiary of assets in a living trust

Full control of the trust terms during your lifetime

ÊVisit the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania on the web at www.jewishnepa.org or on Facebook

14

THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

JUNE 20, 2013 ■

Films!

From JTA

Iran’s new president still Khamenei-approved, Netanyahu says

Photo exhibit at JCC in Manhattan

• Non-Feature Films • A Film Unfinished, a harrowing look at the devious art of a propaganda film made by the Third Reich, is a rich and well-researched investigation into the filmic history of the Warsaw Ghetto. As A Film Unfinished aims to set the record straight, it furthers a political resistance that Jews undertook during the war. In other words, this documentary is a tribute, a correction of history to honor those who died, witnessed, or survived atrocities prior to their move to Treblinka, Warsaw’s affiliate death camp.

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. 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.

I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal - Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who lost 89 family members, helped track down over 1,100 Nazi war criminals and spent six decades fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people.

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 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.

• 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) A Woman Called Golda - Ingrid Bergman plays Golda Meir, the Russian born, Wisconsin raised woman who became Israel’s prime minister in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

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.

Nora’s Will - When his ex-wife Nora dies right before Passover, Jose is forced to stay with her body until she can be properly put to rest.

He soon realizes that he is part of Nora’s plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast, leading Jose to reexamine their relationship. (not rated) 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.

Rashevski’s Tango - Just about every dilemma of modern Jewish identity gets an airing in this packed tale of a clan of more or less secularized Belgian Jews thrown into spiritual crisis by the death of the matriarch who has held all doubts and family warfare in check. (not rated) Sarah’s Key - Julia Jarmond, an American journalist is commissioned to write an article about the notorious Vel d’Hiv round up, which took place in Paris, in 1942. She stumbles upon a family secret which will link her forever to the destiny of a young Jewish girl, Sarah.

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.

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 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.

Ushpizin - A fable set in the Orthodox Jewish world in Jerusalem, Ushpizin tells the story of a poor childless couple, Moshe and Malli, whose belief in the goodness of the Almighty follows a roller coaster of situations and emotions but leads to the ultimate happiness, the birth of their son.

15

NEWS IN bRIEF

New Season of

June 2013

THE REPORTER

The Jewish Community in Manhattan is holding the exhibit “Your Fortunate Eyes: Photographs by Rudi Weissenstein” through July 31. In 1936, Rudi Weissenstein, a 26-year-old photographer, emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Palestine. In Israel, he documented everything from the settlers’ way of life to the landscapes of the Negev. In 1940, he and his wife, Miriam, opened Pri-Or Photohouse, a photo studio at 30 Allenby St., Tel Aviv.

The exhibit, which features 42 of Weissenstein’s images, takes its name, “Your Fortunate Eyes,” from a Goethe quote – “You, fortunate eyes, All you’ve seen, there, Let it be as it may, Yet it was so fair!” – that appears on his tombstone.

For more information, visit www.jccmanhattan. orginfo@jccmanhattan.org or contact the JCC at info@ jccmanhattan.org or 646-505-5700.

Design exhibit

The Jewish Museum in New York City will hold the exhibit “Six Things: Sagmeister and Walsh” through August 4.

Designers Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh are known for their experimental typography and visual imagery. “Six Things” marks the first exhibition of their newly founded design firm, Sagmeister and Walsh. For the last 10 years, Sagmeister has researched the nature of happiness, asking, “Is it possible to train my mind in the same way I can train my body?” In five short films and a sculpture, the studio investigates six things, culled from Sagmeister’s diary, that he believes have increased his personal happiness.

In addition, intrigued by a recent nationwide survey in which Jews reported the highest levels of well-being of all religious groups, Sagmeister and Walsh have placed a text in the gallery that connects scientific data to the personal exploration of happiness.

For more information, contact the museum at 212-4233200 or info@thejm.org or visit www.thejewishmuseum.org.

Folk music on the web

The website Jewish Folk Songs, www.jewishfolksongs. com, offers a series of lectures given by Batya Fonda about how folk songs from Yiddish and Ladino-speaking cultures reflect different themes of Jewish heritage. The lectures are in English and Hebrew. In addition to talking about the songs, Fonda plays recordings of the songs and sings the song with guitar accompaniment.

Lazar Khidekel exhibit

The Center for Jewish History in New York City is holding the exhibit “Floating Worlds and Future Cities: The Genius of Lazar Khidekel, Suprematism, and the Russian Avant-Garde” through October 31. It is the first comprehensive exhibition in the U.S. of the work of the artist, architect, designer and theoretician Lazar Khidekel (1904-1986). Khidekel worked with Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich in Vitebsk in the years 1918-1922, where he became a proponent and theoretician of the avant-garde movement known as Suprematism and a founding member of the UNOVIS group (Affirmers of New Art), which included other Russian and Jewish artists such as Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitsky, Nina Kogan and Ilya Chashnik. The exhibit focuses on Khidekel’s role in the transition of Suprematism from painting to architecture, cosmic urbanization, and radical yet environmentally conscious city planning of the future. For more information, visit www.cjh.org or call 212-294-8301.

Book

Continued from page 11 put disclaimers on some of the stuff out there. A couple of months ago a [Facebook page] appeared about the third Intifada. The providers said, “This is like a conversation; it’s freedom of speech,” and we said to them, “Intifada is not a conversation piece, it’s a call for violence, and therefore you should not permit it.” We complained to Facebook, Facebook analyzed it and came back to us saying “you’re right,” and they removed it.ö JNS: What are some unusual examples of online hate, or examples that people might easily recognize?

Foxman: There are some websites, one called Martin Luther King Jr. that masquerades [as a harmless website]. Innocently, you may want to find out what Martin Luther King said, what he was about, and you log on and all of a sudden you realize, or you may not realize, that it’s a white supremacist website. What many of the hate organizations did early on was to purchase and protect website domains. Many people in the beginning of the Internet weren’t aware of the value of this. If you buy a domain for the Holocaust Institute, it could become anything, but it becomes Holocaust denial. You have to be aware. Every great invention in our history had two sides to it. There was also a dark side, and we need to understand it. That’s basically what [my new] book says.

The election of cleric Hassan Rohani as president of Iran does not change anything, since he was shortlisted by the country’s radical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Candidates who did not conform to Khamenei’s extremist outlook were not able to run for the presidency, Netanyahu said on June 16 at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, a day after Rohani’s election. Netanyahu pointed out that “among those whose candidacies he allowed was elected the candidate who was seen as less identified with the regime, who still defines the state of Israel as ‘the great Zionist Satan.’” It is Khamenei who ultimately determines Iran’s nuclear policy, the Israeli leader said. “Iran will be judged by its actions,” Netanyahu said. “If it continues to insist on developing its nuclear program, the answer needs to be very clear – stopping the nuclear program by any means.”

Rohani, who is seen as much more moderate than the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will take office in August after receiving slightly more than 50 percent of the vote. Some 72 percent of the 50 million eligible voters turned out. The combative Ahmadinejad was barred from running for re-election due to term limits. “This victory is a victory of wisdom, a victory of moderation, a victory of growth and awareness, and a victory of commitment over extremism and ill temper,” Rohani said Saturday on state television. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “Iran must abide by the demands of the international community to stop its nuclear program and cease the dissemination of terror throughout the world.” In its statement on June 15, the White House congratulated the Iranian people for participating in the political process and “their courage in making their voices heard.” The statement said it respected their vote. “It is our hope that the Iranian government will heed the will of the Iranian people and make responsible choices that create a better future for all Iranians,” the White House said. On June 16, the British newspaper The Independent reported that Iran will send 4,000 Revolutionary Guard troops to Syria to aid President Bashar Assad against rebel forces in his country’s two-year civil war. The decision reportedly was made before the start of the presidential election. Iran also proposed opening up what it called a “Syrian front” against Israel in the Golan Heights, according to The Independent.

Yaalon: Israeli intervention in Syria would be counterproductive

Israel will not intervene in Syria in part because any such intervention would harm the side Israel favors, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said. “We don’t intervene, we do not interfere,” Yaalon said on June 14 in Washington prior to a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “Any Israel intervention might affect the side we support and not for its benefit.” It’s not clear what side Israel would favor. Israel has said it backs the American demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad step down, a move that would wound Israel’s most dangerous rival in the region, Iran, as well as Hezbollah, the potent terrorist force in Lebanon. On the other hand, Israel appreciates the quiet that successive generations of Assads have ensured on its border and fears the rise of Islamists among rebels in that country.

Yaalon’s remarks come as the Obama administration says it is ready to increase military support for the rebels. Yaalon said the red lines that would trigger Israeli actions in Syria are cross-border fire and the transfer of chemical and strategic weapons. Yaalon said the worst possible outcome in Syria would be “a chaotic situation, but we can manage it.” He called for increased western and U.S. support of Jordan, which has absorbed most of the refugees fleeing bloodshed in Syria. Yaalon was bluntly dismissive of Obama administration efforts to restart the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, blaming the Palestinian insistence on a settlement freeze before talks start again for the failure of the process. He also dismissed as “just spin” the recently revived 2002 Arab peace initiative favored by the Obama administration. Yaalon said U.S.-Israel defense and intelligence cooperation was close, and that he believed it was still possible to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons through peaceful means.

Italian Righteous Gentile killed for saving Jews is beatified

An Italian Catholic activist and journalist who was declared a Righteous Gentile by Yad Vashem was put on the road to sainthood. Odoardo Focherini was beatified – the step before sainthood – at a ceremony on June 15 in his hometown of Carpi, near Modena, in northern Italy. Declared a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church, Focherini is believed to be the first Righteous Gentile, and the first person to be killed for saving Jews, to be beatified. Focherini

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saved about 100 Jews during World War II by establishing a rescue network and arranging false papers to help them flee to Switzerland. He was arrested in March 1944 and sent to a series of Nazi camps. He died at the camp at Hersbruck, Germany, in December 1944 at the age of 37. Yad Vashem recognized him and a parish priest who helped him as Righteous Among the Nations in 1969. Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree attesting to Focherini’s martyrdom in 2012. Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, said in a statement that Focherini’s memory “will also continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations.” In a statement, the Rome office of the American Jewish Committee said Focherini “acted selflessly in accordance with the highest moral principles shared by our two fraternal religions. This act will create yet another bond between Christians and Jews, further enriching our deepening dialogue. May the recognition and memory of Odoardo Focherini’s profound faith and humanity be a blessing to all the world’s peoples.”

European Parliament honors Polish Jewish leader

Alicja Kobus, the president of the Jewish Community of Poznan, was recognized by the European Parliament with its annual European Citizens’ Prize. The prize has been given out since 2008 for promoting mutual understanding and closer cooperation of European citizens. Kobus is a social activist who works for dialogue, tolerance and cooperation among ethnic and religious groups. She also promotes Jewish culture in Poland, as well as Polish and European culture in Israel, and each year organizes a Jewish festival in Poznan.

The winners will receive their awards in their home countries as well as participate in a joint ceremony in Brussels in October. Poznan, a city of approximately 550,000 in western Poland, now has about 60 Jews and one functioning synagogue. Its approximately 1,500 Jews at the dawn of World War II were mostly eradicated by the Nazis.

House passes bill making it U.S. policy to help Israel “remove threats”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a defense authorization bill that would make it U.S. policy to take “all necessary steps” to ensure Israel is able to “remove existential threats,” among them nuclear facilities in Iran. “It is the policy of the United States to take all necessary steps to ensure that Israel possesses and maintains an independent capability to remove existential threats to its security and defend its vital national interests,” said the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act passed on June 14. The amendment, initiated by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and first reported by Americans for Peace Now weekly legislative roundup, would require the president to report every 90 days on how the policy is being implemented. That report would identify “all aerial refueling platforms, bunker-buster munitions, and other capabilities and maintenance by Israel of a robust independent capability to remove existential security threats, including nuclear and ballistic missile facilities in Iran, and defend its vital national interests.” The language must survive the reconciliation process with the Senate and then be signed by the president in order to become law. The amendment is similar to a non-binding resolution passed in May in the Senate that urged the president to provide “diplomatic, military, and economic support” to Israel should it be “compelled” to strike Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program. The House version of the defense authorization act already included a number of Israel-related measures, including tripling Obama’s request for missile defense cooperation funding from $96 million to $284 million. The entire act passed on June 14 in a 315-108 vote. Roskam’s amendment passed by voice vote.

Effective immediately, send all articles and ads to our new E-mail address,

please note!

jfnepareporter@ jewishnepa.org.

Effective immediately, please send all articles & ads to our new E-mail address,

jfnepareporter@jewishnepa.org.

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16

THE REPORTER ■ june 20, 2013

See why everyone describes this as Unforgetable, the trip of a liftime!

JUNE 20, 2013 ■

Tel Aviv Caesaria Army Base Tiberias Sea of Galilee Jerusalem Tzfat (Safed) Golan Heights Masada Dead Sea Haifa

Saturday, October 12 Tuesday, October 22, 2013

schedule of services

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.

calendar highlights business briefs

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.

b’nai mitzvah

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 REPORTER

17

d’var torah

mazel tov obituaries Jewish heritage connection your grief matters rabbi mel glazer, Temple Israel of the Poconos

“Cool facts about Israel” philanthropic ins & outs

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.

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?

ISRAEL, 2013

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.”

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!

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