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VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 12
JUNE 4, 2015
Federation announces co-chairs for the 2016 Annual UJA Campaign
Federation President Michael Greenstein has announced that Scranton Jewish community members Ed and Ann Monsky have agreed to chair the Federation’s upcoming 2016 United Jewish Appeal Campaign. The campaign is scheduled to begin in September and continue through May 2016. “We are pleased and honored to have Ed and Ann Monsky, two established leaders of our community, as co-chairs of the Federation’s 2016 annual UJA Campaign,” said Greenstein. “Their involvement in Young Leadership, numerous Federation UJA Campaigns and Temple Israel of Scranton over several decades have demonstrated the kind of leadership skills we require for a position of such importance not only to our community, but to Israel and world Jewry – all of whom benefit from our annual UJA Campaign. Both have been actively involved in numerous charitable enterprises in our community and together, they bring to the Campaign the organizational skills that will ensure its success.” Ann has been involved in the annual UJA Campaigns of the Federation since her early years in Scranton. She has served as the JCC Tween (seventh and eighth grade) representative of UJA, served again during high school as the
JCY/UJA chairwoman and continued while away at college as the young adult Campaign chairwoman at the request of the late Fran Kaufman. Since returning to the area in 1975, she has continued throughout the years to be involved in numerous Federation activities. She went through the Young Leadership training program and continues to attribute the skills she acquired to the program. She has been active as an organizer, a solicitor and as a past co-chairwoman of the Women’s Division on several UJA Campaigns. She currently sits on the Federation Board of Trustees and the Federation’s Allocations Committee. In addition, she is active in the Scranton Jewish Community Center; Temple Israel of Scranton and its Sisterhood; and the board of the Jewish Home of Eastern Pennsylvania, where she co-chaired its recent membership campaign. She also volunteers at Elan Gardens and does community service as a private tutor. “For Ann, this is merely the continuation of a long tradition of family and community involvement,” said a Federation representative. Professionally, Ann is a speech and language pathologist. Now retired from the Scranton School District, she maintains a
Ann and Ed Monsky private speech practice in the community and is employed by Marywood University as a supervisor of graduate student field experience for the Department of Education and the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. Ed is a partner with the law firm of Fine and Wyatt, P.C., with offices in Scranton and Honesdale. His main areas of practice include civil litigation, social security disability and wills and estates. He holds a B.A. in sociology from Haverford College, an M.A. in sociology from the
Houston floods inundate Jewish buildings By Uriel Heilman (JTA) – Two synagogues and the homes of countless Jewish residents were damaged in the floods that swept through Houston last week, inundating homes and businesses, sweeping away cars and leaving at least five people dead. Houston, America’s fourth-largest city
and home to more than 40,000 Jews, was paralyzed when many of the canals that run through the city (known locally as bayous) crested after torrential rains soaked the city. Some 8-12 inches of water fell in a matter of hours on ground already saturated by heavy rainfall during the last few weeks.
One of Houston’s major bayous runs alongside North and South Braeswood Boulevard, where two synagogues are located and many of Houston’s Jews live. Numerous residents had to be evacuated by watercraft, including a rabbi emeritus from United Orthodox Synagogues of See “Houston” on page 6
“Friends of The Reporter” Campaign The Federation has asked the community to support its “Friends of The Reporter” Campaign, which seeks to raise $9,500 to help fund the paper. The regional Jewish newspaper, The Reporter, is the primary communications tool of the Jewish communities of Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties. Supplementing synagogue and temple newsletters and bulletins, The Reporter has increased its circulation from 1,200 families in 2000 to an expected 2,850 Jewish families by September. Throughout this period of time, costs in publishing the paper have increased dramatically, although the newspaper continues to be provided to the communities at no charge. The Federation assumes the financial responsibility for funding the newspaper at a cost of $26,000 per
year, and asks only that its readers assist in raising $9,500 – as part of the “Friends of The Reporter” Campaign – to alleviate a share of those expenses. “Without your generosity, our newspaper could not exist and this service could not be provided,” noted a Federation representative. The newspaper is delivered twice a month (except for December and July, which are single-issue months) to every identifiable Jewish home in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As the primary Jewish newspaper of the region, the publication offers readers a variety of material, from opinions and columns on controversial issues that affect both the local community and Israel; to publicity for events held by affiliated agencies and organizations; to life-cycle events, personality profiles,
letters to the editor, holiday recipes, the Jewish community calendar and other columns covering topics ranging from food to entertainment. The Reporter can also be read online at the newly designed Federation website at www.jewishnepa.org. The Federation has asked each member of the community to become a “Friend of The Reporter.” To do so, send a check to the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510, and mark it “Friends of The Reporter.” Donors can also use the response portion from the “Friends of The Reporter” ad on page 6. “Your gift to our regional Jewish newspaper matters a great deal to us and we’d be grateful for your support,” added a Federation representative.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE War of ideas
Water, water nowhere
Many wonder how pro-Israel Israel has solutions to the voices can counter the anti-Israel problems facing drought-stricken activities on college campuses. California. Story on page 4 Story on page 7
News in brief...
University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, MO. Considered to be “a veteran community leader,” Ed has served as president of the Scranton Jewish Community Center from 2006-08, prior to which he received the Samuel Shair Officers Award from the JCC in 1999 and its George Joel Senior Service Award in 2012. He has served for two terms as president of Amos Lodge #136 of B’nai B’rith, and as an officer or director of Amos Lodge, Jewish Family Services of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Elan Gardens, the Jewish Home of Eastern Pennsylvania and the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, where he serves on the Federation’s Nominating and Grants Committees. Ed is also the president of Lackawanna Pro Bono, and is on the Board of Directors of the Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency. Previously, he served as a director of the Women’s Resource Center of Scranton and the Lackawanna Bar Association. Ed and Ann reside in Clarks Summit and are parents of two sons: Jeremy, of New York City, and Scott, of Miami, FL.
2015 UJA paign Update Cam
Pay it forward & give to the 2015 Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania Annual Campaign!
WE DID IT!
$891,676 as of May 26, 2015
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
THANK YOU! Goal:
896,000
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(Please MEMO your pledge or gift 2015 UJA Campaign)
Federation on Facebook
The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania now has a page on Facebook to let community members know about upcoming events and keep connected.
Candle lighting June 5.............................................8:14 pm June 12...........................................8:18 pm June 19...........................................8:21 pm
Google puts Argentina’s Jewish PLUS history online; an anti-Israel Opinion........................................................2 textbook in Dutch schools; more. Jewish Community Center News.........6 Story on page 11 D’var Torah................................................8
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THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
a matter of opinion UJA/Federation Campaign 2015 Honor Roll requests for anonymity accepted The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania will publish its UJA/Federation Campaign 2015 Honor Roll in August as a thank you to those community members who made a financial gift to our annual
UJA Campaign this year, thereby continuing our community’s tradition of tzedakah. Should any contributor to our 2015 UJA Campaign wish to remain anonymous, please contact Dolores
Gruber, the Federation’s office manager, at 570-961-2300, ext. 3, or at jfnepareporter@jewishnepa.org, and your request for anonymity will be respected. On behalf of Jews everywhere who
benefit from your generosity to our annual UJA Campaign, please accept our sincerest thanks. Mark Silverberg, executive director Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Why the Palestinians’ gun culture should concern us
Jews like to use noisemakBy Stephen M. Flatow ers and musical instruments JNS.org to express their joy at wedAnother Palestinian teendings. Many Palestinians ager was shot to death apparently prefer guns. recently. The Boston Globe didn’t You didn’t hear about the consider Ilaa’s death newslatest killing? Maybe that’s worthy. Nor, for that matter, because she was shot by did The New York Times, Palestinians, not by Israelis. the Los Angeles Times, That kind of news, it seems, Stephen M. Flatow The Washington Post, or, it is not fit to print. Ilaa al-Araj, age 16, was (Photo courtesy of seems, any major American shot in the head by gunfire Stephen M. Flatow) daily newspaper. Why the silence? that erupted during a wedding For editors who are hostile to Israel, in Balata, in Palestinian Authority-conit’s a non-story. Can’t blame the Israelis, trolled territory. Palestinian Arabs bring their shot- no point in reporting it. As one editor guns to weddings because it is a staple told me, “A dog biting a man is not of their culture to fire guns in celebra- news.” It’s the same reason that Amerition on such occasions. It’s a “common can newspapers almost never report on practice,” according to the Palestinian so-called “honor killings” – when Palnews agency Ma’an. In 2006, Ma’an estinian Muslims murder their female recalled, three young Arab girls were relatives on suspicion that the women killed by such gunfire at a wedding in violated some Islamic moral stricture (such as speaking to men). the P.A. city of Jenin.
For editors who want to make the Palestinians look good – so that Americans will sympathize with their cause – the story is a problem. It makes Palestinians look violent and reckless. These editors want Americans to think that the Palestinians are “just like us.” Acknowledging cultural differences might undermine that agenda. For anyone concerned about Israel, however, the death of Ilaa al-Araj should be big news. In addition to the natural humanitarian sympathy we all feel any time an innocent person loses his or her life – especially at such a young age – there is also a powerful, life-and-death lesson for Israel. The P.A.’s territory is awash in guns. Tribal clans have them, terrorists have them, criminals have them. Guns are an acceptable feature of Palestinian life. Even though the P.A. regime has one of the largest per capita police forces in the world, the P.A. police make no serious effort to confiscate the guns.
The P.A. makes no effort to discourage this gun culture. On the contrary, the P.A.’s schools and media teach young Palestinians that those who use guns – to kill Jews – are heroes and martyrs. It’s bad enough that Palestinian society is already rife with such attitudes. Now try to imagine what would happen if the Obama administration and the United Nations force Israel to accept the creation of an independent, sovereign “Palestine.” Israel would be faced with an entire state rooted in a culture of guns and violence. For real peace, that culture must be transformed – not next year, but now. Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He is chairman of the Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund (www.alisafund.org), which provides financial assistance to students wishing to study in Israel.
Jerusalem: not just an idea
“ The Reporter” (USPS #482) is published bi-weekly by the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510.
President: Michael Greenstein Executive Director: Mark Silverberg Executive Editor: Rabbi Rachel Esserman Layout Editor: Diana Sochor Assistant Editor: Michael Nassberg Production Coordinator: Jenn DePersis Graphic Artist: Alaina Cardarelli Advertising Representative: Bonnie Rozen Bookkeeper: Kathy Brown
Opinions The views expressed in editorials and opinion pieces are those of each author and not necessarily the views of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Letters The Reporter welcomes letters on subjects of interest to the Jewish community. All letters must be signed and include a phone number. The editor may withhold the name upon request. ADS The Reporter does not necessarily endorse any advertised products and services. In addition, the paper is not responsible for the kashruth of any advertiser’s product or establishment. Deadline Regular deadline is two weeks prior to the publication date. Federation website: www.jewishnepa.org How to SUBMIT ARTICLES: Mail: 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 E-mail: jfnepareporter@jewishnepa.org Fax: (570) 346-6147 Phone: (570) 961-2300 How to reach the advertising Representative: Phone: (800) 779-7896, ext. 244 E-mail: bonnie@thereportergroup.org Subscription Information: Phone: (570) 961-2300
gies to resolve this unacceptable By Danny Danon situation in Jerusalem. Our seJNS.org curity forces must immediately With another Jerusalem increase their operations deep Day (May 17) passing us by, in the Arab neighborhoods. The we are once again witnesses police officers have the training to the usual platitudes from and know-how to deal with the our leaders. We again hear the rioters and should not be limspeeches about the unity of our ited to “containing” those who capital and how it will never be break the law to specific neighdivided again. These notions are borhoods. We should instead of course all true, but Jerusalem is much more than an idea. It is Member of Knesset confront the criminals, without fear, on their home turf. a living city that must be safe Danny Danon For the longer-term, we for its inhabitants, and it must (Photo courtesy should look to the example of continue to grow and expand of Wikimedia New York City. When faced in a manner befitting of Israel’s Commons) with rising violence and crime largest city. Over the past year we have seen an in his city, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani unfortunate rise in rioting and violence implemented the now-famous “broken by Arab extremists in Jerusalem. The windows theory.” While everyone unsituation became too analogous to what derstood that the homicides and drug happened on our border with Gaza fol- trade were completely unacceptable, lowing the disastrous 2005 disengage- Giuliani argued that to eliminate seriment. The residents of the border com- ous crime over time, a zero-tolerance munities in the south endured unending policy was also needed for seemingly rocket and mortar attacks for years, but insignificant quality-of-life crimes. The the rest of the country only took notice results soon followed, with all categories when tragedy occurred or the terrorists of crime seriously declining throughout begin to target population centers in the Giuliani’s tenure. This is what is needed now in Jerusacenter of the country. Similarly, too many of our political lem. We must immediately end the soft leaders only began to take notice after hand of law enforcement in the eastern attacks that resulted in the murder or neighborhoods that has endured for too injury of civilians. It is unfortunate that long. Every stone thrown at a school bus it has taken fatalities, or violent incidents must result in arrest and conviction. Evin the larger and more established Jewish ery tombstone overturned in the historic neighborhoods, for the general public to Mount of Olives cemetery should be treated as an attack on our forefathers. take notice. Another issue plaguing our capital is in- Each time a light rail station is vandalsufficient construction and development. ized, the video recording of the attack Despite repeated pledges by our govern- should be analyzed and the perpetrators ment, growth in too many neighborhoods should be punished to the fullest extent remains stagnant. While we all say that of the law. If the current laws are not Jerusalem is of utmost importance to our tough enough, then we as members of people, this does not fit with the current the Knesset must work to rectify this in an expedited fashion. state of affairs in the capital. At the same time, a new master For starters, we must immediately implement both short- and long-term strate- plan is needed for Jerusalem’s growth.
International events over the past few years have taught us that we cannot allow pressure from abroad to force us to sacrifice our values. Now is the right moment to announce a massive increase in housing construction and business development in all parts of Jerusalem. Whatever condemnations and threats come our way as the result of this action must not deter the state of Israel from continuing to develop one of our most important assets – the historical heart and current political capital of our great nation. Despite these issues that must be resolved, it is always important to keep in mind that there is also the Jerusalem far removed from the media spotlight. Life goes on as usual in most of the city, with people going to work and children attending schools and nurseries, as is the case in the rest of the country. It is our job as leaders to put an end to the lawlessness and further develop Jerusalem before the negative trends succeed in changing the situation and overtaking the brave resilience of Jerusalemites. Now is the time for bold action from everyone, from the police officers on the street to the new cabinet ministers in our government. Only by staunchly confronting the rioters in their neighborhoods, while simultaneously enacting a zero-tolerance policy toward all crime, can we hope to return full peace and security to our eternal capital. At the same time, Jerusalem must be built up and developed in a serious manner that befits the city of Kings David, Solomon and Herod. This is the Jerusalem that Jews throughout the ages have yearned for and this is the capital that the state of Israel deserves. Member of Knesset Danny Danon is a member of Israel’s 34th government and serves as minister of science, technology and space.
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THE REPORTER
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community news Lucette van den Berg to perform on June 13 A performance by internationally acclaimed and award-winning Yiddish vocalist Lucette van den Berg will be held on Saturday, June 13, at 7:30 pm, at the Jewish Fellowship at Hemlock Farms, corner of Forest Drive and Hemlock Farms Road, Lords Valley. During the performance, titled “A Shtim fun Harts (Voice of the Heart),” van den Berg will be accompanied by classical guitarist Erik Raayman. Van den Berg has been called “one of the leading voices in the vanguard of a new generation of Yiddish singers.” Light refreshments will be served after the concert. Tickets for the program cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the Jewish Fellowship during regular office hours.
Called “a striking performer whose exceptionally warm and expressive voice carries a very distinct sound,” van den Berg’s repertoire includes new material written for her by composers such as Alan Bern (“Brave Old World”) and poet/composer Mikhoel Felsenbaum. She composes songs, as well, and features them in her programs. Van den Berg mainly sings a repertoire written especially for her. She does not restrict herself to performing Yiddish music, but wants to develop it as well. She initiated and was appointed director of the Yiddish Festival at Leeuwarden (The Netherlands), which was staged for the first time in 2008. Initially, van den Berg entered the Zwolle College
Goldsammler Scholarship Fund accepting applications The Sara and Max Goldsammler Scholarship Fund is now open to any current or college-bound Jewish student. The scholarship will be applied toward tuition costs. Students can fill out a simple application and write a short essay in order to apply. Three scholarships – $1,000,
$500 and $300 – will be awarded based on the essays. The application can be found at http://Saramaxfund.com. The deadline for applications is Sunday, August 2. For assistance, contact Rachel Shammah at NCSY in New York City at 732-443-0511 or 212-613-8155.
JFS executive director receives Distinguished Service Award The Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies honored Jewish Family Services of Northeastern Pennsylvania Executive Director Sheila Abdo at this year’s annual conference in Miami. Abdo received the Distinguished Service Award, which is awarded to member agency CEOs or executive directors who have worked for more than 20 years in the Jewish communal service field. Abdo has been executive director of JFS since 1995. Prior to that she was a social worker for the organization. “Under her leadership, JFS has developed into a comprehensive social service agency,” said a JFS representative, “not only in Lackawanna County but expanding into the surrounding regions of the Pocono area, doubling in both staff and revenue.” Abdo was responsible for bringing the agency through a total office renovation, which was said to have “professionalized” the agency for both staff and clients. Many new programs were developed during this time, including the Holocaust Survivors Assistance Service, the Mae S. Gelb Kosher Food Pantry, Guardianship of Person Service and a wellness series that partners with the business community, targeted specifically to the baby boomer population. “Sheila has helped to develop a positive reputation
of Music (The Netherlands) as a student of classical song. Following her studies, she performed as a soloist singing opera, oratories and recitals of lieder. In her study at home, she started singing Yiddish songs for fun. This changed when van den Berg met and befriended author and composer Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, who is credited with making her more aware of her Jewish roots. This was said to be “a key event” in van den Berg’s musical life. She stayed on with Schaechter-Gottesman in New York for an extended period, during which she was given new songs that had not been published yet. Van den Berg wrote the arrangements and recorded “Friling,” which was awarded third prize in the JPF Song Awards 2009 in the USA. “Give me a song I can feel” became van den Berg’s motto. Van den Berg’s performances have been broadcast by AVRO, KRO, Joodse Omroep (Jewish Broadcast), EO (all in The Netherlands), the WDR in Germany and SBS radio in Australia. For more information about van den Berg, visit www. lucettevandenberg.nl.
New book available
The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute of the University of Scranton has announced the publication of Dr. Marc B. Shapiro’s new book, “Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History.” The book focuses on the rewriting of history and internal Jewish censorship.
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DEADLINE
The following are deadlines for all articles and photos for upcoming Reporter issues.
DEADLINE
ISSUE
Thursday, June 4............................... June 18 Thursday, June 18................................July 2 Thursday, July 16...............................July 30 Thursday, July 30.......................... August 13
L-r: Jewish Family Services of Northeastern Pennsylvania Executive Director Sheila Abdo received the Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies’ Distinguished Service Award from Lee I. Sherman, president/CEO of AJFCA. for the agency which serves both the Jewish and general community,” said a JFS representative. The award was presented to Abdo by Lee I. Sherman, president/CEO of AJFCA.
Notice to our Pocono Readers 911 Emergency Management Services has been updating mailing addresses in Monroe County and Lehman Townships in Pike County. Please don't forget to notify the Federation so you will continue to receive The Reporter. Thanks, Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Spring is here and the heating bills keep coming. Time to take a look at
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THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
How should pro-Israel voices tackle the war of ideas on college campuses?
By Jeffrey F. Barken JNS.org Recent ordeals for Jews on college campuses include being probed on their religious identity in student government hearings, seeing swastikas sprayed on fraternity houses and the presence of a student-initiated course accused of antisemitism. Pro-Israel voices are fighting back, but who is winning this war of ideas? An episode at Columbia University, a historic hotbed of anti-Zionism, illustrates the complex dynamics at play. In April, Christians United for Israel, America’s largest pro-Israel organization, with more than two million members, planned a lecture at Columbia concerning the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and his support for Israel. CUFI says that the school administration meddled with the event in a way that unfairly singled out the pro-Israel group. The university imposed an “unprecedented level of bureaucratic scrutiny in an effort to intimidate,” said David Walker, CUFI’s national campus coordinator. Walker told JNS.org that the university moved the lecture to a much smaller venue at the last minute, demanded to know the names of all off-campus individuals expected to attend and denied the general public entry as evidence of “bureaucratic bullying.” Some organizations partnering with CUFI on the event proceeded to withdraw their support in the aftermath of the administration’s actions. Despite the obstacles, CUFI’s diversity outreach coordinator, Pastor Dumisani Washington, was permitted to speak at Columbia during the April 30 event. He began by refuting a statement issued by the Columbia Black Students Organization in which the group condemned Aryeh, a proIsrael student organization at Columbia, for using “the image and words” of King to promote Zionist views and co-opting “the black liberation struggle for the purposes of genocide and oppression.” “When I see black students saying these things, I know there is a great deal of confusion,” Washington said. His lecture offered a history of the civil rights movement in the U.S., demonstrating how King and his
closest followers were always aligned with Israel, both spiritually and politically. By citing the shared experience of slavery as epochs uniting Jews and blacks, recalling songs about Moses and highlighting excerpts from New Testament and Old Testament psalms that figure prominently in King’s speeches, Washington defended Christian Zionism and King’s legacy as a pro-Israel voice. In his presentation, Washington also included a short video that illustrates BSO’s “confusion.” The video recalls the 1975 United Nations General Assembly resolution that declared Zionism as racism. Noting the maxim “follow the money,” the video connects the dots of a complicated political strategy devised by the former Soviet Union. At the height of the Cold War, the U.S.S.R. sought to manipulate and intimidate poorer member states (mostly African) into passing anti-Israel resolutions. The real target of this strategy was not Israel, but rather America, the Soviets’ chief rival. Since the U.S. and Israel are close allies, the Soviets reasoned, any discrediting of Israel’s reputation as a humane democracy reflected negatively on the U.S., creating ideological conflicts of interest. With CUFI’s event going on as planned, the pro-Israel side at Columbia University managed to have its voice and narrative heard – at least for that day. Columbia, as it turns out, sits atop a recently published list of 10 American college campuses where antisemitism is most rampant. The list was compiled by JewHatredOnCampus. org, an initiative launched earlier this year whose mission is to engage directly with students at institutions of higher learning where pro-Palestinian student groups are using school funding to launch aggressive anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda campaigns. The new website publishes a regular newsletter and provides a portal for reporting antisemitic incidents. “Fifty-four percent of Jewish students on college campuses feel they’ve witnessed antisemitism,” said conservative writer David Horowitz, the founder of JewHatredOnCampus.org. “The problem is that Jews aren’t fighting back.”
ish Federatio n’s e he Jew t n o ma u o il l y e ist Ar ? We send updated announcements and special
But how should they fight back? A 2010 incident involving Horowitz sheds light on the activist’s strategy of choice. In a post-lecture question-and-answer session hosted by the University of California, San Diego, Horowitz asked a UCSD Muslim student, Jumanah Imad Albahri, to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah as genocidal terrorist organizations. Albarhi’s answer shocked the audience and the video of their heated exchange quickly went viral. In the video, Albarhi asks Horowitz “to explain the purported connection” between UCSD’s Muslim Student Association chapter and “jihadist terrorist networks.” Horowitz doesn’t answer directly. Instead, he counters by pressing Albarhi to refute the documented statement by the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, expressing his desire for Jews to gather in Israel so that “it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.” Albarhi appears rattled. She worries that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will label her a terrorist if she sides with Hezbollah, but denies that pro-Palestinian organizations are aligned with doctrines of hate. “For it or against it?” Horowitz persists, demanding an answer regarding Albarhi’s opinion on Hezbollah’s rhetoric. Finally, Albarhi leans toward the microphone and says decisively, “For it.” Albarhi later denied supporting Nasrallah’s comments. Indeed, similar YouTube clips and social media debates reveal the intensity of student opinions regarding Israel, as well as the animosity directed at Jewish students and professors. Horowitz believes that one common Israeli public relations strategy – the spotlighting of “all the wonderful things Israel has accomplished, from medical inventions and agricultural advances to being tolerant of gays” – falls short as a proper defense of the Jewish state’s policies. From his perspective, history is what provides a legitimate justification for Israel to exist under its present borders. He cites the original Palestinian Liberation Organization slogan declaring a fundamental intention to “push [the Jews] into the sea” as clear-cut evidence that Israel does not have a partner for peace. “You have to call it what it is,” Horowitz told JNS.org. “You cannot make peace with people who want to kill you. These are literally Nazis... planning
Pastor Dumisani Washington, Christians United for Israel’s diversity outreach coordinator. Washington spoke at an April 30 event at Columbia University (not the speech pictured here) concerning the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his support for Israel. (Photo courtesy of CUFI. another Holocaust openly.” Against the backdrop of that sense of urgency, Horowitz advocates what has been called “a robust and unapologetic” public relations campaign on the part of pro-Israel advocates as the only way to repair the damage done to Israel’s image by its enemies. The press release that launched his JewHatredOnCampus.org initiative lists anti-Jewish acts such as “Israeli Apartheid Week” (the annual anti-Israel showcase on campuses around the world), the interruption of university activities by staging mock “checkpoints” on campus, the hosting of speakers on campus that call for the destruction of the Jewish state and harassment and violence against Jewish and pro-Israel students. Horowitz’s efforts to counter anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric are said to have sparked many contentious debates at the more than 400 college campus visits he said he has made. CUFI speakers are similarly accustomed to meeting opposition. On the same day as the recent Columbia event, CUFI Outreach Coordinator Kasim Hafeez, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin and a jihadist-turned-Zionist, had Students for Justice in Palestine activists walk out on a speech he gave at the University of Toledo. Horowitz conceded that the current debate over Israel on campus is a shallow shouting match to which he contributes his own propaganda. He expresses his desire for an “informed scholarly debate,” but said of pro-Palestinian advocates, “I don’t believe there is an honest way for them to argue their cause... [when their] side wants to annihilate the other.”
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Bais Yaakov to hold tribute dinner on Sunday, June 21
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exhibits depicting Jewish life. Lag B’Omer Bais Yaakov students recently visited the Everhart Museum, where they toured the exhibits and spent time in Nay Aug Park. The students had never been to the museum and said they “enjoyed it very much.”
Israel NEWS IN bRIEF From JNS.org
A 1,000-year-old ketubah goes on display in Jerusalem
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) – In honor of the wedding season that began after Lag B’Omer earlier in May, the National Library of Israel is launching an exhibition about the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract, featuring a rare 1,000-year-old ketubah that testifies to the presence of a Jewish community in 11th century Safed. The ketubah, written in Aramaic, has been dated to Nov. 28, 1023. It was written in what was then the city of Tzur. The scribe is named as Yosef Hacohen, son of Yaakov, and the couple is named as Natan Hacohen, son of Shlomo, and Rachel, from Safed. “This is one of the first and only existing artifacts that testifies to the Jewish community in Safed during that period,” said Dr. Yoel Finkelman, the National Library’s Judaica curator. He said all ketubahs include a section detailing the husband’s duty to provide for and take care of his wife, and outlining what her rights are in the event of divorce. “Along with that, some included additional sections. For example, a welloff family may offer to provide more financially in order to marry a woman from a well-respected family, or a family of Torah scholars,” he said.
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Israeli unemployment rate drops to historic low of 4.9 percent
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) – Unemployment in Israel has fallen to an all-time low, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said on May 25. According to the bureau’s data, the April jobless rate was just 4.9 percent, below the psychological threshold of 5 percent. Unemployment among men dropped from 5.2 percent in March to 4.9 percent in April, and unemployment among women dropped from 5.4 percent to 4.7 percent in the same months.
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Elefant added, “They are serious students and have a deep, mature appreciation of Yiddishkeit. The energy and humor that they exhibit in and out of class brightens the school. Their freshness and eagerness to learn and do chesed is inspiring. They go daily to the Jewish Home to feed residents. “Rabbi Yaakov Bilus, our Chumash (Bible) teacher, told me that at the end of the class the girls asked him why he was leaving. When he replied that class was over, they said, ‘But we have more questions... we don’t want you to go yet!’” said Elefant. “It is with great pride that the Bais Yaakov of Scranton honors both Rabbi Avrohom and Pearl Goldstein,” said a Bais Yaakov representative. Bais Yaakov will also pay tribute to the memory of Chana Lapidus. She was born in Philadelphia in 1914 and passed away on Simchat Torah in 2013 in Scranton. She is said to have “loved and admired the teachers and students” of Bais Yaakov, as well as “the education and pursuit of chesed the school instills in its students.” “Lapidus was a teacher, she would say that she derived as much satisfaction from teaching one person as from teaching a class,” said a Bais Yaakov representative. Lapidus first began teaching at age 12, when her Hebrew school teacher paid her 25 cents a week to assist him. She continued to teach until her passing. “She could not tolerate anyone wasting time,” noted a Bais Yaakov representative. “Each moment of life was precious. Her strong faith in Hashem and love of her fellow man was an inspiration to all who knew her. She was and always will be a true aishes chayil and role model for the Bais Yaakov of Scranton and all who were fortunate to know her.” Bais Yaakov representative called it “a privilege to honor” Lapidus. Her children and grandchildren are mostly now educators, as well. “They following in her footsteps of being marbitz Torah, spreading Torah,” said a Bais Yaakov representative. “They are her true legacy.”
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Bais Yaakov High School of Scranton will honor Rabbi Avrohom and Pearl Goldstein, relative newcomers to Scranton, at a dinner on Sunday, June 21, at 5 pm, at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Dinner invitations were mailed and reservations are needed. Call the school for information and to RSVP at 570-347-5003. Avrohom has helped more than 70 people, primarily from Latin America, become geirim, converts to Judaism. After attending Ner Israel Rabbinical college in Baltimore and then the Satmar Yeshiva, Avrohom settled in Monsey, where he studied in yeshiva and then opened up his own business, buying and selling antique violins, all while raising his ChasidishYiddish speaking family. Avrohom felt that the right community was needed, that an “out-of-town, small community” would be ideal, where it would be easier for many of the families to adjust. Scranton met his criteria. Pearl, a special educator of many years, is said to “stand behind her husband.” Pearl commutes to Monroe, where she teaches children with special needs, but supports her husband’s work in his community. Pearl has been called the force behind hosting numerous guests at her home and helping Avrohom with his work for her community. The Goldsteins run an open house with many people to help them integrate into Jewish society. Most of the members of Avrohom’s Toiras Chesed community, as they are called, have found jobs within Scranton. Some work in construction or at the David Elliot Poultry slaughterhouse and supermarket. Some children attend the Scranton Hebrew Day School, while the young men attend Yeshivas Bais Moshe and high school students attend Bais Yaakov of Scranton. Bais Yaakov is said to cater to the needs of Toiras Chesed. “The school has existed for about 47 years,” said the principal, Esther Elefant. “We’ve had the privilege of educating girls from the Scranton community and from across the U.S.A. Now these students offer us a unique opportunity.”
THE REPORTER
Prices effective Sunday, May 31 thru Saturday, May June 27, 2015.
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THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
Book review
Reference works for readers and collectors by rachel esserman A friend once asked if I read or skimmed the books I review. He seemed a bit disappointed when I said I read them. Then I did note one exception: Some works aren’t really meant to be read, but studied. So, for these books, I usually read the introductions and skim through the material. The books in this review are really reference/study works, books that collectors like to have on their shelves and read/use in classes or to consult when they have a question. All three are beautifully bound works that make a great gift for anyone who loves the Bible and biblical commentaries. “The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs” When I first saw information about the “The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs,” with commentary by Michael Fishbane (The Jewish Publication Society), I thought it contained a typo: It listed the book’s length at
Houston Houston, one of the two synagogues that suffered dam-
age. The other damaged synagogue was the Reform temple Congregation Beth Israel. Houston’s JCC also said two of its properties were flooded, including the Merfish Teen Center, which will require new flooring, and racquetball courts and a preschool gym at the JCC’s Levit campus. No fatalities or major injuries were reported among the city’s Jews. “There’s water in every area of the shul – the main sanctuary, the social hall, the school wing, administrative offices. Luckily our Torahs were higher so they were not affected,” United Orthodox’s current rabbi, Barry Gelman, told JTA by phone. Gelman had to flee his home during the rains as flood waters rose. “Almost every house in this neighborhood sustained serious flood damages – from 6-8 inches to 3-4 feet of water in every house,” he said. “This will keep many people out of their homes for months.” The outpouring of help from the community has been
more than 300 pages. Since the JPS commentary on the book of Ruth was only a little more than 100 pages and the difference in the length of the two books is only eight pages in my Hebrew/English Tanach (Hebrew Bible), it seemed an obvious mistake. However, once I had the commentary in my hands, I understood why the book is so long: There are so many disparate interpretations on the text – from the very secular idea of its being a miscellaneous collection of love and/or wedding songs to the most religious interpretation of the work as a love song between God and the people Israel – that a detailed discussion is needed. Fishbane focuses on specific types of Jewish interpretation, using the four levels of traditional commentary to explain the text. Peshat, the “plain sense” of the text, focuses “on the grammatical meaning of the terms and phrases in their given content.” On this level, “the Song speaks about a
remarkable, Gelman said. As soon as the rain stopped, crews of volunteers from his 350-family synagogue community went house to house with canoes and rafts to rescue elderly residents and others stranded by the waters. After the waters receded, half a dozen Jewish high school boys showed up at Gelman’s house to help clean up and document the losses. A Conservative synagogue nearby offered United Orthodox prayer space (though United Orthodox said it plans to use its own social hall until repairs are completed), and another Orthodox synagogue in town offered to do the laundry of affected community members, complete with pick-up and drop-off service. “Amid all of this destruction, which is devastating, there is an incredible sense of unity and hope,” Gelman said. “The most important thing is no one got hurt.” The CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, Lee Wunsch, said the community was still assessing the damage, but that the Jewish Family Service of Houston would be the point of contact for community members
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.
Continued from page 1 requiring short-term housing or support until their homeowners insurance kicks in. “This is definitely the worst since Tropical Storm Allison 14 years ago, but the protocol for dealing with it is pretty standard,” Wunsch told JTA. “It would be nice if it would stop raining, though. That just adds to the aggravation.” Last week marked the first time that Congregation Beth Israel, which was built in the 1960s and has 1,600 members, ever flooded, according to Pat Pollicoff, the synagogue’s president. More than a foot of water poured into the sanctuary, and air-conditioning and electrical systems in the sub-basement were flooded. The water came in the back door, which faces the bayou, she said. The synagogue was able to get remediation crews in overnight to pump out water and dry the carpets, which should limit the damage. Pollicoff said the synagogue was still working out the logistics of how to handle several major events scheduled for the coming days, including a graduation ceremony at the synagogue’s Jewish day school, a wedding and Shabbat services. “The whole area surrounding the temple was so badly hit,” Pollicoff said. “Many members lost homes and cars. It’s a terrible thing for the entire community.”
The Federation assumes the financial responsibility for funding the enterprise at a cost of $26,400 per year and asks only that we undertake a small letter writing mail campaign to our recipients in the hope of raising $10,000 from our readership to alleviate a share of that responsibility. We would be grateful if you would care enough to take the time to make a donation for our efforts in bringing The Reporter to your door. As always, your comments, opinions and suggestions are always welcome. With best wishes, Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Jewish Federation of NE Pennsylvania 601 Jefferson Avenue Scranton, PA 18510
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maiden and her beloved.” Derash, which uses an allegorical approach, sees “the Song’s maiden [as] personification of the people of Israel (sometimes as individuals, sometimes as the collectivity) and her beloved as the personification of God.” Remez, which treats the text as a “philosophical allegory of the intellectual or spiritual life,” understands it as speaking about “the human striving for perfection” and “God’s desire for the perfection of the human being and encouragement for the seeker of truth.” Sod, a mystical interpretation, treats the maiden and her lover as representatives of “male and female aspects of Divinity,” with the Divine seeking to “realize its own inherit harmony through love.” Each section of the commentary analyzes the text using the four different types of interpretation. The beauty is that readers can either focus on one type of commentary, or
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Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, rabbi emeritus of United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston, was among those who had to be rescued from their homes by watercraft after Houston was hit with heavy flooding on May 26. (Photo by Robert Levy)
june 4, 2015 ■
THE REPORTER
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Recycling toilet water and four other Israeli answers to California’s drought By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – For help facing its worst drought in centuries, California should look to a country that beat its own chronic water shortage: Israel. Until a few years ago, Israel’s wells seemed like they were always running dry. TV commercials urged Israelis to conserve water. Newspapers tracked the rise and fall of Lake Kinneret, Israel’s biggest freshwater source. Religious Israelis gathered to pray for rainfall at the Western Wall during prolonged dry spells. However, the once perpetual Israeli water shortage appears to be mostly over. California’s water supply, meanwhile, is at record lows, prompting restrictions on household use and leading farmers to deplete the state’s groundwater reserves. From water recycling to taking the salt out of the plentiful seawater, here are five
Book
study individual verses as seen through all four levels. The book also offers a history of the development of these commentaries as they relate to the text. “The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs” is perfect for beginners and scholars seeking to uncover the meaning of this poetic and intriguing biblical work. “The Schocken Bible: Volume II – The Early Prophets” When I graduated from rabbinical school, a friend gave me a copy of Everett Fox’s translation of the Chumash (the first five books of the Bible). For the next year, I used it to read the weekly parasha (Bible portion). Fox’s attempt to capture the flavor of the Hebrew in his translation and his commentary concerning his choice of words made the book fascinating reading. He does the same in his latest work, “The Schocken Bible: Volume II – The Early Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings” (Schocken Books), where he once again tries to bring the Hebrew text to life. Fox notes that “whatever the Bible’s origins, it is clear that most writing in antiquity was read aloud and so to experience the Bible in its spokenness is a vital way to draw nearer to it.” He pays close attention to the length of phrases, the sounds of the words and the rhythmic aspects of the text. He also offers introductions to each book, along with an outline of its structure. His commentary looks at everything from the correct pronunciation of a word to an explanation of the choices made for a particular phrase. One example of how Fox’s translation seeks to retain the flavor of the original He-
A faucet and toilets are seen in a classroom in the ecological village in Nitzana, Israel. Students there learn about desalination and on how to save water. (Photo by Chen Leopold/Flash 90)
brew text can be found in Hannah’s prayer (I Samuel, chapter 1, verse 10-11): The Jewish Publication Society translation: “In her wretchedness, she prayed to the Lord, weeping all the while. And she made this vow: ‘O Lord of Hosts, if You will look upon the suffering of Your maidservant and will remember me and not forget your maidservant, and if You will grant Your maidservant a male child, I will dedicate him to the Lord for all the days of his life; and no razor shall ever touch his head.’” Fox’s translation: “And she was bitter of feeling, so she prayed to YHWH, while she wept, yes, wept; and she vowed a vow, and said, ‘O YHWH of the Forces-OnHigh, if you will see, yes, see the affliction of your maidservant, and will bear me in mind and not forget your maidservant, and will give your maidservant the seed of men, then I will give him to YHWH for all the days of his life: no razor shall go up on his head!’” Those who own a copy of the first volume will definitely want this new one for their collection. Members of study groups will find comparing Fox’s translation to other translations an excellent way to better understand the text. At more than 800 pages, “The Schocken Bible: Volume II” is an impressive piece of scholarship. “The Commentators’ Bible: Deuteronomy” Anyone who owns a copy of the previous volumes in “The Commentators’ Bible, The Rubin JPS Miqra’ot Gedolot” series – edited, translated and annotated by Michael Carasik (The Jewish Publication Society) – can skip this review
and just order the latest in the series, “Deuteronomy.” It’s of the same high quality as the three prior volumes on the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. For those unfamiliar with the series, Carasik provides an excellent introduction to the world of medieval Jewish commentary on the Bible; his work is a great place for those who can’t read them in the original Hebrew to start their studies. The work has some wonderful features. My favorite is the inclusion of both the old Jewish Publication Society (1917) and new Jewish Publication Society (1985) translations of the biblical text. This offers readers an opportunity to see the difference between a literal translation and a smoother, more literary one. Carasik edits the medieval commentaries, sometimes to explain more fully sections that would otherwise be difficult for contemporary readers to understand or to prevent repetition of material. In his “Principles of Translation,” the author carefully outlines
ways that Californians can benefit from Israel’s know-how. Israeli cities recycle three-quarters of their water. Israeli farms don’t just use less water than their American counterparts, much of their water is reused. Three-quarters of the water that runs through sinks, showers, washing machines and even toilets in Israeli cities is recycled, treated and sent to crops across the country through specially marked purple tubes. According to the Pacific Institute, which conducts environmental research, California recycles only 13 percent of its municipal wastewater. Israel also encourages recycling by giving reused water to farmers tax-free. “If you take water from the city, you don’t pay a tax, but if you have a well and you See “Water” on page 9
Continued from page 6 his approach to the work and what readers should expect. The pages are arranged with the biblical verses in Hebrew at the top center, and their English translations to the right and left of that text. The main commentaries featured – Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra and Nahmanides – are printed below those. Additional comments from other commentators appear on the bottom of the page when they offer different insights to the text. Those looking to find new meanings in the weekly parasha can look at all the commentaries for the section (although the work is not divided into parashot). Anyone interested in a particular commentator can follow his comments throughout the book. Carasik offers additional study suggestions for those unfamiliar with medieval commentary or the study of the Torah text. “The Commentators’ Bible” is a wonderful addition to any reference shelf. I look forward to the final work in the series.
Sunday, June 21, 2015 The Bais Yaakov of Scranton Tribute Dinner Honorary Guest of Honor Rabbi and Mrs. Avrohom Goldstein Aishes Chayil Memorial Award Mrs. Chana Lapidus
ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook
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THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
d’var torah
BeHa’alotcha: On elevation and humility By RABBI PEG KERSHENBAUM, CONGREGATION B’NAI HARIM, POCONO PINES BeHa’alotcha, Numbers 8:1-12:16 Our Torah portion begins with the commandment to raise up the menorah in the tabernacle so as to have the lamps shine in front of the stand, lighting up the sacred space where the Levites could perform some of their responsibilities. Those very Levites are consecrated and described in such a way as to equate them with elevation offerings. All the Israelites place their hands on the Leviim as if they were so many bulls to be sacrificed and the Levites then place their hands on actual animals and offer them up. The ceremony, using mutuality to confer and convey holiness, exalts both the people and their ritual designees. The Levites receive their charge; the people receive a command to celebrate their second Pesach and all seems to be at a spiritual apex. However, it is not human nature to stay at such rarefied heights and the action quickly descends from the heavenly realm of trust, peace and harmony to the mundane plane of griping, sniping and jealousy. The first to gripe are some Israelites who cannot celebrate Pesach along with everyone else because of ritual impurities. They are accommodated with the promise of a second chance to offer their Paschal lambs and eat matzah and maror in the second month. Then there is widespread kvetching about the limited diet of manna. The whining of the people and their vocal nostalgia about “the good ole’ days” under the whip of the Egyptians, where at least they got some vegetables, finally push both God and Moses to the limit. God fumes and Moses complains about the burdensome task he’s been set. He loses confidence in himself and in God. God understands Moses’ state of mind and suggests a solution. Having Moses choose 70 trusted elders, God infuses them with a bit of Moses’ abundant spirit and even sends some to the other two, more modest elders who
remained in camp. The people stop carping long enough to tattle on Eldad and Medad, who have been inspired to prophesy by the new spirit in them. Moses, much calmer now, reassures his zealous supporters that his only wish is that all of us were infused with such spirit. Imagine if all 600,000-plus people were so spiritually buoyed. Why, we’d positively float to the Promised Land! But again, rather than focusing on the elevated state, the text takes us down even further, as Miriam and Aaron gossip and find fault with Moses for having married a Cushite woman. It is truly proof of Moses’ famed humility that he doesn’t answer back. Despite what we might think, Aaron and Miriam don’t air their jealousy discreetly behind Moses’ back! We know that Moses was with them holding his tongue because when God calls them to come out of the tent, all three emerge! Passing over the question of why Aaron is not punished commensurately with Miriam, let us consider the lesson Moses teaches us at this time. He has, as we saw, willingly shared his Divine blessing with trusted leaders. He doesn’t debate or denounce his siblings, but rather pleads for the very sister who disparaged his wife! He seems to know that the barbs were not aimed out of distaste, but out of jealousy over his close relationship with God. He learns from them that people’s envy comes from a place of misunderstanding. For Moses wouldn’t begrudge his brother or sister a share of ruach Elohim except that he knows the utter frustration that comes from trying to live with his head in the clouds, as it were. On our better days, we experience exaltation but, because we are humans, we live mostly on the ground. May we find a way to be refreshed by divine spirit, to be moved by generosity of this spirit to share our burdens with others and to forgive those who, out of longing for more intimacy with the divine, try literally to humble us. Living with our feet on the ground, may we be blessed to walk our Promised Land.
At 80, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s Jewish roots “very much intact” By Robert Gluck JNS.org Eighty years young, Leonard Cohen fits many descriptions – singer, songwriter, poet, novelist, monk. From his Jewish upbringing in Canada to the present day, Cohen has always explored his spiritual side. In May, the singer-songwriter released the CD and iTunes formats of his latest album, “Can’t Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour,” which features live Leonard Cohen recordings from his world tours in 2012 press photo) and 2013. Last year, Cohen’s “Popular Problems” was voted by Rolling Stone magazine’s readers as one of the 10 best albums of 2014. Cohen was born in September 1934 in Westmount – an English-speaking area of Montreal, Quebec – into a middle-class Jewish family. His mother, Marsha Klonitsky, was the daughter of a talmudic writer, Rabbi Solomon Klonitsky-Kline of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, whose family had emigrated from Poland, was Lyon Cohen, founding president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. On the topic of being a Kohen (descendant of the ancient Jewish high priests), Leonard Cohen has said, “I had a very Messianic childhood.” Sharon Robinson, a background singer for decades with Cohen and author of the book “On Tour with Leonard Cohen,” called Cohen “a scholar, a thoughtful individual whose Jewish background is very much intact.” After initially taking pictures of Cohen out of personal interest, Robinson realized she was involved in something
special – and the end result was her December 2014 book. “I didn’t want to forget a moment of it,” she told JNS.org regarding being on tour with Cohen. “After some [of the photos] were on social media, they came to the attention of a publisher who wanted to do the book.” In 2004, Cohen’s manager stole his life savings, forcing him out of planned retirement into the current phase of his (Leonard Cohen musical career. Robinson has been associated with Cohen since the “Field Commander Cohen” tour of 1979-80, first as a singer and then as his co-writer and producer. She was drafted into the current iteration of Cohen’s band, “The Unified Heart Touring Company,” from its onset and has been at his side for more than 400 shows. Photographically, she has captured her experience behind the scenes with the unique access afforded by her position. “[Cohen] loves his Jewish faith and is observant,” Robinson said. “The human heart resonates through his work. It’s who he is. He comes from a long line of rabbis. References to Judaism can be found throughout his work, probably in every song. There is a very deep and profound connection with his Jewish faith.” Indeed, Cohen said in 1974, “I’ve never disguised the fact that I’m Jewish and in any crisis in Israel I would be there. I am committed to the survival of the Jewish people.” A year earlier, he had performed for Israeli soldiers during the Yom Kippur War. See “Cohen” on page 10
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june 4, 2015 ■
Water
take that water you pay a lot of money for every cubic meter,” said Giora Shaham, a former long-term planner at Israel’s Water Authority. “If you’re a farmer in Rehovot and you have water that doesn’t cost money, you’ll take that water.” Israel gets much of its water from the Mediterranean Sea. Israelis now have a much bigger water source than Lake Kinneret: the Mediterranean Sea. Four plants on Israel’s coast draw water from the sea, take out the salt, purify the water and send it to the country’s pipes – a process called desalination. The biggest of the four plants, opened in 2013, can provide nearly seven million gallons of potable water to Israelis every hour. When a fifth opens as soon as this year near the Israeli port city of Ashdod, 75 percent of Israel’s municipal and industrial water will be desalinated, making Israelis far less reliant on the country’s fickle rainfall. Desalination costs money, uses energy and concerns environmental activists who want to protect California’s coast and the Pacific Ocean. One cubic meter of desalinated water takes just under four kilowatt-hours to produce. That’s the equivalent of burning 40 100-watt light bulbs for one hour to produce the equivalent of five bathtubs full of water. But despite the costs, San Diego County is investing in desalination. IDE Technologies, which operates three of Israel’s four plants, is building another near San Diego, slated to open as soon as November. Once operational, it will provide the San Diego Water Authority, which serves the San Diego area, with 50 million gallons of water per day. “It’s a carbon footprint, but the technology is advanced enough that the cost of the process is lower than it used to be,” said Fredi Lokiec, IDE’s former executive vice president of special projects. “The environmental damage done because of a lack of ability to provide water to residents and agriculture because of the drought, because of overdrawing of groundwater, also has a price.” Israelis irrigate through pinpricks in hoses, not by flooding. No innovation has been more important for Israel’s desert farms than drip irrigation. Most of the world’s
farmers water their crops by flooding their fields with sprinklers or hoses, often wasting water as they go. With drip irrigation, a process pioneered in Israel 50 years ago, water seeps directly into the ground through tiny pinpricks in hoses, avoiding water loss through evaporation. Four-fifths of all water used in California goes to agriculture, and California’s farmers have been draining the state’s groundwater as rain has stopped falling. But as of 2010, less than 40 percent of California’s farms used drip irrigation, according to the Sacramento Bee. Netafim, a leading Israeli drip-irrigation company, says the practice cuts water use by up to half. Netafim spokeswoman Helene Gordon told JTA that 90 percent of Israeli farms use drip irrigation. “It can’t be that there’s such a huge water shortage, and they’re talking about a shortage of drinking water, and on the other hand they pour huge amounts of water into the ocean that could be used for agriculture,” said Avraham Israeli, president of the Israel Water Association, which advises Israeli water companies on technology development. Israel’s government owns all of the country’s water. Israel treats water as a scarce national resource. The government controls the country’s entire water supply, charging citizens, factories and farmers for water use. Residents pay about one cent per gallon, while farmers pay about a quarter of that. In California, though, many farms drill from private wells on their property, drawing groundwater as rain has thinned. Some have even begun selling water to the state. State regulations to limit groundwater use, signed last year, won’t be formulated until 2020. “Technology is not good enough,” said Eilon Adar, director of Ben-Gurion University’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research. “You have to change some of the regulation. You have to impose more limitations on water. California’s local consumers have to give up some of their rights.” Adar and Israeli, however, both noted that adopting Israeli-style regulations in California would be near impossible, as some of California’s water rights holdings are more than a century old. But government ownership doesn’t solve problems for all of the region’s residents. The Israeli human rights NGO Btselem says the West Bank suffers from a water shortage
THE REPORTER
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Continued from page 7 due to unequal allocation of the state’s water. According to Btselem, Israelis receive more than twice the amount of water per capita as Palestinians in the West Bank. Water conservation is drilled into Israeli culture. When an ad appeared on Israeli TV in 2008 showing a woman whose body crumbled to dust because of that year’s water shortage, a parody Facebook group suggested skin lotion. But the ad was just the latest iteration of an Israeli ethos to save water wherever possible. Kids are taught to turn off faucets and limit shower time. Israelis celebrate rain – at least at first – rather than lamenting it. Lake Kinneret’s daily surface level shows up alongside weather reports in the paper. In 2008, at the height of a decade-long drought, Israeli, the Israel Water Association president, dried out his lawn and replaced it with a porch to save water. Israelis’ close attention to rainfall and drought comes from an education and culture that teaches them the importance of every drop in an arid region. With no end in sight for California’s drought, Adar said Californians would do well to adopt a similar attitude. “You take an 8-year-old boy, you pump into their head that they have to save water as a scarce national resource,” he said. “In 10 years’ time, they’re 18 years old and they get it. It’s in their blood.”
Lea Gottlieb exhibit
The JCC Manhattan is holding the exhibit “Unraveling the Work of Lea Gottlieb” at the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery until August 2. The exhibit looks at the world of fashion designer Lea Gottlieb (1918-2012). Critics have said that she “revolutionized swimwear design.” The exhibit features extant garments and bathing suits, textiles, original sketches and archival prints. For more information, visit www.jccmanhattan.org/programs/?area=AI_GAL or contact the JCC at info@jccmanhattan.org or 646-505-4444.
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 mark.silverberg@jewishnepa.org.
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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 Give your personal residence or farm, but retain life use
Name a charity as the beneficiary of the remainder of the retirement assets after your lifetime
Tax relief to your family on inherited assets
Create a charitable gift of future interest, called a retained life estate
Tax advantages plus use of the property
Exemption from federal estate tax on donations Current & future savings on income taxes, plus fixed, stable payments
Make a large gift with little cost to you Contribute a life insurance policy you no longer need or Current & possible future income tax deductions purchase a new one & designate a charity as the owner Receive secure, fixed income for life while avoiding Purchase a charitable gift annuity or create a charitable Tax advantages & possible increased rate of return market risks remainder annuity trust Give income from an asset for a period of years Create a charitable lead trust Federal estate tax savings on asset & income tax but retain the asset for yourself or your heirs deductions for 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 Full control of the trust terms during your lifetime living trust
ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook
10
THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
June 2015 • Non-Feature Films • *NEW* American Masters: Mel Brooks: Make A Noise - After more than 60 years in show business, Mel Brooks has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer. A comedy force of nature, Brooks is very private and has never authorized a biography, making his participation in this film a genuine first. Showcasing the Brooklyn native’s brilliant, skewed originality, American Masters: Mel Brooks: Make A Noise features never-before-heard stories and new interviews with Brooks, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Tracey Ullman and others. This career-spanning documentary of the man behind Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Spaceballs and of course the 2000 Year Old Man journeys through Brooks’ professional and personal ups and downs, providing a rare look at a living legend, beloved by millions. *NEW* Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy - Engaging, humorous, and provocative... examining the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical. The film showcases the work of legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. Interviews with songwriters and luminaries including Sheldon Harnick, Stephen Schwartz, Harold Prince, Arthur Laurents, Charles Strouse, and Mel Brooks provide insight, alongside standout performances and archival footage. Everything is a Present: The Wonder and Grace of Alice Sommer Hertz - This is the uplifting true story of the gifted pianist Alice Sommer Hertz who survived the Theresienstat concentration camp by playing classical piano concerts for Nazi dignitaries. Alice Sommer Hertz lived to the age of 106. Her story is an inspiration. Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story - Yoni Netanyahu was a complex, passionate individual thrust into defending his country in a time of war and violence. The older brother of Benjamin Natanyahu, the current Israel Prime Minister, Yoni led the miraculous raid on Entebbe in 1976. Although almost all of the Entebbe hostages were saved, Yoni was the lone military fatality. Featuring three Israeli Prime Ministers and recently released audio from the Entebbe raid itself. Hava Nagila (The Movie) - A documentary romp through the history, mystery and meaning of the great Jewish standard. Featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Leonard Nimoy and more, the film follows the ubiquitous party song on its fascinating journey from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the kibbutzim of Palestine to the cul-de-sacs of America. Inside Hana’s Suitcase - The delivery of a battered suitcase to Fumiko Ishioka at the Tokyo Holocaust Museum begins the true-life mystery that became the subject of Karen Levine’s best-selling book Hana’s Suitcase. The film follows Fumiko’s search to discover the details of Hana’s life, which leads to the discovery of her brother George in Toronto. Israel: The Royal Tour - Travel editor Peter Greenberg (CBS News) takes us on magnificent tour of the Jewish homeland, Israel. The tour guide is none other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The viewer gets a chance to visit the land of Israel from his own home! Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (narrated by Dustin Hoffman) - This documentary portrays the contributions of Jewish major leaguers and the special meaning that baseball has had in the lives of American Jews. More than a film about sports, this is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, the shattering of stereotypes and, most of all, the greatest American pastime. Nicky’s Family - An enthralling documentary that artfully tells the story of how Sir Nicholas Winton, now 104, a British stockbroker, gave up a 1938 skiing holiday to answer a friend’s request for help in Prague and didn’t stop helping until the war’s beginning stopped him. He had saved the lives of 669 children in his own personal Kindertransport. Shanghai Ghetto - One of the most amazing and captivating survival tales of WWII, this documentary recalls the strange-but-true story of thousands of European Jews who were shut out of country after country while trying to escape Nazi persecution. Left without options or entrance visa, a beacon of hope materialized for them on the other side of the world, and in the unlikeliest of places, Japanese-controlled Shanghai. The Case for Israel - Democracy’s Outpost - This documentary 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 Jewish Cardinal - This is the amazing true story of Jean-Marie Lustiger, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew even after converting to Catholicism at a young age, & later joining the priesthood. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg - As baseball’s first Jewish star, Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg’s career contains all the makings of a true American success story. Unmasked: Judaophobia - The Threat to Civilization – This documentary exposes the current political assault against the State of Israel fundamentally as a war against the Jewish people and their right to self-determination. *NEW* When Jews Were Funny is insightful and often hilarious, surveying the history of Jewish comedy from the early days of Borsht Belt to the present. • Feature Films • Fill the Void - This is the story of an eighteen-year-old, Shira, who is the youngest daughter of her family. Her dreams are about to come true as she is set to be married. Unexpectedly, her sister dies while giving birth to her first child. The drama of the story reaches its peak when the girls’ mother proposes a match between Shira and the young widower. Shira will have to choose between her heart’s wish and her family duty. Footnote - The winner of the Cannes Film Festival (Best Screenplay) is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son, two eccentric professors, who have both dedicated their lives to work in Talmudic Studies. Each has a need for recognition in his chosen field and the day comes when father and son must look deeply inside themselves for the truth- advancement of his own career or of the others. Hidden in Silence - Przemysl, Poland, WWII. Germany emerges victorious over the Russians and the city comes under Nazi control. The Jews are sent to the ghettos. While some stand silent, Catholic teenager, Stefania Podgorska, chose the role of a savior and sneaks 13 Jews into her attic. Noodle (compatible only on PAL – DVD players - Hebrew with English subtitles) This film was a beloved entry in the Jewish Federation of NEPA’s Jewish Film Festival. It tells the heartwarming story of an Israeli stewardess, Miri, whose personal life as a war widow leaves her without much joy. Everything changes for Miri when her Oriental housemaid disappears one day leaving her with her young Oriental child! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Based on the best- selling novel, this movie is unforgettable. Set during WWII, the movie introduces us to Bruno, an innocent eight-year-old, ignores his mother and sets of on an adventure in the woods. Soon he meets a young boy and a surprising friendship develops. The Concert - Andrei Filipov was prodigy- at 20 he was the celebrated conductior for Russia’s renowned Bolshoi Orchestra. Thirty years later, still at the Bolshoi, he works as a janitor. Ousted during the communist era when he refused to fire the Jewish members of the orchestra, a broken Andrei now cleans the auditorium where he once performed in front of thousands. 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? The Other Son - As he is preparing to join the Israeli army for his national service, Joseph discovers he is not his parents’ biological son and that he was inadvertently switched at birth with Yacine, the son of a Palestinian family from the West Bank. This revelation turns the lives of these two families upside-down, forcing them to reassess their respective identities, their values and beliefs.
Cohen
Continued from page 8
Cohen’s music explores religion, politics, isolation, sexuality and personal relationships. Sylvie Simmons, author of the August 2013 book “I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen,” said listeners feel the weight of Cohen’s authority. “I was in my early teens when his first album came out in 1967, so I didn’t really understand the full weight of it, but I felt the weight of it,” Simmons told JNS.org. “I felt this was somebody who wasn’t just singing about angst and misery and anger, but somebody who had authority who came to tell me personally something. There is a certain intimacy as well as a hypnotic element to his voice that imparts what he’s saying. So even if you don’t know exactly what he’s talking about, somehow you absorb the feeling of it.” Perhaps Cohen’s bestknown song is “Hallelujah,” first released on his studio album “Various Positions” in 1984. The song had limited initial success, but found greater popularity through a 1991 cover by John Cale. “Hallelujah” has been performed by almost 200 artists in vari- The cover of Leonard Cohen’s ous languages, and more newly released live album, than five million copies “Can’t Forget: A Souvenir of the song sold in CD of the Grand Tour.” (Photo format prior to 2008. The courtesy of Sony Legacy) song has been the subject of a BBC Radio documentary and a book – Alan Light’s “The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of ‘Hallelujah,’” in addition to being featured in the soundtracks of numerous films and television programs. But before “Hallelujah,” there was “Suzanne.” In 1967, disappointed with his lack of financial success as a writer of novels and poems, Cohen moved to the U.S. to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. That year, Cohen’s “Suzanne” became a hit for singer Judy Collins and proceeded to be his most-covered song for many years. Simmons, who has studied Cohen’s early years, said the singer’s family of origin “was distinguished and important – one of the most prominent Jewish families in Montreal. “Leonard’s ancestors had built synagogues and founded newspapers in Canada,” said Simmons. “They had funded and presided over a lengthy list of Jewish philanthropic societies and associations. Leonard never knew his grandfather Lyon, but Lyon’s principles, his work ethic and his belief in ‘the aristocracy of the intellect’ all sat well with Leonard’s own persuasion.” Cohen’s intellect intensified as he began writing poetry and novels. His poetry collections include “Let Us Compare Mythologies,” “The Spice-Box of Earth,” and “Book of Longing.” His novels include “The Favorite Game” and “Beautiful Losers.” Yet he will undoubtedly be remembered more for his songs. “There’s a lot of mystery to the songs that draws people back again and again,” Simmons said. “There’s something about them that makes you listen again and again to get to the heart of them. He’s really working through the same things that he started with way back in the beginning [of his life].” Cohen is a member of the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, that nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2011 he received Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award for literature. Sharon Robinson said Cohen appreciates the accolades he has received, but that his focus is elsewhere. “He doesn’t take any of that (the awards) for granted,” she said. “He works very hard on the work itself. The focus is more on the work. He appreciates the honors, especially in the case of Canada.” Judaism has remained a significant part of Cohen’s life – even when he has studied Zen Buddhism. “In the tradition of Zen that I’ve practiced, there is no prayerful worship and there is no affirmation of a deity,” Cohen told The New York Times in 2009. “So, theologically, there is no challenge to any Jewish belief.” Involved in Buddhism since the 1970s, Cohen was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1996, but still considers himself Jewish. He has said that he observes Shabbat traditions while on tour. In 2009, Cohen recited Jewish prayers and blessings in Hebrew before his audience at a concert in Ramat Gan, Israel, after opening his show with the first sentence of the “Ma Tovu” song. In the middle of that concert, he said, “Baruch Hashem” (Blessed be God). Then, staying true to his lineage, he ended the show by reciting Birkat Kohanim (the Jewish priestly blessing). “He is a very kind and thoughtful guy,” Simmons told JNS.org. “He studies everything. He doesn’t give an opinion lightly.”
june 4, 2015 ■
THE REPORTER
11
NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA
U.S. chief Iran negotiator Wendy Sherman to leave post after nuclear deal deadline
Wendy Sherman, the United States’ chief negotiator with Iran, will leave her post shortly after the June 30 deadline for a final deal with the Islamic Republic. Sherman, the under-secretary of state, made the announcement in an interview published in The New York Times on May 27. She made the announcement as she left for Vienna, where a final round of talks before the deadline is taking place. Earlier on May 27, Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi told Iran’s state TV that the talks to reach a nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers may be extended beyond the stated June 30 deadline in order to formulate “a good deal that covers our demands.” Sherman has been one of very few women involved in the negotiations. She reportedly is considered to be one of Israel’s best friends in the Obama administration. “Wendy has been an absolutely critical member of my team, most notably in her work spearheading the nuclear negotiations with Iran, but on nearly every important issue that has crossed my desk,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement to CNN.
Al Pacino pulls out of play over playwright’s support of Hitler
American actor Al Pacino decided not to appear in a play because of the playwright’s support for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Pacino pulled out the week of May 22 from a stage adaptation of “Hunger,” by Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, The Telegraph reported. The play was to be produced by the Aveny-T theater in Copenhagen, Denmark. “It is correct: he jumped at the last minute because he couldn’t come to terms with Knut Hamsun’s support for the German occupation and Nazism,” Jon Stephensen, Aveny-T’s manager, told Denmark’s BT newspaper. “We must respect that.” Pacino had been scheduled to appear in Copenhagen that week for a 3D filming of him narrating the play, which the theater planned to use during performances, according to The Telegraph. Hamsun was a supporter of Nazi Germany in his 70s and 80s, according to the newspaper, and supported the German occupation of Norway during World War II. After Hitler died, Hamsun wrote in an obituary that Hitler was as “a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations.” Hege Faust, the chairwoman of Norway’s Hansun Society, told The Telegraph that it was “strange” that people today could not separate the “literary brilliance” of Hamsun’s early years with the politics of his old age. “Many people choose not to read Hamsun at all, or when it comes to famous people such as Al Pacino, to risk having their name connected to him,” she said.
Indian ice cream cones named for Adolf Hitler
Indian ice cream lovers are putting their favorite treat in a cone named after Adolf Hitler. The boxes of Hitler ice cream cones bear the unsmiling image of the Nazi leader dressed in a military uniform. The cones are available throughout India, the Daily Mail reported. The newspaper said the name of the cones is not shocking to Indians because of the lack of Holocaust education in the country. In 2012, municipal authorities in the Indian state of Gujarat removed the sign for a men’s clothing store named Hitler. The sign – on which the letter “i” was dotted with a swastika – was removed after hundreds of complaints from both within and outside of the Jewish community. A year earlier, an Indian network premiered a daily soap opera called “Hitler Didi,” or “Auntie Hitler,” in which the lead character is a young woman known in her locality as a strict disciplinarian who takes a no-nonsense attitude with her family.
Chasidic sect in Britain bans women from driving
The Chasidic Belz sect of Britain has barred its women from driving. A letter sent out the week of May 22 by the sect’s rabbinic leaders said that allowing women to drive goes against “the traditional rules of modesty in our camp,” the Jewish Chronicle reported on May 28. The letter also said that as of August students would not be allowed to enter school if their mothers drove them there. According to the letter, the increasing numbers of mothers who drive has led to “great resentment among parents of pupils in our institutions.” The policy of not allowing students to come to school if their mothers drive came from the Belzer rebbe in Israel, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, according to the Jewish Chronicle. Britain’s Belz community is centered in north London, where it runs a day school for boys and a second school for girls. London’s Daily Mail reported on May 28 that the Belz sect is being accused by critics of “trying to turn their London community into Saudi Arabia.”
Germany halts investigation into dementia-afflicted Nazi war criminal
Germany has dropped its investigation into an accused Nazi war criminal’s participation in a massacre in Italy because he suffers from dementia. German prosecutors in Hamburg in the north of the country on May 28 said that Gerhard Sommer, 93, a former Nazi SS company commander, was unfit for trial due to his medical condition. He is accused of involvement in the murder of about 560 Italian civilians in the village of Sant’Anna di Stazzema in Tuscany in 1944. The dead included women and children. If he had been found capable of standing trial, Sommer would “with high probability have been charged with 342 cases of murder, committed cruelly and on base motives,” the prosecutors’ office said in a statement. The decision not to try Sommer reportedly stemmed from the fact that he would not be able to testify in court. An Italian military court in 2005 found that 10 members of Sommer’s 16th SS Reichsfuehrer division, including Sommer, were responsible for the massacre and sentenced them to life in prison in absentia. In 2012, a German court found there was not enough evidence to hold the eight surviving SS members personally responsible for the massacre, but in 2014 another court overturned the verdict of Sommer, saying he had advance knowledge that the massacre would take place. In 2011, Sommer was placed on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Operation Last Chance II list of the last remaining unpunished Nazis.
Google, AMIA put history of Argentina’s Jews online
Google and the AMIA Jewish center have published online a collection of images and text about the history of the Jews of Argentina, from the first Jewish immigration to the present. The online exhibit, called “Jews in Argentina, 1860-2015,” was launched on May 27 at Google headquarters in Buenos Aires, in the redeveloped area of the city’s port, called Puerto Madero. AMIA Vice President Tommy Saieg and Ana Wainstein, director of AMIA’s Mark Turkov Centre, as well as Eleonora Rabinovich, public policy and government affairs manager of Google to the Southern Cone, made the presentation. According to the exhibit, about 220,000 Jews live in Argentina today, 85 percent in Buenos Aires and 15 percent in the country’s interior in 54 different communities. “Jews
in Argentina, 1860-2015” is in the “Historic Moments” section of the Google Cultural Institute and is available in English and Spanish. “Within the context of the policies to promote immigration fostered by Argentina, the first organized presence of Jewish life dates back to the 1860s, when a small group of French, German and English Jewish immigrants created, in 1862, the Congregacion Israelita. Those first Jewish immigrants were followed by others coming from Spanish Morocco, who created their community in 1891,” begins the text of the exhibition, which includes photos. The Google Cultural Institute was launched in 2011 as a “not for profit initiative that partners with cultural organizations to bring the world’s cultural heritage online.”
Dutch ministry says not responsible for “anti-Israel” textbook
The Dutch education ministry distanced itself from a textbook that contained statements deemed anti-Israeli. The ministry’s statement on the book followed complaints by Jewish students and parents over the description in the book of Israel’s establishment as the result of widespread murder of Palestinian villagers. It also questioned Israeli former Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s credentials as a peacemaker, noting he was “known as a terrorist and extremist.” The ministry “does not approve textbooks, they are selected by individual schools,” a ministry spokesman told JTA on May 27. He declined to comment on the assertions in the book. Israel’s embassy in the Netherlands the week of May 22 said the assertions in the “Geschiedeniswerkplaats,” or “History Workplace,” textbook by the Noordhoff Uitgevers were “outrageous.” The book, intended to prepare high school students in vocational tracks for their matriculation exam in history, states that David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, declared statehood after “Jewish militias carried out murders in Arab villages, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled and settled in refugee camp across the border.” It also features a picture of a Palestinian boy throwing a stone at an Israeli tank in 2000, noting the boy was killed nine days after the picture was taking. The book describes the boy’s action as “small act of resistance.” The book mentions neither Arab atrocities against pre-state Israel’s Jewish population nor the invasion of several Arab armies into Israeli territory after its declaration of independence. The first complaint about the book came from Barak Gorany, a pupil at Amsterdam’s Maimonides Jewish school, which used the book as a teaching aid. Asked whether Maimonides intends to keep using the book, a spokesman for the school told JTA: “We are examining the use of the book internally. We will not be informing media about our actions.” The book’s publisher defended the book. “We believe we carefully handled the facts and in the right context,” Beitie Bruinsma, a spokeman for Noordhoff Uitgevers, told JTA.
Blair to resign as Mideast peace envoy in June
Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, will step down next month as the special Middle East peace envoy of the Quartet group representing the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. Blair has occupied the post since 2007, but there has been little progress in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. He sent a letter confirming his resignation to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. It is not clear whether anyone will succeed Blair. News of Blair’s plans to resign first broke in March, when sources “familiar with the situation” said Blair decided his high-profile role was no longer appropriate, according to the London-based Financial Times.
Record-breaking heat wave hits Israel
A record-breaking heat wave in Israel has sparked forest fires, caused flight delays and prompted a sharp increase in reported cases of dehydration and fainting. Temperatures reached 102 degrees in Tel Aviv, 104 in Haifa and 98 in Jerusalem on May 27. A forest fire broke out near the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh, requiring the involvement of at least 20 firefighting teams and four aircraft, according to Ynet. A blaze in the central Israeli town of Tel Mond destroyed homes, and a conflagration near the village of Mabuim in southern Israel forced some residents to evacuate. The heat wave was expected to break on May 28, with seasonal averages returning and a further cool-down over the May 30 weekend. The forecast high for Tel Aviv on May 30 was 76 degrees.
Iranian negotiator: Nuke talks may be extended
Talks to reach a nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers may be extended beyond the stated June 30 deadline, Iran’s chief negotiator said. Iranian senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi told Iran’s state TV that he is not in a hurry to complete the negotiations, Reuters reported on May 27. “The talks are serious, complicated and detailed. The pace of talks is slow as we have entered final stages,” Araqchi said from Vienna, where talks began on May 27. “We are not bound to a specific time. We want a good deal that covers our demands.” France’s ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, told Reuters on May 26 that the deal probably would not be completed by June 30 due to technical details that would take a few more weeks to iron out.
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.
ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook
12
THE REPORTER ■ june 4, 2015
You are cordially invited to the
ANNUAL MEETING of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Please join us as we elect Officers and Trustees, celebrate the achievements of the past year and honor several individuals for their leadership contributions to our community and to Israel
Thursday, June 11th, 2015, 7:00 PM Koppleman Auditorium, Scranton Jewish Community Center, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton Dessert reception will follow the meeting. Dietary laws observed - RSVP to 961-2300 (ext. 4)
Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
2015 Annual Meeting Program Welcome & introductions...................................... Douglas Fink, Federation Vice-President Invocation............................................................. Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Temple Hesed Federation Perspectives......................................... Douglas Fink, Federation Vice-President Presentation of Presidential Award......................... Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Presentation of Campaign Awards......................... Douglas Fink, Federation Vice-President 2015 UJA Campaign Report.................................. Mark and Joan Davis Nominating Committee Report............................. Seth Gross, Chairman Installation of Officers and Trustees....................... Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Temple Hesed Closing Remarks - Dr. David Malinov
Dessert Reception & Film Will Follow the Meeting: “Israel Inside: How a Little Nation Makes Such a Big Difference”
Proposed Slate of Officers & Trustees 2015 - 2018 Officers*
President...............................................................David Malinov* Administrative Vice-President...............................Douglas Fink* Vice-President.......................................................Elliot Schoenberg* Vice-President.......................................................Eric Weinberg* Treasurer...............................................................Barry Tremper* Assistant Treasurer................................................Jerry Weinberger* Secretary...............................................................Mark Silverberg Assistant Secretary................................................Donald Douglass*
Board of Trustees
Elected to serve a 1-year term ending June 30th, 2016* Alex Gans, Karen Pollack, Filmore Rosenstein, Stan Rothman, Jay Schectman and Irwin Wolfson *Trustees to be elected at the Annual Meeting
3-year term expiring in June 2016
*Officers to be elected at the Annual Meeting
Elected to serve a 3-year term ending June 30th, 2018* Esther Adelman, Susie Blum Connors, Mark Davis, Eli Deutsch, Lynn Fragin, Dale Miller, Larry Milliken, Gail Neldon and Molly Rutta. *Trustees to be elected at the Annual Meeting
• Continuing Terms •
Jim Ellenbogen, Joseph Fisch, Leah Laury, Phyllis Malinov, Mel Mogel, Geordee Pollock, Alma Shaffer, Suzanne Tremper and Eric Weinberg
3-year term expiring in June 2017 Sandra Alfonsi, Phyllis Barax, Shlomo Fink, Susan Jacobson, Dan Marcus, Ann Monsky, Barbara Nivert, Eugene Schneider and Ben Schnessel
The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania expresses its gratitude to those Trustees whose terms of office will expire in June 2015. It is hoped that each of them will continue to serve the Mission of our Federation by participating in its many important committees, programs and projects. Our appreciation is extended to Herb Appel, Phyllis Brandes, Lainey Denis, Richard Fine, Natalie Gelb, Laurel Glassman, Ed Monsky, Laney Ufberg and Jay Weiss