Entrepreneur designs wheelchair apparel in sister’s 3 David Moss designs Grace After Meals in comic bookmemory form p.p.22
THE DAYTON Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton
November 2019 Cheshvan/Kislev 5780 Vol. 24, No. 3
OBSERVER
The Miami Valley’s Jewish Monthly • Online at daytonjewishobserver.org Bobby Quillard
‘A space to tell my story’ NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTON, OHIO PERMIT NO. 59
The Color of Love author Marra B. Gad
New rabbi at Beth Jacob
5
Rabbi Leibel Agar
Gantz gets his chance
6
Tomer Neuberg/Flash90
Blue & White Israeli party leader Benny Gantz
Greek chicken soup’s Sephardic history
Address Service Requested
Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton 525 Versailles Drive Dayton, OH 45459
23
Avgolemono
DAYTON Marshall Weiss
Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving
Dr. Eric L. Friedland, Sanders Professor Emeritus of Judaic Studies, shares his passion for interfaith dialogue at a dinner in his honor, Sept. 18 as part of the 41st Ryterband Symposium in Judaic Studies, held at the University of Dayton. Friedland arrived in Dayton in 1968 to teach at United Theological Seminary, the University of Dayton, and Wright State University, and for a time, at Antioch College. He established the symposium as a project of UTS, UD, and Wright State. With Friedland are (L to R): Dr. Sandra Yocum, chair of UD’s Department of Religious Studies; symposium keynote Dr. Arthur Green, rector/prof. of Jewish philosophy and religion, Hebrew College; Dr. Shulamit Adler; and Dr. Mark Verman, Zusman Prof. of Jewish Studies at Wright State.
Kristallnacht programs at UD, WSU
Nosh. Monthly Friday Night Shabbat Dinner with all your traditional favorites. Friday, Nov. 22, 5 p.m. $10 per person. R.S.V.P.
Learn. Monthly Diabetic Support Group. With Gem City Home Care’s Mara Lamb. Tuesday, Nov. 12, 10:30 a.m. & 6 p.m. R.S.V.P.
Schmooze. Join us for a free cup of coffee & hospitality at our Coffee House. Every Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free WiFi.
The University of Dayton will hold its observance for Kristallnacht at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in the Immaculate Conception Chapel. The observance will include a musical remembrance by UD’s World Music Choir. For more information, call Crystal Sullivan at 229-3369. Wright State University’s Kristallnacht program will feature Stevie Ann
Kremer, who co-authored and edited Daytonian Samuel Heider’s memoir of Holocaust survival, Miracle of Miracles, at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 6 in Room 156 of the Student Union. For more information, call Dr. Mark Verman at 775-2461. Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass — Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 — is considered the start of the Holocaust.
Courtney Cummings, Temple Israel’s music and program director, holds a lulav and etrog in a sukkah on the UD campus, Oct. 15. In partnership with UD Campus Ministries, Jewish faculty, staff, and students, Temple Israel sponsored the sukkah to connect Sukkot’s themes of Jewish migration to the rights of refugees seeking asylum in the United States.
Call Lisa Schindler for details at 937-837-5581 ext. 1269 5790 Denlinger Road • Dayton, Ohio 45426 • fvdayton.com PAGE 2
IN THIS ISSUE A Bisel Kisel.....................................20
Mr. Mazel..........................................18
Arts............................................24
O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 2
Calendar of Events.......................19
O b i t u a r i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Family Education............................22
Re l i g i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
DAYTON Bailey Bug
Young entrepreneur designs wheelchair apparel to honor late sister’s memory By Martha Moody Jacobs Special To The Observer Melanie Barrett, 20 years old and a junior at Wittenberg University, is an entrepreneur who designs and markets clothing. You might imagine she sells custom T-shirts or dresses
made of repurposed fabrics. No. Barrett’s passion is creating specialized apparel for people in wheelchairs. Her upbringing at first sounds similar to that of many a Dayton area Jewish teen. She grew up in Vandalia, studied Bailey Bug at Hillel Academy through third grade, attended Temple Israel, studied voice with Cantor Jerome Kopmar, and graduated from VandaliaButler High School. But every day she experienced what most people don’t deal with for even a minute: life with a severely disabled relative. Barrett is the youngest of five children born to Anita and Michael Barrett. Her sister Bailey, born three years before Barrett, was diagnosed as a baby with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare seizure disorder. Barrett says Bailey had the brain of a 6-monthold in a body that continued to grow and mature. Bailey was bed and wheelchair bound, legally deaf and blind. She was fed with a feedMelanie Barrett’s Bailey Bug capes are ing tube and couldn’t manufactured by a Springfield company that speak. employs people with disabilities
Bark Mitzvah Boy
Soy vey.
BMB
c O Menachem
Barrett has had help getting to this point. As a freshman at Wittenberg, she won the university’s inaugural Shark Tank-style contest, Tiger Tank. Through that contest, she met a Wittenberg alumnus who became her mentor and introduced her to other helpful people. Barrett tested and improved upon her design through a paid internship in product development, and, in her sophomore year of college, she arranged for her items to be manufactured at The Abilities Connection, a
‘After she died, I felt like I needed to do something for her.’
From the editor’s desk
Just give it a try . . .
Tofu y Turke
Yet Barrett describes her sister as radiating trust, warmth, and love. Bailey’s parents were told that Bailey would only live 10 years, but under the family’s home care, she lived to age 20, dying in February 2017, after a bout of pneumonia. Barrett was a senior in high school. “My parents are incredible people,” she says. “(Bailey) taught me a different kind of love,” Barrett says. “After she died, I felt like I needed to do something for her.” Barrett stresses the word for. When Bailey reached 8 or 9, Barrett recalls, it became difficult to get her into a coat. Just leaning her forward and getting her arms into sleeves was a challenge. To keep Bailey warm and comfortable, the family devised a cape. Barrett’s first clothing design was inspired by that cape. She named her cape the Bailey Bug — the family nickname for Bailey. The fabric in Bailey’s cape was printed with ladybugs, “Bailey’s signature thing.” Barrett says she hoped to help other families do something distinctive for their disabled loved ones. Now, Bailey Bug is a functioning LLC that makes and sells capes and accessories.
Has it only been one year since the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh? We’ve had so many convulsions of antisemitism in this country since then, and in so many forms, Marshall it feels like much longer. According to Weiss the American Jewish Committee’s new survey of Jewish adults in the United States, (Page Eight), 88 percent of respondents say antisemitism is a problem in the United States. We must not forget the lives lost in Pittsburgh and Poway, those left behind, the damage done. We must strategize across the Jewish community and build coalitions in the general community to fend off direct threats and to preemptively do what we can to dissolve hate in the hearts of the young. But we must never let antisemitism define us. That’s why hearing that the Tree of Life Synagogue will reopen as a “center for Jewish life in the United States” seems such a fitting way for the Jews of Pittsburgh to lead us forward. We are and must continue to be a lifeobsessed people.
Melanie Barrett with her mother, Anita, and late sister Bailey
Springfield company that employs and supports people with disabilities. In the meantime, Barrett added a major in business administration to her original major in opera performance. She applied to be a contestant on Shark Tank and made it to Continued on next page
694 Isaac Prugh Way – 937.297.4300
HAVE A FALL? SURGERY IN YOUR FUTURE?
NEED REHABILITATION? DON’T WORRY, WE’VE GOT THIS!
Lincoln Park Manor’s campus provides personalized attention and one-on-one services when it comes to rehabilitation and quick recovery. When comparing Lincoln Park Manor Rehabilitation and Home Care the differences are obvious. We want you to get healthy and back home faster. While researching your recovery plan consider: • Therapy 5 days a week • Highly-Trained Therapists • 24/7 Nursing Staff • Highly-Rated Medicare Facility • Regular checkups If you or a loved one needs rehabilitation services, PLEASE CALL OR GO ONLINE TODAY! Want more info about Rehab at Lincoln Park Manor?
PLEASE CALL 937.297.4300 or visit us online at www.LincolnPark-Manor.com
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
Please follow us
PAGE 3
DAYTON Bailey Bug
THE DAYTON
OBSERVER Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss MWeiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Contributors Scott Halasz Masha Kisel Martha Moody Jacobs Candace R. Kwiatek Masada Siegel Advertising Sales Executive Patty Caruso, plhc69@gmail.com Proofreader Rachel Haug Gilbert Billing Sheila Myers, SMyers@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Observer Advisor Martin Gottlieb
Melanie Barrett demonstrates a Baily Bug cape
Young entrepreneur Continued from previous page the second but not the final round. She may try again. A Bailey Bug cape is a washable, one-sizefits-all cape. The open back can be secured with snaps. Openings near the back shoulders accommodate wheelchair handles, giving a caregiver a better grip on the vehicle. The cape has a large central pocket on its front. The sides of the cape can be hooked onto buttons in the cape’s chest area in order to free up the wearer’s arms. Each Bailey Bug has a fleecy liner, calming with its texture and weight. The outer fabric is customizable, with lighter or heavier weight, solid colors or prints such as cats or bicycles. Barrett wants each family and wearer to have a cape special to them. A friend of Barrett came up with the company’s slogan: Bailey’s touch has never been so warm. “He said, ‘It seems like (Bailey) is adding more to the world than she ever could before,’” Barrett says. Asked what she learned from growing up with a sister like Bailey, Barrett says, “I try not to take anything for granted...to be more accepting and to work with the community.” So far, Bailey Bug has sold 15 capes and has orders for 25 more. The company also sells Bailey Bug accessories, snap-on hoods, and bibs. Barrett once spotted a Bailey Bug worn by a person in a wheelchair at a Walmart. “That was the coolest thing!” She hopes that the capes will someday be sold in stores as well as online. Barrett remembers her mother saying that a person is never really gone until the last time their name is spoken. Asked about her dreams for her business, Barrett has a quick response. “I want families (with wheelchair-bound members) to say, I want a Bailey cape!” Bailey capes are available online at baileybug. org. A cape costs $70, a cape with a hood is $75. Bulk order pricing is available.
Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Bruce Feldman President David Pierce Immediate Past Pres. Dr. Heath Gilbert Pres. Elect/Treas. Beverly Louis Secretary Dan Sweeny VP, Resource Dev. Mary Rita Weissman VP, Personnel/ Foundation Chair Cathy Gardner CEO The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 24, No. 3. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459. Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. Acceptance of advertising neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut. The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement To support, strengthen and champion the Dayton Jewish community by providing a forum and resource for Jewish community interests. Goals • To encourage affiliation, involvement and communication. • To provide announcements, news, opinions and analysis of local, national and international activities and issues affecting Jews and the Jewish community. • To build community across institutional, organizational and denominational lines. • To advance causes important to the strength of our Jewish community including support of Federation agencies, its annual campaign, synagogue affiliation, Jewish education and participation in Jewish and general community affairs. • To provide an historic record of Dayton Jewish life.
Please recycle this newspaper.
PAGE 4
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
DAYTON
Beth Jacob Congregation hires part-time resident rabbi Beth Jacob, and hopes to bring By Marshall Weiss back a daily minyan, “if we find The Observer people that want to come.” Beth Jacob Congregation He says the congregation’s announced Oct. 11 that it has services will continue to be led hired Rabbi Leibel Agar on a only by men, and with egalitarpart-time basis, and that he ian seating. and his wife, Anita, Beth Jacob eliminatmoved to Dayton ed gender-separated earlier that week. seating for its otherA native of Albany, wise Orthodox worN.Y., Agar arrived ship services in 1974. here from Staten Agar’s wife is a Island, N.Y. for a onelicensed preschool year contract with teacher. Beth Jacob, located in “She likes working Harrison Township. with children. HopeHe tells The Obfully we can have a server he received his Rabbi Leibel Agar junior congregation Orthodox rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Shom- eventually, a teen minyan, if we get enough kids,“ he says. rei Tzedek in England under The rabbi’s first program for the auspices of Rabbi Yitzchak the community was a barbeAldman. cue toward the end of Shemini “I did the study here (in the Atzeret to welcome in Simchat United States), and they did Torah on the evening of Oct. 21, a webinar conference for the with him at the grill. exam,” Agar says. “We have plans for events While studying for his rabbinic ordination, Agar served as throughout the year that we’re religious and spiritual coordina- trying to get off the ground so that we can have a fully tor for the Lincoln Park Jewish functioning community to be a Center in Yonkers, N.Y. part of the Dayton community Agar is leading Yom Tov and weekly Shabbat services at again.”
Basics of Judaism course The Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton will present its 16-session course, The Basics of Judaism, on Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 28. The annual class opens Dayton’s synagogues to anyone interested in Jewish learning, dialogue, and exploration. The course offers an in-depth look at Judaism from Conservative, Orthodox, Traditional, and Reform perspectives. Course
Beth Abraham seeks Women of Valor nominations Through Nov. 4, Beth Abraham Synagogue Sisterhood is accepting nominations for its 10th Women of Valor Luncheon, to be held May 6, 2020. The luncheon honors Jewish women across the Miami Valley who have made significant contributions to the Jewish and/or general community. To receive a nomination form, call Beth Abraham at 293-9520.
instructors are rabbis from Dayton’s synagogues; class sessions also rotate among the congregations. The registration fee is $75 for a single or couple and includes books and materials. For more information or to enroll, call Rabbi Judy Chessin at 435-3400.
THE REGION
Two men held in Lima temple BB gun incident By Jane Kaufman Cleveland Jewish News Of the two men charged in a February incident in which a Lima temple was sprayed with BB gun pellets, one is in jail awaiting trial, the other was sentenced to 10 days in jail and released Oct. 17. Anthony J. Berry, 19, of Lima, was sentenced to 10 days in Allen County Jail, where he was held on $50,000 bond, pending trial. On May 16, Berry was charged with two misdemeanor counts of damaging or endangering, one felony count of vandalism, and one felony count of desecration. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,152.85, including $1,896.04 to Temple Beth Israel-Shaare Zedek, $270 to Shawnee High School in Lima, and $100 to Shane and Chariti Cowan. The restitution to Shawnee High School and to the Cowans was for shooting out windows at the high school and the Cowans’ car window. No restitution has been made to Temple Beth Israel. Court records show that of the total amount, $3,014.85 was outstanding with only $138 paid. Of that $100 had been paid to the Cowans and $38 to the high school. Berry was released Oct. 17. His lawyer was Andrea L. Henning, who said she was not authorized to make statements on the part of Berry.
Anthony J. Berry
Jesse Gibson
On May 16, Jesse J. Gibson, 31, of Lima, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor of criminal damaging or endangering, one count of felony vandalism and one count of desecration. He is being held on $50,000 bond. His case goes to jury trial Nov. 12. Shawnee Township Police Chief Michael Keith said he could not release infor-
mation about the investigation leading up to the arrests because Gibson’s case has yet to go to trial. He said he had no reason to believe that the two were connected to white supremacy or white nationalist groups. He said neither Gibson nor Berry had a criminal record in Lima prior to their May 16 arrest.
SEASONAL
BREWS
Temple Beth IsraelShaare Zedek in Lima
FEATURING
ROGGENBIER AND
SQUASH ALE
Sun-Thurs: 11:00am-9:00pm Fri-Sat: 11:00am-10:00pm Carillon Brewing Company • carillonbrewingco.org • 937-910-0722 • 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton, Ohio
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 5
Turn Oy Vey Into Mazel Tov.
THE COMPASSIONATE CARE AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE YOU DESERVE Independent Living • Assisted Living • Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing • Short Term Stays
THE COMPASSIONATE CARE AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE YOU DESERVE Independent Living • Assisted Living • Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing • Short Term Stays
THE WORLD
As mandate passes to Netanyahu rival Gantz, all eyes now turn to Mandelblit The attorney general’s decisions on whether to indict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may determine whether or not the Jewish state is headed to a third election.
would only give Gantz 52 seats.
Much depends on outcome of corruption charges
So does Gantz have any chance of success during his 28-day mandate? The answer is yes, if a slim one: the formation of a minority government. In theory, as long as the Joint By Dov Lipman, JNS List votes for the government even if it doesn’t join it When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman agrees to abstain from the vote, then began the process of trying to form a government in Gantz could bring a 44-mandate government to the September, he had 55 Knesset seats supporting him — Knesset and the vote would pass by 56-55. 32 from his Likud Party, nine from Shas, eight In the video stateYonatan Sindel/Flash90 from United Torah Judaism, and six from Jewish ment in which he Home/New Right. announced the reWhen he announced Oct. 21 that he was return of the mandate turning his mandate to President Reuven Rivlin, to Rivlin, Netanyahu he had not a single seat more. warned of this possiFollowing the Likud leader’s inability to bility, saying if such reach a majority, Rivlin officially turned to chala government is lenger Benny Gantz Oct. 23, granting the Blue formed, then he will and White leader 28 days of his own to succeed serve as head of the where Netanyahu failed. opposition and do The main reason for Netanyahu’s failure to everything possible form a government was Blue and White’s refusal to topple it. to join a unity coalition, citing the corruption While the chances charges hanging over the prime minister as of Lieberman abto why it would not sit in a government with staining and thus Netanyahu. allowing the forma“It’s time for Blue and White to climb down Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit tion of such a govfrom the anti-Netanyahu tree,” former Israeli ernment are close to Education Minister and New Right Knesset member zero, Bennett nonetheless criticized Blue and White for Naftali Bennett told JNS. not outright rejecting the option of a minority governWhile he and Netanyahu didn’t see eye to eye on ment with the Joint List support, saying that “because many issues, Bennett said, there was no question the of their hatred for Netanyahu, the leaders of Blue and premier had a positive impact on the country. MoreWhite have lost their minds.” over, the charges against the prime minister are “miThe Joint List, said Bennett, includes anti-Israel parnor,” he told JNS, and do not justify replacing him. ties that support terrorism, and it was “unfathomable” “I disagree with Netanyahu on many issues and am that Blue and White would even consider accepting critical of decisions he has made. But I also think he their support. has done a lot of good for Israel, both for its economy There is also one other possibility: Blue and White and security. I don’t think it’s right for him to be has been hoping that Israeli Attorney General Avichai toppled given the minor charges against him,” said Mandelblit will announce his intent to indict the prime Bennett. “Netanyahu should not be minister during its 28-day mandate, and that replaced via the justice system and this will lead members of Netanyahu’s 55-seat media that have been out to get him coalition to jump ship and support Gantz for from day one.” prime minister. Nevertheless, Blue and White still However, following pre-indictment hearings remains committed to forming a naearlier in September in the three corruption tional unity government. cases facing the prime minister, there are strong “We in Blue and White are waiting indications that Mandelblit will drop the most patiently to be given the mandate to serious of the charges against Netanyahu — form a government. When we receive bribery — and may completely close at least one it, we will work to form the governof the cases. ment that we promised the people of Netanyahu believes that these developments Israel — a national unity government New Right Knesset will increase support for him among his base that will place the good of the citizen Member Naftali Bennett and put him in a strong position to win outright before all else,” Blue and White MK if the country heads to a third election, with Boaz Toporovsky told JNS. enough seats to form a right-wing/religious governHowever, right now, Gantz only has 44 mandates ment. supporting him — 33 from his Blue and White Party, At the very least, any reduction in the charges will six from Labor and five from the Democratic Union. further strengthen his already solid support among The 55 mandates of the right-wing/religious bloc sup- Likud Knesset members, eliminating any hope of them porting Netanyahu have pledged not to join a Gantzsupporting anyone besides him for the country’s top led coalition. job, both during Gantz’s 28 days and the following 21That leaves Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu day period during which any of the 120 Knesset memParty with its eight mandates and the Joint Arab List bers may be able to attempt to form a government. with its 13 mandates. So at the moment, all eyes are on the attorney The Joint List has already declared that it will not general, who is expected to announce his decisions by join a government, while Lieberman is unlikely to mid-November — smack-dab in the middle of Gantz’s join a center-left government, and even if he did, that 28-day mandate.
Grace Brethren Grace Brethren A NOT FOR PROFIT RETIREMENT COM MUNITY
Short Term Rehab Long Term Care W W W. G B V I L L A G E . C O M
1010 Taywood RoadRanked | Englewood,#1 OH in | 937.836.4011 Still
Montgomery County for 2019 by the Ohio Department of Aging for Family Satisfaction
We focus on...
Grace Brethren Our Residents Grace Brethren Their Health Their Safety TheirRETIREMENT DignityCOM MUNITY A NOT FOR PROFIT Their Families W W W. G B V I L L A G E . C O M 1010 Taywood Road | Englewood, OH | 937.836.4011
PAGE 6
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
THE WORLD By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA In the aftermath of the shooting outside a synagogue in the German city of Halle, local authorities are rethinking their approach to securing the country’s Jewish communities. Only the building’s heavy fortified doors prevented the gunman from entering the synagogue on Yom Kippur. Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said it was “scandalous” that there were no police outside the Halle synagogue on Judaism’s holiest day, when attendance by worshippers is at its highest. Some German states are now moving to ensure that situation isn’t repeated. In the eastern state of Thuringia, authorities have agreed to post armed officers outside synagogues during services, Der Speigel reported. In Hesse, security will be provided at every synagogue and Jewish institution during Jewish holidays, a police spokesman said. And in Bavaria, synagogues were added as stops to routine police patrols following the attack. At the federal level, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that police will “have to take a closer look at the gamers’ scene,” a reference to the shooter’s frequent use of online gaming platforms. That comment sparked protests by German gamers, who fear an invasion of their privacy based on what they call a false generalization. German Jewry’s Values Initiative, a nonprofit that has positioned itself as a mainstream think tank for German Jewish communities, has proposed a seven-point plan for improving security for German Jews, including better real-time monitoring of video streaming platforms like the ones that the Halle gunman used to broadcast his assault for about 30 minutes. After the synagogue attack, the group called for police protection of “all synagogues, Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany,” charging that police had “misjudged” the threat facing smaller communities like Halle. It also recommended improving police response time, noting that it took 16 minutes for officers to confront the shooter.
Jens Schlueter/Getty Images
How Germany is rethinking security for Jewish community after Yom Kippur synagogue attack Visitors at the synagogue in Halle the day after a gunman targeted the house of worship in eastern Germany
“It is time that Germany decides how it deals with hatred of Jews and other inhuman hatred forms,” Elio Adler, the group’s chairman, wrote. “The previous methods are clearly not enough.” German officials seem to agree. They were quick to condemn the Oct. 9 attack and reassure the Jewish community of their support. Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a vigil in Berlin that day and told Jews in Halle that her government was committed “to do everything possible so that you can live safely.” Merkel said the attack “shows us that this is not so
Some German states are now moving to ensure that situation isn’t repeated.
simple and that we must do even more,” though she did not specify what further action she envisaged. Police protection is absent currently from many German synagogues and Jewish institutions, said Ophir Revach, director of the European Jewish Congress’ Security and Crisis Center. “In Germany’s larger cities, Jewish communities get police protection and hire security firms additionally. But small communities like Halle have neither, leaving them exposed,” he said. In Frankfurt, the Jewish community of 6,600 members pays about $1.2 million a year for private security to supplement the protection provided by police, Leo Latasch, the head of security for the community, told Der Spiegel.
In Berlin, the Jewish community and the government split the cost of private security firms, according to Sergey Lagodinsky, a European Parliament lawmaker and a former Jewish community leader in the city. The situation is radically different in neighboring France. After the 2015 slaying of cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and four Jews at a
kosher store, the government launched Operation Sentinel, which deployed thousands of troops around Jewish community buildings and other potential targets. The French state bears nearly all the security costs for Jewish institutions, about $1.2 million per day. But the effort has its drawbacks. Synagogues across France now resemble fortresses, and the heavy police presence has undermined a sense of normalcy among many French Jews, about 30,000 of whom have moved to Israel since 2013. Sandra Sebbah, a Jewish mother of four from Pavillonssous-Bois, a northeastern suburb of Paris, said the soldiers outside her children’s Jewish school only amplify her anxiety about their safety. She encourages her children to “live somewhere else, like normal people and not like this, where I am afraid every minute they’re not home — especially when they’re at school,” she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Revach said the French model can be tweaked to be made less restrictive. “There’s actually no need for Continued on Page 26
Tim Sweeny REALTOR® (937) 901-2346 CELL (937) 918-2693 BUSINESS tim.sweeny@coldwellbanker.com www.TimSweeny.com
Let me be your Real Estate compass. ©2019 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
Dear Friends, I am pleased to announce that I have joined Elizabeth Diamond Company as a Sales Associate. I am a graduate of the Gemological Institute of America, with over 30-years’ experience in the jewelry industry, including sales, management & ownership. I invite you to visit me at EDC’s beautiful showroom, in Centerville, today. All the best, Zack Karaman
Ask for Zack & Get $50 OFF zack@shopedc.com Any Repair or Service! Make Your Personalized Appointment Today! 937.434.0003 shopedc.com
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
shopedc.com
PAGE 7
THE WORLD
Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. Jews say antisemitism a problem here Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Monday, December 23 - Friday, January 3
Monday, January 20 (MLK RESIDENTS’ DAY) Monday, February 17 (P DAY)
Field Trips Swimming & Rock Climbing at the Vandalia Rec Center, Cincinnati Zoo, McCormick Farm, and more! Cooking | Art | Gaga | Hanukkah Activities | Games | Music Daily Rate: $40 Session rate: $360 (10 Days including MLK & President’s Day) Rise & Shine (7:30–8:45AM): $8/week Stay & Play (3:45–6PM): $20/week Register online at jewishdayton.org/product/20192020-winter-camp-shalom/ or call 937-4011550 by December 9 and we’ll waive the $25 registration fee!
Grades
K–7
Members of the Jewish community and allies protest antisemitism and a National Students for Justice in Palestine conference at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, Nov. 6, 2018.
By Ron Kampeas, JTA WASHINGTON — More than eight in 10 American Jews say that antisemitism has spiked in recent years and even more believe it is a problem in the United States, according to an American Jewish Committee survey. Nearly three-quarters of respondents strongly disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling antisemitism and significantly more see the extreme political right as more of a serious threat to them than the extreme political left. The telephone survey of 1,283 Jewish adults conducted from Sept. 11 to Oct. 6 found that 88 percent of respondents believe antisemitism is a problem: 50 percent as “somewhat of a problem” and 38 percent as a “very serious” problem. Asked if antisemitism had increased over the past five years, 84 percent said it had: 43 percent said a lot, and 41 said somewhat. Just 2 percent of respondents said they had been victims of a physical antisemitic attack over the same time frame, but 23 percent said they had been the target of an antisemitic remark in person, by mail or over the phone, and
20 percent said they had been targeted through social media. “American Jews could not be clearer about the reality of antisemitism in the U.S.,” the American Jewish Committee’s CEO, David Harris, said in a news release Oct. 23. “Our survey provides, for the first time, an in-depth assessment of American Jewish perceptions of, and experiences with, antisemitism in their own country. This hatred is real, comes from multiple sources, and is growing. It needs to be taken seriously and dealt with in a sustained, multi-pronged response.” Asked if they approve or disapprove of Trump’s handling of antisemitism, 72 percent said they disapprove — 62 percent strongly — and 24 percent approve. Trump has spoken out forcefully at times against antisemitism, but also has equivocated at times, notably after the deadly neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. He also has downplayed the threat of violent white nationalism. The president’s overall ratings saw similar numbers: 76 percent unfavorable and 22 percent favorable.
Buying & Selling Video Games & Systems
0: 1 8 es ning
Gradlor in Trai ble!
aila nse Cou tions av posi PAGE 8
®
Electronics, Movies, Music & More Mon thru Sat 10 - 9, Sun 10 - 6
1133 Brown St. Dayton • 228-6399 secondtimearound.com THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
THE WORLD Respondents mostly identified as liberal, at 56 percent, and Democrats, 53 percent; 21 percent each identified as “middle of the road” and conservative. Fourteen percent said they were Republicans and 23 percent Independents. They were likelier to perceive a threat from the far right and radical Muslims than they did from the left. The extreme right posed a threat for 89 percent of respondents, including 49 percent who said it was very serious and 29 percent calling it moderately serious. Asked about “extremism in the name of Islam,” 85 percent said it posed a threat: 27 percent each said it was very serious and moderately serious, and 31 percent calling it slight. Asked about extremism from the extreme left, 64 percent identified it as a threat, with a total of 36 percent calling it very serious or moderately serious and 28 percent saying the threat is slight. Respondents seemed likelier to see the threat emerging from the far right, with 49 percent calling it very serious as opposed to 15 percent from the far left. Asked about political parties’ responsibility for current levels of antisemitism, respondents rated Republicans at 6.2 on a scale with 10 as the highest, while Democrats came in at 3.6. Nearly two-thirds of respondents were familiar or somewhat familiar with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. Twenty-four percent weren’t familiar with BDS. Of the 1,013 respondents who had at
least some familiarity with the movement, 35 percent characterized it as “mostly antisemitic,” 47 percent said it had “some antisemitic supporters” and 14 percent said it was not antisemitic. Asked to characterize the statement “Israel has no right to exist,” 84 percent of respondents said it was antisemitic. They also were asked about two other statements: “The U.S. government only supports Israel because of Jewish money” and “American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America.” The former was seen as antisemitic by 80 percent and the latter by 73 percent. Asked if they “avoid certain places, events, or situations out of concern for your safety or comfort as a Jew,” 25 percent of respondents said they did, while 31 percent said they avoided “Publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying things that might help people identify you as a Jew.” The survey didn’t break down those numbers to assess whether the core issue was safety or comfort, nor did it place the question in a time frame. There are factors not having to do with anti-semitism that inhibit Jewish participation in certain things — many Orthodox Jews, for instance, will not enter a church because of religious prohibitions. Notably, just 5 percent avoided “Visiting Jewish institutions or participating in Jewish events because you would not feel safe there.” The AJC said the survey, conducted by SSRS, had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.
Local Christian groups gift Torah scroll to central German Jewish community of Thuringia Halle,” a city in the state of Saxony-AnBy Toby Axelrod, JTA halt, where an armed neo-Nazi attemptBERLIN — The Jewish Community ed to storm the local synagogue on Yom of Thuringia in central Germany will Kippur. The gunman, who shot to death receive a new Torah scroll from Christian groups. The gift comes a year ahead two people outside of the synagogue, was apprehended. of the launch of Nine Michael Sander/Wikimedia Commons Antisemitism in Germany Centuries of Jewish life in today is a reminder that Thuringia. many citizens do not know or Reinhard Schramm, appreciate how Jews have enhead of the Jewish orgariched life here, the Christian nization that represents groups said in a statement some 700 members in announcing their gift. In May, this former East Gerthe groups joined with the man state, called the gift from the Protestant The Old Synagogue of Erfurt Jewish community to propose a yearlong celebration Church of Central Germany and the Catholic Diocese of Erfurt of Thuringia’s 900-year Jewish heritage. The theme year, approved by the an “important symbol of solidarity and Thuringia legislature, will begin in Octosupport of our religious life.” ber 2020 and will focus on Jewish life in Berlin-based Torah scribe Reuven cities and rural areas, from the Middle Yaacobov inscribed the scroll’s first Ages to today. letter Oct. 23 in ceremonies at the The state also will submit an applicaNew Synagogue, Erfurt’s only active tion for a UNESCO World Heritage Site synagogue. Regional Protestant Bishop for the Old Synagogue in Erfurt, one of Friedrich Kramer and Catholic Bishop Europe’s best preserved medieval synaUlrich Neymeyr spoke at the event. gogues. It has housed a museum of local Schramm called their support “all Jewish history since 2009. the more urgent in view of the events in
Windows
Through Time A Grand Gala to Celebrate our 125 Years Beth Abraham Synagogue 1894 - 2019
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED for Cocktails, Dinner & Entertainment on Sunday, December 8th at Five-Thirty in the Evening MENU OF EVENTS 5:30 pm Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres Open Bar provided 6:30 pm Stationed Dinner 8:45 pm Live Entertainment featuring Six13, a Jewish A Cappella vocal group ATTENDANCE COST $125 per person DRESS CODE Cocktail Attire R.S.V.P. By November 22 to 293-9520
Sunday Brunch Speaker Series 10 a.m. • $7 • R.S.V.P. to 293-9520 Nov. 3: Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Attorney Jessica Ramos, Immigration in the Trump Era, Continued. Nov. 10 Veterans Day Brunch: Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Paul Cooper, Implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Nov. 24: Diane Herman, League of Women Voters, 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Beth Abraham, Dayton’s only Conservative synagogue, is enthusiastically egalitarian and is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. For a complete schedule of our events and times, go to bethabrahamdayton.org. Service Schedule: Mornings, Mon. & Thurs., 7 a.m.; Tues., Wed., Fri., 7:15 a.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Evenings, Mon.-Fri., 5:30 p.m. Sat. Morning Service, 9 a.m.; Youth Service, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush lunch following.
305 Sugar Camp Circle • Dayton, Ohio 45409 937-293-9520 • bethabrahamdayton.org
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 9
OPINION
Rebuilding bridges
candidates who no longer simply mouth the old proIsrael platitudes. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor By Douglas Bloomfield Pete Buttigieg and others have indicated that as For the second time this year, Israeli Prime Minister president they would consider conditioning U.S. aid Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a governing on changing Israeli policies on peace, settlements and coalition, and now Benny Gantz, leader of the Bluetreatment of the Palestinians. Netanyahu didn’t win White party which actually came in first in Septema friend in Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden; when ber’s election, will get a chance. Biden was vice president, Netanyahu sought to humiliGantz is open to a coalition with the Likud party but ate him during a 2010 visit by timing his arrival with not with Netanyahu, who wants a rotating premiership an announcement of expanded West Bank settlements. with him going first, and not with Netanyahu’s overGantz has a lot to clean up if he is prime minister. size baggage — an array of religious and nationalist The Democrats won’t abandon Israel, but that relationextremist parties. Gantz, a former army chief of staff, ship needs repairs, starting with “substantially” changwants a centrist, secular government and refuses to ing the rhetoric and openness on both sides, advised partner with anyone facing criminal corruption indictSteve Rabinowitz, a veteran Democratic consultant. ment, as Netanyahu is. Netanyahu made no secret of his animosity toward Netanyahu is adamant about going first in the rotathe two most recent Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton tion because his top priority is enacting a law giving a and Barack Obama. He made alliances with Republisitting PM immunity from prosecution. cans to undermine their policies, notably on peace and If Gantz succeeds, it could begin healing the deepen- Iranian nuclear ambitions. ing rift between Israel and American Jewry, one created The next prime minister will need to come to Washin no small part by Netanyahu. ington to establish a close working relationship with The other day a Jewish friend asked me the administration and avoid becoming a poTomer Neuberg/Flash90 if American Jews and the Democratic party litical player by plunging into partisan politics, would continue — or even accelerate — their as Netanyahu did. drift from commitment to the Jewish state Trump has already showed signs he’s ready if Netanyahu gets a record fifth term and to toss Bibi under the bus. When early voting builds another coalition anchored by his returns that showed Netanyahu might lose, extremist allies. And then he asked if Israel Trump, who hates losers and rapidly distances elects a centrist government that is serious himself from them, said, “Our relationship is about peace and reconciliation with the Palwith Israel.” In other words, bye-bye Bibi. estinians, will the Republicans and evangeliAfter the next government takes office, cal Christians desert the Jewish state? Trump is expected to unveil his peace “deal As Israeli leaders go through the throes of the century.” According to most accounts, Blue & White Israeli it is likely to fall with a dull thud. It has been of trying to create a new coalition, they are focused inward and last thing on their mind political party leader designed with Bibi in mind by two of his loyalmay be rebuilding the nation’s deteriorating Benny Gantz ists, first son-in-law Jared Kushner and Amb. bipartisan consensus in America, its best friend and David Friedman, a pair of pro-settlement Orthodox defender. That would be a mistake. Jews. Little wonder the Palestinians have preemptively Under Netanyahu the Israeli government has emrejected it. braced evangelical Christians and largely Orthodox Unlike Netanyahu, Gantz has said he believes the and politically conservative Jews, seemingly unworried Palestinians are partners for peacemaking, although that liberal American Jews and the Democratic party, he has been vague about just what approach he has in which most Jews support, have drifted away. mind. Netanyahu, if he is leader of the opposition, will Netanyahu has wrenched Israel away from the hiscontinue to undermine any peace negotiations. toric bipartisan consensus on Israel to forge a close and It will take a lot of work by a new prime minister very partisan alliance with a president and a Republiif the rift between Israel and American Jewry is to be can party that three out of four American Jewish voters repaired. Here are some steps he should consider: oppose as antithetical to the issues and principles they 1. Meet the Jews. I’m not talking about stroking the support, both domestic and international. wealthy donors and the machers in the board rooms While Americans overwhelmingly view Israel favor- of the moribund organizations and oxymoronic Jewish ably, that does not extend to that country’s governleaders who speak mostly for themselves. Get around ment, which is viewed unfavorably by the majority. to the communities that still love Israel but not its govThe younger the voters, regardless of party, the less ernment. Do a lot of listening. inclined they are to have a positive view of today’s 2. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Show that Israel respects the Israel. legitimacy of all strains of Judaism. Start by reviving Jews voted over 75 percent Democratic in the last the deal Bibi reneged upon to recognize Reform and two elections and that number could grow next year. Conservative Jewish rights at the Western Wall. President Trump’s favors for Israel — including mov3. Repeal the “Jewish Nation-State Law” that makes ing the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem — apparently have non-Jews second class citizens in their own country, not changed things, which led Trump to accuse Jewish and rejects Jews not converted by rabbis approved by voters of being disloyal. His calling the Democratic the ultra-Orthodox religious monopoly. party anti-Israel and anti-Jewish backfired, especially 4. Show you are serious about making peace with when Netanyahu essentially tried to ignore the whole the Palestinians and keeping long-standing promises fiasco. to improve the quality of life for Israeli Arabs. His fear of offending Trump further wides the chasm To answer the question my friend posed at the top and shows it cannot be repaired until he is out of office, of this column, I don’t think either party will abandon and even then, it will take a great deal of work. Israel, but that is not enough. Bridging the widening Netanyahu shares many of the traits that are so ofchasms — between the major political parties here and fensive in Trump, including his demonizing of critics as between American Jews and the Jewish state — will traitors and his war on the media. And like Trump, he take a lot of work and a lot of listening. It can’t be done is cozying up to antisemites, human rights abusers and overnight but, as the Chinese proverb says, a journey of autocrats in Russia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Brazil, a thousand miles begins with a single step. the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. Polls and reports on political contributions show Douglas Bloomfield is a freelance columnist based in Jews are strongly supporting Democratic presidential Washington, D.C.
PAGE 10
Why the U.S. can’t escape the Middle East
By Jonathan S. Tobin The excuses President Donald Trump and his loyal fans continue to put forward for his disastrous decision to give Turkey a green light to invade Syria continue to be as foolish as they are disingenuous. Pretending that it’s not really a betrayal to leave loyal Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS to the tender mercies of an authoritarian and murderous Turkish regime determined to destroy them doesn’t pass the smell test. The same is true of efforts to argue that the Kurds aren’t worth our sympathy because they weren’t with us “at Normandy,” as the president preposterously claimed. Trashing that brave people because they’re not “all angels” or because they are politically divided is unworthy of a superpower that not long ago was arming and training the same people to do the dirty work in a war against an enemy of America that Americans didn’t want to fight anymore. But these terrible arguments were just a smokescreen for something that has little to do with the Kurds, whom most Americans couldn’t care less about, or the admittedly complicated politics of Syria and the Middle East. Americans are tired of foreign conflicts. That’s why, no matter how absurd Trump’s selfjustifications for his policy blunder might be or how comically inept his letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was as he vainly sought to mitigate the damage he had already done, there’s no sign that his moves there is doing him any political damage. Trump’s instinctive neo-isolationism and talk about opposing endless wars may be wrongheaded, but it’s not unpopular — and there are good reasons for that. Americans paid a high price in dealing with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The war in Afghanistan was an unavoidable response to Al-Qaeda’s assault on America, yet after 18 years of inconclusive fighting, the reason why that was necessary has been largely forgotten. The decision to invade Iraq turned out to be a mistake, not least because it had the unintended effect of strengthening neighboring Iran. As Trump’s predecessor learned, escaping that conflict wound up being a lot more complicated than ordering troop pullouts and a president claiming that he had “ended” the war. That’s what President Barack Obama did in Iraq, and the American people cheered. Many of the same people are cheering Trump’s decision to get out of Syria and leave the Kurds to fend for themselves. Trump’s crude rhetoric about the Kurds is indefensible, but it’s easy to see why his comments about avoiding spilling another drop of American blood in the Middle East resonate with the public. Even many supporters of Israel are backing him on this decision, though the consensus in the Jewish state is that the American retreat from Syria and its encouragement of Turkish depredations are a blow to the security of Israel and the region, as well as a humanitarian disaster for the Kurds. Part of this is a matter of blind partisanship. In our current bifurcated political culture, most of the public takes their cue as to how to think about the issues from the president and his opponents, rather than contemplating current events for themselves. If Trump is for it — even if it is something they would have lauded had it come from a Democratic president — most Democrats will still oppose it, as Trump’s stand on Jerusalem illustrated. The same was true with respect to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Pro-Israel Democrats would have called
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
OPINION it appeasement and a disgrace had GOP president made such a deal. But since it was Obama doing the appeasing, they fell into line and supported it without batting an eye. The same people who applauded Obama’s bug out from Iraq are condemning Trump for similar conduct. Still, there is more to this problem than partisan hypocrisy. As Obama discovered after his withdrawal from Iraq and humiliating “red line” fiasco in Syria, the price of dishonor can be quite high. Having washed his hands of those countries and punted their fate to Iran and Russia, it wasn’t long before a new threat arose. The establishment of ISIS and its socalled caliphate in large portions of Syria and Iraq was the logical consequence of Obama’s policies. As that terror group expanded the territory under its control (and videos of the hideous atrocities it was committing went viral), Obama had little choice but to reverse course on commit to fighting ISIS. Trump made an issue of the failure of Obama’s half-hearted campaign against ISIS and vowed that he would defeat the group. And that’s exactly what he did after winning the 2016 election. But with ISIS largely but not completely defeated, he has now reverted to his instinctual isolationism, vowing to escape any more involvement in Syria and leaving the Kurds to their own devices after years of promises by America that they would not be abandoned. Some Americans outside the Beltway including some supporters of Israel have no problem with what he’s done in Syria because they are blind supporters of the president. Others share his ignorance of a complex conflict and see no reason why Americans should be part of it. As Obama found out after ISIS atrocities aroused the anger of the public, Trump or his successor will have to respond to Turkish atrocities or those of the next Islamist terror group that will fill the vacuum he is creating by withdrawing U.S. forces. Islamist terror is an international problem, and not just something Israelis and Arabs have to worry about. Israel can defend itself, but actions that make its neighborhood even more dangerous undermine its security. More than that, allowing Turkey and Iran to do as they like in the region ultimately harms everyone, including Americans who have yet to absorb the fact that their safety is no longer ensured by the oceans that separate them from other continents. Unfortunately, Republicans and Democrats who still imagine that Americans can simply go home and avoid further involvement in the wars of the Middle East are engaging in magical thinking rather than supporting a coherent strategy.
Jojo Rabbit doesn’t glorify Nazis — it’s a lesson in how hate is taught
Kimberley French/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Why is it funny? Well, because By Emily Burack Waititi’s Hitler is not really Hitler. Jojo Rabbit sounds like a film Not the historical version of that is difficult to pull off amid Hitler. the state of rising antisemitism in “He’s a 10-year-old kid’s 2019. version of Hitler. So he doesn’t It’s a comedy set during the have to share anything with Holocaust about a 10-year-old actual Hitler because 10-year-olds German boy being brainwashed never meet Hitler. He’s basically a by Nazi ideology and his imagi10-year-old who happens to have nary friend — a playful version a tiny little mustache,” Waititi of Hitler who likes to dance. told Deadline. But before you get outraged or “I didn’t have to do any assume it downplays the horrors research, and I didn’t do any of the Holocaust, like multiple research. I didn’t base him on critics have argued already, take anything I’d seen about Hitler a deep breath: Jojo Rabbit is a very before. I just made him a version good movie with a meaningful of myself that happened to have message. a bad haircut and a shitty little First, the basics. The film is Taika Waititi (L) wrote and directed Jojo Rabbit. Roman mustache. And a mediocre Gerwritten and directed by Taika Griffin Davis (R) co-stars. man accent.” Waititi — a Maori (indigenous Waititi cast himself as Hitler afpeople of New Zealand) Jew ter a frustrating search. When he started most recognized for writing and directand continue to remind ourselves that filming, he wrote on Twitter, “What beting the recent Thor: Ragnarok movie — there’s no place in this world for hate. who also stars as Hitler. His version of Children are not born with hate, they are ter way to insult Hitler than having him portrayed by a Polynesian Jew?” the Führer is the imaginary projection of trained to hate.” As I watched, I kept going back to a boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) Throughout it all, the viewer is never that quote in my head. What would who is set on joining the Hitler Youth. allowed to forget that Jojo is a 10-yearmake Hitler angrier than to be portrayed Jojo discovers early on that his mom old. Near the end, Jojo’s friend Yorki (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish (Archie Yates) is overwhelmed by all the by a Jewish person of color? To be fair, our mere existence as Jewish people girl in their attic. The two kids develop fighting and tells Jojo, “I need a cuddle. would probably be enough to inspire an unlikely friendship, and their relaNothing makes sense anymore.” anger in a long-dead Hitler. tionship is at the heart of the film. These are kids, Jojo Rabbit reminds Some have argued that despite its Though the movie is set during the us, thrust into a hateful world. They can good intentions, the film does not twilight of Hitler’s reign in Germany, still be taught the power of love and handle the subject matter sensitively Jojo is still trained to hate, and the imacceptance. enough — just as Roberto Benigni’s 1997 pact of the Nazi ideology on the young boy is clear. He believes ardently in the Writer/director experienced prejudice Oscar-winning film Life is Beautiful was critiqued for producing comedy in a antisemitic conspiracy theories about Waititi drew on his own background World War II setting. Jews, and that only begins to change to create the film. He grew up in the Keith Uhlich wrote in IndieWire that when he befriends Elsa (Thomasin McK- Raukokore region of New Zealand. His the movie contains too many antisemitic enzie), the Jewish girl in the attic. mom is Russian Jewish, and his dad is stereotypes that are “consistently utiBut Jojo is vulnerable at his core and Te Whanau-a-Apanui, a Maori tribe. lized for easy guffaws” instead of teachjust wants to be one of the cool kids. In “Most of the prejudice I’ve experiing moments. Hannah Woodhead wrote World War II Germany, they happened enced has been because of the color of in Little White Lies that the film feels too to be the Nazis. my skin,” he explains. “Traditionally eager to point out “that there were good At one point, Elsa tells him, “You’re in New Zealand, there’s been prejudice Nazis, too.” not a Nazi.” He responds, “I’m masagainst Maori people. I did experience There’s a running gag in the film sively into swastikas.” that growing up, and I learned to kind The premise of the film — a boy who of brush it off, which is not a great thing, that involves characters saying “Heil Hitler” back and forth to each other. A believes in Nazi ideology begins to learn but you do what you have to do. that Jews are human — and the fact that “Still, I think I wound up subverting a new character who walks into the room greets each person with a “Heil Hitler,” the viewer feels for this shamelessly lot of these feelings into comedy. That’s and they reply in turn. The scenes full of Nazi boy feels absurd. why I feel very comfortable poking fun “Heils” stretch slightly too long — but Yet it’s absolutely necessary viewing. at the people who think it’s clever to that is exactly the point. The ominous Not because we need to learn Jews are hate someone for who they are.” phrase has been rid of its terror and human, but because we must be reIn that sense, he is following in the turned into an awkward joke. minded of how easy it is for children to footsteps of Mel Brooks. Jojo Rabbit isn’t trying to be a typical be indoctrinated into hate. “If you can reduce Hitler to someHolocaust film. It’s about understanding Waititi, 44, calls the film an “anti-hate thing laughable, you win,” the famed what makes people hate — how they satire.” Jewish comedian once said. are taught so early to hate — and truly “I experienced a certain level of And Waititi’s Hitler is funny. He is prejudice growing up as a Maori Jew,” sassy. He is ridiculous. His arms flop all laughing at them. he writes in the film’s production notes. over the place when he runs. I laughed Emily Burack is an associate editor at 70 Making the film in 2019 “has been a out loud at many of his lines. Hitler is Faces Media, where she primarily writes played for laughs, even as the audience Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS — reminder, especially now, that we need for Alma and Kveller. to educate our kids about tolerance is mindful this is Hitler. Jewish News Syndicate.
So, what do you think?
Send letters (350 words max.) to The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459 • MWeiss@jfgd.net
Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 11
THE WORLD
Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue building will reopen as a ‘center for Jewish life in the United States’ Hane Grace Yagel
Yiddish Book Center
Harold Bloom dreamed in Yiddish until his death Harold Bloom spoke with the Yiddish Book Center weeks before his death
A memorial for the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh
The Tree of Life synagogue building, the site of an attack a year ago that left 11 worshippers dead, will reopen as a “center for Jewish life in the United States.” The Tree of Life Congregation issued a statement to announce its new vision for the building Oct. 18. The home of three different congregations has not reopened since the attack on Oct. 27, 2018. The shooting left the building “unsuitable for worship,” according to the statement. It was in need of serious repair and renovation before the attack took place, the statement mentioned. Tree of Life’s vision for the future of the property calls for the space to be a “cooperative and collaborative space that brings together stakeholders in a shared environment that includes places for Jewish worship memorial, education and social engagement, exhibit space for archival historical artistic expression, as well as classrooms and training spaces.” The idea was announced to the congregation during Yom Kippur services. “We are poised to become an incredible center for Jewish life in the United States,” Tree of Life’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said in a statement. “When we reopen, and we most certainly will, I want the entire world to say, ‘Wow, look at what they have done.’ To do anything less disrespects the memory of our 11 martyrs.” — Marcy Oster, JTA
By Gabe Friedman, JTA NEW YORK — Many obituaries of Harold Bloom, the lion of American literary criticism who passed away on Oct. 14 at 89, mention that he was born to Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Few mention his lifelong love of Yiddish, and particularly Yiddish theatre, which he grew up watching in New York. In what was likely one of Bloom’s last interviews, recorded a few weeks before his death, he spoke with the Yiddish Book Center for its Wexler Oral History Project. The project has shared some highlights of the interview with JTA. “I still dream in Yiddish” “As a very small child, 3, 4 years old, I was sent to Sholem Aleichem schools…they were all over the Bronx. So, pretty good early education that was strictly in Yiddish…But to this day my English is very curious because I learned it only through the eye and not through the ear. I didn’t, in fact, hear English spoken until I was about 51/2. I was a preternaturally early reader and at 5 or 6, I was already reading Shakespeare and trying to read Milton and so on. But English is, of course, a very peculiar language, as Bernard Shaw complains, the orthography and the pronunciation have nothing in common. So to this day, I speak my own curious, inflected English. It doesn’t sound like anybody else’s. So as far as I’m concerned, I still dream in Yiddish.” On whether he still read Yiddish “Of course. Jabotinsky did a (Yiddish) version of Dante. I’ve been writ-
ing about Dante recently, and reading it in the Italian. I looked at Jabotinsky’s (Yiddish) translation, which is very strange. A very strange man, Jabotinsky. But there’s a sadness in all of it because I doubt that there’s one Jew alive today in Odessa.” “The first book I ever owned was a New Testament in Yiddish” “Funnily enough, the first book I ever owned myself, and it still strikes me as hilarious, was a New Testament in Yiddish. One day, the doorbell rang and a missionary handed it to me. So I read it years later, since I became a classics major at Cornell...We spent a semester reading the New Testament...Even as a child, I conceived a virulent dislike of it, which I’ve made clear many times, saying that indeed it should be called the Belated Testament and Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the Original Testament. One of my many ways of making enemies, of whom God knows I have a plethora.” “A lot of the best poetry written in the United States is in Yiddish” “A lot of the best poetry written in the United States is in Yiddish… Moyshe-Leyb Halpern in particular, he was an amazing poet. “The Yiddish Baudelaire,” they called him, but he’s not at all like Baudelaire. He is quite unique…The humor. Violently funny. The mastery of the language. Unfortunately, he was dead before my time. I knew (Jacob) Glatstein pretty well. He was not as unlikable as (Isaac) Bashevis (Singer), but he wasn’t a very sweet person.” “The first Shakespeare plays I ever saw were in Yiddish”
Are you reading this? BMB
So is the entire Jewish community. Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer. Observer mascot Bark Mitzvah Boy
PAGE 12
“My three wonderful older sisters steadily took me to the Second Avenue Theatre. Unfortunately, Thomashefsky and Jacob Adler were already gone, but Maurice Schwartz was there. The first Shakespeare plays I ever saw were in Yiddish at the Second Avenue Theatre and I will never forget my experience. This is about 1938 and I’m 8 years old. The magnificent Maurice Schwartz is Shylock. But this has all been marvelously rewritten, in Yiddish — as they said, farbesert — improved. “Schwartz was an enormous man. He had a gigantic black beard and a big booming voice, and he played the histrionic old Russian style, like Jacob Adler and Thomashefsky. So there he is, waiving an enormous scalpel, and he’s approaching Antonio, the trembling sheygetz (non-Jew), who is stripped to the waist and suddenly with a histrionic shudder that you could feel all through the Second Avenue Theatre, Maurice Schwartz drops the scalpel and screams out ‘Ikh bin dokh a yid,’ which is of course untranslatable. It’s like — well, after all I’m Jewish and we don’t do this sort of thing. At which, the play stopped and I got used to this at the Second Avenue Theater. Everybody in the audience cheered. Schwartz ran from one side of the stage to the other, interrupting the performance, bowing and throwing kisses to the women in the audience. Women dashed forward throwing roses at him. It became a sort of general tumult. It was 20 minutes before the play could resume. I loved it.” “Death of a Salesman…works beautifully as a Yiddish tragedy” “I never thought much of Death of a Salesman until an actor with whom I was close, Joseph Buloff, translated it into Yiddish and acted the part of Willy Loman, and he invited me to see it in New York. It was marvelous. The whole point is it works beautifully as a Yiddish tragedy, but makes no sense as an American tragedy. But in Yiddish as rendered by Buloff and acted by Buloff, it had real power.” On describing Yiddish culture “My favorite Yiddish proverb I translate, ‘Sleep faster, we need the pillows.’ That’s the essence of it. Compassionate, and conducting a kind of implicit quarrel with God. Remember the great statement of Benya Krik in Babel’s great story How It Was In Odessa? After his hoods have shot this highly meek and gentle Jewish clerk, a mother is complaining. And Benya says, magnificently, ‘All right, so I made a mistake. Even God makes mistakes. He could have put us in Switzerland surrounded by nothing but thousands of lakes and millions of Frenchies, but where did he put us? Here, in godforsaken Russia.’”
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
Highlights JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES
ABOVE, LEFT: Lisa Barr, journalist and author talks life, giving back, and her newest book at the Women's Event
Brunch on October 20. PHOTO CREDIT: Mendy Fedtowsky ABOVE, RIGHT: Ehud Borovoy and daughter Zoey pet a friendly goat during the PJ Library Down on the Farm event on October 6. PHOTO CREDIT: Katie Lehner
ABOVE: JFS Advisory Board members and volunteers distribute over 100 holiday outreach bags to those who live
isolated and alone or to those who live in continuum of care facilities. PHOTO CREDIT: Amy Dolph THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 13
November events JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES F 1
SATURDAY 2 JCC Dayton Junior Youth Group Game Night (6th-8th grade) 7:45-9:30PM @ Gaming Adventures (320 W. National Rd. Englewood 45322) Join your friends and meet new ones for a fun evening of video and board games. $10 for 2 hours of games.
S M T 3 4 5
WEDNESDAY 6 JCC CABS - Matthew Goodman 7PM @ Carillon Brewing Company (1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton 45409). The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team tells the thrilling and heartbreaking story of the City College Beavers, which in 1950 became the only team ever to win the NIT and NCAA basketball tournaments in the same year, only to be embroiled in a point shaving scandal the very next year. $5 in advance/$8 at the door
MON 11
TUE 12
WED 13
THU 14
WEDNESDAY 20 JFS ACTIVE ADULTS Active Adults Dine Around 5PM @ MCL Cafeteria (4485 Far Hills Ave., Kettering 45429) Join the JFS Active Adults for a Dine Around at MCL cafeteria before heading to the JCC’s Cultural Arts and Books Series, The Color of Love, with Author Marra Gad at the Wright Memorial Public Library.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO RSVP (unless noted): 937-610-1555 www.jewishdayton.org
THURSDAY 7 YAD (AGES 21-35) YAD (ages 21-35) Wild Axe Throwing 7-8PM @ Wild Axe Throwing (3251 Seajay Drive, Beavercreek, 45430) Enjoy Wild Axe Throwing with YAD! No cost.
FRIDAY 15 JCC EARLY CHILDHOOD Early Childhood Share Shabbat and Silent Auction 9 - 10:30AM @ the Boonshoft CJCE Early Childhood families, friends and special guests take part in our Friday Shabbat celebration with music, singing, and sharing of challah and grape juice. The Early Childhood Silent Auction also runs concurrently in the lobby and all proceeds benefit Early Childhood.
M SUNDAY 17 LIFE & LEGACY 18 LIFE & LEGACY Celebration 5:30PM @ Carillon Park Transportation Center (1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton 45439) LIFE & LEGACY donors are welcome to enjoy an evening of music, drinks, and Israeli cuisine as we thank them for the commitment they've made to Dayton's Jewish community. By invitation only.
RSVPs due at least 1 week before event. Events with no price listed are free.
WEDNESDAY 6 JFGD Men's Event @ Carillon Brewing Company 6-6:45PM @ Carillon Brewing Company (1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton 45409) Join friends for drinks before joining the JCC’s Cultural Arts and Books Series, The City Game, with Author Matthew Goodman.
FRI SAT SUN 8 9 10
SAT 16
TUESDAY 19 PJ LIBRARY & HILLEL ACADEMY Special Performance of "Believe, Belong, Become: A Play About Jewish Values" 9:30AM @ the Boonshoft CJCE. Hillel Academy students give JCC Preschool students ages three and up a special performance of their original play. Hillel families and PJ Library families are welcome to attend. This performance is in collaboration with a grant from PRIZMAH, between PJ Library and Hillel Academy.
WEDNESDAY 20 JCC CABS - Marra Gad 7-9PM @ Wright Memorial Public Library (1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood 45419). Join us as Marra shares her Memoir, The Color of Love: a Memoir of a Mixed Race Jewish Girl and discusses how since her adoption, Marra has always had trouble finding a community that would accept her. She is not “black enough” for black spaces and, in the Jewish community, she has often been cast aside or disrespected.
SATURDAY 23 JCC & PJ LIBRARY Kids' Night Out 7-9PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE Join your friends for a parent-free night of games and fun with the JCC and PJ Library! We’ll celebrate havdalah together then enjoy outdoor and indoor games, crafts and snacks! $15 per child, Grades K-7. Please be sure to dress for the weather! We will go outside if it’s not raining.
SUN 24
MON 25
TUE 26
WED 27
THU 28
FRI 29
T F 21 22
SAT 30
SEE YOU IN DECEMBER!
Learn something new with the JCC! MAHJONGG AND CANASTA GAMES If you have a table who would like to play, please call Amy Dolph at (937) 401-1551.
PAGE 14
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
Announcements JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES
JCRC Welcomes New Director, Marcy L. Paul, PhD The Jewish Federation is pleased to announce that Marcy L. Paul, PhD will be joining Federation staff as JCRC Director. Marcy will be working remotely from Texas until she arrives in Dayton full-time later in December. As the JCRC Director, Marcy will be responsible for managing the public affairs arm of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. In this capacity she will be responsible for working with a volunteer led committee dedicated to educating the Jewish community on a broad range of issues, building consensus, and representing the Jewish community to the community at large. In addition, Marcy will also spearhead our Partnership2Gether activities with the Western Galilee.
A Biss'l Mamaloshen
Marcy comes to us in Dayton with a strong background in social justice and community organizing. She has a MA in Communication and a PhD in Multi- Cultural Women’s and Gender studies. Marcy has been a volunteer leader with our Partnership consortium where she is currently the U.S. Academic Chair.
Shild
| SHILD | Noun
Masculine/Feminine Pl. Shildn: A shield, sign, signboard. Phrases with Shild: 1 Geyn vi a shildkroy
to walk like a tortoise. 2 Raykh vi Roytshild as rich as a Rothschild.
The Jewish Community Relations Council serves as the voice of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton on issues of public policy, social advocacy, and community outreach. We represent Dayton’s Jewish community on issues that impact the rights of the individual.
DAY TO N
JCRC
Expression with Shild: 1 Genug hot Roytshild
Only Rothschild has enough (i.e. everyone needs money).
Jewish Community Relations Council
Ensure the Jewish institutions you are thankful for today can grow into the future. For more information, please contact Janese R. Sweeny, Esq. at jsweeny@jfgd.net or (937) 401-1542.
&
Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials FEDERATION
THE RESILIENCE SCHOLARSHIP FUND IN HONOR OF › Birthday of Kellie Weckstein Caryl and Donald Weckstein IN MEMORY OF › Dan Weckstein Caryl and Donald Weckstein Milton Nathan Bethany Gale Kimberly Hewitt Maxine and Jeffrey Hoffman PJ LIBRARY FUND IN HONOR OF › New home of Marcia and Ed Kress Cheryl and Rick Carne
DOROTHY B. MOYER YOUNG LEADERSHIP FUND IN HONOR OF › Kate Elder receiving the Dorothy B. Moyer Award The Moyer Family JCC
HARRIS ABRAHAMS DAYTON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER CHILDREN’S (DJCC) THEATER FUND IN MEMORY OF › Alan Raphael › Gilda Fishbein Cheryl and Rick Carne
JFS
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES IN HONOR OF › Gratitude for Jewish Family Services Judy Schwartzman IN MEMORY OF › Paul Kuppin › Charlotte Horwitz Beverly and Jeffrey Kantor Penny and Jerry Spiegel › Alan Solkov Joyce Anderson › Paul Kuppin Ellen and Gary Gersh › Diane June Handler Beverly and Jeffrey Kantor
THE JEWISH FOUNDATION of GREATER DAYTON
Would you like to honor or memorialize someone in your life, all while making a meaningful impact on the Jewish community? Consider making a donation to a Jewish Foundation of Greater Dayton Fund. Tribute and memorial donations can be made for a variety of reasons. Contact us at 937-610-1555 for more information.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 15
Upcoming events JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES
Community Chanukah Party Thursday, December 19, 5:30-7:30PM
mitzvah mitzvah mitzvah mitzvah
Every Chanukah the JCC brings together the entire community to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Enjoy dinner, latkes, games, and activities for all ages.
mission mission
RSVP at jewishdayton.org
mission
Join us for mitzvot for all ages! Wednesday, December 25 10AM–NOON @ Boonshoft CJCE
Make scarves, no-sew rag dolls, and sack lunches for those in need. Light noshes will be served. Upcycle unwanted fabric! Bring old t-shirts or bed sheets with fun patterns to help make the rag dolls. No cost. RSVP at jewishdayton.org or call (937) 610-1555.
PAGE 16
KIDS NIGHT OUT
Saturday, November 23 7-9PM
Join your friends for a parent-free night of games and fun with the JCC and PJ Library! We’ll celebrate havdalah together then enjoy outdoor and indoor games, crafts and snacks! $15 per child, Grades K-7.
mi
mission
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES of GREATER DAYTON
m Please be sure to dress for the weather! We will go outside if it’s not raining.
&
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
THE WORLD Rafael
lesson learned from the destruction of multiple tanks by Hezbollah missile cells during the Second Lebanon War of 2006. Since being deployed in 2011, Trophy has saved many Israeli personnel on the battlefield. Now, it’s set to do the same for American soldiers. Other countries considering similar defense purchases The selection by the U.S. of Trophy is a statement on the global stage of its faith in Israeli defense technology. Several other nations could be next in line to purchase the system, including potential European clients such as Germany and Poland. Australia, which is also seeking to upgrade its land forces, is another likely buyer. Meanwhile, an American brigade of Bradley M2 armored vehicles is undergoing advanced trials with the Iron Rafael's trophy system on a U.S. M1 tank First Active Protection System, which is made by Israel’s Elbit Rafael teamed up with General company. By Yaakov Lappin, JNS production for thousands of Dynamics to equip Bradley Israeli defense corporation systems. Israeli defense companies Rafael has announced that it has The U.S. Army is in a rush to fighting vehicles with explosive have established cooperation reactive armor. delivered the first batch of Troinstall the system on its tanks with local partner companies In passive defenses, plates phy Active Protection System to because it urgently wants to since governments insist that of armor stop incoming threats the U.S. Army. send them to the European local firms conduct the marketTrophy, a system that was theatre, according to statements like anti-tank missiles and IEDs. ing, handle the transactions, In explosive reactive armor, ex- and most importantly, that the first deployed by the Israel De- by American military officials plosives sandwiched in between systems are locally produced. fense Forces in 2011 and which who manage combat vehicle armor plates set off the warhead has intercepted many threats upgrades. As a result, Rafael has teamed fired at Israeli armored vehicles, In the past, the United States of the incoming threat. up with U.S. contractor LeonActive protection is a breakwill eventually be installed onspent a great deal of money tryardo DRS, which specializes board four American M1 main ing to develop Active Protection through technology — one that in ground combat systems. Israel developed as a painful battle tank brigades, for both the Systems, but didn’t manage to Leonardo DRS is headquartered U.S. Army and Marine Corps. find one it was satisfied with. That the world’s most powerIt then looked beyond Ameriful military chose an Israeli accan shores for a solution. tive protection system to protect The armored brigades that the lives of its will receive An Independent Living Community tank crews is Active protection Trophy will historic. take part in is a breakthrough In Israel, American technology — one Trophy is deployments installed that Israel developed to Europe, onboard Mk3 dubbed and Mk4 Mer- as a lesson from Operation Atkava tanks, lantic Resolve, the destruction of and onboard which began multiple tanks by the advanced after Russia’s Hezbollah missile Namer arseizure of the mored person- cells during the Ukrainian nel vehicle. Crimea region Second Lebanon War in 2014. The It has made many sucUnited States cessful combat interceptions of is seeking to reassure European • Spacious 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Home anti-armor missiles and rockallies, and deploys infantry and ets, particularly those fired by armored forces as a result. • 1,500 Square Feet Gazan terror factions, with no Rafael has made major sales • 24 Hour Emergency Assistance injuries to Israeli personnel or to America before, including damage to platforms. Popeye air-to-surface missiles • Attached Garage • Security System Trophy’s radar is made by and electro-optic pods that help • Maintenance Free Living Israel Aerospace Industries sub- American aircraft gather critical sidiary, Elta. intelligence. The system has accumulated Israeli defense firm Plasan more than 600,000 operational Sasa has in the past sold the hours and underwent 4,000 suc- U.S. passive armor for thou2501 Keystone Club Drive cessful field tests. sands of vehicles, which saved Dayton, OH 45439 • www.wcreekoh.com It is now under contract for many lives. In previous years,
U.S. Army chooses Israeli system to protect tank crews
in Arlington, Va. According to a statement by Rafael, “the deliveries are the culmination of a multi-year qualification process. A joint team of government and industry from both the U.S. and Israel worked together to adapt and integrate Trophy for both Army and Marine Corps Abrams variants.” Leonardo DRS’s CEO, William J. Lynn, described Trophy as an “advanced defensive protection system for our front-line tanks to give our warfighters a needed layer of survivability against real and emerging battlefield threats.” He added that “our partnership between Leonardo DRS and Rafael has worked tirelessly to bring this battle-proven technology to the U.S. military while improving the system to meet the stringent needs and requirements from the customer.” Rafael CEO and president, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yoav Har-Even, described the first delivery as “a major milestone in U.S.-Israel cooperation. There is no greater pride and satisfaction than the knowledge that the technology developed by Rafael and Elta over many years of investment, trials and combat performance will play an instrumental part in safeguarding American lives, just like it has saved Israeli lives and revolutionized the way our armored forces perform their missions.”
Walnut Creek Terrace
AVAILABL E NOW!
Call Today! 299-0194
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
SENIOR LIVING CAMPUS
PAGE 17
THE MARVELOUS MR. MAZEL
Linda Weprin LindaMWeprinRealty.com
2018 DABR Sales Leader Award of Distinction
937-477-4734
Linda M. Weprin Realty Licensed Real Estate Agent for 30+ Years
Assisting you every step of the way!
Fall
in love
of the JCGC, and Ethan hopes it will be updated regularly. Ethan’s database led to a side project: placing a marker and flag holder at the grave of every Cincinnati Jewish veteran, which he hopes to complete by 2021. “We wanted basiScott cally to honor the Halasz veterans the same way we were honoring my grandpa,” Ethan said. He is purchasing the Ethan, the son of Dena E. markers and flag holdMason-Zied and Eric Zied, ers. He received an created a database of Cincinanonymous donation nati-area Jewish veterans after from three Cincinnati Ethan Zied with veterans grave markers at finding out no comprehensive residents, thanks to list existed. It gave his Eagle Walnut Hills Cemetery JCGC Executive DirecScout project a personal touch. Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30 tor David Harris, who made “I didn’t want to make my at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 1 a request for financial help. Eagle project something like, Ethan is still seeking additional at 3 p.m. at Stuart Sebastian ‘I’m building a bench’ because Auditorium, Springboro; Fria lot of people do the same sort money to purchase more grave day, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. markers and flag holders and of thing: ‘We’re going to build 7 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 8 has set up a gofundme.com something and see who wants at 3 p.m. at The Historic Baum account. As for his Eagle Scout it.’ I wanted it to be something Opera House, Miamisburg. that was important to me that I status, Ethan was hoping to Tickets are available at INNOfind out Oct. 22 or 23. could relate to myself,” Ethan, VAtheatre.com/Tickets. a sophomore at Springboro In addition to the perforWhen INNOVAtheatre High School, said. mances, INNOVAtheatre will presents Quilt, A Musical So with the help of his display six panels from the Celebration in conjunction with father, who started to compile original NAMES Project AIDS a database in 2015 and stopped this year’s World AIDS Day Memorial Quilt. The panels and the continuing celebration when his contacts in Cincinwill be on display three hours of 50 years of Stonewall, nati flamed out, Ethan leafed prior to each performance and familiar faces in the cast will through 20,000 records from the names of those listed on the include Tamar Fishbein, 1942 to 2018 at Weil Funeral quilt will be read during that Jamie Pavlofsky, and Ellie Home. time. Peace. Tamar and Jamie are “We basically took all the on the production team of JCC books and flipped through all The Max May and Lydia May Children’s Theatre, and Ellie the pages,” Ethan said. “We Memorial Holocaust Art and performs with the ensemble. just kept looking for that vetWriting Contest is calling for eran one, if they were a veteran Quilt is directed by Richard entries for its 2020 competition. Lee Waldeck with music and we wrote down their first The coming year’s theme orchestral direction by Brett name, last name.” is Liberation: Life After the Greenwood. Richard also Ethan found around 3,500 Holocaust; 2020 marks the 75th directs JCC Children’s Theatre at Weil and after eliminatanniversary of the liberation of productions and Brett is its ing those who were cremated the concentration camps and music director. Quilt celebrates and buried out of the area, he death camps in Europe. The and remembers those who and Eric ended up with about died from AIDS and those who art and writing contest is open 2,500 veterans buried at Jewish have survived or have been left to all area students in grades Cemeteries of Greater Cincinbehind. five to 12. It’s held under the nati sites. Performances are Friday, auspices of the Holocaust The list is now in the hands Education Committee of the Jewish Federation in memory Staffing Needs? Call The Professionals! of the grandparents of Renate Frydman, director of the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center. To receive an entry MANAGEMENT RECRUITERS form, contact Jodi Phares at jphares@jfgd.net. Ethan Zied’s desire to place a U.S. flag at the grave of his maternal grandfather, Howard Mason, has helped Ethan become an Eagle Scout candidate. And there’s a good chance as you read this that his project has been accepted.
Realtor/Broker Military Relocation Professional
with our beautiful Thanksgiving centerpieces.
Bring in this ad and receive $10 off your next in-store purchase of $60 or more*
1306 Troy Street • Dayton, Ohio 45404 (937) 223-1213 • furstflorist.com
Expires 12.31.2019. *Some exclusions apply. Not valid on wine, candy, or delivery
No one does fall better. Come in and see for yourself.
THE SHOPS OF OAKWOOD 2316 FAR HILLS AVE DAYTON OH 45419
937-224-7673
WWW.THEFLOWERSHOPPE.COM
OF DAYTON
BUILDING THE HEART OF BUSINESS
Are you reading this? So is the entire Jewish community. Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.
PAGE 18
228-8271
228-0060
Jeff Noble • mridayton.com • info@mridayton.com
Send your announcements to scotthalasz1@gmail.com.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Classes
Temple Beth Or Classes: Sat., Nov. 2, 10 a.m. & Sun., Nov. 17, 11 a.m.: Tanakh w. Rabbi Chessin. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 435-3400. Temple Israel Classes: Tues., Nov. 5, 6 p.m.: Cooking With Simone Sofian. $10. R.S.V.P. Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m.: Musar. Wed., Nov. 6, 20, 27, noon: Talmud. Thurs., Nov. 7, 14, 21, noon: Back to Basics (continues through May). Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.: Torah Study. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 496-0050.
Discussions
Temple Israel Ryterband Brunch Series: Sundays, 9:45 a.m. $7. Nov. 3, Rabbi Emeritus David Sofian, Who Was Asher Ginsberg and Why Should I Care? Nov. 10 (at Beth Abraham Synagogue, 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood), Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Paul Cooper, Implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Nov. 17, Dr. Richard Sarason, HUC-JIR, The Talmud Speaks Volumes About Hurtful Words. Nov. 24, Music & Program Dir. Courtney Cummings, Jewish Music Through The Ages. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. R.S.V.P. to 496-0050. Beth Abraham Synagogue Brunch Speaker Series: Sundays, 10 a.m. $7. Nov. 3, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Attorney Jessica Ramos, Immigration in the Trump Era, Continued. Nov. 10, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Paul Cooper, Implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Nov 24, Diane Herman, League of Women Voters, 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. R.S.V.P. to 293-9520.
Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr,. Dayton. 496-0050.
Children & Youths
JYG Game Night: Sat., Nov. 2, 7:45-9:30 p.m. Grades 6-8. At Gaming Adventures, 320 W. National Rd. R.S.V.P. to 6101555. JCC Kids Night Out: Sat., Nov. 23, 7-9 p.m. Grades K-7. $15. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. R.S.V.P. by Nov. 20, 610-1555. Chabad Kids — Exploring Silence: Sun., Nov. 24, 5-6:30 p.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 643-0770.
Young Adults
Wild Axe Throwing with YAD: Thurs., Nov. 7, 7 p.m. 3251 Seajay Dr., Beavercreek. Free. R.S.V.P. to 610-1555.
Women
Chabad Ladies’ Annual Shabbat Dinner: Fri., Nov. 1, 6 p.m. $36 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 643-0770 or chabaddayton.com.
Men
Jewish Federation Men’s Event @ Carillon Brewing Co.: Wed., Nov. 6, 6 p.m. Drinks prior to JCC’s event w. Author Matthew Goodman. 1000 Carillon Blvd., Kettering. R.S.V.P. to 610-1555.
Seniors
JFS Active Adults Dine Around at MCL: Wed., Nov. 20, 5 p.m. 4485 Far Hills Ave., Kettering. Before JCC event with author Marra B. Gad at Wright Memorial Public Library,
1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. R.S.V.P. for dinner (pay your own way) to 610-1555.
JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series
Matthew Goodman: Wed., Nov. 6, 7 p.m. Carillon Brewing Co., 1000 Carillon Blvd., Kettering. $5 advance, $8 at door. 610-1555 or jewishdayton. org.
Marra B. Gad: Wed., Nov. 20, 7 p.m. Wright Memorial Public Library, 1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. Free.
Community Events
Univ. of Dayton Kristallnacht Observance: Wed., Nov. 6, 5 p.m. Immaculate Conception Chapel. W. World Music Choir. Wright State Kristallnacht Program: Wed., Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. Stevie Ann Kremer, co-author, Samuel Heider’s memoir of Holocaust survival, Miracle of Miracles. WSU Student Union, Room 156. For info., call Dr. Mark Verman, 7752461. Jewish War Veterans Shabbat: Sat., Nov. 9, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Beth Jacob Synagogue, 7020 N. Main St. Harrison Twp. 274-2149. Hillel Academy Believe, Belong, Become: Tues., Nov. 12, 6 p.m. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 277-8966. 32nd Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service: Mon., Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m. Temple Beth Or, 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 435-3400.
CJ CHAN A Healthy Alternative We Use The Best Ingredients Prepared Fresh Daily
www.mycjchan.com 536 Wilmington Ave. Dayton, OH 45420 937-259-9866
2ND LOCATION! 2747 W. Alex Bell Rd. Moraine, OH 45459 * Hot Pot Available * 937-259-8882 Mon-Thu: 10:30 am-10 pm Fri-Sat: 10:30 am-10:30 pm Sun: 11:30 a.m-10 pm
MSG
This Thanksgiving, eat your dinner, not your lipstick. Lip color that lasts 4-18 hours! • Waterproof, Kissproof, Smudgeproof • Long-lasting cosmetics • Gift certificates available I ship too! rachel’s million dollar lips
INDEPENDENT SENEGENCE DISTRIBUTOR r.haugilbert@gmail.com • 937-672-8936
Are you reading this? So is the entire Jewish community. Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.
Temple Israel Torah on Tap: Wed., Nov. 6, 6 p.m. Hairless Hare, 738 W. National Rd., Vandalia. Discussion w. rabbi. First round on the temple.
Family
Chabad Kids Make Shabbat: Thurs., Nov. 14, 5-7 p.m. Ages 3-13. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 643-0770. Chabad Family Shabbat Dinner: Fri., Nov. 15, 5-7:30 p.m. $15 adult, kids free. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 6430770. Temple Israel Prayer & Play: Sat., Nov. 16, 10 a.m. At
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 19
A BISEL KISEL
A Jubu-ish journey toward transcendence losophy to help patients recover from trauma. His beautifully-written Thoughts Without a Thinker and Going to Pieces without Falling Apart helped me deal with the debilitating anxiety of my post-college, soul-searching years. As I began to wonder why so many Jews have been drawn to Buddhism, I recalled my own initiaMasha tion into Jewish life as a Kisel young Soviet émigré. Judaism came into my life as a demanding stepfather when I arrived in This spiritual awakening the United States. Judaism was uniquely mine and I felt, asked for obedience, even at the time, that it had nothing though I had no prior to do with the fact that I was relationship with it. Jewish. I was a sophomore at It never told me why the University of Wisconsin in I should obey its authorMadison, working on a South ity. It certainly never Asian studies degree, with a answered the most imporfocus on religion. tant questions: Why am I alive? My plans for college were to What happens after I die? Judareach enlightenment, remain ism offered me an iteration of on earth as a bodhisattva and God with whom I could not still graduate in four years. I communicate. was vegan, practiced intermitIn those early years in the tent celibacy, and regularly U.S., Hashem’s watchful eyes attended two-hour meditation only seemed to open when I sessions run by the campus was about to take a bite of a Buddhist study group. I even cheeseburger. lived alone to minimize worldKamenetz describes ly distraction. I practiced some of the Jewish BudBuddhism as best as any The notion that all life dhists he met when he Gen-X college kid could. is suffering and that traveled to India with a I only recently discovJewish delegation to meet ered that the term “Jubu” suffering comes from with the Dalai Lama for an wasn’t Jaime’s invention attachment to inherently interfaith dialogue. One and my spiritual thirst for something I could not find impermanent things really woman’s experience illuminated for me some of in Judaism as a teenager appealed to me, in part the reasons that my Jewish was in fact a wide phenomeducation “didn’t take.” enon. What I didn’t expect because it mirrored my Kamenetz writes, was to learn that my Jewlife experiences. “When I asked her about ishness may have led me to “You’re a Jubu!” exclaimed my friend Jaime, who was also Jewish and much more worldly than me. Jaime was coming through town on her way back to the University of Santa Barbara, where apparently “Jubus” were plentiful. I took her comment as a slight.
the eight-fold path. Rodger Kamenetz uses the term often in The Jew in the Lotus, his book about rediscovering his Jewish identity in Buddhism. He writes, “...many spiritually curious Jews have explored Buddhist teachings, and some have left Judaism altogether. A surprising number have become spiritual leaders, teachers, and organizers in the Western Buddhist community.” He goes on to show how Jubus have played an extraordinary role in popularizing Buddhism in the West. Looking back, I now realize that many of the writers and thinkers I admired during my Buddhist phase were indeed Jewish. The poetry of Allen Ginsberg and other beat writers gave me an imagined community when I felt most alone. More than that, they taught me that solitude was a precious resource that could quell my existential dread. It was OK not to know why the world existed or whether or not there was a God. Years later, I discovered Mark Epstein, a Jewish psychotherapist who employs Buddhist phi-
her knowledge of the Jewish mystical tradition, she said she might have been interested but it was never taught to her.” I recall once when asked about what happens after death, the rabbi who taught Talmud at my school responded that for each good deed, Hashem will add a new piece of furniture to our spiritual home. I didn’t want furniture. I wanted a transformative mystical experience that would help me see beyond the confines of the material world. I wanted to escape a reality where interior decorating mattered. After all, most of the furniture in our recently-settled refuge came from the garbage dump.
The notion that all life is suffering and that suffering comes from attachment to inherently impermanent things really appealed to me, in part because it mirrored my life experiences. We moved constantly, people came and went. How could I continue ancient tradition when I was so unmoored? Buddhism offered me transcendence and autonomy. I didn’t have to pray to a father I didn’t know in a language I didn’t understand. I could be the captain of my own soul. Interestingly, I came back to Judaism when I met my husband. Traditions that were previously meaningless became the basis of our life together. I also discovered that my impulses to question, to doubt, and to long for a spiritual plane are very Jewish indeed. My life today is full of routine and stability. Nestled in a happily busy family life, I don’t think about those big existential questions as often. But I have new worries. If before I felt as though the world wasn’t quite real, the current historical moment feels oppressive, inevitable. I find new comfort in the Buddhist notion of transience, which echoes King Solomon’s wise words in Jewish folklore: “This too shall pass.” Dr. Masha Kisel is a lecturer in English at the University of Dayton.
The Dayton Jewish Observer New & Renewing Voluntary Subscribers • September 5 - October 8 New Guardian Angel Marilyn Scher
Double Chai Lisa Hess, Women Waiting for (a) Change Dan & Susan Sauer Jeff & Cathy Startzman Janine Thomas
Ellen & Bruce Holroyd Bernice Klaben Janice & Bob Kohn Cheryl Lubow Rick McNeely Ruth Meadow Denise Robinson Linda Sable Richard Saphire George & Ann Schmitt Sandra Schoemann Judy Schwartzman Mr. Lawrence Wagenfeld Steve & Patty Wyke Gary Zaremsky
Subscribers Aaron Altman Barry & Janet Block Becky & Alan Elovitz Lisa Esselstein Michael Freed Neil Friedman John & Karen Granby
Current Guardian Angels Howard & Judy Abromowitz Congregation Anshe Emeth Bella Freeman Elaine & John Gaglione Robert & Vicky Heuman Marilyn & Larry Klaben Bernard Rabinowitz
Renewing Angels Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Feldman New Angel Lori Ohlmann
PAGE 20
Dr. & Mrs. Nathaniel Ritter Lee & Patti Schear Zerla Stayman Steve & Shara Taylor Current Angels Ken Baker, K.W. Baker & Assoc. Skip & Ann Becker Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Bettman Amy & Michael Bloom Hyman & Sylvia Blum Ken & Lisa Blum Betty Bremen Alex & Jane Briskin Buck Run Doors & Hardware Inc. Roger Chudde Betty Crouse Dr. Scot Denmark Esther & DeNeal Feldman Marni Flagel Lynn Foster Felix & Erika Garfunkel Kim & Shelley Goldenberg Debby & Bob Goldenberg
Judi & George Grampp Dr. Arthur & Mrs. Joan Greenfield Barb Gronefeld Susan & Jonas Gruenberg Harold & Melissa Guadalupe Stephen & Marla Harlan Ralph Heyman Steve & Rachel Jacobs Michael Jaffe Dr. & Mrs. David Joffe Dennis Kahn & Linda Ohlmann Kahn Susan & Stanley Katz Dr. Kim & Mrs. Candace Kwiatek Sarah Moore Leventhal Todd & Gabriele Leventhal Laurie & Eddie Leventhal Jean Lieberman Judy Lipton Beverly A. Louis Perry Lubens Dr. David & Joan Marcus Donald & Carole Marger Marvin & Susan Mason Suzi & Jeff Mikutis
Jane & Dan Miller Irvin & Gayle Moscowitz Richard & Marcia Moyer Myrna Nelson Sis & Phil Office John & Sharyn Reger Steven & Barbara Rothstein Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Rubin Jan Rudd-Goenner Felice Shane Marc & Maureen Sternberg Col. Jeffrey Thau, USAF, (Ret.) & Rina Thau Joel & Jennifer Tobiansky Julie & Adam Waldman & Family Judith & Fred Weber Donald & Caryl Weckstein Stuart & Gail Weprin Michael & Karen Weprin Dr. Warren Wingate Ron Bernard & Judy Woll
Thank You.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
RELIGION
CONGREGATIONS
How sowing in tears reaps in joy anxiety and fear take over. It’s a survival mechanism, and we all have it. In the midst of that scary space, a voice within us calls out, “Don’t be alone in this! Go find someone to support you! Quick!” I saw that voice in my daughter’s eyes as we were told that she needed stitches. Paternal ent — especially me — enjoys missing their bedtime, but those nature took over as we sat there painful moments are often pre- on the hospital bed, foreheads touching and holding hands, cious moments. while her wound was being Furthermore, although stitched up. discomfort comes along with As I was comforting her that pain, it is also an honor, a through her painful and scary pleasure, and an opportunity moment, I couldn’t help but to be there for our loved ones realize that we were profoundly when they need us. ER, pain, pleasure: how does bonding. It says in Psalm 126, “Those that work? I’ll who sow in tears will explain. reap in joy.” The simple Arriving at the understanding of the ER represents verse is meant to comfort entering an envius by saying to those who ronment that is are sad and tearful now, unknown, a situthere will be times of joy ation from which to come. it is unclear what However, perhaps we to expect, frightcan understand this verse fully confronted in another way. with mortalWe are built to bond, ity, and a strong potential for Rabbi Joshua Marder and our greatest joy is the joy of connection. Whethphysical and/or er that connection is through emotional pain. bonding with our spouse, parIn other words, it’s a recipe ents, children, or the Almighty, for deep primal fear. Science it ignites within our body and and experience have taught soul feelings of tremendous us that primal fear turns on a comfort, satisfaction, and joy. deeply rooted survival system The opportunities to expewithin us. rience that joy of connection We feel it in our nervous come from the bonding experisystem through an adrenaline ences we have in our most vulrush and a raised heart rate as By Rabbi Joshua Marder I told my wife I was going to bed early last Tuesday night. I was wrong. At 10:30 p.m., my anticipated bedtime, I found myself in the car taking one of my kids to the ER. It was a beautiful and extremely unpleasant experience. No one enjoys seeing their loved one in pain, and no par-
Perspectives
Hear
this week’s Jewish news with Radio Reading Service. Join Marshall Weiss Sundays, noon & 6 p.m. at Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley Radio Reading Service.
To listen, go to gesmv.org/radio-reading-services-terms-use
one and say, “I need you. I’m scared and need you to be here with me. I need you to comfort me.” But through that risk of sharing, we open the door to receive their comforting message, “I’m here for you. I’m with you. I’ll support you.” There’s nothing in the world that bonds two individuals more than nerable spaces, often moments experiencing their support and of fear or sadness. knowing that they are there for Perhaps we can explain: you. “Those who sow in tears,” reThough none of us seeks fers to those who are willing to scary feelings, we can learn to feel their vulnerable parts and reach out for connection in their open up to them as opportunitimes of need, while the words, ties. Those moments of fear and “will reap in joy,” indicate that vulnerability are they will have We all have where we learn the great joy of an intimate times when we to connect with our loved ones, bond of closeget scared and whether that ness. means reachWe all have have an inner ing out or being times where we there for others get scared and voice saying to when they reach have an inner us, ‘Don’t be out to us. voice saying to alone in this! Go We can use us, “Don’t be alone in this! Go find someone to them as the vibrant breeding find someone to support you!’ ground where support you!” relationships At first, grow, thrive, and flourish. shame or past wounds may Being in the ER was not stop us from reaching out for the comfort and connection we pleasant. Missing my bedtime was upsetting. But being there need in those moments. We might even fear that shar- for my child to know that I’m there for her was precious. ing our fears with our loved ones could push them away. Rabbi Joshua Marder practices The truth is that the vulnerboth couples’ and family therapy ability of sharing our fears allows our relationships to thrive in the Chicago area and serves on the Chicago Center for Emotionally and survive. We take a risk when we reach out to our loved Focused Therapy board.
November
Cheshvan/Kislev Shabbat Candle Lightings November 1, 6:17 p.m. November 8, 5:09 p.m. November 15, 5:03 p.m. November 22, 4:58 p.m. November 29, 4:55 p.m.
Beth Abraham Synagogue Conservative Rabbi Joshua Ginsberg Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming Andrea Raizen Mornings, Mon. & Thurs., 7 a.m.; Tues., Wed., Fri., 7:15 a.m. Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Evenings, Mon.-Fri., 5:30 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m. w. Youth Service 10:30 a.m. 305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. 2939520. BethAbrahamDayton.org Beth Jacob Congregation Traditional Rabbi Leibel Agar Saturdays 9:30 a.m. Yahrzeit minyans available upon advance request. 7020 N. Main St., Dayton. 274-2149. BethJacobCong.org Temple Anshe Emeth Reform Rabbinic Intern Caroline Sim Friday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. 320 Caldwell St., Piqua. Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, AnsheEmeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org Temple Beth Or Reform Rabbi Judy Chessin Educator/Rabbi Ari Ballaban Fridays 7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 435-3400. templebethor.com Temple Beth Sholom Reform Rabbi Haviva Horvitz See Web site for schedule. 610 Gladys Dr., Middletown. 513-422-8313. thetemplebethsholom.com Temple Israel Reform Senior Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo First Friday each month 6 p.m. All other Fridays 6:30 p.m. Saturdays 10:30 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 496-0050. tidayton.org Temple Sholom Reform Rabbi Cary Kozberg Fridays 6 p.m. 2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. 399-1231. templesholomoh.com
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Torah Portions November 2 Noach (Gen. 6:9-11:32) November 9 Lech Lecha (Gen. 12:1-17:27) November 16 Vayera (Gen. 18:1-22:24) November 23 Chayei Sarah (Gen. 23:1-25:18) November 30 Toledot (Gen. 25:19-28:9)
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
Chabad of Greater Dayton Rabbi Nochum Mangel Associate Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin Youth & Prog. Dir. Rabbi Levi Simon, Teen & Young Adult Prog. Dir. Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin. Beginner educational service Saturdays 9 a.m. adults, 10 a.m children. Sundays 9 a.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave. 643-0770. www.chabaddayton.com Yellow Springs Havurah Independent Services 1st & 3rd Saturdays, 10-noon. Antioch College Rockford Chapel. Contact Len Kramer, 937572-4840 or len2654@gmail.com.
PAGE 21
JEWISH FAMILY EDUCATION
A heritage of immigration
nance, politics, law, philosophy, “As a matter of fact,” writes education, and literature. historian Rabbi Ken Spiro, “in These developments reinforce human history, multiple exiles and dispersions are unique only Jewish historian Robert Chazen’s observation that, while to the Jewish people...after the often spurred by less-than-ideal first one, the people generally personal and local realities or disappear — they simply bethe occasional catastrophe, Jewcome assimilated among other ish migration has been largely peoples.” Not the Jews. Some of the most memorable This spontaneous expres“voluntary migration in search Welcomed or marginalized, images of aliyah (Jewish imsion of “loving a promise” isn’t esteemed or disdained, wherev- of better circumstances.” migration to Israel) reveal the limited to the land of Israel; it Such acculturation and coner they have settled, Jews have sheer jubilation and incredulity shows up in American images flourished, developing “a set of tribution also suggest a sense of of travel-weary, barefoot Ethioas well. pians, from toddlers to the aged, The WPA archival film library institutions, social patterns, and appreciation and a willingness to strengthen and improve the ethnonational and/or religious kneeling to kiss the ground as features a Liberty Island scene larger society, foundational Jewsymbols that held it together, they step off planes in Israel. of 32 newly arrived Greek disincluding the language, religion, ish values of gratitude and tikun placed persons captioned, “In values, social norms, and narra- olam (repair of the world). their heart-felt joy they kneel Migrating tives of the homedown to kiss the earth.” Jews, both groups Perhaps no land,” according Similarly, in a Wexler Oral Candace R. and individuals, to political science History Project interview, the other people Kwiatek brought along author William Polish-born mathematician can speak as with them disSafran. Irwin Kra recalls the journey to sets of Significantly, America from Poland via Cuba: authoritatively tinctive religious, moral, wherever Jewish “When my father gets off the This scene echoes across the immigrants settled, on the issue of social, and politiplane in Miami…he lies down centuries. In the Talmud, we they didn’t just on the ground and kisses the read “Rabbi Abba would kiss immigration as cal values. If their values weren’t ground. That’s probably my first yearn to be a sucthe rocks of Akko (when he shared by the host cessful community, the Jews. returned to Israel),” and “Rabbi memory of the United States.” community, as in or expect it to be Perhaps no other people can Hiyya bar Gamda would roll in provided for them; they worked death-centered ancient Egypt, speak as authoritatively on the the dust (of the land). Alexander’s beauty-focused to create it. issue of immigration as the It’s a scene that continues to Hellenistic empire, or collecAt the same time, these imJews. Throughout its existence, be echoed today by olim (Jewtivist China, Jews generally beginning with God’s command migrant communities rarely ish immigrants to Israel) from remained on the periphery, if remained fully isolated. Jews to Abraham, “Lech lecha, go across the religious, political, at all. regularly adopted elements of and social spectrum and around forth,” to migrations between Jews have fully embraced the local culture: cuisine, couthe world: Russia, India, France, Canaan and Egypt, to settleAmerican identity largely ture, and cantillation, just for ment of the Promised Land South Africa, America. because of their communities’ starters. under Joshua, to dispersion in “That eloquent kiss tells me shared values. As they integrated into the Babylonia and beyond until that loving The Promised Land For at least 500 years, host society, Jews contributed to today, the Jewish people has is loving a promise before we endlessly journeyed and settled commerce, science and technol- America has been “a nation of love a land,” writes blogger immigrants,” a single locale for ogy, medicine, business and fiacross the globe. Rachel Danziger. observing the diversity of immigrant experiences. On the other hand, Jewish history, with its 3,000 years of immigrant experience, highlights commonalities among the success stories and offers consequent advice. View immigration as volun-
Our Dual Heritage
Call Today for a Tour 293-7703 SENIOR LIVING CAMPUS
Featured on Campus: • Skilled Nursing Center • Elegant Assisted Living • Independent Living Community • Memory Care • Rehabilitation Services
www.wcreekoh.com
“Setting the Standard for Excellence in Health Care”
5070 Lamme Rd. - Kettering - OH - 45439 - 293-7703 PAGE 22
tary migration toward something better, not escape. Don’t wait for the promise: build it. Integrate, acculturate, and contribute. Align your values. Like Jewish immigrants across the globe, the most successful and contented American immigrants aspired to The Golden Land in search of a better life, but didn’t wait for the promise of America to turn into reality. Instead, they built communities and institutions that supported their own identities and interests. At the same time, they embraced an American identity by assimilating local culture into their daily life and adopting America’s founding values. Grateful for every opportunity, they were motivated to give back, contributing to every element of society from the arts and business to politics and technology. Israel’s immigrants kiss the land when they arrive, but at that moment they can only love its promise. Maimonides wrote a relevant halacha (law) in the Mishneh Torah: “Great rabbis would kiss the ground of Eretz Yisrael, and kiss its stones as well as roll in its dust,” Rabbi Eliezer Melamed explains, “Indeed this is a great halacha to learn: It is not enough to live in Eretz Yisrael, one should also love the land.” So, too, with America’s immigrants. It’s not enough to love the promise of America alone. It’s not enough to simply live in the land, existing but never taking part, benefiting but never giving back. Whether immigrant or native, one must learn to love both the promise and the reality, working to turn the reality into the promise.
Literature to share Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen by Adeena Sussman. How do Israelis make such delicious eggplant? Can you really make pita at home? And the salads! The Mediterranean diet has long been acknowledged as excellent for the heart and overall health, and Israelis are masters of delicious, varied foods. If you’re looking for unique recipes, this is an excellent volume to explore. Gorgeous pictures and interesting notes about cultural origins and ingredients make the book itself a feast. Highly recommended. My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks and Other Funny Family Portraits by Hanoch Piven. If you love children’s books that work on many levels, this is a terrific find. At its simplest level, it’s a picture book about describing various members of a family. Along the way, it introduces the concepts of portrait, found objects, assemblage (or collage), and similes in a most engaging manner. There’s even a project page included. For preschool through elementary ages, My Dog is a delight for reading, creative thinking, artistic expression, and writing inspiration. Don’t miss the endpapers and the author’s explanation. His iPad app Faces iMake received the Parents Gold Choice Award.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
This Greek Chicken Soup has a surprising Sephardic history Avgolemono, a chicken soup with egg and lemon, has roots in Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Greece. By Emily Paster, The Nosher Scan the menu of just about any Greek restaurant and you’ll see avgolemono listed prominently in the soup and salad section. A thick, velvety blend of chicken broth, rice or orzo, egg, and lemon, avgolemono soup is firmly fixed in most Americans’ minds as an iconic Greek dish. Yet the origin of this soup is not Greek at all, but rather Iberian — and Jewish. You can trace a line directly from agristada, an egg-and-lemon sauce that Claudia Roden calls the “cornerstone of Sephardic cooking” to Greek avgolemono. What’s more, the Sephardic version of this soup, known as sopa de huevos y limon (egg and lemon soup), is the traditional way to break the Yom Kippur fast for Jews from Turkey, the Greek port city of Thessaloniki (known as Salonika in Ladino), and the Balkan states. Like so much in Jewish cuisine, agristada sauce grew out of necessity, specifically the strictures of kosher dietary laws. Prohibited from using dairy in sauces that would accompany meat dishes, Sephardic cooks in Spain — hundreds of years ago — developed a tart sauce that relied on tempered eggs as a thickening agent. In the Middle Ages, before citrus was widely cultivated in Europe, verjus — a highly acidic liquid made from pressing unripe grapes — was used to give the sauce its sour flavor. But after the 10th century, when lemons became a popular crop around the Mediterranean, inspired in part by Jewish farmers who were cultivating etrogs for Sukkot, lemon juice replaced verjus as the standard souring agent for agristada. When the Iberian Jews were expelled from Spain during the
Inquisition, they brought agristada with them as they traveled to destinations in the Ottoman Empire — modern-day Turkey, the Balkan states, and Greece. Ottoman diners already had a penchant for sour flavors: Sour plums, pomegranates, and bitter oranges were all common ingredients in 15th century Ottoman cuisine and an early Ottoman cookbook from the same period had a whole chapter on sour foods. It’s not surprising that agristada, with its lemony bite, became part of the larger Greek and Turkish cuisine. And over the centuries, agristada sauce morphed into avgolemono. Avgolemono sauce is practically omnipresent in Greek cuisine, where it’s served alongside dolma and vegetables such as artichokes, as well as an accompaniment to fish and meat dishes. The sauce is also used to thicken soups and stews made with broth, many of which contain rice, orzo, or other grains — it gives the fragile emulsion added stability — and meat. In the U.S., we really only know avgolemono as a chicken soup, but in Greece it is actually a whole category of soups thickened with an emulsion of egg, lemon, and broth. Greece is not the only country where agristada sauce lived on. The Sephardic Jews who settled in Italy adapted the egglemon sauce to include local ingredients, such as garlic and sometimes anchovies, calling it bagna brusca or brodo brusco. In Turkey, an indistinguishable egg-lemon sauce, which is also used to thicken soups, is known as terbiye. Agristada is even still found Spain, where it is known as salsa blanca (white sauce) or huevo y limón (egg and lemon) and served alongside fried fish or artichokes in lieu
of mayonnaise. The velvety avgolemono makes for an easy weeknight dinner, as it comes together quickly using leftovers.
You had me at cookie dough.
VISIT THE SHOP • CATERING • NATIONWIDE SHIPPING 36 South Main Street, Miamisburg, OH 45342 www.spoonfulcookiedough.com
5531 Far Hills Ave. Dayton, OH | MeadowlarkRestaurant.com
Aw
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 8 cups chicken broth 1 cup orzo 4 eggs 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 21/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken, such as from a rotisserie chicken fresh dill salt and pepper to taste Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add orzo to boiling broth and cook until tender, eight to 10 minutes. While the orzo is cooking, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice in a large, heatproof bowl. Once the orzo is cooked through, reduce the heat until the soup is at a gentle simmer. Temper the eggs by slowly adding one cup of hot broth to the egg-and-lemon mixture while whisking. Slowly add the tempered egg mixture back to the Dutch oven. This will prevent the eggs from curdling in the hot liquid. Note: It is important not to rush this process and whisk throughout, to ensure the eggs emulsify. Add the cooked chicken to the soup and simmer until heated through. Do not allow soup to boil at any point after adding the eggs, which could cause the soup to break or curdle. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with fresh dill.
AWARD-WINNING
Cooking
515 WAYNE AVE. DAYTON, OH | WHEATPENNYDAYTON.COM
JOIN US FOR
BRUNCH
Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 23
Basketball as backdrop to mid-century life in NY
JFS Annual Chanukah Brunch Partnering with the Active Adults, Hadassah, Jewish War Veterans, and Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club
Sunday, December 15 11AM - 12:30PM @ Temple Israel (130 Riverside Drive, Dayton, 45405) Join your friends for a delicious brunch and musical entertainment provided by Mary ‘Mahira’ Rogers. JFS is collecting donations of children’s winter hats in coordination with Crayons to Classrooms for those in need across the Miami Valley. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Your payment is your reservation. RSVP online at jewishdayton.org or at 937-610-1555 by December 6.
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES of GREATER DAYTON
PAGE 24
By Marc Katz Special To The Observer Hawked as a sports story featuring the mid-20th century heights and depths of success and scandal, New York Times bestselling author Matthew Goodman’s new book, the City Game (only part of the title), relies as much on a civilian-life narrative of the mid-1950s as it does on a basketball court. Encompassing the New York cityscape, corruption in politics, and the police department, there are times basketball is just background to midcentury life. That full title: The City Game, Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team, traces the then-named City ered kickbacks part of their weekly pay. College of New York (CCNY) from its Everyone was making money, it founding days as a tuition-free school seemed, except, as the left-wing newsfor city kids, through winning of both paper The Daily Compass said, “One the NIT and NCAA tournaments in fact we refuse to face is that there are 1950, to the point-shaving scandal that no amateurs in big-time college sports: roiled the college game for years. there are only underpaid professionals.” Of major note, every player and College basketball was bigger than coach on that team was either black or the fledgling National Basketball AsJewish during a time when most school sociation then, and college tuition was teams weren’t integrated with either. free at CCNY to New York kids. The Goodman will talk about The City old Madison Square Garden regularly Game at 7 p.m., Nov. 6 at Carillon attracted overflow 18,000 crowds for Brewing Company as part of the JCC’s basketball games at a time when CCNY, Cultural Arts & Book Series. The next St. John’s, NYU, LIU and Manhattan day, he’ll give a talk at Books & Co. at had powerful teams, most with ethnic The Greene at 7 p.m. overtones. Researching for a book to follow his Not all of the customers were inbestseller Eighty Days, Goodman — a terested in the teams, only the point New Yorker who spent spreads, offering money to players considerable time over who might keep the score closer than the years teaching at the betting line. Antioch’s Writer’s WorkGoodman, who started his cashop in Yellow Springs reer as a fiction writer, was briefly — noticed a bus sign a sports writer before returning to touting Knicks’ tickets, books and teaching. triggering memories of “I’ve always been interested in a story told to him about narratives and characterization,” he the star-crossed CCNY Matthew Goodman said. “I also was very interested in team of 1949-50. history. Even when I was writing ficUntil he noticed that ad for the tion I did a lot of historical research.” Knicks, he had been searching, he said, He combined all those elements into for a proper story to tell. writing his last three books, and said Winning the NIT and NCAA in the he wasn’t necessarily looking to write a same season illogically happened only book about sports. once, with the accomplishment quickly “I’m not a sports writer, but I am a overridden by the point-shaving scanNew Yorker, and I’m interested in stodal uncovered amid numerous scandals ries about New York,” Goodman said. at the time. “My father went to City College.” Those just looking for a good sports Goodman sees the book as about story will find that here, from Madison New York City rather than a book about Square Garden crowds studded with basketball. He interviewed all survivgamblers, to police officers who consid- ing members of the team and other students. To a man, the players “regretted The JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series deeply” what they had done, and not presents Matthew Goodman at 7 p.m., only because they were barred from Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Carillon Brewing advancing to the NBA. They regretted Company, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Kettering. what they did to their families and their Tickets are $5 in advance, $8 at the door, school, despite producing a stand-alone available at jewishdayton.org, by calling achievement in sports. 610-1555, or the evening of the event.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
‘There is a space to tell my story’ By Masada Siegel Special To The Observer Independent film and television producer Marra B. Gad says she wrote The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed Race Jewish Girl so that young, Jewish kids of color will know that there is beauty and pride in living exactly as they are. “We are all made beautifully. B’tzelem Elokim, in the image of God,” she says. “I never had anyone to look to who was like me. If I can be that for even one child, it would be a tremendous blessing.” Gad draws the reader into her world of growing up biracial in a Chicago Jewish family, and how she is treated by family and friends alike. She’ll talk about The Color of Love Nov. 20 at Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood as part of the JCC’s Cultural Arts & Book Series. In her book, Gad explains why she The JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series presents Marra B. Gad, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Wright Memorial Public Library, 1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. The event is free and open to the public.
decides to help her racist, abusive, estranged Great-Aunt Nette after Nette develops Alzheimer’s. “I believe that racism, intolerance, antisemitism and anti-anything is taught, often from generation to generation — and that our children absolutely learn from the adults around them,” Gad says. “Racism is often painted in large, broad strokes. But it is about far more than the large, clear stories. It is often a far more subtle thing. It lies in the people who assume that I am the hostess at the private club to which I belong in L.A., and not a member. Or in the people who assume that I am someone’s nanny, rather than a member of the synagogue.” She describes in detail the intolerance she’s experienced from people from all walks of life; the message Gad says she always receives is: “The way that you exist is wrong.” “For as long as humans have existed, there has been a dynamic at play wherein one person or group of people deems themselves better or more deserving than or superior to another,
Bobby Quillard
and it always leads to another person or a group of people getting stripped of being considered human by the former,” Gad says. “It leads, as we well know, to violence, genocide, and clearly to slavery. We have seen it play out again and again and it is playing itself out now in every corner of the world.” She decided to tell her story now because when she was a child, she was the only brown face in the sea of white Jewish faces around. That’s no longer the case, as the Jewish community continues to grow more diverse. “It is the first time in my nearly 50 years that I have felt that there is a space to tell my story and that people might actually listen or be in- Marra B. Gad terested,” she explains. in America and around the world. It felt “We are finally having cultural like the right time to speak, and writing conversations about intersectionality on a book felt like the right way to begin all fronts and discussing racism and inwhat I hope will be an ongoing discustolerance in ways that we have not dursion about race, religion, tolerance, and ing my lifetime because of the remarklove — in a time when so many choose able political climate currently at play not to be loving.”
May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy and the warmth of a grateful heart.
Please join us at Hillel Academy on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. for BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME, a trilogy of plays celebrating Jewish values.
daytonhillel.org • 937.277.8966 • dkmecoli@daytonhillel.org THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 25
OBITUARIES Marilyn Garison, age 94 of Trotwood, passed away Sept. 8 at Friendship Village. Mrs. Garison retired from the Dayton VA Medical Center after 26 years of service. She was a longtime member of Beth Jacob Synagogue, a charter member of B’nai B’rith Women, member of Hadassah, Beth Jacob Sisterhood, and taught Sunday School at Beth Jacob for many years. Mrs. Garison was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ben, in 1982; sisters, Fannie Friedman, Sara Shapiro, and Mildred Blum; brothers, Morris, Arnold, and Tom Blum; niece, Barbara Shapiro and nephew, Howard Shapiro. She is survived by her daughters and son-in-law, Leslie and Victor Goldstein of Dayton, Peggy Fogelman of Los Angeles; son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Therese Garison of Vandalia; grandchildren, Amy (Mark) Walker, Andrew Goldstein, Eric (Kate) Evans, Brian (Samantha) Evans, Meghan (Mark) Gariety, Matthew (Cassie) Garison and Michael Garison; 11 beloved great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, and many other relatives. Interment was at Beth Jacob Cemetery. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 4370 Glendale Milford Road, Cincinnati, OH 45452 in Mrs. Garison’s memory. Diane June Handler, age 75, of Dayton, passed away Sept. 9 at Cottages of Clayton. Ms. Handler was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Benjamin and Jeanette Handler. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law,
Our Family Serving Your Family For More Than 90 Years
Funeral Homes, Inc.
Pre-need Arrangements Pre-paid Funeral Trusts Cremation Services • Transfers North Main Chapel 1706 N. Main Street Huber Heights Chapel 5844 Old Troy Pike
For Both Locations Call 937-275-7434 PAGE 26
Deborah and Gary Froelich of Dayton; sister, Denise Tucker of Springboro; beloved niece and nephews, Scott Crist of Calif., Joshua Froelich of Calif., Jessica and Jason Trieb of Calif., Louis and Danielle Froelich of New York, Jason Bomstein (his fiancée Gillian) of Toronto; great-nieces and great-nephew; and many other relatives and friends. She was a graduate of The Ohio State University and a longtime member of Beth Abraham Synagogue. Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to Beth Abraham Synagogue in Ms. Handler’s memory. The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Beth Abraham Synagogue, Jewish Family Services, Day City Hospice, The Cottages of Clayton, and Gary Heller for all their assistance. Norman Louis Hecht, age 81 of Oakwood, died Oct. 12. Dr. Hecht is survived by his wife of 60 years, Judith; his children, Michael (Christine), David (Margret) and Ellen; granddaughters, Sarah, Rebecca and Madison; and his sister Barbara. Dr. Hecht received his doctorate from Alfred University and spent a lifetime working in diverse areas including ceramics, energy conservation, and resource recovery. He published many articles and books related to his research. Dr. Hecht retired as a professor emeritus at UD and continued to teach and mentor graduate students. He watched over his children and grandchildren and surrounded himself with lifelong friends. He will be missed. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to The Foodbank Dayton.
Richard D. Levin passed away at his home in Sarasota, Fla., Sept. 24. Born in Cleveland, he served in the army during World War II then went to college at The Ohio State University where he received his degree in architecture in 1951. Mr. Levin’s architectural career spanned more than 40 years. While practicing in Los Angeles, he met Gail Ruslander, the woman he would marry and who would share his life for the next 60 years. In 1960, they moved to Dayton where Richard founded Levin Porter Associates Inc. The practice quickly became known for its outstanding design work. Levin Porter was awarded the ASO/AIA Gold Medal and more than 60 awards and commendations during his tenure. The firm’s work was featured in over 35 national and international journals. Levin Porter Associates is still
active almost 60 years after it opened its doors. Levin was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor given by the profession, president and trustee of the Dayton Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and a trustee of the Architects Society of Ohio. In 1986, he was appointed by the governor of Ohio to the Ohio State Board of Examiners. He also served on the advisory committee for Ohio State University’s School of Architecture. Mr. and Mrs. Levin moved to Longboat Key, Fla. in the early 1990s, where Mr. Levin built his last house. In Dayton and then in Longboat, Mr. Levin’s open design plans created spaces for friends and family to gather. The Levins welcomed everyone into their homes for food and drink and lively and loud conversation. Mr. Levin will forever be remembered for
Germany Continued from Page Seven soldiers with guns and police cars in front of synagogues,” the European Jewish Congress’s security expert said. “Technology, including surveillance cameras and good doors like the one in Halle, can be used smartly to reduce that sort of presence.” As in other European synagogues, the doors at the Halle synagogue were reinforced in recent years as part of a security initiative funded by the United Israel Appeal with support from donors including Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Peter Aven. The attacker, identified as a far-right extremist named Stephan Balliet, shot at the
L’dor V’dor. From Generation To Generation.
GLICKLER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE Larry S. Glickler, Director Dayton’s ONLY Jewish Funeral Director 1849 Salem Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45406-4927 (937) 278-4287 lgfuneralhome@gmail.com
his charm and wit, his love of dogs, and his commitment to animal rights organizations. He also deeply loved his quirky and opinionated family. In retirement, Mr. Levin was chairman of the Longboat Key Facilities Advisory Committee, and a member of both the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board and the Revitalization Task Force. Mr. Levin is survived by his wife, Gail Levin of Sarasota; his sister, June Roth; daughter Claudia Levin (Daniel Gardner), Doug Levin (Hope Schaffer Levin) and son Geoffrey Levin. He is also survived by four grandchildren: Jeremy Gardner, Alexander Levin, Drew Levin and Raya Levin. Donations may be made to the Knowlton School of Architecture/Ohio State Univ., the Humane Society of Sarasota, or a charity of choice.
Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images
A view inside the synagogue in Halle, Germany, that was targeted by a gunman, Oct. 9
doors and tried to use explosives to blow them up. When he failed, he shot dead a woman who passed by on the street and then killed another man at a nearby kebab shop. “This was an effective passive security measure that saved lives,” Revach said, “but it needs to be coupled with fast response and surveillance.” Revach said new technologies, like facial recognition software that can provide early warning when a known threat is spotted near a Jewish institution, can give law enforcement an edge. He said that the deployment of these technologies has been hampered by European Union privacy laws. “The solution is smarter use of the resources at hand, not throwing more soldiers and guns at Jewish institutions,” Revach said. “It costs too much money to be sustainable and frankly only refers perpetrators to the more vulnerable targets.” Some German Jews wonder whether anything their government does at this point is suffi-
cient to allow Jews to live in the country safely. Henryk Broder, a Jewish author and one of Germany’s best-known celebrities, takes a pessimistic view. “It’s time to face the truth: There is no place for Jews in Europe, or at least no safe place for them,” he told JTA. Jews can either leave or “spend the rest of their lives in a gated community, being protected by the state.” “I don’t consider this Jewish community life,” Broder said. “I consider it Jewish community survival.” Lagodinsky, the European Parliament lawmaker, agrees that the Halle killings are a “wake-up call” from a security perspective, but insists that German Jewry will prevail despite the security challenges. “We must become more visible, not less,” Lagodinsky said. “We must not close inwards, but open up and build bridges to allies who understand that it’s not Jews who need to fight antisemites but the entire society.”
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
If you love what we do, help us continue! We can’t do it without you! Ad sales and Jewish Federation support only cover a portion of our expenses to bring you The Observer. BMB
Observer mascot Bark Mitzvah Boy
THE DAYTON
Chanukah OBSERVER Greetings
Fast, easy, convenient! 1.
Select greeting size. Check your selection: A, B, or C.
C
A Happy Chanukah to all our friends
Printing costs and postage go up. We need your help to ensure the depth of our coverage doesn’t go down.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Chanukah
The Mensch Family This is a 1-column-inch size. (Does not include graphic)
Only $12
Please consider a Voluntary Subscription to The Dayton Jewish Observer.
B
Yes! I will support
Happy Chanukah
The Haimishe Family
The Dayton Jewish Observer. $18 Subscriber
One-year subscription to The Observer and acknowledgment in The Observer
$100 Angel
One-year subscription, acknowledgment in The Observer and one free three-column holiday greeting ($36 value)
This is a 3-column-inch size. (Includes graphic)
$36 Double Chai
Only $36
One-year subscription, acknowledgment in The Observer and one free one-column holiday greeting ($12 value)
$250 Guardian Angel
One-year subscription, one-year acknowledgment in The Observer and three free three-column holiday greetings ($108 value)
Fill out your name exactly as you wish it to appear in The Observer Name
This is a 2-column-inch size. (Includes graphic)
Only $24
City
Phone
State
Zip
❏ Happy Chanukah to our friends ❏ Our warmest wishes for a joyous Chanukah ❏ Warm Chanukah greetings from ❏ Best wishes to all for a Happy Chanukah ❏ Wishing all of Dayton Happy Chanukah
Print the name(s) as you’d like them to appear.
4. Fill in the information below Your Name Phone #
yes no Make checks payable to The Dayton Jewish Observer
City
just pay at our secure site, daytonjewishobserver.org
your selection.
❏ A sweet and joyous Chanukah
Address
Or —
è
❏ Other
❏ Happy Chanukah
(check one) I currently receive The Observer via mail:
Return with payment to: The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Drive, Dayton, OH 45459
Observer mascot Bark Mitzvah Boy
2. Select your message. Check off
3.
Address
Send ‘em in!
The Simcha Family
State
Zip
5. Make sure your selections are checked off above. Send this form with your check, payable to the Jewish Federation, to The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Drive, Dayton, OH 45459. Deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019.
THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • NOVEMBER 2019
PAGE 27
Wednesday, November 6, 7PM @ Carillon Brewing Company (1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton 45409)
Wednesday, December 11, 7PM @ Boonshoft CJCE (525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 45459)
Matthew Goodman The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team
Myla Goldberg Feast your Eyes $5 in advance/$8 at the door.
$5 in advance/$8 at the door. Join us for our Men’s Event at 6PM or a community “dine out” at 5:30PM before this event @ Carillon Brewing Co.
Tuesday, December 17, 6PM @ Boonshoft CJCE (525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 45459) Naomi Nachman Perfect Flavors: Creative, easy-to-prepare recipes inspired by my family and travels
Wednesday, November 20, 7PM @ Wright Memorial Public Library (1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood 45419)
$36 in advance includes cooking demonstration and dinner, no walk-ins. RSVP required by December 10.
Marra Gad The Color of Love: A Memoir of a Mixed Race Jewish Girl No cost.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 7PM @ The Dayton Art Institute (456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, 45405)
Join the JFS Active Adults for a dine around before this event. 5PM @ MCL Cafeteria (4485 Far Hills Ave., Kettering 45429)
Lev Golinkin A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka * COMMUNITY READ
Tuesday, December 10, 7PM @ Washington Centerville Public Library, Woodbourne (6060 Far Hills Ave., Centerville 45459)
Corporate Event Partner
Andrew Ridker The Altruists
No cost.
No cost. Join us for a community “dine out” before this event. 5:30PM @ North China Restaurant (6090 Far Hills Ave., Dayton, 45459)
*Book Clubs are eligible for a special discount when purchasing this book through the JCC. Contact Karen Jaffe at (937) 401-1553 by October 28 with the quantity you wish to order.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 1:30PM @ One Lincoln Park (590 Isaac Prugh Way, Dayton, OH 45429) Views on Discrimination: Past & Present An Interview with Lev Golinkin led by Marshall Weiss
Register for all events online at jewishdayton.org or by calling (937) 610-1555.
No cost. Partnering with the JFS Active Adults
JCC CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAMMING IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT FROM OUR COMMUNITY SUPPORTER OHIO ARTS COUNCIL AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL.
2 0 1 9
S P O N S O R S