HAKOL - September 2015

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community

SEPTEMBER 2015 | ELUL/TISHREI 5776

Local congressmen weigh in on Iran nuclear deal

EDWIN A. DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

YOUNG ADULT DIVISION starts the year with BBQ. See page 5.

Left: Rep. Matt Cartwright, Rep. Charlie Dent, and Martin Raffel are introduced by Federation Community Relations Council Chair Barry Halper.

Right: Rep. Cartwright and Rep. Dent spoke about the Iran nuclear deal.

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor On Aug. 25, a crowd of over 300 people gathered at the Jewish Community Center to hear Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) speak about the Iran nuclear agreement. The event, which was organized the by Federation’s Community Relations Council, aimed to educate the community about where their elected officials stand on this important issue, as well as give attendees the opportunity to ask questions and speak to their congressmen about their thoughts and concerns.

Moderator Martin Raffel, former senior vice president at the Jewish Council

MEET JEFF REMBRANDT New director of the JCC. See pages 10.

for Public Affairs (JCPA) and director of its Task Force on Israel, World Jewry and International Human Rights, began the evening by giving a brief summary of the deal and the positions of both its opponents and supporters. Then, each congressman spoke about his current position on the deal. Dent came out firmly in opposition to the deal. “The Middle East is on fire as we speak, and I am fearful that this agreement will take us in a direction where many of us would never want to go: a nuclearized Middle East,” Dent said.

Cartwright, on the other hand, was still undecided. Although he sympathized with Dent’s concerns, Cartwright said that the United States would

gain valuable intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program if the deal were to be approved, and they would be forced to submit to the most rigorous inspections regime ever imposed on a state. Cartwright’s most pressing concern was that Iran would cheat not dramatically, but incrementally so that the U.S. would be reluctant to dole out punishment for each infraction, but that overtime those smaller gains would allow Iran to push its nuclear weapons program further ahead.

Cartwright said in order to support the deal, he would need to have assurances

Congressman Continues on page 6

Federation: The 60 Day Challenge is back!

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor

HAPPY NEW YEAR Celebrate the High Holidays with our Special Section.

No. 379 com.UNITY with Mark Goldstein 2 Women’s Division

4

LVJF Tributes

8

Jewish Day School

14

Jewish Family Service

15

Jewish Community Center 18-19 Community Calendar

30-31

Take the 60 Day Challenge and double your impact!

The Federation is once again asking the community take make their pledge to the Federation’s Annual Campaign by Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, all new gifts and increases pledged by Dec. 1 will be matched dollar for dollar. Last year, we were able to raise over $2.3 million that went toward helping Jews across the Lehigh Valley and across the world.

As conflict continues to simmer in the Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Jews are stranded in a country still being torn apart by Non-Profit Organization

702 North 22nd Street Allentown, PA 18104

violence. Because of your donations, the Federation and its overseas partners like the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee have been able to provide food and services to those whose lives have been devastated by the conflict, giving hope in even the most difficult of times. Because of you, we are there.

Here in the Lehigh Valley, Jewish Family Service was able to feed over 500 families and provide emergency relief to families struggling to make ends meet. The Jewish Day School continues to provide an excellent Jewish education thanks in part to donations from people like you. Family life education programs at our synagogues thrived because of Federation donations, and our children were able to experience Israel and Jewish

summer camps. Because of you, we are there.

As the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley kicks off its 2016 campaign, we are again reminded of the increasing needs of Jews here in the Lehigh Valley, in Israel and around the world. But we are also able to reflect on how much we can do, even as a small community, when we come together and give of ourselves.

This campaign year will again feature a full slate of programs, beginning with our Campaign Kick-off on Oct. 1.

Our featured speaker will be Dr. Josh Green, the co-chair of National Young Leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America. A graduate of Penn State University, Green is also a member of the board of direc-

tors of the Jewish Federations of Sarasota-Manatee.

We will also continue to honor members of the Silver Circle, a society that honors those who have given every year for 25 or more years.

In 2016, we’ll hear from fascinating speakers on world affairs, health and politics. We’ll continue to build connections to each other and to our Jewish institutions and work hard to make sure that every gift counts.

If you haven’t gotten involved with one of the Federation’s programs or the annual campaign, make this the year.

Jews everywhere need you now more than ever. Let the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley be your connection to a whole world of community, social activism and doing good.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID Lehigh Valley, PA Permit No. 64

Make your pledge by #GivingTuesday and DOUBLE THE IMPACT! All new gifts and increases pledged by Dec. 1 will be matched dollar for dollar!

WWW.JEWISHLEHIGHVALLEY.ORG/60

com.UNITY

FROM THE DESK OF MARK L. GOLDSTEIN

Executive Director | Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley markg@jflv.org

Some letters make me proud (and anxious) I get a lot of letters and emails.

I mean a lot. Some are typical business correspondence.

Some are not happy with something the Federation or another Jewish organization has done or not done. Some are even complimentary.

There really are no boundaries. Literally, there are no boundaries.

Some letters make me think. And, some make me dream. And some make me very proud, and a bit anxious.

Dear Mark: I just dropped my daughter off at Camp and drove over two hours back to the Lehigh Valley alone in the car. With all that time to think, I thought of the summer that lay ahead for her. I know that she will begin each day with a prayer and spend the rest of the day enjoying the freedom that camp provides for her. I know that she will pray with her friends before and after meals and that once a week she will go out to the community to “give back.” I know that she will participate in sports, arts and crafts, and Judaic classes. And I smile because I know that she will experience Shabbat, not as a day of restrictions, but as a day of joy and relaxation.

The name of the camp is not important. There are great Jewish resident camps that

service the Lehigh Valley: Pinemere Camp, Camp Ramah, URJ Camp Harlam, Camp Galil, Camp Young Judaea, and more. All provide a wonderful experience. …But there is so much more to camp that I do not know. My daughter will somehow form an intensely close bond with her bunkmates and the incredible role models she has as counselors. She will somehow come back a stronger young woman and someone that identifies very personally to her Judaism. I see the growth in her at the end of each summer and I don’t know exactly how the Camp does what they do, but I know that she would not have been able to experience it this summer without the scholarship help of the Jewish Federation. I know you have lots of requests for funding from lots of organizations and lots of people. Even with all of this, the Federation came through with what they could to help a teen feel Judaism in her soul and live Jewishly every day of the summer. This is truly an investment in her future, and in Our future, and I am grateful that the Federation helped my daughter have a meaningful, memorable, fun, JEWISH summer.

As we do every year, our Jewish Federation provides

needs-based scholarships for summer resident camps. But we never have sufficient funds to meet the scholarship needs and we must seek additional contributions to close the gap. Without the help of our Annual Campaign and committed, generous donors, this young woman might not have been able to attend camp.

So, I start this, and most years, quite anxious.

Will we raise enough funds to help kids go to camp? But this is not just about children going to camp. Will the Jewish Family Service food pantry be able to service all those in need? Will the Jewish Community Center be able to expand its children and youth programming? Will we have the resources to combat the efforts to delegitimize Israel and her right to exist? Will we be able to address the growing needs of our growing older adult community? Will there be sufficient scholarships so every student who desires will be able to attend the Jewish Day School? Will we be able to commit the necessary resources to broaden our outreach and engagement activities enabling young adults a connection to the Jewish community? Will our emergency financial assistance programs run short of funds?

Letters like the one above

FROM THE BOARD AND STAFF OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY

make me very proud. It should make you very proud.

Our ‘system’ works, blending the generosity of donors, with the specific needs in our community, and quality agencies, synagogues, and organizations able to deliver impactful programming. The letter, addressed to me, is really intended for the donors to our Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.

Rosh Hashanah is a reminder that a new year is beginning. While we assess our past, we also set goals for our coming year. Our communal goals should challenge us, they should inspire us, and they should reflect our values. They should enable us to strengthen our agencies, empower Jewish education, promote excellence

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY HAKOL is published 11 times per year for the Jewish communities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and vicinity by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

in our synagogue religious schools, connect with more Jews, feed the hungry, and send young girls to Jewish camp.

Imagining our goals is easy. Imagining which ones we might not achieve is frightening.

We should be a bit anxious.

If not, perhaps our goals are not high enough.

HAKOL STAFF Laura Rigge

HAKOL Editor

Stephanie Smartschan

JFLV Director of Marketing

Allison Meyers

Graphic Designer

Diane McKee

Advertising Representative TEL: 610-515-1391 hakolads@jflv.org

COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS Submissions to HAKOL must be of interest to the entire Jewish community. HAKOL reserves all editorial rights including, but not limited to, the decision to print any submitted materials, the editing of submissions to conform to style and length requirements, and the placement of any printed material. Articles should be submitted by e-mail or presented as typed copy; “Community Calendar” listings must be submitted by e-mail to hakol@jflv.org or online at www. jewishlehighvalley.org. Please include your name and a daytime telephone number where you can be contacted in the event questions arise. We cannot guarantee publication or placement of submissions.

Mail, fax, or e-mail to: JFLV ATTN: HAKOL 702 N. 22nd St. Allentown, PA 18104 Phone: (610) 821-5500 Fax: (610) 821-8946 E-mail: hakol@jflv.org

JFLV EXECUTIVE STAFF Mark L. Goldstein Executive Director

Judy Diamondstein

Assistant Executive Director

Temple Coldren

Director of Finance & Administration

Jim Mueth

Director of Planned Giving & Endowments

Aaron Gorodzinsky

Director of Outreach & Community Relations

Mark H. Scoblionko JFLV President

EDITORIAL BOARD

Monica Friess, Acting Chair Barbara Reisner Judith Rodwin Sara Vigneri

Member American Jewish Press Association

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship by requesting that trees be planted in the Yoav--Lehigh Valley Partnership Park.

IN HONOR ROBERTO AND EILEEN FISCHMANN Marriage of their daughter Claudia Barry and Carol Halper ELEANOR JAKOBOVITZ Speedy Recovery Rose and Alex Jakoby SUSAN AND MARC KOLPON Birth of their son, Michael Hillel Kolpon SHALOM BABY HILARY AND BRETT KRICUN Birth of their son, Samuel Jonathan Kricun SHALOM BABY JENNIFER AND STEVE MITTMAN Birth of their son, Ari SHALOM BABY TAMA TAMARKIN George Feldman Achievement Award for Young Leadership Barry and Carol Halper IN MEMORY ISADORE “IZZY” BRODY (Husband of Joan Brody)

Roberto and Eileen Fischmann Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel BEA KULLER (Mother of Susan Traub) Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel PAUL MILLROD (Husband of Natalie Millrod) Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel Sandra and James Schonberger ELLEN OFFENBERG (Mother of Lori Wiener) Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel SOL SCHOCKER (Husband of Dolly Schocker) Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel JOEL TELLES (Husband of Selma Telles) Joan Lesavoy and Sid Greenberg BILL WELCH (Husband of Julie Welch) Eileen and Roberto Fischmann (Stepfather of Ryan Mattison) Eileen and Roberto Fischmann Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel

TO ORDER TREES, call the JFLV at 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

2 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

All advertising is subject to review and approval by The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley (JFLV). JFLV reserves the right to decline, withdraw and/ or edit any ad. The appearance of any advertising in HAKOL does not represent an endorsement or kashrut certification. Paid political advertisements that appear in HAKOL do not represent an endorsement of any candidate by the JFLV.

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY MISSION STATEMENT In order to unite, sustain, and enhance the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, and support Jewish communities in Israel and around the world, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to the following core values:

• Supporting Jews in need wherever they may be.

• Supporting Israel as a Jewish homeland.

• Supporting and encouraging Jewish education in the Lehigh Valley as a means of strengthening Jewish life for individuals and families.

• Supporting programs and services of organizations whose values and mission meet local Jewish needs.

To accomplish this mission the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is committed to the following operating guidelines: • Raising and distributing funds to support the core values.

• Developing Jewish leaders.

• Building endowments to support implementation of core values.

• Committing to ongoing Jewish community strategic planning.

• Fostering cooperation among organizations and community building.

• Evaluating all decisions with respect to fiscal responsibility.

• Identifying unmet needs and investing in community initiatives to help get them started.

• Coordinating and convening a community response as an issue or need arises.

• Setting priorities for allocation and distribution of funds.

• Acting as a central address for communication about events, programs and services of the Jewish community as a whole.

Approved by the JFLV Board of Directors on November 15, 2000

Maimonides Society celebrates 30 years

Maimonides Society members Israel Zighelboim, Frank Tamarkin, Jarrod Rosenthal, Robert Wax, and Howard Kushnick meet with Dov Engelstein, a former Visiting Physician, and Assistant Director General Tsvi Sheleg at Galilee Medical Center.

These past three decades have seen a lot of change, but throughout the years, the Maimonides Society has always been dedicated to using their talents to do good in their community and around the world.

This year, the Maimonides Society will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. Since its creation in 1985, the Maimonides Society has worked to foster a sense of common purpose and commitment among healthcare professionals to

work toward the betterment of Jews wherever they may be. For the past thirty years, it has been at the forefront of Jewish philanthropy, social action and education for members of the healthcare profession. With over 110 members, the Maimonides Society has grown both in numbers and its ability to impact the community.

To celebrate its thirtieth anniversary, the Maimonides Society will be hosting an event later this year featuring

keynote speaker Dr. Steven Klasko. Klasko, president and C.E.O. of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, Philadelphia.

A former resident of the Lehigh Valley, Klasko has had an eclectic a wide ranging career; he delivered thousands of babies at his private practice in Allentown before going into research, creating patient-friendly medical devices, which eventually led to Klasko earning his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business. We are proud and excited that he will be here in the Lehigh Valley to celebrate this remarkable milestone for the Maimonides Society.

In addition, the Maimonides Society will once again sponsor its Visiting Physicians Program, which gives an Israeli physician the opportunity to come to the Lehigh Valley. The program allows participants to learn valuable procedures while strengthening collegial and social bonds.

In honor of the Maimonides Society’s 30 years, we will be profiling its founding members each month in HAKOL to share the story of its creation and development throughout the years. We look forward to sharing their stories with you and look forward to another great year.

Maimonides Society

Celebrating 30 years

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 3

WOMEN’S DIVISION OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY Shalo m mean ! My nam e is M s “a d o i to Isr ael on fferent vis ran Alem . In A ion.” two b aliyah mh Iw r ily! M others and 10 years a as born in eric, I am y fath g called Ethio soon o. I liv e moth , er wo r works in God willin e in Ness pia and I c “Aindiss”, ame rks as Tzion which g, an a sup I co ot a, e a Yemi mpleted h caretake rmarket in her child and I hav n will b r for e two igh sc the p th e love t Orde is a s board hool at th e elderly. roduce de joining ou isters, o lau e Yem partm gh an I have r fam ing sc time d in w en h a thoug ith friends you will a ool with s Orde sch warm an t and my d lov lways ool in tuden , read h I do ing fa see a Haifa ts fro ing, li not h Dur mily. . m st s a next ing my las ve much ening to m mile on m all over t year” h s y t yea ingin e wor usic, face. r a g I will begin nd I was v of school, talent). singing an I enjoy sp ld. I e d dan ery a I kep ing su my a fra ta rm cing nding ffi (even of my ciently p y service id that I d sking my s repar i life. ed fo without g d not wha elf “what I dec will e r t t t t Iw his ne i check ide to co xt sta ng a good ould be I be doing me to ed w d g posit e ith know t ion o oing, or th that h lots of ot he Alma M r with a also l out b t earn ere I will r her “mech echina (P e how re-Ar eceiv inot” the p to my A et .I re cadem I wen -army aca use those he tools f am really y) or h t to d have through a emy, I wil ols. I hop the next appy that after I stage and I l know e tha I cam proce t e her will s futur uccee ss with m that I did at the en of my life e– e. d yself, a d in o s n o o dIw I f meth t h that I verco i s ill h ing m w ming eanin alf year in any o ill overco g f u m bstac l les th e the fear and that at I w s tha tI ill hav e in t he

Women’s Divions sponsors Moran Alem to attend Alma Pre-Military Academy

By Judy Diamondstein JFLV Assistant Executive Director Last year our Women’s Division was spellbound by Michal Barkai, founder of Alma Pre-Military Academy for Female leadership, when she first spoke at a Lunch & Learn and then returned to address the audience at the Dollar-aDay Spring Event. Michal shared her personal story which is both a call to action and a labor of love resulting in her commitment to provide the opportunity for young women from Israel’s cultural and geographic sidelines to develop confidence, networking skills, and education so that when they enter the Israeli Defense Force they are able to thrive. Success in the IDF determines an individual’s future and has significant repercussions for Israeli society as a whole.

Until Michal created Alma, a mechina, or program that provide the essentials for IDF success, was only available to young men or young women from privileged circumstances.

Alma is a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s partner dedicated to inspiring Jewish life, helping people in need, bringing Jews to Israel and revitalizing Jewish life in the FSU and Central Europe.

The Jewish Agency is supported by the Jewish Federation’s Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs. In just six months, Alma students develop their self-esteem and poise through intellectual enrichment, physical training and giving back. Based in Ofakim in the heart of the Negev, Alma’s program emphasized self-discipline, teamwork and critical thinking.

This year, 34 young women are participating in Alma. The Women’s Division committed to sponsor one young woman, and we are very pleased to introduce you to Moran Alem.

Keep a close eye each month for stories detailing Moran’s Alma experiences, her trials and tribulations and her successes.

SPONSORED BY THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY’S WOMEN’S DIVISION

WELCOMING NEW BABIES

to the Lehigh Valley MICHAEL HILLEL

son of Susan and Marc Kolpon

Moran

Alem

GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH

Ethan Kushnick’s Mitzvah Project helps Ethiopian-Israeli youth succeed When Ethan Kushnick was deciding what he would like to do for his mitzvah project in preparation for his bar mitzvah on Sep. 26, he wasn’t always sure what he wanted to do. But when he thought about supporting the Ethiopian National Project, everything fell into place and he knew he had the right project for him.

Ethan, a student at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, was very interested in this project because he wants to help people in need, especially young Jewish kids who have had tough lives and few opportunities. He is very excited to make a difference in the children’s lives and help them adjust to their new lives in Israel.

Ethan’s parents, Beth and Howard Kushnick, are proud of their son’s choice for his mitzvah project. “Howard and I are thrilled to see the excitement and and kindness he feels towards helping these children,” his mother Beth said. “He feels he can make a difference and is thrilled to be given this opportunity.”

The Ethiopian National Project

(ENP) unites global Jewry, the government of Israel and the Ethiopian-Israeli community in its mission to advance the integration of Ethiopian-Israelis into Israeli society.

ENP strives to provide social and educational opportunities to help Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers realize their full potential, focusing its efforts on youth ages 13-18. ENP’s programs include after school scholastic assistance, neighborhood outreach centers for youth-at-risk and workshops designed to empower parents and community leadership.

Today, the Ethiopian National Project operates in 27 communities across Israel, serving approximately 4,345 youth in its scholastic assistance programs and almost 1,900 youth in 19 outreach centers.

On Aug. 30, the Kushnick family hosted David Mashasha, a beneficiary of the Ethiopian National Project, who is currently studying to become a doctor.

David’s inspiring life story of making the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia to becoming a doctor in Israel truly highlighted

what a difference the ENP can make in the lives of these young people.

If you are interested in supporting Ethan’s mitzvah project, visit jewishlehighvalley.org/mitzvah/ kushnick. To learn more about the Ethiopian National Project, visit www.enp.org.il/en.

Give a Mitzvah, Do a Mitzvah is an intiative of Women’s Division.

For help developing your mitzvah project, contact Abby Trachtman, program coordinator, at abbyt@jflv. org or call her at the Federation office at 610-821-5500.

Handmade Afghans

BY EVA LEVITT

If you’re expecting, know someone who is, or have a new baby, PLEASE LET US KNOW! Contact Abby Trachtman, 610-821-5500 | abbyt@jflv.org

4 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

All proceeds benefit projects in Israel:

Food Banks in Israel Neve Michael Youth Village

For prices or to place an order, call Eva 610-398-1376.

All payments are made payable to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

Young Adult Division celebrates new year with BBQ

GALLERY HOURS: Mon-Thur: 9am–9pm Fri & Sat: 9am–3pm Sun: CLOSED

On Aug. 23, the Federation’s Young Adult Division kicked-off the New Year with a barbecue. Parents and children alike had a wonderful time eating, talking and playing with new friends and old. Thank you to Ben Grossman for hosting this fun and festive event!

510 W. Linden Street Allentown, PA 18101 610-433-0032 www.baumschool.org

The David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries

September 16–October 17, 2015

Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00–8:00pm

Artist Talk:

Wednesday, September 23 from 6:00–8:00pm Above, The Duretz-Peled, Ford, and Volchko families enjoy the sunshine at the YAD barbecue. Below left, The Schlossberg family kick the soccer ball around. Below right, The kids have fun as they run a relay race.

Below left, Laura Anne Taylor, Selli Allen, Jacob Michaels, and Greg Allen chow down on the delicious food.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 5

WHAT STORY WILL YOU SHARE? With survivors aging, the Third Generation of Holocaust survivors have an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure that families’ stories do not fade into history. You may already relate to the accounts of your grandparents or you may be searching for details of their experiences. Perhaps you want to create a powerful legacy for your own family, or you have thought about sharing the story with others. Or maybe you want to find a connection to others who have felt the impact of a survivor in their lives.

The Holocaust Resource Center of the Jewish Federation (HRC), along with the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College (IJCU), and Muhlenberg College Hillel, are reaching out to Third Generation (grandchildren of Holocaust survivors), aged 18 and older, to participate in an exciting and meaningful opportunity. This opportunity will assist participants in researching and learning about their important family legacy, and provide a forum to connect to other Third Generation survivors.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Shari Spark, Holocaust Resource Center, hrc@jflv.org Tama Tamarkin, tamatamarkin@yahoo.com Marcie Lightwood, IJCU, MLightwood@muhlenberg.edu Rabbi Melissa Simon, Muhlenberg College Hillel, MSimon@muhlenberg.edu

Toomey vows to fight Iran Nuclear Deal

By Laura Rigge HAKOL editor On July 31, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) spoke in Philadelphia and announced his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal.

Toomey argued that while he is in favor of a diplomatic solution, he did not believe the deal as it stands will prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “I don’t think there’s any evidence at all that they intend to abandon the creation of nuclear weapons,” he said.

During his speech, Toomey outlined his six major objections to the deal.

Chief among his concerns was his analysis that the release of $150 billion to the Iranian regime once the economic sanctions are lifted will lead to a marked increase of terrorist activity funded

by Iran, including attacks on Israel.

Toomey went on to point out that the deal is temporary, and after 15 years Iran will be able to legitimately pursue nuclear weapons, a task made simple because it will not be required to dismantle any part of its nuclear infrastructure.

“I do not support this deal,” Toomey said. “I will vote for a resolution of disapproval of this deal, and I will attempt to convince my colleagues to do likewise.”

Congress votes on a resolution of approval of the deal in September.

Congressman Continues on page 6

from the Obama administration that this kind of incremental cheating would not be allowed to continue. “I’m looking for the administration to be clear and credible in defining what constitutes cheating and what will trigger a swift and harsh reaction from the United States,” Cartwright said.

Throughout the evening a panel comprised of Rabbi Michael Singer of Congregation Brith Sholom, Rabbi Moshe Re’em of Temple Beth El, Rabbi Daniel Stein of Bnai Abraham Synagogue and Rabbi David Wilensky of Congregation Sons of Israel reviewed questions submitted by audience members. They selected representative questions which Raffel presented to each of the congressmen.

After delivering their closing statements, the candidates stayed behind and spoke to attendees about their comments and concerns.

The evening demonstrated the intense level of interest in both the Jewish and nonJewish community surrounding the Iran nuclear deal.

“We are very pleased by the response to this program,” said Federation Director of Outreach and Community Relations Aaron Gorodzinsky. “To have such a large and diverse crowd was a testament to how important this issue is to the people in our community.”

To learn more about the Iran Nuclear Deal and how you can make your voice heard, please visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

6 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Maimonides Society

WHAT’S UP, DOC?

Celebrating 30 years

DR. PAUL LEMBERG COLUMN EDITOR

Beyond the billboards: Medical marketing can help patients decide

BY RAYMOND SINGER, M.D. It seems like every day I see more advertisements for hospitals and medical services.

With all the information out there about different facilities and treatments, how can I use medical marketing to get the most out of my health care providers?

I know first hand how prevalent medical marketing has become. It started out with a phone call from my sister. I thought something was terribly wrong because she was crying. Instead she was calling to say how proud she was of me, having just passed a billboard featuring our heart surgery program at LVHN. Fast forward a year later and my billboards are coming down as the hospital continues to highlight other physicians and topics. But what to make of all of this marketing stuff? Sure, it is nice to see your name and hospital proudly displayed, but what does it mean for patients in our community?

The fact is medical marketing is playing an increasingly important role in the decision making process for patients and their families. As just one example, due to the ongoing healthcare reforms more and more patients are being faced with highdeductible health plans.

A concern is that this may lead to some patients delaying necessary care which in turn can adversely impact their health. On the

other hand, hopefully these patients will choose instead to simply do more research and be more selective of the care they need to receive.

Put differently, patients need to become more careful consumers.

Puman Anand Keller, a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, published an article in Forbes in 2014 called “What Marketing can Do for Hospitals.” Keller pointed out that hospitals are now facing the same world of transparency and competition that hotels and other service businesses have faced for years. Just as a consumer may go to TripAdvisor to review a hotel, patients are scrutinizing hospital ads, going to their web sites, and searching doctors’ results in Consumer Reports, US News, Healthgrades, and a growing list of other sources.

Sam Kennedy of The Morning Call published a related article on July

16, “New Websites Rate Surgeons.” What struck me about the Call article was that it was in the “Your Money” section of the newspaper. And yet, that is exactly the point. As Kennedy states, choosing a surgeon is one of the biggest decisions you can make and often patients (consumers) are not very well informed. Websites such as surgeonratings.org look at Medicare data to determine mortality rates, complications, length of stay, readmissions, and costs. We should expect more of these websites to appear in the future.

No doubt all of this can still be very confusing for patients. It often seems like there are 1,000 “top 100 hospitals in the country!”

The reason there are so many ads touting “top this or that” is that there are indeed many different report cards to assess doctors and hospitals.

If a hospital gets an “A” grade on a particular report card, you can be sure you

will see it in an ad. The key is that you need to look beyond the billboards and do your own research.

I first noticed these changing trends way back in 1999. I was sitting across from a retired couple, providing a second opinion for heart surgery. After an hour of what I thought was a very complete discussion, the gentleman asked me if I had a website! Keep in mind 1999 is ancient for the web-Google only started in 1998, Facebook not until 2004 and Twitter in 2006.

I decided to take night classes at Penn State on web design and started my own website www.heartlungdoc. com. It is a personal site that mixes everything from my training, surgical experience, types of operations, and, most of all, my outcomes and my personal philosophy on patient care. Sixteen years later my website gets many hits daily from all over the world and almost every new patient has found my personal website on the

Internet.

Of course, when it is all said and done, the best advice is to stay healthy. But if you do need guidance, think of yourself as an informed consumer, not only as a patient. Do not rely on just one doctor’s recommendation or one source on the Internet. Ask questions. If able, ask for a second opinion. Know your doctor’s results and what other patients think of that doctor’s bedside manners, responsiveness, and empathy. You do have choices. When it comes to your health and your healthcare, make good ones.

Dr. Singer is the chief of cardiothoracic surgery and vice chair of quality and patient safety for the Department of Surgery at Lehigh Valley Health Network. He is a member of the Maimonides Society of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. He belongs to Congregation Keneseth Israel, where he has served on the board of trustees.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 7

IN MEMORY FATHER (of Fran Fisher) Ross and Wendy Born PHOEBE ALTMAN (Wife of Arthur Altman) Richard Kroope and Family BART AXELROD (Father of Rebecca Axelrod-Cooper) Sam and Sylvia Bub and Family Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer Mark Goldstein and Shari Spark Sara and Bernie Schonbach Donald and Randi Senderowitz LUCILLE BLAU (Mother of Debra Zohn) Carol and Stewart Furmansky ISADORE “IZZY” BRODY (Husband of Joan Brody) Jesse, Dan, Jason and Families Ross and Wendy Born Barrie and Walter Cherwony Eileen and Alvin Cherwony and Family Nancy and Danny Cohen Judy and Marc Diamondstein Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald Roberta and Jeff Epstein Gary and Carol Bub Fromer Ann and Gene Ginsberg Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Mark Goldstein and Shari Spark Gloria and Harvey Gordon Arlene and Dwight Griffin Carolyn Katwan Merry Landis Taffi Ney Joyce and Michael Ordun Elaine and Leon Papir Stuart and Janice Schwartz Donald and Randi Senderowitz Arthur and Audrey Sosis Enid and Alan Tope Stan and Vicki Wax (Father of Alan Brody) Arlene and Dwight Griffin (Father of Leah Ordun) Enid and Alan Tope CHARLES “DUKE” DeFANTI (Father of Judith Murman) Ross and Wendy Born Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald Stan and Vicki Wax ELEANOR GLASER (Mother of Roy Glaser) Ross and Wendy Born DAVID HEICKLEN (Brother of Lynne Fendell)

8 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Audrey and Jerome Cylinder BEA KULLER (Mother of Sue Traub) Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Laurie, Robby, Ben, and Danny Wax Israel and Valeska Zighelboim DAVID MARVI (Husband of Chahine Marvi) Lynda and Richard Somach PAUL MILLROD (Husband of Natalie Millrod) Leonard Abrams Roberta and Jeff Epstein Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Selma Roth Donald and Randi Senderowitz (Father of Terry Noel) Lynda and Richard Somach Arthur and Audrey Sosis ELLEN OFFENBERG (Mother of Lori Wiener) Beth and Wesley Kozinn Donald and Randi Senderowitz ELEANOR ROSENBERG (Mother of Howard Rosenberg) Donald and Randi Senderowitz LOTTIE ROSSMAN (Grandmother of Rachel Boonswang) Carol and Gary Fromer and Family MONRO ROTH (Husband of Mimi Roth) Leonard Abrams Shirley and Louis Furmansky Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Selma Roth JOEL TELLES (Husband of Selma Telles) Adam and Penny Roth (Father of Judy Lewis) Adam and Penny Roth EDITH AND DAVID WAGNER Lynda and Richard Somach IN HONOR SUSAN AND LARRY BERMAN Marriage of their daughter Lindsay to Ari Ross and Wendy Born TRACEY, JASON, AND MASON BILLIG Birth of Madison Lynda and Richard Somach RANCE AND SHERYL BLOCK Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald WENDY BORN Becoming President of Jewish Family Service Elaine and Leon Papir

MARILYN BRAUNSTEIN Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Leonard Abrams Edith Miller Selma Roth and Family Barbara and Fred Sussman NATE AND MARILYN BRAUNSTEIN Happy 65th Wedding Anniversary Fred and Barbara Sussman BONNIE CITRON Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Stan and Vicki Wax BENJAMIN COHEN Graduation and acceptance to Harvard University Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer ROBERTO FISCHMANN Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Jay and Evelyn Lipschutz ROBERTO AND EILEEN FISCHMANN Marriage of their daughter Claudia Sandra and Harold Goldfarb Elaine and Leon Papir GREG AND LINDA HAMILTON Birth of their grandson Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald SHELBY KNAFO Graduation and acceptance to Muhlenberg College Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer KAREN KUHN Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Suzanne Lapiduss and Family HOWARD KUSHNICK Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Stan and Vicki Wax SUZANNE LAPIDUSS Birth of granddaughter, Madison Lynda and Richard Somach TAFFI NEY Lifetime Achievement Award Arlene and Dwight Griffin Elaine and Leon Papir BARBARA AND MICHAEL PLATT Birth of their granddaughter, Ilona Ross and Wendy Born RICK AND BARBARA REISNER Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald HARRY AND CAROLE ROSE Happy 65th Wedding Anniversary Elaine Lerner DONALD SENDEROWITZ Jewel Baringoldz LARRIE AND JUDY SHEFTEL Engagement of their son Carol and Stewart Furmansky THE SHIMON FAMILY Birth of Eitan Emily, Brian, Al, and Sam Ford LOLLY AND SHEL SIEGEL Happy Anniversary and ‘Special’ Birthdays Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald ABBY SILVERMAN Graduation and acceptance to Bloomsburg University Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer

MARSHALL AND NINA SILVERSTEIN In their appreciation for 60 years of a wonderful marriage STEPHANIE AND ADAM SMARTSCHAN Birth of their daughter, Lily Isabel Smartschan Ross and Wendy Born Emily, Brian, Al, and Sam Ford Carol and Gary Fromer and Family Barry and Carol Halper MATTHEW STEIGERWALD Graduation and acceptance to Johnson & Wales Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer ARLENE AND DICK STEIN Bar Mitzvah of their grandson, Jacob Stein Audrey and Arthur Sosis TAMA TAMARKIN George Feldman Achievement Award for Young Leadership Elaine and Leon Papir DOUGLAS TRACHTMAN Graduation and acceptance to Temple University Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer STANLEY WAX Speedy Recovery Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel ROBERT WILSON In appreciation for all his help Ann and Gene Ginsberg DAVID ZAHN Graduation and acceptance to Lafayette College Carol, Gary, Rachel, and Jenna Fromer ISRAEL ZIGHELBOIM Happy ‘Special’ Birthday Stan and Vicki Wax DEBBIE AND LEON ZOLLER Marriage of their daughter Rachel to Jake Wendy and Ross Born HELEN & SOL KRAWITZ HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FUND IN HONOR MARK AND MARSHA KRAWITZ Birth of their grandson Samuel Ilene and Edward O’Brien IN MEMORY ELLEN OFFENBERG (Mother of Lori Wiener) Lynda and Stuart Krawitz ELEANOR ROSENBERG (Mother of Howard Rosenberg) Lynda and Stuart Krawitz

We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship through recent gifts to the Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation. The minimum contribution for an Endowment Card is $10. Call 610-821-5500 or visit www. jewishlehighvalley.org to place your card requests. Thank you for your continued support.

Report finds BDS, pro-Israel activity increasing on U.S. campuses

Preparing to sound the shofar and bring in the New Year

Jewish Telegraphic Agency Pro- and anti-Israel activity at U.S. universities increased in the 2014-15 academic year, with groups that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel springing up on more campuses and employing new strategies.

Nonetheless, there were more than twice as many proIsrael events as anti-Israel ones on campus, according to theIsrael on Campus Coalition’s “Campus Trends Report" released last week.

The report found that the number of U.S. campuses with anti-Israel activity jumped by 31.2 percent from the previous academic year, with two groups that promote BDS — Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, and Jewish Voice for Peace, or JVP — both increasing their presence. SJP is now on 150 campuses and JVP on 14 campuses, according to the Washington, D.C.-based group.

BDS resolutions on campus increased, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest, with activists for the first time pushing referenda in which the entire student population, not just student leaders, is asked to vote on BDSresolutions.

Another new development among pro-BDS groups in the past year was a concerted effort to strengthen alliances with progressive and social justice-oriented campus organizations, including LGBT, environmental and anti-racism groups.

As a result, the 2014-15 academic year “saw an unprecedented increase in the number of SJP events that are co-sponsored by other campus groups,” and proIsrael students “on some campuses on which social justice causes are championed by broad segments of the community reported feeling marginalized.”

The report also noted a “series of attempts, primarily on West Coast campuses, by anti-Israel activists to take over student governments.”

According to the report, anti-Israel efforts on campus receive “significant professional support” from several national organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee and Jewish Voice for Peace.

While anti-Israel activism increased, the ICC report also noted the creation of more than 100 new pro-Israel campus groups and said pro-Israel students “are increasingly disciplined, coordinated,

and strategic thanks to the leadership of a broad coalition of national pro-Israel organizations.”

Pro-Israel resolutions passed at Liberty University, the University of Georgia, Texas A&M University and the University of Nevada during the last academic year.

“Recent months have seen a slew of media reports alleging that BDS is taking over college campuses, but ICCgathered data disprove that theory,” the report concludes.

“Nonetheless, if the current trends on campuses nationwide persist, the result could be dangerously close to that reality.”

Hebrew Union College student and Lehigh Valley native Noah Diamondstein demonstrates shofar blowing techniques to Arnat Hoffman, founder of Women of the Wall in Jerusalem.

For model year 2015 or later vehicles sold or leased by an authorized BMW center on or after July 1, 2014, BMW Maintenance Program coverage is not transferable to subsequent purchasers, owners, or leasees. Please see bmwusa.com/UltimateService or ask your authorized BMW center for details.

Special lease and finance offers available through BMW Financial Services. ©2014 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

For model year 2015 or later vehicles sold or leased by an authorized BMW center on or after July 1, 2014, BMW Maintenance Program coverage is not transferable to subsequent purchasers, owners, or leasees. Please see bmwusa.com/UltimateService or ask your authorized BMW center for details.

Special lease and finance offers available through BMW Financial Services. ©2014 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

For model year 2015 or later vehicles sold or leased by an authorized BMW center on or after July 1, 2014, BMW Maintenance Program coverage is not transferable to subsequent purchasers, owners, or leasees. Please see bmwusa.com/UltimateService or ask your authorized BMW center for details.

Special lease and finance offers available through BMW Financial Services. ©2014 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

For model year 2015 or later vehicles sold or leased by an authorized BMW center on or after July 1, 2014, BMW Maintenance Program coverage is not transferable to subsequent purchasers, owners, or leasees. Please see bmwusa.com/UltimateService or ask your authorized BMW center for details.

Special lease and finance offers available through BMW Financial Services. ©2014 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 9

JCC welcomes new executive director Jeff Rembrandt

By Sandy Newman Assistant Executive Director JCC The Jewish Community Center of Allentown welcomed its new executive director Jeff Rembrandt on Aug. 3. Jeff comes to us from Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was the assistant executive director at a thriving J. Jeff’s extensive knowledge of programming, operations management and community building will enable us to move forward in all aspects of J administration. Jeff assumes the helm as Amy Holtz relocates to Connecticut with her husband Mark. Amy spent the last year as the J’s interim executive director and successfully helped to reshape the vision of the J in the Jewish community and empower staff to be their best.

During his first week, Jeff spent time meeting with his senior management team, community leaders and even had lunch with Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Jeff attended several committee meetings, including Sports and

Wellness, Children, Camp and Transition. He has quickly learned about our building and takes the time to walk the areas and engage in conversations with staff and members. “Jeff spent the first week listening, learning and observing.

He will be analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the JCC with the task of keeping us on track where we are strong and improving areas where we are weak,” said JCC Board President Andy Kahn.

Jeff ‘s wife, Rabbi Rachel, is a chaplain who has previously worked in hospice care. She has recently accepted a position in a resident chaplain program at Lehigh Valley Hospital. Jeff’s oldest son Jason is in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and works for Liberty Mutual Insurance.

He’s engaged and is getting married next July. His second son Micah recently graduated from college and lives in Brooklyn while he works as a research analyst for L2. Hannah, his youngest child, is a junior in college at Hofstra studying to be a speech pathologist. She has joined Jeff and Rachel at their new home in Breinigsville for a few weeks before heading back to school.

Here at the JCC, Jeff’s door is always open. “Please stop by and see me,” he urged members of the community. “If you are not yet a member of the J, please stop by our Welcome Desk, pick up an application, and I’ll help you fill it out in my office.” His office is adorned with Judaica, each piece or art with a unique story of his; including a giant shofar he can blow as a mitzvah during the holidays. He encourages members and the community to introduce themselves, engage in conversation and help us move forward.

David Cook November 10 | 7:30 pm

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn

Dave Davies

October 8 | 7:30 pm

October 13 | 7:30 pm

The Lehigh Valley Beatles Showcase IV

Black Violin

October 18 | 4 pm

November 5 | 8 pm

Musikfest Café™ at SteelStacks™ Tune in to Service Electric TV2 Sundays at 8 pm for Musikfest Café Live.

steelstacks.org | 610-332-3378 10 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

MEET THE PRESIDENTS

By Monica Friess Special to HAKOL Growing up amid a large Jewish population in Long Island, Elliot Gluskin says he followed a typical path: religious school, bar mitzvah, and occasional synagogue attendance.

A career change that brought him to the Lehigh Valley in 1993 led Gluskin to reflect on his Jewish cultural and spiritual life.

As a result, he increased his involvement in temple activities, first at Congregation Keneseth Israel and now as president of Temple Shirat Shalom.

Gluskin describes TSS, which opened its doors in July 2011, as a synagogue that follows the reform movement traditions, but also seeks to create traditions of its own.

“Our model follows the recent trends of Temples Without Walls, which has become popular in the Reform movement,” says Gluskin. Shabbat services are conducted at the Swain School during the school year and at the homes of various host families throughout the summer.

High Holy Day services are held at the Scottish Rites Cathedral.

With a membership of roughly 60 families, Gluskin says the

synagogue is very close knit, and though there is a board of trustees, all members may contribute to the implementation of programming. He praises and admires Cantor Ellen Sussman as the spiritual leader of TSS who conducts its services.

“Temple Shirat Shalom is very fortunate to have Elliot Gluskin as our president,” Sussman said.

“The most important qualities of a temple president are dedication to the Jewish people, a love of our heritage, and menschlichkeit, and Elliot possesses all those qualities in abundance.”

Gluskin originally worked at Rodale Publishing, but left in 2004 to form the Gluskin Townley Group, a marketing and research consultancy he founded with his partner Jay Townley. He and his wife Shari (also from Long Island) have three children, Adam, 25; Jared, 22; and Shelby, 16. All three have been active at TSS both as congregants and as teachers at the religious school. Shari, an educator in the Parkland School District for 11 years, is the co-chair of the synagogue’s religious school. Gluskin is proud of his children’s activity and commitment. He says

it’s very important to him to make sure all children in the congregation are acknowledged and kept involved, and know that they have the opportunity through hands-on lessons and meaningful field trips to broaden their knowledge and practice of Judaism.

In a short time, TSS has carved a solid niche in the Lehigh Valley. As Gluskin says, “Four years ago we knew of each other; today we know each other.” He says a key goal as president is to maintain and continue to build on strong relationships among synagogue members, and to reach out to other Jews in the Lehigh Valley and beyond who are looking to be more connected to Jewish life. “We offer whatever opportunities you think you’ll need,” he says, “whether it’s attending an occasional service or having someone to talk to about what it means to bring Judaism into their homes. We welcome all opportunities to have a conversation, to say hello and to see how we can help.”

Kosher Honey and the New Year

RABBI YAGOD

Congregation Beth Avraham A warm and hearty welcome and wishes for a great year for the Jewish people. May this year be “The Year” for our wonderful community! Much can be said for our diverse and caring community located in the midst of great natural beauty combined with impressive human creativity and industriousness.

Working as a kosher supervisor, I have had the opportunity to travel across the east coast, driving about 100,000 miles a year. Because of my experience in kosher supervision, I’d like to include some information

about that is especially useful for this time of year. Namely, I would like to talk about honey.

What is Honey? Why is it Kosher? Is there any non-kosher honey?

It is often assumed that honey originates from honeybees just like camel milk originates from camels. If this was so, then honey would be as non-kosher as camel milk and wouldn’t have “made it “as a symbol for the holiday! The true origin is the nectar of the various flowers that the bees pollinate, this yields the various product names such as blueberry honey, wildflower honey, clover honey and so on. The bees process the nectar with enzymes and other methods, yielding the honey that we know.

To underscore this and remove any doubts, the Talmud notes Biblical references to the kosher status of honey. The actual process of honey is completely in harmony with kosher laws.

This only applies to local

honey that is pure, clear and filtered. Both raw and pasteurized honey can be kosher. However Propolis and Royal Jelly that are also found in the Honey section of many stores is not kosher as it is considered to be primarily a bee product.

Flavored honey and foreign honey or honey syrup mixes all need a reliable supervision.

Always try to buy local (Pennsylvania) honey as there is much adulteration of honey with cheaper corn syrup in the larger world market!

Honey has many amazing aspects: it teaches us the value of knowing origins. Honey is timeless, and it can last for 3000 years. Honey is sweet and healthy. At this New Year, traditions are a connection to our origins, stretching back through the ages.

Retaining our traditions has intrinsic value, helping us last through the ages. Like honey, our traditions are sweet and healthy.

Happy New Year!

Matisyahu performs outside Auschwitz following Spain appearance Jewish Telegraphic Agency Three days after a performing at a reggae festival in Spain that had previously disinvited him, Matisyahu brought his music to a synagogue near the gates of Auschwitz.

The Jewish-American singer gave an intimate acoustic concert Tuesday night in the tiny Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot synagogue in Oswiecim, the town in southern Poland where Auschwitz was built.

“Played in the last remaining Synagogue outside of Auschwitz in the city Oświęcim. Peace and blessings,” Matisyahuwrote on his Facebook page. He also quoted a line from his song, "Jerusalem:" "The gas tried to choke but it couldn't choke me."

On Saturday night, he sang "Jerusalem" in front of thousands at the Rototom Sunsplash festival in Spain. Its organizers had initially cancelled his appearance due to pressure from the local branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, movement, which aims to put economic and political pressure on Israel. The festival reinvited him following widespread condemnation, including from the Spanish government.

The only one of Oswiecim’s synagogues to survive today, the

Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot synagogue forms part of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, a prayer and study center and museum founded in 2000. The concert marked the center's 15th anniversary.

Matisyahu has performed a number of times in Poland and has appeared before in Oswiecim.

In 2011, he was a headliner at the Oswiecim Life Festival, a summer festival aimed at using art and music to promote tolerance. Matisyahu is performing several concerts in Poland during his current tour, including in Gdansk, Wroclaw and Warsaw, where he is appearing in a free outdoor concert on August 30 as part of the Singer’s Warsaw Jewish Culture Festival.

When Your Heart Skips A Beat Or Flutters You Rarely Think Of Electricity Have you ever felt your heart skip a beat or race unexpectedly? If so, you probably never considered that it could be the result of an abnormal electrical impulse. In the same way your home can have electrical issues, so can your heart.

Your heart is made up of a complex system of muscles, valves and chambers that control where blood is pumped. But for it all to work, each heartbeat starts with an electrical impulse generated by the hearts specialized conduction system. If the hearts electrical system is compromised, resulting in too many heartbeats, irregular or not enough beats, the patient is diagnosed with an arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm.

There are several types of abnormal heart rhythms, including: • Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) – heart rate is too fast and usually caused by an extra pathway or circuit in the heart • Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) – an irregular and often rapid heartbeat. The most common arrhythmia • Atrial Flutter -- the heart’s upper chambers (atria) beat too quickly resulting in a fast, regular rhythm • Bradycardia (heart rate is too slow) • Ventricular Tachycardia and Ventricular Fibrillation (this type of abnormal rhythm can be life threatening) – usually occurs in people with previously damaged or weakened hearts

Most heart rhythm disturbances are harmless, particularly when the hearts structure is normal.

If an abnormal rhythm results in debilitating symptoms such as shortness of breath, fainting or chest discomfort, prompt medical attention is warranted. Arrhythmias can affect anyone but are more prevalent as we age.

Access to Trained Specialists St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular Center is the region’s fastest growing cardiovascular program in the region.

This includes a specialized team of Cardiac Electrophysiologists (otherwise known as the heart’s electricians). The electrophysiology (EP) team is comprised of talented cardiologists who spent an additional two years in training dedicated to diagnosing and treating heart rhythm disorders.

St. Luke’s electrophysiologists perform catheter ablations using cutting edge ablation technology.

The abnormal heart impulse or circuit is pinpointed and eliminated with radiofrequency energy (heating) or cryo-ablation (freezing tissue).

“We recruited physicians from UCLA and The Mayo Clinic, two of the busiest programs in the country, to increase the breadth and depth of our electrophysiology program at St. Luke’s”, says Darren M. Traub, DO, Medical Director of St. Luke’s Heart Rhythm Center. “Heart rhythm disorders can be difficult to diagnose, particularly when episodes are intermittent.” he adds.

Treatment for an arrhythmia depends on the type of rhythm disturbance. Simple reassurance or behavioral changes may be enough.

When necessary, medications are given or minimally invasive procedures performed to quiet the abnormal rhythm.

To learn more about St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular Center, heart.sluhn.org or call InfoLink at 1-866-STLUKES.

The electrophysiology team at St. Luke’s also has specialty training in implantation and management of cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Teamwork is a key part of the St. Luke’s Electrophysiology program. The EP physicians and the cardiovascular surgeons regularly perform procedures together in an effort to optimize patient outcomes.

www.sluhn.org • 1-866-STLUKES Sudip Nada, MD; Darren Traub, DO; Steven Stevens, MD

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 11

For some people struggling

with a severely diseased aortic valve, open heart surgery may simply be too risky. Which is why having access to a surgeon highly experienced in TAVR, a transformative, minimally invasive heart procedure, is so critical.

Dr. Singer vs.

A Failing Heart We have that surgeon. Right here.

Dr. Raymond Singer and his team have done more TAVR procedures than anyone else in the region.

In fact, Dr. Singer is the only cardiothoracic surgeon in PA to achieve better than expected outcomes in heart valve surgery.

Over the past decade we’ve performed nearly 16,000 cardiac surgeries.

This number matters. It tells you that your care is in the right hands.

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State Rep. Schlossberg: My visit to Israel

By Mike Schlossberg Special to HAKOL As a state legislator, I’ve had the incredible good fortune to see some amazing things. However, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do something I had yet to have an opportunity to do: visit Israel as part of a legislative delegation.

The trip was sponsored by the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Jewish Federations, as well as the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition. Six other House members joined me; together, there were five Democrats and two Republicans. Two of us are Jewish. I must take great pains to point out that costs associated with the trip were paid for by these organizations, as well as personal funds: no tax dollars from Pennsylvania, the U.S. or Israel were spent on this trip.

What governmental value can a state official get in going to Israel? Well, plenty. First, only a fool thinks that I believe that it’s vital for any government official to leave the state, and the country, to gain proper perspective on how to govern. Israel’s governmental system is vastly different – and far more chaotic – than our own. The taxes are more burdensome, partially as a result of increased defense costs, as well as a substantial social safety net. However, significant problems remain in Israel: the cost of living is very high, and poverty rates hit 40 percent in some areas.

The trip took us to tours in multiple cities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The stops and tours were particularly fascinating. We toured a helicopter factory which is completely redesigning helicopters by putting the rotors internal to the body of the machine, allowing the craft to fly and resupply urban and rocky areas. We toured the only kibbutz in the country which is specifically geared toward special needs adults; as someone who is particularly interested in mental health and intellectual disabilities, this tour was of special

importance and redefined my understanding of inclusionary learning. The Rabin museum took us on a tour of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s life, and entered a new phrase into my personal lexicon: a Soldier for Peace.

I also have to share a story which wasn’t funny at the time, but later became rather indicative of my own clumsiness: My own unexpected tour of the Israeli health care system! One morning, while taking a shower, I opened a glass shower door the wrong way. Much to my surprise, the glass shattered into a million pieces! The aftermath resulted in a trip to Hadassah Medical Center via ambulance.

Thankfully, all was well, and I didn’t even need any stitches, just a substantial amount of BandAids and assistance nursing my bruised ego back to health. Even that, however, was interesting, as it gave me a first-hand look at Israeli health care, and how it differs from American institutions.

My experience? Pretty similar to any American hospital!

One tour, however, was most impactful: Yad Vashem, the official Israeli Holocaust memorial. It reminded me of the museum in Washington, D.C., particularly in terms of how the architecture told the story of the tragedy. The building moves downhill before slowly rising back to ground level, ending with a beautiful vista. Most memorable, and devastating, was the Children’s Memorial, which uses candles and mirrors to simulate the vastness and emptiness of space, as a reminder of the hundreds of thousands of children who perished during this time.

What was particularly interesting was how the trip shattered any stereotypical visions of Israel. I saw no violence (except for the aforementioned shower door incident). There were plenty of soldiers, armed with assault rifles, but their attitude was almost casual.

Interestingly enough, we didn’t see much police during our time in Israel, and multiple people in Tel Aviv actually remarked to us that the city needed more officers, despite the fact that crime was relatively low. We also found that Israelis and Arabs worked side by side in many capacities, and while there were obviously culturally differences, many organizations (and we visited quite a few) are explicitly dedicated toward bringing Jews and Arabs closer together.

Every Jew should visit Israel. I feel blessed beyond words that I was able to do so in an official capacity representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Hopefully our mission further cemented the ties between Pennsylvania and Israel. I did my best to examine the other areas in which our countries can continue to work together: trade, economic development and other military partnerships. From our trip, and the overwhelmingly positive reception that our delegation received as Americans, it seemed clear to me that those ties continue to bind.

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HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 13

SHALOM HELLO

MA N’SHMA HOW ARE YOU DOING?

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for Grown ups

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OL ENRthrough ER B TEM SEP ire inqu721 o t Call -437-0 610 A Jewish Community School for Pre-K to 8th Grade ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2015-2016 ENROLLMENT Visit Us

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DATES TO REMEMBER Come find out for yourself all about the JDS.

THURS, SEPT 3 - Meet the Teachers Night

MON, SEPT 7 – Labor Day - NO SCHOOL MON-TUES, SEPT 14-15 – Rosh HaShanah - NO SCHOOL TUES, SEPT 22 - Erev Yom Kippur - NO SCHOOL WED, SEPT 23 – Yom Kippur - NO SCHOOL MON-TUES, SEPT 28-29 – Sukkot - NO SCHOOL WED, SEPT 30 - Family Sukkot BBQ Dinner

SAVE THE DATE:

SAT, DECEMBER 5 - JDS GALA 14 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

xplore various techniques to make different pottery projects.

• wheel throwing • handbuilding techniques • glazing

WEDNESDAYS 6-7 PM at the JDS Starting Sept 14 $118 JDS families & JCC members $180 Community members Plus...Materials Fee: $50 TO REGISTER: CALL THE JDS 610-437-0721 OR BY E-MAIL amanger@jdslv.org $50 REGISTRATION FEE (non-refundable)

ADULT ULPAN

Learn or brush up on your Conversational Hebrew with DANA KIND JDS Director of Hebrew & Judaic Studies

WEDNESDAYS

7 - 8 PM

10 WEEKS

BEGINNING SEPT 14 AT THE JEWISH DAY SCHOOL $118 JDS families & JCC members $180 Community members TO REGISTER: CALL THE JDS 610-437-0721 OR BY E-MAIL amanger@jdslv.org $50 REGISTRATION FEE (non-refundable) applies to course cost

L’SHANA TOVA

5776

N OPELMENT

Join our

May it be a good and sweet year for us and may our merits increase like the seeds of a pomegranate.

THE BOARD, FACULTY & STAFF Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley Tama Tamarkin President

Al H. Goren Head of School HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015

15

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 15

Klezmer evokes human spirit, past and present

By Jennifer Lader Bethlehem Group of Hadassah Greater Philadelphia Chapter Klezmer music’s popularity waxes and wanes, much like the strains of the violin and the clarinet that give this traditional Yiddish music its distinctive sound. Klezmer’s popularity is on the rise today, perhaps because it evokes something that in the digital age, more than ever, is music to the ears of many: the human voice and the resilience of the human spirit.

“A lot of the embellishments, the style, is derived from the sound of a cantor,” said clarinetist Jay Rattman, whose group The Manhattan Klezmer Band will perform at the annual Bethlehem-Easton Hadassah Concert in Bethlehem on Sunday, Nov. 8.

Klezmer ranges from fast and whimsical to slow and somber. The sound most consistently associated with klezmer is the “doina,” the improvised cadenza with which the clarinetist or violinist introduces the song.

Over time, these melodies have made their way around the world.

Israel’s northern resort city of Safed has been hailed as the klezmer capital of the world. According to its website, “The earliest written records about klezmorim (klezmer musicians) and their guilds are from the Middle Ages and date back to 1558 in Prague, and 1654 in Lublin.”

In the United States, klezmer’s developing popularity paralleled that of jazz, starting in the 1920s, something that Rattman attributed to the advent of regularly accessible recorded “race records,” recordings put out by all the major labels to appeal to ethnic groups, from Italian to Polish to Yiddish.

After nevertheless sinking to relative obscurity in the ‘40s, klezmer experienced a revival in the ‘50s, ‘70s, and again in the ‘90s, which has continued to this day. Ranker.com names as tops in klezmer: The Klezmatics, the clarinetist David Krakauer, and Itzhak Perlman, who is also widely acclaimed as a classical violinist, indicative of the crossover nature of klezmer music. The Manhattan Klezmer Band, to perform in the Lehigh Valley, was started as a school ensemble at the Manhattan School of 16 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Violinist Ben Sutin (shown) and the rest of The Manhattan Klezmer Band will perform at Congregation Brith Sholom on Sunday, Nov. 8, for the 72nd Annual Bethlehem-Easton Hadassah Concert.

Music under the direction of Krakauer.

While the audience for klezmer includes seniors who associate it with family traditions of their youth, klezmer also has a following among young people, especially in Europe. Krakauer began playing in Europe, first in 1992 at the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival with The Klezmatics and later with his own band. In a recent email interview, he said, “Eventually, France became a market for me with a dedicated Paris-based agent, a record label and a good deal of media attention including a full hour show on me and my music for the Arte channel [the French/German equivalent of public television].” He returns to France an average of six times each year, where he finds his audiences are largely non-Jewish, though some Jews identify themselves to him and he at times plays at synagogues or Jewish festivals.

“What's always wonderful for me across the board with my audience is a tremendous age range,” Krakauer said, “from 35-plus in theaters and concert halls to young people in their 20s standing and dancing close to the stage in the bigger

festivals.”

Krakauer associates klezmer’s popularity with the opening of the Soviet Bloc and the fall of the Berlin Wall, giving access to a form of Eastern European heritage that is “direct emotional expression.” That the Holocaust happened in Europe he said, leads to a special resonance with that emotion and, what is certainly true for Jews around the world, “an opportunity to connect to something that was lost to us.”

“Add to that the rise of the far right and NeoNazism [and] the fact that groups [coming] to Europe playing Jewish music was seen as a political act in support of multi-cultural values, without ever having to ‘stand on a soapbox’ or ‘wave a flag,’” Krakauer said, and klezmer landed “smack in the middle of the world music scene.”

The Manhattan Klezmer Band comes to Bethlehem on Sunday, Nov. 8, performing at 3 p.m. at Congregation Brith Sholom as a benefit for Hadassah, the Zionist Women’s Organization of America. Tickets start at 2 for $60 and are available at the door or by advance purchase.

Contact hadassahbe@gmail.org or call Carole at 610-554-3788.

KI’s Harvest 5K runs for a cause

By Michele Salomon Congregation Keneseth Israel Reading, writing and arithmetic are what schools are all about. Thanks to KI member, Patricia (Choty) San Andres, school is also about running and a way to use her passion to spark support for the students at Central Elementary School in Allentown.

It didn’t start out that way. It was only a few years ago when Choty started running. At the beginning it was learning the sport: the first 5K, the first 10K, the first half-marathon,

the right shoes, the right shorts, the right hair band. Over time, it grew into a personal commitment to run 50 individual, timed 5K races before turning 50. As Choty logged her miles and tallied up her races, near and far, it became obvious that the 50th race to fulfill her goal and celebrate her 50th birthday needed to be celebratory and beneficial.

Choty partnered with Keneseth Israel, already a community partner for Central Elementary School, to organize the Harvest 5K, the proceeds of which will benefit the students

and families at Central Elementary School. Central’s population is largely poor, many are homeless and they have limited resources. Monies the race can provide will be put to good use.

As important as the financial support to Central Elementary will be, Choty is also teaching lessons about determination, commitment, motivation, inspiration and hard work. She hopes that the students and other participants find ways, in their own lives, to fulfill their dreams and achieve their goals.

Choty and KI invite the community to join in the Harvest 5K weekend and welcome in Sukkot beginning with a spaghetti dinner at KI on Saturday evening, Sept. 26.

On Sunday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. the Harvest 5K will begin (registration is at 1 p.m.) in Lehigh Parkway.

You can follow Choty at her blog, http://505kby50.blogspot.com. And be sure to wish Choty a Happy Birthday, the big day is Sept. 30.

To register for the Harvest 5K, visit www.harvest5krun.com.

Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomes Israel Fellow to campus

By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor This summer, Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomed Or Adi to serve as Israel Fellow for the 2015-16 school year. While there are 75 Israel Fellows on college campuses across the country, this is the first time Muhlenberg College has had the opportunity to host a fellow.

The program is a partnership between the Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel International.

Muhlenberg’s program is being funded by an alumni donor who has committed to bringing a fellow for the next three years. The Israel Fellow program focuses on three areas: Israel education, Israel engagement and Israel experiences. To that end, Adi will work with Muhlenberg Hillel to create programs and foster relationships across campus. In addition, she will travel to Israel as a staff member on Muhlenberg College Hillel’s two Birthright trips.

“With such a strong Jewish community at Muhlenberg College, we feel blessed to be able to bring the Israel Fellows program to our campus,” said Hillel Director and Jewish Chaplain Rabbi

Melissa B. Simon. “Or will use her knowledge and skills to bring focus to our Israel programs and build more student relationships across campus.”

Originally from Tel Aviv, Adi comes well prepared to engage Muhlenberg students. In the Israeli Army, she served in an education unit that exposed Jewish youth from around the world to what life is like in the IDF. In addition to Hebrew and English, she speaks Spanish and Arabic. She is earning a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Middle Eastern studies and Islam at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys salsa dancing and running.

This is the first time Adi has traveled to the United States, and so far, the transition has been smooth. Her biggest adjustment has been the food. “I’m vegan,” she explained. At a training conference in St. Louis, she asked the hotel chef if he could give her a plate of vegetables for breakfast, a common practice in Israel. Although he was initially confused, they eventually established a system. “We became friends, and each morning he gave me a box of vegetables for breakfast,” she said. Adi looks forward to building similar relationships on the Muhlenberg

campus this year.

Adi is excited for the school year to start and to get to work. “I’m most excited about meeting students, Jews and non-Jews, and telling them my story and about Israel.”

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KI program seeks to bring generations of Jews together

The best and worst driving music, according to Israeli research

What does it mean to be Jewish in America today? What is the future of synagogues? Is Jewish identity about politics or religion? Can you be “just” Jewish? Culturally Jewish?

Ethnically Jewish? Comically Jewish? Are things so different from 20, 30, 50 years ago?

On Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m., Rabbi Melissa B. Simon, Hillel director and Jewish chaplain at Muhlenberg College, will identify and explore some key generational differences in the Jewish community. Joined by students from Muhlenberg College Hillel, attendees will participate in a moderated table discussion following the keynote talk.

As Hillel director at Muhlenberg, Simon is aware of the reputation that younger generations have. "Millennials are often criticized for not joining synagogues or for not appreciating historic Jewish institutions,” Simon said. She hopes that by facilitating a dialogue between generations, attendees will get a better sense of what makes millenials tick. “Our morning of learning at KI will be a chance to better understand millennials, their motivations, their passions and their concerns," she said.

While the discussion may not answer all of the above questions or “solve” all of the above “problems,” through a multi-generational discussion, attendees will gain a better sense of the millennial experience of Judaism and Jewish identity.

While the discussion may not answer all questions, organizers hope that a multi-generational discussion will give attendees a better sense of the millennial experience of Judaism and Jewish identity.“We’re very excited about this program, which brings together several generations talking about Jewish identity,” said Barry Cohen, a member of the Adult Education Committee at KI, which organized the event. Members of the Adult Education Committee along with other volunteers will also serve as facilitators.

Israeli research has bad news for music lovers: When your favorite song comes on the radio, it may make you a worse driver.

Don’t despair, though, certain music may also improve your driving. That’s according to Israeli psychology professor Warren Brodsky.

“The research is irrefutable that listening to music in the car affects the way you drive,” especially if it’s a song you’re “involved with,” Brodsky said in a telephone interview. If a song jogs a memory or frequently changes tempo and volume, it’s distracting you from driving, he said.

Brodsky, director of music science research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a Philadelphia native, laid out his findings across 400-plus pages in his book, “Driving with Music: Cognitive-Behavioral Implications,” published in April.

Like texting, eating, putting on makeup or having a conversation, he warned, listening to music while driving is a potentially deadly distraction.

Whether it’s rap, hip-hop, classical or rock, music that gets you singing along or drum-

By Suzanne Pollak Jewish Telegraphic Agency

To RSVP, call 610 435-9074 or register online at www.kilv.org.

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ming the steering wheel could increase the risk that you’ll change lanes without realizing it or react too late to avoid a crash, Brodsky said.

Brodsky spoke from personal – not just academic – experience. He admitted there are songs that take him right back to his basic training in the Israeli military. An old hit comes on, and suddenly he’s reminiscing about the three years he spent in the Israel Defense Forces entertainment groups, playing electric bass guitar.

Other times, he said, a song he has never heard comes on the radio, and he’s more focused on the new lyrics than on the road.

“Driving with Music” is based on Brodsky’s 2013 study with co-researcher Zach Slor, which tracked 85 drivers ─ all teenagers who had been licensed for at least seven months.

The participants each drove with an observer six times for a total of more than four hours.

While behind the wheel, they sometimes listened to their favorite music. On other trips, they listened to background music provided by the observer or no music at all.

When their favorite music was playing, the young drivers were involved in the greatest

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number of miscalculations, motor vehicle violations and incidents of aggressive driving, according to the study titled, “Background Music as a Risk Factor for Distraction among Young-Novice Drivers.”

Funded by the Israel National Road Safety Authority, the research focused on young drivers, because they tend have the most accidents and fatalities.

Fortunately, the findings don’t mean you need to have your car stereo removed. After all, doctors don’t tell patients with high cholesterol to stop eating, Brodsky noted. More to the point, he said drivers’ minds tend to wander without the help of background music.

Rather than cruising in silence, Brodsky suggested listening to well-balanced music without lyrics and with a steady rhythm and tempo. Even this kind of music shouldn’t be familiar, he said.

(Maybe it’s time to get into Philip Glass.)

Such background music “allows us to stay in a certain kind of emotional place” without distracting from the road, he explained.

So “Hit the Road Jack.” Just try to remember, Brodsky said, “You are not jogging. You are not in a spinning class on a bike. You are in a car.”

Wearing my kippah in Italy -- and feeling fine

By Ben Sales Jewish Telegraphic Agency During my four months studying in Italy in the fall of 2007, you could say I had more than my fair share of strange Jewish experiences.

Running late for a train one morning in Florence, I decided the best course of action would be to lay tefillin in the janitor’s closet at the station, only to have a policeman threaten to arrest me for trespassing. Lost in Rome one Friday afternoon, a Smart car pulled up alongside me, a 17-year-old leaned out the window and, in Hebrew, invited me to jump in. He dropped me at my hostel, blocks away from his synagogue.

And at the end of my semester, my Jewish classmate and I made the stunningly idiotic decision, eight nights in a row, to prop up a lit menorah on a can of liquid plaster on the second floor of a centuries-old palazzo. I’m still relieved it didn’t burn down.

But one thing I never experienced was anti-Semitism, even as I wore my kippah everywhere, every day. I was physically or verbally accosted that year in Barcelona, Budapest, Paris and Prague. But from a Florentine street of Arab merchants to the northern city of Cremona, no Italian ever seemed to treat me worse for being Jewish.

Back in Italy this week for work, I wanted to see if things had changed. In recent years, strong anecdotal evidence, data on rising anti-Semitism and urgings from European Jews had convinced me to take off my kippah while on the continent.

Would Italy be the same? Reports of anti-Semitism, after all, had risen there, too. I decided to use myself as a test subject: I kept on my kippah and waited to see what would happen.

The answer: nothing.

Instead, I found a surprising self-confidence among Italian Jews that had been absent in my visits to Paris, Madrid and Kiev, Ukraine. Over the course of a week, I met with Jews of all stripes in three cities -- not one suggested I hide my head covering or told me to watch out.

An armored car and a soldier sat outside major synagogues, but they weren’t guarding a frightened community. When Italian Jews did mention local anti-Semitism, they dismissed it as either a fringe phenomenon or tied it to recent events in Israel.

Italians, they said, had no beef with their Jewish neighbors.

In Milan, a Chabad rabbi strode smiling through the central train station fully clad in hat, coat and beard. In Florence, I went to Ruth’s kosher restaurant, my old haunt, only to find there were no empty tables -- though they were mostly filled with tourists. And in Rome, home to Italy’s largest Jewish population, I found a thriving community.

A cobblestone avenue in the

old Jewish ghetto is lined with 10 kosher establishments serving traditional Italian dishes and Israeli food. When I walked into a nearby cafe for an afternoon espresso, the barista made sure to tell me the food wasn’t kosher.

Down the street, a large Israeli flag hung from a building alongside European Union and Italian flags over tourists speaking loudly in Hebrew and Orthodox Jewish locals wearing long skirts or kippahs. In an alley, a Chabadnik solicited passers-by to put on tefillin.

Policemen, waiters, bellhops and cabbies treated me no differently than in New York or Tel Aviv. Telling people where I lived elicited no special reaction.

By the end of the trip, I’d settled back into forgetting my kippah was on.

Then, on my last day, someone tapped me on the shoulder in Rome and asked about it. Bracing myself, I turned around to find an older man. He just wanted to know how my kippah stayed on.

I showed him my clips and prepared to exit the bus. But before I left, he made sure to tell me his father, a devout Catholic, had worked with many Jewish vendors in business over the years.

Of all his associates, he said, they were the most honest.

And with that, he smiled, said, “Ciao, ciao” and sent me on my way.

Produce donations bring smiles to JFS Community Food Pantry

By Allen Carroll Special to HAKOL Jewish Family Service serves the Jewish and non-Jewish people in the area with two food banks- kosher and nonkosher. JFS does a wonderful service by providing the ever-increasing food insecure population with food to feed themselves and their families.

Many donors may be unaware that JFS now accepts donations of fresh produce.

I’ve been donating fresh produce for almost two years now and can tell you that the recipients really appreciate it. I can see by the smiles on the faces of those visiting the food pantry that they want and are grateful for fresh produce.

As many of you know, produce in the supermarkets is very expensive and out of reach for many people and families who are struggling to pay their bills. I shop at Produce Junction and Aldi’s. The

prices at both stores are about half as expensive as supermarkets. Aldi’s features produce picks of the week for some incredible deals. I then stock up on these items and bring them to JFS. Produce can be dropped off any time

during JFS hours. It is a joy and privilege to be able to help our hungry community members in this way. Also, those of you who have vegetable gardens can donate any extra produce you may have.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 21

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Meet the Jewish woman getting ready to live on Mars

By Patricia Corrigan Jewish Telegraphic Agency Dr. Sheyna Gifford — a Jewish medical doctor, science journalist, astrophysics researcher and space enthusiast — is preparing to live on Mars.

Gifford, 36, will join five other crew members in the NASA-funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat for a simulated space mission to Mars, slated to launch on Friday, Aug. 28. For the next 365 days, she and the others will be isolated inside a geodesic dome that’s 36 feet in diameter.

Perched on a slope 8,000 feet above sea level on the Big Island of Hawaii, the twostory habitat simulates space missions, to help identify risks associated with long-term human space exploration.

Last week, Gifford was at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco to film training videos for non-medical crew on how to treat injuries. A Los Angeles native who attended the University of California, Berkeley and now lives in St. Louis, Gifford will serve as a medical doctor, neuroscientist and habitat journalist for the mission, her second, having completed a stint at NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog in the spring.

This HI-SEAS mission to Mars — longer than any of the previous three — has several purposes.

“It’s about psychology, logistics, science and maintenance,” Gifford said. “We’re looking at what you need to feed and water people for a year, how much science you can get done and how the crew manages” in about 1,700 square feet of living space.

The crew includes a field biologist, a fluid physicist, an astrobiologist, a spacecraft engineer and a space architect. HI-SEAS researchers are working to develop effective team composition and support strategies for traveling to Mars and back, which is estimated to be a three-year journey.

The dome’s 993-square-foot ground floor includes a kitchen, dining area, bathroom, lab and exercise area. The 424-square-foot second

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floor includes six small sleeping quarters and a half bath. In addition, a 160-square-foot workshop, made from a converted shipping container, is attached to the habitat.

As the only Jew on the crew, Gifford said she faces several specific challenges. “Being a Jew is a community activity, a group effort.

Any individual work you do, such as being a thoughtful, contemplative and helpful person, you do in the context of the whole world,” she said. “Also, there will be no other Jews to celebrate [Jewish] holidays with.”

In post on her blog, Gifford explored being the only Jew on the mission and having to tackle questions such as, “When you’re in a space station that circles the Earth every 90 minutes, experiencing multiple sundowns daily, when, precisely, do you get your Jew on?”

“Probably I will light the candles — or turn on the electric candles, as I am not going to make fire in space — on Hawaii time, the same time as our ground control,” Gifford said.

“Though of course at that time I might be in the middle of a space walk or doing surgery or cleaning the composting toilet.”

Fortunately, Gifford looks forward to sharing some Jewish rituals and history. “None of my roommates at Berkeley were Jewish, and I managed to bring others there into the fold,” she said.

Gifford also shares another blog with crew members, where they write about the mission.

Participation in the HI-SEAS mission is the fulfillment of Gifford’s childhood dream. “I always wanted to be an astronaut, because being an astronaut is being a hero, a leader, having the ability to spread the word about how cool science is,” she said.

“As a society, we should choose to invest in space the way we invest in schools or roads.

It elevates us as a species, gives us the tools and the motivation to come together to do big things.”

Whether or not Gifford actually gets to Mars, she is not at all worried about being confined for a year during the simulation.

“Mentally, physically and socially, I have no concerns,” she said. “Only curiosity.”

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The Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle

By David Benkof Special to HAKOL

Designing puzzles with the knowledgeable but not necessarily bilingual Jew in mind, David Benkof says, “No more than a very few clues per puzzle expect the solver to simply translate between Hebrew and English.” Note that some answers may actually be two words written as one, without a space between them.

For answers to the crossword puzzle, visit the Federation website at www.jewishleighvalley.org.

“KOSHER KUISINE”

By Yoni Glatt Level of Difficulty: Medium ACROSS 1 Kind of teshuvah?

5 Sector for many Israeli startups 9 Unkind lawyer kind 14 Bar mitzvah, e.g.

15 Not like Sarah or Esther 16 Sophia who starred as “Judith” 17 One in 60, perhaps 18 ___ Nazi 19 Bug found in Israeli tofu in March 2015 20 Combs one’s hair like The Fonz 22 Turn over (as in land) 24 Musically, they come after dos and res 25 Kosher cuisine 26 Kosher cuisine 28 Eisenstaedt item: abbr.

30 Chemical in some Ahava products 31 Like Yemenite food 35 Head of Hebrew University?

38 Kind of El Al pilot, at times 42 Kosher cuisine 45 Great Talmud Rav 46 Great Talmud Rav 47 The main characters in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” for example 48 Scottish bocher

24 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

50 School for the little ones 52 Kosher cuisine 57 Answer like Cain to God 62 Nasser’s org.

63 Don’t ___ your esrog 64 Kosher cuisine 65 Charge usurious rates 67 Challah unit, e.g.

69 Like Casspi after a doubleovertime game, perhaps 70 Baby Moses reached for one, according to a midrash 71 Spanish for the Yiddish double first name Zev Wolf 72 Soon, to Shylock 73 Joseph’s brothers, once 74 “That shyster!” is one 75 Craves latkes DOWN 1 Like a November morning in Jerusalem, perhaps 2 Jamie Geller calls it “an easy, dairy-free way to add richness and flavor to your dishes” 3 Where old seforim might be stored 4 Robin who featured Melissa Gilbert on an episode of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” 5 Jacob and an angel got into one 6 Flaw of several Jewish kings 7 Make like an unshechted chicken 8 Like some kids on Simchat Torah 9 Many on the morning of Shavuot 10 Ad ___, like a shidduch 11 Pleasant hamantashen feature 12 Something found in the City of David 13 Kosher cuisine 21 Its only Jewish community is in Nairobi 23 Asian capital popular with Israeli backpackers 27 Rachel’s sister, et al.

29 Something a bold gonif might do 31 Genre for Matisyahu, at times 32 Patriarchs 33 Jew follower 34 It’s like cholent 36 G-d’s brightest creation is one 37 Make like Esau in the field 39 An instrument Guster uses, for short 40 The Mishnah says it cannot be used to light Shabbat candles 41 Mossad-like org. that was dissolved in 1945 43 Movie character who wears a black breastplate 44 Like Hamas 49 CPAs, essentially 51 ___ it (be chutzpadik) 52 Kosher cuisine 53 Biblical woman from Bethlehem 54 Caribbean island whose Chabad is in the city of Noord 55 Relaxes on the Eilat beach 56 Item found in a sweatshop 58 Analyze, in the Diamond District 59 It can be used to spread lashon hara 60 Ohio birthplace of astronaut Judith Resnik 61 Many tour Israel in the summer 66 New Jew 68 Simian nuisance to Gilbert Gottfried’s Iago

Family, a link to our past and a bridge to our future

By Amy Sams JCC Adult Programs Coordinator My family is not perfect. I don’t stop by my parent’s home and visit as frequently as I would like to, even though they live only 10 minutes from my house. My daughters spend more time with their friends, books and computers than with me, their mother. We are not an atypical family. We all go about our lives, busy with work, school and our own interests. Regardless of all that keeps us apart, we are keenly aware and appreciative of being linked together through our family connections.

I spend most my days at the JCC of Allentown, where I exercise, teach a fitness class, meet with friends, and work part time. I drive from Orefield to the West End of Allentown, practically on autopilot. On my way, I drive by the white brick house on 23rd Street where my grandparents lived throughout my childhood and into my young adult years. They are no longer living, but I silently say “hello” as I drive by the house at 823. It may seem silly to others, but it is my way of honoring and acknowledging an important link to my past. On my way home, I drive a different route so I may follow the same ritual as I pass by the house where my father’s parents lived on Pennsylvania Street, near the Jewish Day School.

My teenage daughters are fortunate. At the ages of 19 and 16, they have three living grandparents who share stories with them and tell them about family members who they never had the opportunity to meet. These conversations not only give them insight into their past, but help instill values and goals which will shape their future.

However, there are more stories, more family members and more world circumstances to learn about.

Like many of HAKOL’s readers, my Uncle Phil Goldsmith, an Allentown native, recognized the importance of understanding his own background--the people, the times in which they lived and all the factors that contributed to molding him into the person he is today. Phil saw the need to learn more about his past, not only as a tribute to his ancestors, but also as a gift to his future: his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and future generations.

After Phil retired from a broad spectrum of careers including law, journalism, government, banking, and human resource consulting, he spent most of his days balancing his passions. In his retirement, Phil spent time with his grandchildren, hosting the family Thanksgiving dinner, reading books about American history and serving as vice president of CeaseFirePa, working tirelessly to tighten gun laws. He then began to research and document his findings about his own family’s story. Through his research and writing, he merged his passions for family, history and Tikkun Olam, repairing the world for future generations.

Phil recently wrote a book titled “In Search of Self and Family,” which is available on Amazon.com. While the book is a personal story about his family who immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe and the times they lived in, it is a story that will resonate with anyone whose ancestors arrived from abroad, struggled, moved, married, divorced, succeeded, failed, and in the end became part of the American melting pot. It serves as a reminder of what we owe to earlier generations and our responsibility to those who come after us. It is a journey through history, told through family stories against a backdrop of circumstances of their times.

On Sunday, Nov. 22, the Lehigh Valley community is invited to a delicious and fascinating morning at the JCC. Please join Adults at the J and Congregation Keneseth Israel for this special community brunch and author presentation. Phil Goldsmith, will share stories from his book as well as insight into the research process which incorporated census records, old papers, saved handwritten letters and connecting with dozens of living relatives.

Phil will share stories about his grandfather, Hyman Rockmaker, a country lawyer who became an important civic leader in Allentown and one of the founding members of the JCC. At our brunch discussion, you may hear about the fascinating grandfather and great uncle who were one of the nation's largest manufacturers of handbags.

Save the date and come together as a community to celebrate family.

Phil's sister Linda (the author’s mother); Phil's Sister Debi; Phil; Phil's first cousins Amy, Ellen and Monroe Rockmaker

The Community Brunch and Book Discussion will take place on Nov. 22 at 9:30 a.m. The cost is $10 in advance ($8 for JCC and KI members) and $14 at the door ($12 for JCC and KI members.)

To learn more about this event, please contact Amy Sams at asams@lvjcc.org.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 25

DAVID BLATT

ABRAHAM FOXMAN

RABBI BARRY FREUNDEL

RUTH BADER GINSBURG

ALAN GROSS

The top Jewish newsmakers of 5775

By Julie Wiener Jewish Telegraphic Agency Whether you love them or hate them — or your feelings are purely pareve — these 13 Jews repeatedly made the news in 5775.

DAVID BLATT American-Israeli coach David Blatt, in his first season as the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, guided the club to the NBA Finals and put the Midwestern cityon the radar of Israelis

— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among them. Blatt, 56, had come to Cleveland after coaching Maccabi Tel Aviv to an unlikely Euroleague title. The Boston-area native had played professionally in Israel, making aliyah in 1979, and in college at Princeton.

ABRAHAM FOXMAN Few Jewish names are as well known worldwide as Abraham Foxman, who retired from the Anti-Defamation League after nearly three decades at its helm

(and five decades on its staff).

In addition to being the world’s most outspoken critic of all things anti-Semitic, the 75-yearold Foxman has a personal story worthy of a film: Born in Poland one year after Germany’s invasion, Foxman was left in the care of his Catholic nanny during the Holocaust and did not discover he was Jewish — or reunite with his parents — until after the war.

RABBI BARRY FREUNDEL Long one of America’s most prominent modern Orthodox rabbis, Barry Freundel, 63, shocked the Jewish community when he was arrested on charges of voyeurism. He was sentenced in May to 6 1/2 years in prison for secretly videotaping dozens of women in the mikvah affiliated with his Washington, D.C., congregation, Kesher Israel. Freundel had encouraged women studying for conversion to take "practice dunks" in the mikvah, and as the case against him unfolded, numerous leaders called for checks on rabbinic power and a more transparent system for Orthodox conversion to Judaism.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG How many 82-year-olds not only continue to work full time but also have a hipster fan blog

26 SEPTEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

on Tumblr, T-shirts and tattoos celebrating them, and get to be played by Natalie Portman in a movie about their life?

In recent years, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most reliably liberal votes, has morphed from merely being a prominent public figure to "the Notorious RBG" and the subject of a forthcoming book and the aforementioned film. Though some critics think it’s high time Ginsburg retired, the Brooklynborn justice and feminist icon is still going strong.

ALAN GROSS In December, 65-year-old American Jewish contractor Alan Gross got the best Hanukkah present ever: release from a Cuban prison, where he had been languishing for five years.

Gross’ freedom was negotiated as part of a historic thaw in relations between the United States and Cuba. Since returning home, Gross has credited the Jewish community for helping to secure his freedom and has lobbied for easing U.S. travel and trade restrictions with Cuba.

MICHAEL OREN American-born Michael Oren, 60, is the former Israeli ambas-

sador to the United States — but his new book, “Ally,” has been anything but diplomatic, inflaming many with his harsh (and some say unfair) criticism of the Obama administration.

Although Oren is a Knesset member for Kulanu, the centerright party's leadership recently distanced itself from his contention that President Barack Obama betrayed Israel. Oren, who was raised in New Jersey and has a doctorate in Near Eastern studies from Princeton, made aliyah in 1979.

NATALIE PORTMAN The Israel-born Natalie Portman, 34, was among the most talkedabout stars at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which premiered her directorial debut, an adaptation (in Hebrew) of a memoir by the Israeli writer Amos Oz. A Harvard grad and Oscar winner who will star in upcoming films about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Portman sounded off in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview on various Jewish topics, including her dislike of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what it’s like to be a Jew living in Paris.

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he would challenge prohibitive favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, the Vermont senator and self-described socialist (he’s officially an independent) Bernie Sanders has been a left-wing darling, appealing to those who see Clinton as too establishment.

The only Jewish candidate in the race, the 73-year-old, Brooklyn-raised Sanders bristled recently when radio host Diane Rehm incorrectly said he had dual Israeli citizenship. That’s not to say he isn’t proud of his Jewish background, which he says sparked his interest in politics.

is a member of Jewish Home, a pro-settler party. Her calls to deport African migrants, limit the powers of Israel’s High Court and enact the controversial “Jewish state” law have alarmed many on the left.

LACEY SCHWARTZ Lacey Schwartz, 38, grew up believing she was a white Ashkenazi Jew, only to discover that her biological father was an African-American man with whom her mother had an affair.

In “Little White Lie,” a documentary that screened in major U.S. cities and aired on PBS in March, Schwartz explored her shifting racial identity and what it means to be black — and Jewish — in America.

Designated a New York Times Critics’ Pick, the film received favorable reviews overall. Plus, in a year in which high-profile police brutality cases involving black youth and a massacre at a black church have captured the public's attention, "Little White Lie" has contributed to the larger discussion about race in America.

AYELET SHAKED Israel’s justice minister, 39-year-old Ayelet Shaked, came into the public eye this spring as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggled to cement his right-wing coalition following the March 17 elections. Although she is secular and lives in Tel Aviv, Shaked

WENDY SHERMAN Wendy Sherman, who is in her mid-60s, was the chief U.S. negotiator in the nuclear deal with Iran and one of the few women participating in the negotiations. In May, Sherman announced that once the Iran deal concluded she would step down from the Obama administration, where she has served as under secretary of state for policy — the No. 3 position in the department — since 2011.

In a statement published in The New York Times, President Obama praised Sherman’s “unique combination of intellect, toughness and persistence, which have made her one of the most effective diplomats of her generation.”

WENDY SHERMAN

larly when news surfaced that his South African replacement, Trevor Noah, has made anti-Israel remarks on Twitter. Nominated in July for an Emmy, the unabashedly liberal Stewart (nee Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz) presided over Comedy Central’s fake news program for 16 years, during which time there have been countless Jewy moments.

JILL SOLOWAY Inspired by her own father coming out as transgender in 2011, TV producer-writer Jill Soloway, 49, created “Transparent,” one of the most acclaimed shows of the past year.

Described by the Forward as “the Jewiest show ever,” the Golden Globe Award-winning comedy follows the very Jewish Pfefferman family in the wake of its patriarch announcing that he is becoming a woman.

The series — which features a female rabbi character — has been at the forefront of a larger transgender awareness zeitgeist this year (thanks, in large part, to one Caitlyn Jenner).

JON STEWART The announcement this year that “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, 52, was stepping down devastated his fans – particuHAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2015 27

JEWISH SENIOR LIFE CONNECTION

PrimeTime programs are back this fall JackieEvancho_ 4x4_Layout 1 8/3/2015 1:22 PM Page 1

In the months since PrimeTime’s beginning, the popularity of these programs has continued to grow, evidenced by the increasing number of participants, and by the number of people who come for one program and stay for another. This fall, we’re bringing back your old favorites, including Pickleball and Crafts. If you feel like getting out of town, we are offering a bus trip to Longwood gardens this October. We invite you to join in and get involved this fall with our full lineup of programs!

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PRIMETIME TAI CHI THURSDAYS, 10:00 – 11:00 AM (No class on 11/26) Join other Prime Time members as we learn and practice Tai Chi. $18 for entire session; JCC Member Value Price: Free PICKLEBALL WEDNESDAYS/THURSDAYS, 1:00 – 2:00 PM (No class on 9/23, 11/26, 12/24, 12/31) Round robin, chance to win prizes each month. Pickleball is a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. $18/month; JCC Member Value Price: $10/month PRIMETIME YOGA WEDNESDAYS, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (No class on 9/23) Join Prime Time for a yoga class designed for the 65+ crowd. $18 for entire session; JCC Member Value Price: Free

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PRIMETIME LUNCH TOPICS WEDNESDAYS, SEPTEMBER 9, OCTOBER 14, OCTOBER 21, NOVEMBER 4, DECEMBER 2 12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch and a lecture. $5.

AARP SAFE DRIVER COURSE WEDNESDAYS, OCTOBER 21, OCTOBER 28 1:00 – 5:00 PM Eight hour AARP driving class. All automobile insurance companies in PA will give a minimum 5% discount to all qualified policy holders age 55+ who take this class. $20, AARP Member: $15 AARP SAFE DRIVER REFRESHER COURSE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 1:00 – 5:00 PM Four hour refresher course for those who have taken the AARP Smart Driver Course within 3 years. $20, AARP Member: $15

FUN PRIMETIME GAMES WEDNESDAYS, 1:00 – 3:30PM (No games 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7) An afternoon of mah jongg, canasta, poker. Free.

PRIMETIME CRAFTS TUESDAYS, OCTOBER 6, OCTOBER 20, NOVEMBER 3, NOVEMBER 17, DECEMBER 1, DECEMBER 15 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM A fun creative project will be made once a month. $5 per class.

GRANDBUDDIES AT THE J FRIDAYS, OCTOBER 16, NOVEMBER 20 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Mitzvah opportunity to join the JCC Kindergarten for Shabbat celebration.

Includes lunch. $5.

PRIMETIME AT THE GALLERY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Join PrimeTime for lunch at the Gallery during the Holiday Craft Fair. $10.

PRIMETIME LUNCH TUESDAYS/WEDNESDAYS, 12:00 – 1:00 PM (No lunch 9/16 - 10/7) Join PrimeTime for a delicious kosher lunch. $5/lunch

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CLASSES YIDDISH CLUB TUESDAYS, 1:30 – 3:00PM (No class 9/15, 9/29, 10/6)

SENIOR FAIR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Various vendors, agencies, and speakers aimed at our Senior population. Free.

On Greek isle of Rhodes, Jews return to celebrate ancient community all but wiped out

By Gavin Rabinowitz Jewish Telegraphic Agency Each summer, tens of thousands of tourists descend on Rhodes, Greece's easternmost island.

They are drawn by the sandy beaches, the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, the casino resorts and the prospect of exploring the medieval walled old city that was built by Crusader knights. On a clear day, you can see Turkey in the distance.

But for a few, it’s an annual pilgrimage, a homecoming that commemorates the Jews of this Mediterranean island who lived here for 2,000 years — up until July 23, 1944, when the last among them were deported to Auschwitz. This annual gathering, including Holocaust survivors and descendants, is a testament to the success of efforts to keep alive the spirit and identity of the community.

“What is it about Rhodes that is so attractive that we were driven to create the same community wherever we went — to Congo, in Rhodesia, in Seattle and California? What is it that was so special, that unites all these people?” said 91-year-old Stella Levi, who survived Auschwitz and later settled in New York. “I think it was because we were all one family, and that's what we are trying to pass on to the new generation.”

That bond has allowed the “Rhodeslis,” or descendants of the Jews of Rhodes, to keep alive contacts between far-flung communities and return to the island for family functions like bar mitzvahs and weddings.

And in recent years, dozens of Rhodeslis families visit each year for cultural events and memorial services that mark the anniversary of the Nazi deportation.

This year’s event saw more than 500 people attend a concert of Ladino, Yiddish and Hebrew songs performed in the courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, an imposing Gothic fortress.

“What my father transmitted to me and my sister was the atmosphere that was here, the happiness of being together, living with doors that were open, with hearts that were open,” said Giovanna Coen, whose father was the oldest member of the community to survive the death camps. Coen, who now lives in Rome, has been bringing her family back to Rhodes since 1984 to explore their roots and meet other descendants.

Her father was born into a vibrant cosmopolitan Jewish community of traders and craftsmen that lived in the Jewish quarter of Rhodes, La Juderia — a warren of narrow cobblestone alleys behind the great stone fortress walls and moat of the old port city.

Rhodes is both the name of the island and its main city, where the Jewish quarter is located.

The Jewish community of Rhodes traces its history back to the second century B.C.E., but most of the community

members were descendants of the Sephardi Jews expelled from Spain and spoke Judeo-Spanish, or Ladino, in their daily lives.

The community largely thrived under Ottoman rule, reaching a peak in the 1920s with some 4,000 Jews, a quarter of the total town population. It had four synagogues, a Jewish school and a yeshiva.

But the community fell into a decline, coinciding with the island's transfer to Italian rule in 1912. Many emigrated to find better economic opportunities, with most going to the United States and to what was then the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in Africa. Emigration increased after the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini passed a series of laws in 1938 that curtailed Jews’ civil rights and barred them from public office and higher education. By the time German forces occupied Rhodes in September 1943, fewer than 2,000 Jews remained.

They had survived for more than a year after the rest of the Jews of Greece had been deported to their deaths, although several were killed and La Juderia was badly damaged in British bombings that targeted the island’s port. As the end of World War II approached, the Germans rounded up the Jews

from Rhodes and the nearby island of Kos. “We never thought the Germans would come to this godforsaken island in the Aegean to take 1,700 mostly old people for the simple reason to exterminate every last one of the Jewish population in Europe,” Levi said.

In what became known as “the longest journey,” the Jews of Rhodes spent nine days on a cargo boat to Athens, followed by 13 days in cattle wagons to Auschwitz. That was the last group of Greek Jews sent to the camps.

Only 151 people survived; none of them returned to live in Rhodes. An attempt in 1956 to restart the community brought 25 Jewish families from mainland Greece, said Carmen Cohen, the current director of the community, who was one of those who came. Only five of those families remain on the island today.

Greece now has some 5,000 Jews, most of them living in Athens. But for many returning Rhodeslis, the connection to Greece is tenuous because the island only returned to Greek rule after the war, when the community had already been destroyed.

“I really feel that next year, some of the [commemoration] speeches should be in Ladino

and not Greek,” Levi said.

The worldwide community of Rhodeslis also received a boost from Bella Angel Restis, who has been president of the community in Rhodes since 2000. Born in the Belgian Congo to a wealthy Jewish family from Rhodes, in 2004 she oversaw a major renovation of the Kahal Shalom Synagogue, which dates back to 1577, and the opening of an adjacent museum. Restis also helped persuade the municipality to allow the establishment of a Holocaust memorial in the Square of Jewish Martyrs in the heart of the old town. “[Restis] has that personal connection that manages to get the people back to Rhodes,” Cohen said after a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument, where he was surrounded by curious sunburned European tourists and local Greeks hawking souvenirs and souvlaki, or meat skewers.

For many descendants, being

able to come back to walk the stone, bougainvillea-dotted alleys and pray in the synagogue has been a powerful touchstone, none more so than for Giuseppe Giannotti, 61.

His mother, Ester, survived Auschwitz. She eventually married an Italian soldier to whom she had been engaged before the war, settling in Genoa, Italy. She was so traumatized, she forbade her four children from telling anyone they were Jewish, fearing they would be killed.

“When I was 40, I told my mother that it’s not the war anymore. I want to say that I’m Jewish,” said Giannotti, who then began a process of reconnecting with his roots.

“Last year I did my bar mitzvah here with all these people,” he said, sitting in the synagogue with its unique black-and-white cobblestone floor. “… I was 60 years old and everyone was crying, the son of a survivor in the synagogue of his ancestors.”

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