The Dayton Jewish Observer, June 2024

Andy Snow

Candace R. Kwiatek

Liza Schoenfein

Beth Abraham Rabbi Emeritus Samuel B. Press dies at 87

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Rabbi Samuel B. Press,who guided Beth Abraham Synagogue along Conservative Judaism's path toward women's full equality in worship, died April 29 at the age of 87.

He served Beth Abraham, the Dayton area's only Conservative Jewish congregation — then at Salem Avenue and Cornell Drive in Dayton View — from 1978 until he retired in 2002.

Born in Middletown, Conn. and raised in Springfield, Mass., Press received his bachelor's and master's degrees, and his rabbinic ordination at the Orthodox movement's Yeshiva University. At Press' ordination, Yeshiva honored him with its Talmud Award. He also pursued graduate studies at the

Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary. In line with the Conservative movement, Beth Abraham began allowing women to be called for aliyot (to recite blessings over the Torah) in 1975 on certain occasions.

By the early 1980s, during Press' rabbinate, a girl was allowed to have her bat mitzvah on Shabbat morning and could have a Torah aliyah if accompanied by her father. An adult woman could also receive an aliyah if accompanied by her husband.

service took place in the sanctuary. A year later, a bat mitzvah girl could be called to the Torah for an aliyah by herself; the synagogue board also approved women being counted toward a minyan (quorum) for daily services. In 1989, Beth Abraham's board adopted a plan for full egalitarian worship. Before his time in Dayton, Press had served as a chaplain in the Air Force for the state of Alaska. He was also the founding rabbi of the Oyster Bay Jewish Center in Long Island.

Ohio

In 1985, 16 adult women participated in a b'not mitzvah ceremony at a Beth Abraham Shabbat afternoon service.

Beginning in 1986, Press would occasionally conduct fully egalitarian Shabbat morning services in Beth Abraham's small chapel while the main

In Dayton, Press was active in Black-Jewish and ChristianJewish relations, and race and clergy relations overall. He founded the Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton and served on the boards of Womanline and Dayton Free Clinic. — Marshall Weiss

Temple Israel's Jewish Cultural Festival June 9

Temple Israel will host its annual Jewish Cultural Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, June 9. This year's food/drink vendors are Brock Masterson's, Greek Street Food Truck, Graeter’s, Temple Israel’s bakery, Blue Bus Coffee Roasters, and The Dayton Beer Co.hira” Rogers with Steve Wyke and Marc Gilbert, the Shimmy Cats, trumpeter and singer Dean Simms as Louis Armstrong, the Dayton

The children's area, near the open-air vendor marketplace, will include a petting zoo, stories, games, and crafts. Israeli artist Moshe Monzon will sell his jewelry and Judaica at the festival.

The schedule of speakers inside the temple includes:

• Cincinnati JCRC Assistant Director Jeremy Spiegel, Evolution of Hate: Antisemitism in Higher Education, 12:30 p.m.

• Associate Rabbi Tina Sobo, Timeless Jewish Values in Contemporary Jewish Life, 2 p.m.

• University of Cincinnati Assoc. Prof. of Judaic Studies Jennifer Caplan, Jews and Humor, Why Does it Matter? 3:30 p.m.

• Senior Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Ancient Rites, Innovative Rituals, 5 p.m.

Nonprofits at this year’s Mitzvah Alley are Access to Excess, Closet TRANSformation, Our Farm Sanctuary, PFLAG Dayton, LiFeline Cat Rescue, and the Dayton JCRC Upstander program.

The festival is held at Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. Admission is free. For details, go to tidayton.org/festival.

Rabbi Samuel B. Press

Andy Snow

Special visitors at 2023's Jewish Cultural Festival

'We feel you have our back'

More than 150 people dined on a meal prepared by chef/restaurateur Uri Arnon (at podium) of Israel's Western Galilee region, at the Boonshoft CJCE on May 14 to mark Israel Independence Day. The JCC program also brought two IDF soldiers to the Israel at 76 event to share their stories of battle and survival following Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre.

Local updates connected to the Israel-Hamas war

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

"We had been in the restaurant — it was a Friday afternoon bar mitzvah. We work all together, and it was a nice party," chef/restaurateur Uri Arnon told 150-plus community members after the Israeli dinner he prepared for them with souschef Hila Septon and help from local volunteers. Arnon talked about the day before the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.

"Two waiters asked me to go early because they had to go south to a very nice party. It was the Nova Festival. From there, they have never come back. Two girls."

Seven months into the Jewish state's war with Hamas — with about 130 hostages still held in Gaza, an estimated 30 of which are dead — the JCC's Israel at 76 program May 14 was a time for sharing.

Israelis who visited Dayton shared their cuisine along with stories of trauma, survival, and gratitude. Jewish Daytonians and allies shared

their solidarity with Israelis through these dark times.

"Now, in the Western Galilee, we still feel the war. We specifically live under the line of evacuation, but you hear all the time the bombs," Arnon said. The Western Galilee is connected to Dayton via the Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership2Gether program. "I want to thank you for the support of Israel. We feel you have our back and it's very good for us."

Along with Arnon and Septon, the JCC, through the Jewish Agency for Israel, also brought two IDF soldiers to Dayton, Lt. Cmdr. Roi Friedlander and Sgt. Maj. Ohad Goldenberg. Goldenberg fought off terrorists holding hostages at Kibbutz Be'eri, among the sites where the Hamas massacre began. There, Hamas terrorists slaughtered 100 people — women, children, toddlers, an infant. Thirty kibbutz members were taken as hostages to Gaza. Six were murdered

Continued on Page Four

On Oct. 8, the day after Hamas' horrific slaughter of approximately 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapping of 252 Israelis and foreigners, Israel had not yet launched its war on Gaza. I remember on that day seeing images of anti-Israel protesters here in the United States holding signs that read, "Stop the Genocide." For years before the Israel-Hamas war, anti-Israel protesters have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians on the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. With the International Court of Justice's pending case accusing Israel of genocide as put forth by South Africa, and now, the International Criminal Court prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity, we bring you a story from Springfield that compels us all to pursue and analyze the empirical facts carefully and critically. The story begins on Page Seven.

Marshall Weiss

Local updates connected to the IsraelHamas war

Continued from Page Three

there in captivity, 13 were released in November.

"It's very important for me to say a lot of heroes didn't come back from the battles of Oct. 7," Goldenberg shared.

Friedlander described Be'eri as "one of the worst places to be on earth that day." A friend of his, a navy SEAL, lost his life there, when he turned to save the life of another wounded soldier. Friedlander, a former SEAL who is a reservist with special forces, was first sent to Kibbutz Nir Oz to try to save whoever was left.

When the terrorists saw his special forces helicopter arriving at Nir Oz, they fled back to Gaza.

"We did see things that I don't think you want to hear," Friedlander said. "We also had moments when we saw families survive."

His unit was then sent to join the taskforce in Be'eri. "Somehow, we survived that."

In a subsequent operation, he was shot in the shoulder and hospitalized for a month. He's still under treatment.

"It's good to see a Jewish community that's a strong community," he said of his time in Dayton. "It's an amazing site. We're strong together, celebrating holidays together. It's very heartwarming. You stand up."

Friedlander noted that IDF

soldiers do feel support from Jews across the Diaspora.

"Getting letters in the hospital, from a Jewish school in Toronto, in the States, in London — most of the people in the hospital, they're always in pain. But it's like this couple minutes when someone cares about you."

"We see countries where the Jewish communities don't support us," he added. "To see what's happening in Europe and other countries, how antisemitism, antisemites have no

shame. They lift their heads up and they say the stuff that they say and nobody has courage to say something back. That's hard to see.

"But when we see the Jewish community rise up and say, 'You can't say this stuff in 2024, you can't be antisemites and get away with it,' that warms our hearts. That's what keeps us going. That is felt very very strongly in Israel."

Seinfeld protest before Dayton show

Approximately a dozen people protested against comedian Jerry Seinfeld outside the Schuster Center before his sold-out 7 p.m. show there on April 19.

Greater Dayton Peace Coalition and Gem City Action promoted the protest on social media with language that read, "Dayton Doesn't Tolerate Hateful Zionist Racist," and "Genocide Isn't A Joke."

Sam Dorf, a member of the Anti-Defamation League's regional board representing the Dayton area, had tickets to

the 7 p.m. show. "I don't mind protestors or critiques of Israel," Dorf said, "But singling out a Jewish comic who is not here to talk about Israel is beyond. This is antisemitism."

He noted there was a strong police presence at the protest and that during the show, Seinfeld "did address the fact that there were protesters outside and made some quip about comics not having any power."

On May 12, dozens of students, some with Palestinian flags, walked out of Duke University's graduation ceremony when Seinfeld delivered the commencement address.

The comedian doesn't bring Israel and the Middle East into his act. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, Seinfeld has shown strong public support for Israel. In December, he visited Israel and met with people whose family members are being held hostage in Gaza.

Uneventful protest rally in front of Wright State

There were no incidents when Wright State Univer-

Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

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The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 28, No. 10. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459.

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front of Wright State University organized by Students for a Democratic Society.

sity's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, with support from Greater Dayton Peace Coalition, drew approximately 50 people to its Rally for Solidarity with Gaza, Saturday, May 4 on the sidewalk at the Col. Glenn Highway entrance to the campus west of Center Park Boulevard.

More than half of the protestors appeared to be students. With the university's graduation ceremony held the weekend before the rally, the start of the summer semester yet to begin, and sporadic rainstorms that afternoon, the protesters stood alone. Occasionally, drivers honked their horns in support.

There was no visible police or security presence at the rally and no counter-protesters.

According to its social media post promoting the rally, Wright State's SDS selected May 4 for the protest because it's the anniversary of the shootings at Kent State University in 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State demonstrators protesting the Vietnam war, killing four and wounding nine students.

"Stand with us in memorial of the lives lost and in solidarity with the encampments and global struggle for a free Palestine," read a Wright State SDS post promoting the rally. Along with signs urging Wright State to disclose and divest from any investments in Israeli companies and companies with connections to Israel, other messages included "Long Live the Student Intifada," "Never Again Goes for All People: Jews for Ceasefire," "54 Years Since Kent State Massacre. Same S---," and "Jews, Muslims, Christians and all people of conscience united against the Ideology of Zionism."

As reported by the Ohio Capital Journal, Ohio Revised Code Section 9.76 prohibits state agencies such as universities from contracting with companies that are boycotting or disinvesting from Israel.

Miami University encampment

Students for Justice in Palestine at Miami University in Oxford led a march for Palestine May 2 and set up an encampment at the school's academic quad.

The Miami Student reported that a group of counter-protesters in support of Israel stood nearby the encampment. One student held a half Israeli/half

United States flag.

“We’re here to show proIsrael presence,” he said. “We want to make sure that Jewish students here on campus are unafraid. We’re going to show our pride and make sure that pro-terrorist sentiments are put to rest.”

On threat of suspension by Miami University, those in the encampment voted to disband two days later.

Whitney Lacefield Fisch, executive director of Hillel: Miami University, posted on social media May 6 about an incident connected to its Holocaust remembrance program.

"During Hillel: Miami University’s annual Reading of the Names for the Yom Hashoah program we hold in the middle of campus every year, one of our students who was reading the names of victims of the Holocaust was interrupted by a vicious visiting professor who yelled, 'Are you going to read the names of the 40,000 dead Gazans?!' Of course, the wonderful Devra Sadler (Hillel assistant director) and Miami police stepped in to stop this woman but so did a student who is also a member of Miami University’s Students for Justice in Palestine group.

"He told this grown woman that she was being totally inappropriate and needed to leave. He then told Hillel staff that MUSJP had sent a message to their members that morning explicitly telling them to leave our program alone — that it is a sacred space and shouldn’t be interrupted. And don’t worry — this woman’s contract was not renewed, and she will no longer be a member of Miami’s campus moving forward. Administration was so on top of this as soon as I reported it. #thereishope"

'Still work to be done' at Bethel Local Schools

You may recall The Observer's report in January that Bethel Local Schools Superintendent Matthew W. Chrispin sent district families a letter Dec. 4 to inform them the district was "actively investigating the details" of "controversial posts shared by one of our employees on their personal social media platform."

The superintendent's letter came a day after StopAntisemi tism posted screenshots of what it claimed were two posts from Bethel High School English lan guage learner teacher Sevinch Abbasova's social media sites.

The first equated Israel's op

DAYTON

erations in Gaza with the Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp complex.

The second showed an individual with a blurred-out face holding a sign that read, "There is blood on your hands" in what appears to be a school classroom. The letter A in the word hands is rendered as a Jewish star.

At the time, Chrispin declined to be interviewed by The Observer, stating in an email that the investigation was still in process. "I assure you that we are working diligently to conclude the investigation promptly."

Jewish families in the district have told The Observer that the superintendent never communicated the results of the investigation to parents.

requests for updates about the investigation's outcome.

But a local rabbi received an email from Chrispin May 8 in which he addressed the investigations' results.

"While I am unable to disclose specific details due to privacy and confidentiality reasons, I can assure you that appropriate actions were taken in accordance with our school policies and procedures," he said in the email to Temple Israel's Rabbi Tina Sobo.

The rabbi had emailed Chrispin May 7 because she was surprised to see on social media that Abbasova would oversee Bethel Local Schools' May 9 Multicultural Night.

Sobo has congregants whose children attend Bethel Local Schools.

In her email to the superintendent, the rabbi wrote that those congregants have expressed concern over the event "as a potential means for Abbasova to further antisemitic tropes."

"I certainly hope those fears do not come to fruition and I would like to give them what assurance I can that the program has been planned thoughtfully," Sobo added.

In his response back, the superintendent told Sobo, "given the concerns raised, it is imperative that the Jewish community is represented and included in the event." Chrispin

shared contact information with Sobo for "those in the Jewish community interested in participating."

Chrispin declined to reply when Sobo followed up, asking him, "As the program is currently planned, prior to my email, would students see the Jewish community represented equitably at this event, or are you saying that the representation will only occur if it is arranged by me/my congregation within the next 24 hours?"

After Multicultural Night took place May 9, Sobo said the Jewish students she knows in the district didn't attend "as they did not feel confident that it would be a safe environment for them."

She has arranged a meeting with the superintendent, accompanied by Dayton Jewish Community Relations Council Director Jeff Blumer.

"Clearly there is still work to be done within the district," Sobo noted.

lf you experience or witness antisemitism

Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton CEO Cathy Gardner urges anyone in the Dayton area who has experienced or witnessed antisemitic acts or expressions to contact her at cgardner@jfgd.net.

"I encourage you to also report it to the ADL at adl.org/ report-incident," Gardner said.

He also declined to respond to The Observer's subsequent June 22–September 8, 2024

A social media post that StopAntisemitism alleged on Dec. 4 was made by Bethel H.S. teacher Sevinch Abbasova.

V. L. Cox, Hands Off II, 2017, mixed media.

Casey Riordan, Shark Girl as Boxer (detail), 2016, mixed media. Heather Jones, There’s No Plan (detail), 2019, sewn cotton. Chakaia Booker, Urban Butterfly, 2002, rubber tires, wood.

‘We

DAYTON

Greater Dayton Yom Hashoah Observance

May 5 • Beth Jacob

— Gayle & Irvin Moscowitz with their parents, Milton & Harriet Moscowitz & Edward & Frieda Weisbrod

Before a vacation to New Orleans, Irvin Moscowitz researched Ancestry.com to nd the cemetery where his great-grandparents were buried. “I have pictures and heard stories about my family, but standing by their graves from 1840 made me feel like I was right there with them. at’s when I knew we needed to maintain our cemeteries for future generations.”

Closer to home, Irvin and his wife, Gayle, visit their parents and his grandparents at Beth Jacob’s cemetery in Dayton. ey contributed to the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton campaign to “guarantee that we can take care of the people who took care of us.”

As a Kohen, Irvin kept clear of cemeteries for a long time. “I’ve made peace with the ways in which I could get close to the people that mean the most to me,” he said. “I gured out a way not to trample on my heritage but to ful ll my need to be respectful and honor my family. When I walk through a wellkept cemetery, I get a feeling that I’m actually close to someone who’s no longer here. I’ll put a stone on the headstone to let them know I’m there. It always brings back a lot of warm memories.”

Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton is an endowment organization created to maintain our three Jewish cemeteries in perpetuity. Please join us as we strive to maintain the sanctity, care, and integrity of these sacred burial grounds.

Division I Art, Grades 5-8

1st Place: Zoey Lee, Stivers

2nd Place: Abigail Lucous, Brookville

3rd Place: Thea Kiewitz, Dayton Montessori

Hon. Men.: Simon Hakim, Hillel

Hon. Men.: Libby Mark, Hastings

Division II Art, Grades 9-12

1st Place: Riley Wilson, MVCTC

2nd Place: Gwyneth Todd, MVCTC

3rd Place: Abigail Hilterbran, MVCTC

Hon. Men.: Ellie Feucht, Chaminade

Hon. Men.: Sophia Drugov, MVCTC

Division I Writing, Grades 5-8

1st Place: Ethan Anderson, Hastings

2nd Place: Simon Hakim, Hillel

3rd Place: Adina Baumgarten, Hillel

Division I Poetry/Prose, Grades 5-8

1st Place: Mariah Postell, Stivers

2nd Place: Laila Easterwood, Stivers

3rd Place: Logan Christian, Hastings

Division II Writing, Grades 9-12

1st Place: Kaylee Adams, MVCTC

2nd Place: Rachel Meyers, Stivers

3rd Place: Kyler Nunn, Moeller

Division II Poetry/Prose, Grades 9-12

1st Place: Charlie Brewer, MVCTC

2nd Place: Anna Gross, MVCTC

3rd Place: Grant McLendon, Moeller

2nd generation survivor Mark

talks with students before the

in a dialogue

teens and 2nd generation survivors facilitated by Charlotte

2nd generation survivor Helene Gordon also participated, and then read stories to younger children with survivor Eva Clair for a PJ Library & PJ Our Way program, How to be a Mensch.

Photos: Peter Wine

3rd generation survivor Noah Gruenberg performs Variations on a Hebrew Melody on electric violin.

2nd generation survivor Ruthie Davis lights a candle on the Yom Hashoah Candelabra with shamos 4th generation survivor Lena Elder.

Beth Jacob Congregation Rabbi Leibel Agar

Holocaust Ed. Committee Chair Renate Frydman (L) with teachers and winners of the 2024 Max May & Lydia May Memorial Holocaust Art & Writing Contest.

Speaker Marilou Brewster (R) is interviewed by Renate Frydman about how her parents rescued Jews during the Holocaust.

Gordon

Yom Hashoah Observance

with

Golden.

Before co-leading Fulbright trip to study Holocaust in Poland, Wittenberg prof. proclaims Israel committing genocide in Gaza

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

Associate Prof. of Psychology and Department Chair Michael Anes is a beloved member of the faculty at Wittenberg University in Springfield. So beloved that the graduating class of 2024 named him an honorary member — the second time he's received such an honor over his 20 years with the small, private liberal arts college.

On June 1, he and his wife, Associate Prof. of Political Science Heather Wright, will lead Wittenberg students on the couple's third Holocaust field study trip to Poland.

This time, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded them a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant, allowing them to expand the 30day study trip to include two additional faculty members and six high school teachers from across Ohio who teach history, government, and psychology courses.

The 14 participants will specifically explore "the tension between democratic pluralism and nationalistic exclusion of the 'other.'" It will also involve “increasing, strengthening, and diversifying the coverage of Polish issues in Ohio public schools and at Wittenberg,

especially as it relates to the effects of Ukrainian immigration and the Holocaust.”

Anes has occasionally taught about the psychology of the Holocaust. He's also one of the university's genocide educators.

Toward the end of the spring semester, he made it publicly known on campus and social media that he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

However, he declined to be interviewed by The Observer about how he came to that conclusion.

"Current situation: not going to sit quietly behind a keyboard when I can be supportive of others wanting to learn and speak — in public. #stopgenocide #stopgenocideingaza #stopfamine,"

Anes posted on his Facebook page April 29 along with photos of him on campus sitting beside a banner that read, "Stop Genocide And Famine."

In the comments below that post, he

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elaborated: "Students stop by and talk briefly. We have a few faculty involved. This is a very small-scale thing that will continue through the week as I can, and will likely remain small. Some students expressed interest so I am just trying to model that they can do something in public and that we can all be nonconfrontational or respectful."

Anes was one of two speakers to

Continued on Page Eight

Wittenberg Assoc. Prof. of Psychology Michael Anes posted a selfie on Facebook April 29 seated on campus beside a banner that read, 'Stop Genocide And Famine.'

Promotion flyer for a vigil at Wittenberg to remember those 'killed during this ongoing genocide in Gaza,' with Anes speaking.

Wittenberg prof.

Beth Abraham, Dayton’s only Conservative synagogue, is enthusiastically egalitarian and is a liated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. For a complete schedule of our programs, go to bethabrahamdayton.org.

Continued from Page Seven

offer "encouraging words for student activists" May 8 when Wittenberg students and faculty held a candlelight vigil "to honor and remember the lives of those who have been killed during this ongoing genocide in Gaza."

caust survivors across the world.

"The war is brutal, difficult, painful," Berenbaum said. "There are deep and profound losses on the side of the Palestinians. That's not genocide. There could be an accusation of war crimes. And if there are war crimes, there are war crimes on both sides, because what happened on Oct. 7 was a war crime."

He added that Israel has the capacity to commit genocide.

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Tikkun Leil Shavuot

Tuesday, June 11

6 PM - Dairy Lasagna Dinner. RSVP by June 6.

6:45 PM - Learning Sessions & Dairy Dessert. Is Reincarnation Jewish? A Brief Secret

History of Souls Rolling Over, aka Gilgul with Rav Glazer

The Art of Prayer: Western Art Music as Synagogue Sound with Cantor Raizen Evening Service to Follow.

"I'm very pleased to take part in it," Anes wrote of the event when he posted about it. In the comments, he added that the sign he has near him "when I 'protest' mentions the need for hostage release. It is absolutely a genocide."

The Observer corresponded back and forth with Anes about his accusations of genocide against Israel. The professor, who is Jewish, touched on why he decided to share his opinion publicly, but despite repeated requests, declined to present empirical evidence to back his conclusion.

The closest he came was a post to his Facebook page May 11 citing Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. of Holocaust History Amos Goldberg, who says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

In his essay, Yes, it is genocide, Goldberg writes: "What is happening in Gaza is genocide because the level and pace of the indiscriminate killing, the destruction, the mass deportations, the displacement, the starvation, the executions, the elimination of cultural and religious institutions, the crushing of the elites (including the killing of journalists), and the sweeping dehumanization of the Palestinians — create an overall picture of genocide, of intentional and conscious crushing of the Palestinian existence in Gaza."

"It's an overwhelming power, it has the ability if it wanted to, to commit genocide. Yet the population, and we see this in a very interesting way, the Palestinian population is increasing over the long run. Significantly. So if it were committing genocide, it is deeply and profoundly incompetent doing it.

"Should Israel be more generous, more forthcoming in bringing aid into the Gaza population? Absolutely. Should Israel be wiser about what it's doing? Absolutely. I think it should get rid of its current government, period. But that's a different story."

Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin invented the word genocide in 1944 to mean the intentional "destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group."

"That's not what's happening here," Berenbaum said. "You have urban warfare in which essentially the enemy is hiding in the normal infrastructure of a civilian population, including schools, mosques, and hospitals. And therefore, Israel is, however you want to evaluate it, trying to face that. It is not slaughtering wholesale the Palestinian population."

Michael Berenbaum, director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, and distinguished professor of Jewish studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, has spent his lifetime studying genocide.

Friday, June 21, 7:30 PM

Berenbaum did say he wishes Israel was going after Hamas more precisely. "It is fighting a war in which — and you have a moral question of the highest magnitude, and I've worked on just war theory — the question is whether you can fight a just war justly under the circumstances that Israel is facing. And the answer to that is, we don't know."

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He told The Observer in an interview that he considers Goldberg a credible scholar of genocide. But Berenbaum said Goldberg is wrong.

"The legitimate and credible scholars can be wrong. What I'd like them to do is tell me what element of genocide is present at that point? There are those in Israel who advocate for genocide. Look, the entire case of genocide made at the International Court of Justice was made in language with the government of Israel and its political leaders, which should disturb us. That's not the policy that's being done."

'Can you fight a just war justly under the circumstances that Israel is facing? The answer to that is, we don't know.'

He emphasized that the only way a scholar could argue that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza would be based on what he described as a flaw, a "problematic element" in the language of one provision of the U.N. genocide convention.

937•293•9520 www.bethabrahamdayton.org

Berenbaum was the project director who oversaw the development of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and served as the first director of its research institute. From there, he became president and CEO of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which documented and preserved the testimony of 52,000 Holo-

"The Convention on Genocide prohibits killing of persons belonging to a group in whole or in part. And the problem with 'in whole or in part' is it never defines 'in part.' That can be one person, two people, three people — that would technically be a part. But there's certainly no comparisons to the Holocaust, certainly no comparisons to Cambodia, certainly no comparisons to Rwanda. Certainly, no comparisons to the Armenians.

"We all know in the human rights community that the nonspecificity of the 'in whole or in part' is a problematic element of it. It's an attempt to Continued on Page 26

Michael Berenbaum

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Daniel Kahn, son of Neil and Gina Kahn, has graduated from Sinclair College. He was awarded two Associate Degrees of Applied Science: one in automation and control technology with robotics, the other in electro-mechanical engineering technology. Daniel plans to use his degrees working for a manufacturing concern.

Danielle Zeisloft, senior program coordinator in the Division of Prevention & Early Intervention Services at the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board, has been selected as a model for Girls on the Run of Dayton's Cocktails in Kicks athleisure fashion show, June 20 at The Brightside. Girls on the Run is a nonprofit that seeks to "enhance participants' social, emotional and physical skills to successfully navigate life experiences." Its curriculum integrates movement and life skills education to promote affirming inclusion and overall healthy outcomes for girls.

Jese Shell is the statewide winner of the Teachers Turn the Key Award from the Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators. The award recognizes one Ohio agriscience educator for dedication and innovation in the classroom, community, and student engagement. It honors teachers in their first four years of agricultural and career-technical education. Recipients receive additional professional development opportunities. He'll represent Ohio in November at the National Association of Agricultural Educators Annual Conference in San Antonio. Jese is a middle school agriscience and career-technical educator at Global Impact STEM Academy in Springfield. He just completed his third year of teaching.

The Dayton Holocaust Resource Center has received a grant from the Leon Norman and Mildred Miriam Nizny Memorial Fund and the Eleanor and John Kautz Fund of The Dayton Foundation to develop a

one-person play based on Renate Frydman's book, Anschel's Story, about her late husband's survival as a teenage partisan in Nazioccupied Poland. The play is now in development by Michael London of the Ohio Playwrights Circle. Initial readings of the play are planned for the Dayton Metro Library, Dayton Art Institute, local schools, and colleges.

Good things have come in threes for the Weiss family this spring. Dayton Public Schools nominated Fairview Elementary ELL teacher Donna Weiss and five other teachers across the district as its nominees for State of Ohio 2025 Teacher of the Year. Adina Weiss graduated cum laude from Denison University with an English literature major and a philosophy minor. While there, Adina served as president of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Denison's Hillel. A member of Sigma Tau Delta English honor society, Adina also worked as a consultant for Denison's writing center and was a political and advocacy intern with Ohio Jewish Communities. In June, she returns for her fourth summer with the JCC's Camp Shalom, this time as assistant director. In August, Adina will begin her work as Hillel Academy

Jewish day school's fifth- and sixth-grade secular studies teacher, and with the JCC Early Childhood Education program. Levi Weiss completes his third year as an intervention specialist at Ruskin Elementary School in Dayton, and in August will begin his work as an intervention specialist with the Hilliard City School District. Cheering on the Weiss family teachers is proud husband and papa Marshall Weiss

Send your Mazel Tov announcements to mweiss@jfgd.net.

Danielle Zeisloft

Jese Shell

Levi, Adina, and Donna Weiss

Hillel Academy

After months of studying, each student in Hillel Academy Jewish day school's first and second grades received their own Siddur (prayer book) from Director of Judaics Rabbi Levi Simon in a special ceremony May 3.

Daniel Kahn

Alexis Becker

Parents: Annette Nathan, Albert Becker

Stepparents: Ann Becker, Marc Gilbert

Grandparents: Shirley and Paul Nathan, Margaret and Albert Becker

School: Centerville

Activities: BBYO President, Dance, Math Instructor, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society

Volunteering: Dance Student

Ambassador at Epic Dance Academy, AP Mentors, Elk Connectors

Honors: Graduating Summa Cum Laude, AP Scholar With Honors Award, 5-Year Achievement Dance Award, BBYO Silver Star of Deborah, BBYO Gold Star of Deborah, National Merit Qualifier, Governor's Merit Scholar

Congregation: Temple Beth Or and Temple Israel

After Graduation: Miami University, Biochemistry, Premed

Brianna Becker

Parents: Annette Nathan, Albert Becker

Stepparents: Ann Becker, Marc Gilbert

Grandparents: Shirley and Paul Nathan, Margaret and Albert Becker

School: Centerville

Activities: Choir, Summit A Capella, BBYO, JCC Youth Theatre

Volunteering: Key Club, BBYO JServe, Temple Israel Jewish Cultural Festival, Chabad Camp Gan Israel

Honors: Graduating Summa Cum Laude, National Merit Scholar Finalist, College Merit Scholarship, Washington Township Community Service Award

Congregation: Temple Beth Or and Temple Israel

After Graduation: Miami University

The Class of 2024

Caitlyn Becker

Parents: Annette Nathan, Albert Becker

Stepparents: Ann Becker, Marc Gilbert

Grandparents: Shirley and Paul Nathan, Margaret and Albert Becker

School: Centerville

Activities: BBYO, JCC Youth Theatre, GSA, Stage Club, JCC Camp Shalom Counselor, Server with Bernstein's Fine Catering Honors: Graduating Magna Cum Laude, National Honor Society, AP

Tal Glazer

Parents: Elyssa Wortzman and Rabbi Aubrey Glazer

Grandparents: Cheryl and Raymond Morris, Barry and Ruth Wortzman, Esther and Bruce Glazer

School: Oakwood

Activities: Jr. Varsity Tennis

Captain, Lead in Student Written Plays

Volunteering: Beth Abraham

Synagogue, NCCJ Anytown, Dayton Foodbank, Pantry Packers (Jerusalem)

Congregation: Beth Abraham

After Graduation: University of Dayton, Biology, Save the Turtles and Sharks.

Congregation: Temple Beth Or and Temple Israel

After Graduation: Miami University, English

Sofie Goodrich

Parents: Heather Goodrich and Robin Lensch, the late Mike Goodrich

Grandparents: Barbara Mendelson and the late Sandy Mendelson, Kathy Goodrich, Darlene and Tom Lensch

School: Bellbrook

Activities: Lacrosse, Working Out, Reading, Hanging with Friends.

Volunteering: Supportive Peers

Honors: Girls' Lacrosse 2023

Eagle Heart Award

Congregation: Temple Beth Or and Beth Abraham

After Graduation: Ohio University, Accounting and Business Analytics

Zach Goodrich

Parents: Heather Goodrich and Robin Lensch, the late Mike Goodrich

Grandparents: Barbara Mendelson and the late Sandy Mendelson, Kathy Goodrich, Darlene and Tom Lensch

School: Bellbrook

Activities: Cycling Drone Club, Hanging with Friends.

Volunteering: Supportive Peers Honors: Many Cycling Awards

Congregation: Temple Beth Or and Beth Abraham

After Graduation: Ohio University, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Samuel Jacob

Parents: Allyson and Marc Jacob

Grandparents: Deb and Jeff Wacksman, Frankie and Joe Jacob

School: Centerville

Activities: Cross Country, Track, BBYO, Camp Ramah New England

Honors: Magna Cum Laude

Graduate

After Graduation: University of Pittsburgh, Athletic Training

OPINION

The war against the Jewish story

The ease with which anti-Zionists have managed to portray the Jewish state as genocidal marks a historic failure of Holocaust education.

By Yossi Klein Halevi , Times of Israel

How has it come to this? How is it possible that Israel, rather than radical Islamism, would become the villain on liberal campuses? That thousands of students would be chanting “from the river to the sea” even as the Hamas massacre revealed that slogan’s genocidal implications? That the most passionate outbreak of student activism since the 1960s would be devoted to delegitimizing the Jewish people’s story of triumph over annihilation?

This moment didn’t happen in a vacuum. The anti-Zionist forces in academia have been preparing the ground for decades, systematically dismantling the moral basis of each stage of Zionist and Israeli history.

The attack began on the very origins of Zionism, which was transformed from a story of a dispossessed people re-indigenizing in its ancient homeland into one more sordid expression of European colonialism. (Europe’s postHolocaust gift to the Jews: leaving us with the bill for its sins.)

Next, the birth of Israel in 1948 was reduced to the Nakba, or catastrophe, a Palestinian narrative of total innocence that ignores the ethnic cleansing of Jews from every place where Arab armies were victorious and the subsequent uprooting of the entire Jewish population of the Muslim world.

Post-1967 Israel was cast as an apartheid state – turning Zionism, a multi-faceted movement representing Jews across the political and religious spectrum, into a racist ideology and reducing an agonizingly complex national conflict into a medieval passion play about Jewish perfidy.

And now, with the Gaza War, we have come to the genocide canard, the endpoint in the process of delegitimization.

To turn Israel into the world’s archcriminal requires three forms of erasure. The first is of the connection between the land of Israel and the people of Israel. In the anti-Zionist telling of the conflict, a 4,000-year connection that has been the heart of Jewish identity and faith is irrelevant, if not contrived outright by Zionists.

The second is the erasure of the relentless war against Israel, placing

So, what do you think?

its actions under a microscope while downplaying or entirely ignoring the aggression of its enemies. There is never any context to Israel’s actions. Only by erasing Hamas’ atrocities can Israel be turned into the villain of this war.

In focusing on Israel’s actions and dismissing those of Hamas, campus protesters are providing cover for Oct. 7 denialism. This is a new version of the Holocaust denialism prevalent in parts of the Muslim world: The atrocities didn’t happen, you deserved them, and we’re going to do it again (and again).

On a recent trip to New York, walking along Broadway on the Upper West Side, I saw dozens of defaced posters of kidnapped Israelis. Rather than tear down the posters, the vandals had blacked out the Israeli faces – a literal defacement. And a useful metaphor for the anti-Zionist assault on our being.

The third form of erasure is dismissing the history of peace offers presented or accepted by Israel and uniformly rejected by the Palestinian side. No offer — an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza, the re-division of Jerusalem, the uprooting of dozens of settlements — was ever sufficient. It is hard to think of another national movement representing a stateless people that rejected more offers of self-determination than the Palestinian leadership.

of Jews as other but the symbolization of The Jew. That is, turning the Jews into the symbol for whatever a given civilization defines as its most loathsome qualities. For Christianity until the Holocaust, The Jew was Christ-killer; for Marxism, the ultimate capitalist; for Nazism, the defiler of race. And now, in the era of anti-racism, the Jewish state is the embodiment of racism.

Holocaust education was intended, in large part, to protect the Jewish people from a recurrence of the antisemitism that reduces Jews to symbols. Yet the movement to turn Israel into the world’s criminal nation emerges from a generation that was raised with Holocaust consciousness, both in formal education and the arts. And this latest expression of the antisemitism of symbols is justified by some anti-Zionists as honoring “the lessons of the Holocaust.”

The vulgar protesters are a small minority, but they are shaping the attitudes of a whole generation.

Unlike the Iranian regime, which clumsily tries to deny the historicity of the Holocaust, anti-Zionists in the West intuitively understand that coopting and inverting the Holocaust is a far more effective way of neutralizing its impact.

campuses, from Columbia to Berkeley. In meetings with Jewish students, I was repeatedly told about a pervasive atmosphere of hostility toward Israel, even among many otherwise apolitical students. While the protests are an immediate threat to Jewish well-being on campus, the far deeper problem is the impact of the anti-Zionist campaign, linking the name “Israel” with racism and genocide.

The vulgar protesters are a small minority, but they are shaping the attitudes of a whole generation.

By focusing only on the immediate threat of the protests, we risk repeating the mistake we’ve made over the last decades of failing to adequately confront the systematic assault on our story.

We are losing a generation, but we haven’t yet lost. Like other radical movements, anti-Zionism could go too far in its righteous rage, potentially alienating the majority. Perhaps that process has already begun.

The ease with which anti-Zionists have managed to portray the Jewish state as genocidal, a successor to Nazi Germany, marks a historic failure of Holocaust education in the West.

This moment requires a fundamental rethinking of the goals and methodology of Holocaust education. By overemphasizing the necessary universal lessons of the Holocaust, many educators too easily equated antisemitism with generic racism.

The intention was noble: to render the Holocaust relevant to a new generation. But in the process, the essential lesson of the Holocaust — the uniqueness not only of the event itself but of the hatred that made it possible — was often lost.

Antisemitism is not merely the hatred

Many, perhaps most, of the campus protesters are likely not antisemitic. They may have Jewish friends or be Jewish themselves. But that is irrelevant: They are enabling an antisemitic moment.

What is under assault is the integrity of the mid-20th century Jewish story, of a people rejecting the self-pity of victimhood and fulfilling its most improbable dream: renewing itself, in its broken old age, in the land of its youth.

The shift from the lowest point Jews have known to the reclamation of power and self-confidence is one of the most astonishing feats of survival not only in Jewish but world history. It is that story that is being distorted and trivialized and demonized on liberal campuses.

I recently completed a lecture tour of some of the most Jewishly problematic

The challenge of our generation is to defend the story we inherited from the survivor generation. We need to tell that story with moral credibility, in all its complexity, frankly owning our flaws even as we celebrate our successes, acknowledging the Palestinian narrative even as we insist on the integrity of our own.

We desperately need new strategies to counter the anti-Zionist assault. A good beginning would be the creation of a brain trust, composed of community activists, rabbis, journalists, historians, public relations experts, that would devise both immediate responses to the current crisis and a long-term strategy, emulating the decades-long patient work of the anti-Zionists.

The Jews are a story we tell ourselves about who we think we are; without our story, there is no Judaism. It is long past time to mount a credible defense of our mid-20th century story, which continues to sustain us as a people.

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Students/demonstrators lock arms to block authorities from reaching fellow pro-Palestinian protesters who barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, April 29.

Alex Kent/Getty Images

June2024

UPCOMING EVENTS

WEDNESDAYS (except June 12), 12:30 - 3:30PM Open Canasta

Lessons will be available starting at 12:30 PM on June 5, 19, and 26

SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 5PM

Presidents Dinner

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Home

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • An Evening of Short Films

MONDAY, JUNE 10, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • The Interpreter

SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • All About the Levkoviches

TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 10AM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Remembering Gene Wilder

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Nathan-ism

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 10AM

JFS Drive-Thru Mitzvah Mission

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 3PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • An American Tail

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 7:15PM

m itzvah m ission

Connect with us! Check out our events. For more information, check out our calendar at jewishdayton.org

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Less Than Kosher

THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival • Stella. A Life.

SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 7:15PM

Dayton Jewish Film Festival Closing Night • My Neighbor Adolf

Sunday, June 23, 10AM – 12PM

The Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville, 45459, No cost

Back by popular demand, JFS is hosting another Drive-Thru Mitzvah Mission! Help us feed guests at St. Vincent de Paul’s shelters with frozen casseroles and provide high-need items for YWCA Dayton. JFS will take your donations and provide you with a sweet treat in return. If you have questions, please contact Jacquelyn Archie, JFS administrative assistant, at jarchie@jfgd.net or at 937-610-1555.

High-Need Items for YWCA Dayton

Baby wipes, diapers, underwear (children/women), socks (children/women), body wash (women/children), deodorant

Frozen Macaroni & Cheese Casserole Recipe

• 1-1/2 lbs (24 oz) elbow macaroni

• 2 lbs cheese, melted

• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of celery soup

• 2-1/2 cups milk

Cook macaroni and drain. Melt cheese separately and add to macaroni. Add milk and soup. Mix well. Pour into sprayed pan. Cover loosely and place in refrigerator until completely cooled. Then cover tightly with sturdy foil lid and freeze. Casserole should be frozen for 36 hours.

Can't make it to the JFS Drive-Thru Mitzvah Mission that morning? Later that day, you can bring your high-need YWCA donations to the Neon when you attend one of the JCC's two Film Fest screenings.

June2024

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

The Roger Glass Center for the Arts

29 Creative Way, Dayton, 45479

$18 for an individual ticket

$95 for a season pass

NIGHT OF Short Films

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 7:15PM AT THE NEON

Opening Night

Thursday, May 30 at 7PM followed by speaker Dr. Jenny Caplan and a dessert reception

The Catskills

(United States, 2023, 86 minutes) • Documentary

The Catskills is a delightful account of the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt and the powerful women who made it happen. With a trove of lost-andfound archival footage and a cast of characters endowed with the gift of gab, this charming documentary journeys into the storied mountain getaway north of New York City that served as refuge for Jewish immigrants and affluent Jewish families alike. Stand-up comedians share their best shtick while former waiters, entertainers, and dance instructors recount tales of the family-run resorts and bungalows. Punctuated with expert commentary— including from Dayton’s Dr. Jenny Caplan!—The Catskills is where nostalgia and memory meet the American Jewish experience.

2024 LINE UP

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 7:15PM AT THE NEON Night of shorts: Sevap/Mitzvah, BrownWhite, Mazel Tov Cocktail, Call Me Alvy, Jack and Sam

MONDAY, JUNE 10, 7:15PM AT THE NEON

The Interpreter also available online June 10-11

SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 7:15PM AT THE NEON

All About the Levkoviches also available online June 16-18

First 50 dads free for in-person attendance

TICKETS

$18 opening night

$12 All other nights unless otherwise noted

$95 Festival pass includes opening night and can be used for either in-person or online films.

To purchase tickets or a festival pass, visit jewishdayton.org For more information or assistance, contact 937-610-1555.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 10AM AT THE NEON Remembering Gene Wilder 9:30 AM Reception sponsored by Hadassah

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 7:15PM AT THE NEON Nathan-ism

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 3PM AT THE NEON An American Tail No charge for tickets Must register online at jewishdayton.org

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 7:15PM AT THE NEON Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 7:15PM AT THE NEON Less than Kosher also available online June 25-27

THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 7:15PM AT THE NEON Stella. A Life.

Closing Night

SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 7:15PM AT THE NEON My Neighbor Adolf

JUNE 3 - JULY 26

Camp Shalom is planning a summer of fun!

We o er the traditional camp experience, a variety of specialty camps including outdoor adventures, magic, Ninja Warrior, cheerleading, and more! Join us for weekly swimming and field trips, great counselors, and lots of friends!

Spots are still available for Cheerleading specialty camp!

CAMP SHALOM IS HIRING SUMMER STAFF!

Do you know someone 16 or older who would be a great camp counselor? Interested candidates should contact Suzzy Nandrasy at snandrasy@jfgd.net.

See jewishdayton.org for more information. Register at app.campdoc.com/register/jccgreaterdayton.

CANASTA LESSONS

CANASTA EVERY WEDNESDAY (except June 12) 12:30 - 3:30PM, No cost

At the Boonshoft CJCE 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville, 45459

Join us every Wednesday for Canasta – the perfect way to spend an afternoon with your friends at the J!

Want to learn to play? Lessons will be available starting at 12:30 PM on June 5, 19, and 26.

Questions? Contact Stacy Emo at semo @jfgd.net or call 937-610-1555.

Community Center

June2024

2024 SUMMER SERIES VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials

Sponsored by:

PAST PRESIDENTS FUND

In memory of Rabbi Samuel Press

Sylvia and Ralph Heyman

Politicization of LGBTQIA Youth & Providers in Ohio

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER DAYTON ENDOWMENT FUND

In memory of Lois Unger

May 10, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

Susan and Joe Gruenberg

JOE BETTMAN MEMORIAL TZADIK AWARD

In memory of Shirley Gotlieb Frankowitz

In memory of Jean Lieberman

Melissa and Tim Sweeny

In memory of Robert Kahn

In memory of David Saphire

Elaine Bettman

Jean and Todd Bettman

In memory of Paula Benjamin Levitt

In memory of Florence Silberg Sobol

In memory of Francine Roberts

Jean and Todd Bettman

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

July 12, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

CULTURAL ARTS AND BOOKS SERIES

In memory of Florence Silberg Sobol

JEWISH CEMETERIES OF GREATER DAYTON

In memory of Jean Lieberman

In memory of Shirley Gotlieb Frankowitz

Linda Ohlmann Kahn and Dennis Kahn

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES

In memory of Robert Kahn

Jane and Gary Hochstein

In memory of Florence Silberg Sobol

Helene Gordon

In memory of Ellen Stein’s mother

Renee and Franklin Handel

TALA ARNOVITZ FUND

In memory of Jean Lieberman

In memory of Florence Silberg Sobol

*Meets Ethics Requirement*

Mary and Gary Youra

In memory of Rabbi Samuel Press

School boards, city gov’ts, and the state legislature have enacted policies that impact gender diverse and queer youth—often by attacking the practice of health and human services providers. We’ll review current status of these policies, what the future may hold, and how to take advocacy, legal, & practice actions to preserve the right of social workers and other health and human service providers to provide care. We’ll also review how behavioral health professionals working with youth must adapt their practice in light of these laws.

Judy and Howard Abromowitz

HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING FUND

In memory of Robert Kahn

Donna and Marshall Weiss

Helene Gordon

Melinda and Bill Doner

In memory of Shirley Gotlieb Frankowitz

Melinda and Bill Doner

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter.

Stacy Emo

This training will explore the mental health crises among teenagers within the school setting. We will discuss common mental health diagnoses for this population, tips for addressing behavioral challenges, and how we as professionals can help support these youth when resources may be limited.

JOAN AND PETER WELLS AND REBECCA

LINVILLE FAMILY, CHILDREN AND YOUTH FUND

In memory of Robert Kahn

In memory of Lois Unger

In memory of William Schoenfeld

In yahrzeit memory of Rebecca Linville

Joan and Peter Wells

Presenter: Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW is the Program Manager for the ESC program with South Community Behavioral Health. She has 20+ years of experience working with youth and families in various settings such as foster care, juvenile corrections and school-based programming.

In memory of Steven Markman

In memory of Irving Kaplan

Beverly Saeks

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

August 9, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

Trauma Basics

June 14, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

Family

Supporting Teens with Mental Health School-Related Challenges

Trauma. Everyone has it. Everyone reacts differently to it. From big "T" trauma to little "t" trauma, understanding the effects of trauma helps us to be better therapists, caseworkers, parents, & humans. In our time together we will discuss how to define trauma and, more importantly, how to address trauma within our own bodies and the bodies of those around us.

2024 SUMMER SERIES VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

Sponsored by:

2024 SUMMER SERIES VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

explore the mental health crises among the school setting. We will discuss health diagnoses for this population, tips behavioral challenges, and how we as help support these youth when resources

Topics include understanding common mental health diagnoses among the population and providing strate for assessment, intervention and support. Prevalenc common challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients escalation techniques, and ethical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

Services Association

Presenter: Aaron Earlywine, LPC, is the CarePortal Regional Manager for the Greater Miami Valley Region. He is Social Resilience Model (SRM) certified, a Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) facilitator, and a trauma-informed practitioner and trainer.

Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW is the Program ESC program with South Community She has 20+ years of experience working families in various settings such as foster care, corrections and school-based programming.

Politicization of LGBTQIA Youth & Providers in Ohio

*Meets Ethics Requirement*

Presenter: Carol Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S Health Services Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developm Disabilities Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate d in Rehabilitation Svcs., and she has worked as a th Presenter: Mark Cummings, BSW, LSW, is a mental health therapist with experience providing support to pers developmental disabilities and mental health needs, worked with vulnerable populations in settings such Dayton State Hospital and group homes.

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

July 12, 2024 8:45am-12pm

Youth & Providers in Ohio Family

The 2024 workshop series offers a total of 15 CEUs, approved for licensed social workers and counselors. Registrants must log in by the official starting time and complete the entire course to receive a CEU certificate. No exceptions.

Calling all social workers and counselors! Join Jewish Family Services and its partners for a morning of online learning for 3 CEU's. Sessions will be held on the second Friday of every month through September.

*Meets Ethics Requirement*

Trauma Basics

8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

June 14 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter. May 10, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

Clinical Supervision Challenges in the Modern World

This training will explore the mental health crises teenagers within the school setting. We will discus common mental health diagnoses for this population, for addressing behavioral challenges, and how we as professionals can help support these youth when res may be limited.

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

September 13, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

School boards, city gov’ts, and the state legislature have enacted policies that impact gender diverse and queer youth—often by attacking the practice of health and human services providers. We’ll review current status of these policies, what the future may hold, and how to take advocacy, legal, & practice actions to preserve the right of social workers and other health and human service providers to provide care. We’ll also review how behavioral health professionals working with youth must adapt their practice in light of these laws.

understanding common mental health among the population and providing strategies intervention and support. Prevalence rates, challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients, detechniques, and ethical and cultural will also be addressed.

Questions about the workshop topics? Contact Sabrina Chupp at schupp@fsadayton.org. Please note that Sabrina can NOT assist you with registration.

July 12, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

*Meets Supervision Requirement*

Presenter: Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW Manager for the ESC program with South Community Behavioral Health. She has 20+ years of experience with youth and families in various settings such as juvenile corrections and school-based programming.

This training will explore the mental health crises among teenagers within the school setting. We will discuss common mental health diagnoses for this population, tips for addressing behavioral challenges, and how we as professionals can help support these youth when resources may be limited.

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

July 12 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

NO REFUNDS. Fees prepaid for a missed workshop can be applied to another workshop in the same year by calling Jefferson Alcott at 937.223.7217 x1146.

Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S is the Mental Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developmental Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate degree is Svcs., and she has worked as a therapist.

School boards, city gov’ts, and the state legislature have enacted policies that impact gender diverse and queer youth—often by attacking the practice of health and human services providers. We’ll review current status of these policies, what the future may hold, and how to take advocacy, legal, & practice actions to preserve the right of social workers and other health and human service providers to provide care. We’ll also review how behavioral health professionals working with youth must adapt their practice in light of these laws.

Clinical supervision has always been a challenging complex dynamic within the mental health field. Mod times and events (post-COVID, advancement of technology, explosion of severe mental health issue among the populace, etc.) have further complicated supervisory relationship and significantly increase and legal risks and liabilities. This training will the etiology of these issues to help you better und the challenges, as well as suggest a variety of sup interventions and tools to meet the demand competen and professionally.

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Cummings, BSW, LSW, is a mental health experience providing support to persons with disabilities and mental health needs, having vulnerable populations in settings such as

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities 13, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0

August 9 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

Trauma. Everyone has it. Everyone reacts differently to it. From big "T" trauma to little "t" trauma, understanding the effects of trauma helps us to be better therapists, caseworkers, parents, & humans. In our time together we will discuss how to define trauma and, more importantly, how to address trauma within our own bodies and the bodies of those around us.

Registration and payment are required prior to the training, in order to receive your link to the Zoom session. The Monday prior to the training, you will receive an email with the Zoom link and details about accessing the training.

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social

September 13 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

and group homes.

Supervision Challenges

*Meets Supervision Requirement*

Presenter: Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW is the Program Manager for the ESC program with South Community Behavioral Health. She has 20+ years of experience working with youth and families in various settings such as foster care, juvenile corrections and school-based programming.

Topics include understanding common mental health diagnoses among the population and providing strate for assessment, intervention and support. Prevalenc common challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients escalation techniques, and ethical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

Clinical Supervision Challenges in the Modern World

Presenter: Aaron Earlywine, LPC, is the CarePortal Regional Manager for the Greater Miami Valley Region. He is Social Resilience Model (SRM) certified, a Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) facilitator, and a trauma-informed practitioner and trainer.

Presenter: Joshua D. Francis, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS Associate Professor in the Clinical Mental Health C Program as well as Director of the Addictions Couns Program in the College of Education and Human Servi Wright State University.

Trauma. Everyone has it. Everyone reacts differently to it. From big "T" trauma to little "t" trauma, understanding the effects of trauma helps us to be better therapists, caseworkers, parents, & humans.

Presenter: Carol Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S Health Services Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developm Disabilities Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate d in Rehabilitation Svcs., and she has worked as a th Presenter: Mark Cummings, BSW, LSW therapist with experience providing support to pers developmental disabilities and mental health needs, worked with vulnerable populations in settings such Dayton State Hospital and group homes.

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Topics include understanding common mental health diagnoses among the population and providing strategies for assessment, intervention and support. Prevalence rates, common challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients, deescalation techniques, and ethical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

Clinical Supervision Challenges in the Modern World

13, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0

*Meets Supervision Requirement*

Family Services Association Graceworks Lutheran Services Jewish Family Services of Greater Dayton

Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley

Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley

Family Services Association

Graceworks Lutheran Services

Jewish Family Services of Greater Dayton

RELIGION

To My Dearest on our anniversary

A Shavuot love letter

By Rabbi Cary Kozberg

Temple Sholom, Springfield

Jewish tradition teaches that Shavuot is z’man matan Torateynu—the time of the giving of our Torah. It commemorates the moment when, after bringing us out of Egypt to Sinai, God called us to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy people" and gave us the means (commandments) to fulfill that mandate. Legend tells us that every Jewish soul — that ever was and ever will be — heard the Voice. That “Sinai moment” is imagined as the moment when God consecrated us as His own. In other words, it was our

Perspectives

wedding: we were offered and accepted a ketubah, a marriage contract, the Torah (Ex. 19:8), “All that the Lord has spoken we will do."

That would make Shavuot our wedding anniversary. With that in mind, here is a question to those of us who are married: How would we feel if our spouse totally forgot our anniversary? Or worse, how would we feel if our spouse remembered, but totally ignored it?

So many of us forget or simply ignore this arguably most important Jewish holiday. Without Torah, there would be no other holidays. We would have no direction and no compelling purpose or reason to even stick around as a people.

And yet we’re still here—a fact palpably more amazing this year, given the words we spoke just a few weeks ago at our Seders — “In every generation, some rise up to annihilate us.”

For the still-faithful among us, we’re still here because God still wants us here. But for many of us, we’ve forgotten

Candle Lightings

Shabbat, May 31: 8:40 p.m.

Shabbat, June 7: 8:45 p.m.

Erev Shavuot, June 11: 8:47 p.m.

2nd Eve Shavuot, June 12: 9:55 p.m.

Shabbat, June 14: 8:48 p.m.

Shabbat, June 21: 8:50 p.m.

Shabbat, June 28: 8:51 p.m.

this. Or we simply deny it. If we would feel badly being forgotten, or ignored, how must God feel? How might God respond? Perhaps in this way?

To My Dearest:

As we approach the day commemorating the beginning of our commitment to one another, I feel the need to send you this. I send it with some frustration, but more in disappointment than anger. But know that these feelings are based in My continuing love and concern for you.

notion. Because as painful as it is for Me to watch, it’s still a possibility that needs to be considered — believe it or not, for your own good.

That said, I completely understand why you have doubts about Me and My intentions. Given the deplorable state of the world — particularly now — why wouldn’t you ask, Where is God? If God is just, why does He allow evil to exist? If God is compassionate, why does He allow so much suffering?

Of late, we have not been on the best of terms. Throughout our millennia-old relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs. When the ups were up, they were way up; when the downs were down…well, you know.

You’ve tried My patience so many times, and yes, there have been times when I wanted to end it, but never could. I never could because, even though you may not believe in or feel connected to Me, I still believe in and feel connected to you. Through the years, I’ve tried to reach you by sending you prophets and teachers to help you better understand Me and what I’m about. And there have been times when horrible things happened to you, and some of you interpreted those times as My trying to get your attention.

But know this: ever since I sent plagues in Egypt and created the “special effects” at Sinai, I’ve always been trying to get your attention — sometimes more subtly, sometimes more boldly. And if some of you believe that what is currently happening to you is My trying to get your attention? Well, I will not disabuse you of that

Torah Portions

June 1: Bechukotai (Lev. 26:3-27:34)

June 8: Bamidbar (Num. 1:1-4:20)

June 15: Naso (Num. 4:21-7:89)

June 22: Behalotecha (Num. 8:1-12:16)

June 29: Shelach (Num. 13:1-15:41)

to be chosen. I chose you and loved you and saw great potential in you.

To be sure, there have been times when you’ve given Me tremendous pride and naches. But lately it seems that you’ve been doing the Julia Roberts/ Runaway Bride thing. And that saddens and disappoints Me.

I want you back. I need you back. I need you back because if you are no longer my “walking commercials,” if you are no longer My “light unto the nations,”whatever happens, the world will become very dark. Look around and see a preview of just how dark the world can become.

In truth, from your perspective, these are all fair questions. But I would add that the fact that they bother you enough to even ask them means I did something right.

I’m glad they bother you. I’m glad you struggle with them. Not only do I not discourage or forbid such questions, on the contrary, I want you to struggle with them, to wrestle with them, and therefore with Me.

This is why you are called by the name I gave your ancestor Jacob, Yisrael, the one who wrestles with God. Yes, I love it when you and I wrestle. Because even when we struggle with one another, we are in a close embrace.

But in fairness, just as you ask where is God? I must ask where are you? Where have you been? It’s the same question I asked Adam when he tried to hide from Me that lovely afternoon in the garden. And I can’t help feeling that like Adam, you also continue to hide from Me.

But why? Ever since I connected with your ancestor Abraham, I chose you and had great plans for you to be My “walking commercials” in the world. At Sinai, you agreed

Shavuot Festival of Weeks, Giving of the Torah

June 12-13 • 6-7 Sivan Marks the end of the counting of the Omer, a 49day period that begins on the second night of Passover, and recalls the giving of the Torah at Sinai. In Israel, it falls at the end of the spring harvest. An all-night study session called a tikun, originally a mystical practice, is held at some synagogues.

Beth Abraham Synagogue Conservative

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming

Andrea Raizen Fridays, 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. 305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. 937-293-9520. bethabrahamdayton.org

Beth Jacob Congregation

Traditional

Rabbi Leibel Agar Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. Evening minyans upon request. 7020 N. Main St., Dayton. 937-274-2149. bethjacobcong.org

Temple Anshe Emeth Reform

As an anniversary gift to you, here are some thoughts of Mine that a poet among you somehow has intuited and expressed beautifully. They’re pretty spot-on and I share them with sincerity and with love:

I know I often seem far away, says Hashem.

I know I have not lived up to your expectations, Especially at times of your greatest need.

But if it looks like I stand behind barriers — They are not my creation, But the result of your doing And the actions of others. Dismantle them if you wish to get close to Me: Admit your own role in building them, And perpetuating them, And looking away when others fortify them.

If you rush by, I cannot respond. If you deny your wounds, Put up walls, Or block Me, I cannot heal.

With each step to dismantle the barriers I will become closer to you. If you surrender your defenses, I will feel so close

That you can feel Me inside You

Healing from within.

— from the poem A Prayer of a Distant God by Rich Orloff

My dearest, I cannot force you to stop hiding. But it is our anniversary, and I do hope we can get closer. If you feel distant, please remember that I am not the one who has moved.

B’ahavat olam, with everlasting love, Hashem/God

Fri., June 14, 7:30 p.m. led by Jese Shell. 320 Caldwell St., Piqua. Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, ansheemeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org

Temple Beth Or Reform

Rabbi Judy Chessin

Asst. Rabbi/Educator Ben Azriel Fridays, 6:30 p.m. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400. templebethor.com

Temple Beth Sholom Reform

Rabbi Haviva Horvitz 610 Gladys Dr., Middletown. 513-422-8313. templebethsholom.net

Temple Israel Reform

Senior Rabbi Karen BodneyHalasz. Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo Fri., June 7, 6 p.m. Fridays, June 14, 21, 28, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22, 10:30 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom Reform

Rabbi Cary Kozberg Fridays, 6 p.m. 2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. 937-399-1231. templesholomoh.com

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Chabad of Greater Dayton

Rabbi Nochum Mangel

Associate Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin

Youth & Prog. Dir. Rabbi Levi Simon. Beginner educational service Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave. 937-643-0770. chabaddayton.com

Yellow Springs Havurah Independent Antioch College Rockford Chapel. 1st & 3rd Saturday each month. Contact Len Kramer, 937-5724840 or len2654@gmail.com.

Rabbi Cary Kozberg

Slavery or freedom?

Judaism's Worldview Series

Enslaved in the USSR that intensely oppressed its Jewish citizens but disallowed emigration, the promising young physics student Boris Nadgorny would likely have languished in the shadows of

Candace R. Kwiatek

academia and Soviet life.

However in 1987, Oxford University students took up his cause. Their most audacious plan was inviting Soviet official Sergei Shilov to a universitywide lecture on campus, ostensibly to speak on glasnost, the Soviet policy permitting more open discussion of political and

social issues and a freer press. Students’ prearranged postspeech questions focused on Jewish refuseniks, specifically Boris Nadgorny. “Boris was not refused, it is not true,” Shilov protested. “He can go any time he wants.” In a surprise move, the program leader invited Boris himself to react via his live telephone link. In heavily accented English, Boris asserted, “I was refused just two weeks ago.” The chairman turned to Shilov, “Will you tell Boris directly that he has permission to leave?”

Unwilling to risk undermining warming relations with the West, the Soviet official had no option. “You are free to leave,” he said.

Just two weeks after reaching freedom in America, Boris began speaking out on behalf

Literature to share

Rising by Sidura Ludwig. In this unhurried picture book tale, a mother and child make challah together while preparing for Shabbat. Each double-page spread features an inviting, pasteltoned image accompanied by simple evocative text, both of which encourage questions and conversation. Gently woven throughout the story are themes of creation, work, rest, sharing, and gratitude. Magical!

The Genius of Israel by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. Why is Israel ranked as the fourth happiest nation in the world? Why is its population young and growing in stark contrast to that of other Western nations? Why is it the world’s leader in tech startups per capita? In this fascinating and highly readable exploration of what makes Israel tick, the authors also learn what makes Israelis so resilient. Inspiring and thought-provoking.

of his fellow refuseniks left behind.

“If there’s a top 10 list for the most abused words in the English language, freedom must be up there near the top,” writes Rabbi Yaakov Sinclair.

Modern dictionaries define it as the supremacy of the individual, exemption from shared responsibility, immunity from obligation, and lack of hindrance or restraint.

“Freedom has narrowed to an expression of the individual will,” adds the Rev. Cheryl Hauer, "an exercise in self-gratification.” In a strange inversion, freedom has become enslavement to one’s basest desires, emotions, and impulses.

The first century Stoic philosopher Seneca made a similar observation: "Show me a man who is not a slave: one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear...No servitude is more disgraceful than that which is self-imposed.”

spirits. Yet, just days into their journey, the Israelites began complaining about a lack of water and longing for the bounty and programmed simplicity of a slave’s life under Pharaoh.

It turns out there are no truly free spirits in Creation because freedom without boundaries is anarchy. Humans are unique only in that they can choose the source of those boundaries.

Hence, the purpose of the Exodus was not simply chofesh. Moses says to Pharaoh, “Let my people go that they may worship Me.”

The purpose was equally cherut, the freedom to choose to serve God, to be guided by the commandments, to take charge of oneself.

'Now that you have your freedom, what have you done with it?'

According to Seneca, true freedom means taking charge of your own mind, emotions, will, and actions. More than a thousand years earlier, the nascent Jewish people were already embracing that message.

The archetype of freedom is the Exodus from Egypt, Mitzrayim. Meaning narrow straits, Mitzrayim was a place of constricted movement, behavior, and thought.

The Exodus was emancipation, chofesh: freedom from slavery, a new life as free

Not enslavement but a covenantal relationship with boundaries. The purpose of Exodus was Sinai.

How do these stories illustrate chofesh and cherut, the free choice of a covenantal relationship with God and the boundaries of the commandments?

Underground shelter. In 1658, Spanish-Portuguese Conversos came to America from the West Indies, settling in Newport, R.I. For the first time in generations, they could openly practice their Judaism.

One hundred years later, during construction of a worship space later known as the Touro Synagogue, their descendants built a special hiding place under the bima (stage), a lesson learned from previous years of persecution and

clandestine practice of their Judaism.

They continued to tell their story, and in the years preceding the Civil War, the Jewish community used this hidden space, smuggling slaves from the South to the North as they made their way to freedom.

In so doing, they gave new life to the mitzvah, “You shall not turn over to the master a slave who seeks refuge with you.”

Lecture hall. A legendary teacher at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik demanded that his students come prepared to class. At one session, he began by asking if there were any questions.

No one wanted to be first. Maybe they lacked confidence. They may have feared having stupid questions or appearing ignorant. Not one student raised a hand.

“No questions?” Rav Soloveitchik asked. He slammed his Talmud closed and left, saying, “No class.” In Ethics of the Fathers it is written, “A shy person does not learn.”

Rivington Street. In January 1916 on the Lower East Side’s Rivington Street, a knish price war broke out over who made the best knish.

Max Green’s knish was like a dumpling filled with mashed potatoes and onion and sprinkled with cheese.

Its popularity inspired M. Green to open a rival knishery with 'Coney Island' square fried knishes. When each claimed their knish was the best, the war was on.

Prices dropped. One shop hired a band. The other introduced a cabaret show. Chaos ensued. While there are no news reports of how the battle ended, children’s author Joanne Oppenheim introduces a mayor who suggests a taste test.

In the end, he declares, “It’s like trying to choose between the sun and the moon. We need both, don’t we? There’s no such thing as one best!”

We read in the Talmud, “It was taught that Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel said, ‘The world is maintained by three things: by justice, by truth, and by peace.’ Rav Muna said, ‘These three actually are one. If justice is present, then truth is present and this makes peace.’”

Rabbi Rachel Bregman asks the essential question of the Passover Seder: “Now that you have your freedom, what have you done with it?”

ewish Owned J

Classes

Beth Jacob Classes: w. Rabbi Agar. Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Torah Tuesdays on Zoom. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Thursdays of Thought on Zoom. Call to register, 937-274-2149. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp.

Chabad Classes: Tuesdays, 8 p.m.: Code of Jewish Law. Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.: Talmud Class. Thursdays, noon: Parsha Study on Zoom. chabaddayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-6430770.

Temple Beth Or Classes: Sun. June 2, 9, 16, 30, 12:30 p.m.: Adult Hebrew. Thurs., June 13, 7 p.m.: Chai Mitzvah on Zoom. Sat., June 15, 10 a.m.: Apocryphal Study. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937435-3400.

Temple Israel Classes: Tues., June 4, noon: Talmud Study in person & Zoom. Wed., June 5, 19, 26, 10 a.m.: Torah Queeries w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Fri., June 7, 11 a.m.: Living w. Loss w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Thurs., June 27, 3:30 p.m.: Living w. Ambiguous Loss w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Saturdays, 9:15 a.m.: Virtual Torah Study on Zoom. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. tidayton.org/calendar. RSVPs to office, 937-4960050.

Children

JCC Camp Shalom: June 3-July 26. For rising grades 1-9. Contact Suzzy Nandrasy, snandrasy@jfgd.net.

Family

Beth Abraham Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach: Fri., June 14, 5:30 p.m.- 6:15 p.m. w. Cantor Raizen. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937-293-9520.

CALENDAR

Adults

JCC Canasta Lessons: Weds., June 5, 19, 26, 12:303:30 p.m. Free. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. Contact Stacy Emoff, semoff@jfgd.net.

Men

Chabad Bagels, Lox & Tefillin: Sun., June 2, 9:30 a.m. 13+ welcome. chabaddayton. com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-643-0770.

Shavuot

Beth Abraham Tikun Leil Shavuot: Tues., June 11, 6 p.m. Free. Call to RSVP. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937-293-9520.

Temple Israel Shavuot & Confirmation Service & Dinner: Tues., June 11, 6:30 p.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937496-0050.

Chabad All Night Learning: Tues., June 11, 11:45 p.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-643-0770.

Chabad Shavuot Dinner: Wed., June 12, 5:30 p.m. Free. RSVP chabaddayton. com/rsvp. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-643-0770.

Beth Jacob Shavuot LearnA-Thon: Wed., June 12, 6:45 p.m. Speakers Batsheva Fullenhull, Victoria Minor, Steve Renas, Joel Shapiro & Jese Shell. For info., & RSVP, call Tammy, 937-274-2149. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp.

Community

Temple Israel’s Jewish Cultural Festival: Sun., June 9, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free admission. Details at tidayton.org/festival. Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050.

Beth Abraham Shabbat Under the Stars: Fri., June 21, 7:30 p.m. Call for location & RSVP by June 17, 937-2939520.

JFS Drive-Thru Mitzvah Mission: Sun., June 23, 10 a.m.-noon. Drop off items for YWCA. List & mac & cheese recipe at jewishdayton.org/ calendar. For info., contact Jacquelyn Archie, 937-6101555. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville.

Temple Beth Or Annual Picnic: Fri., June 28, 5:30 p.m. Outdoor service weather permitting. Hot dogs & hamburgers provided. Bring a side dish to share. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. RSVP to 937435-3400.

w. Rabbi Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Torah ThursThursdays of Thought on Zoom. Call to register, 937-274-2149. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp.

Chabad Classes: Mon., May Decisions of Fate: Your Jewish Compass for Navigating Questions of Medical Ethics. Four-week course. Online or in person. Sign up TuesCode of Jewish Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.:

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

A killer cheesecake recipe for Shavuot

By Liza Schoenfein Forward

Looking for a killer cheesecake recipe for Shavuot? I found one in The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods by Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz.

It calls for a mixture of farmer’s cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream, cholesterol be damned.

Shavuot falls seven weeks after Passover and celebrates both the grain harvest and the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.

One explanation for why we eat dairy products on Shavuot is found in a bit of scholarly word association.

One of Mount Sinai’s many monikers is Mount Gavnunim Gavnunim means “manypeaked” in Hebrew and is related to the word gevinah, which is one of three Hebrew words for cheese.

reference to Israel as the land of milk and honey.

Another theory is that when the Israelites received the Torah, complete with its new set of kosher laws, they subsisted on dairy foods until they’d sorted out the whole kashering-the-meat business.

Celebration Cheesecake

Adapted from Cheesecake with Currant Glaze and Caraway Crust in The Gefilte Manifesto by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern.

Yoskowitz and Alpern’s cake has a currant glaze and caraway crust. I didn’t have currants, but I did have rhubarb and a few strawberries, so I made a rhubarb-strawberry compote instead.

Eating cheese on Shavuot can be seen as a way of commemorating Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

The eating of dairy may also be tied to words from the Song of Songs, “Honey and milk are under your tongue,” and to the

I also added a big squeeze of lemon juice to the cake batter, because I knew I wanted that tang, and I left out the caraway seeds because I don’t love that flavor.

Lastly, I worried that my cake hadn’t baked long enough after the prescribed 30 minutes, so I left the oven on for an additional 20 minutes before turning it off and leaving the cake inside as instructed. It turned out perfectly.

For the crust:

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbsp. sugar

4 tsp. caraway seeds

For the cake:

12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

12 oz. farmer’s cheese, store-bought or homemade, at room temperature

1½ cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (optional)

16 oz. sour cream, at room temperature

For the currant glaze:

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. water

Liza Schoenfein

bowl and pack the crust mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

2 cups fresh or frozen red currants

Alternately, for Liza’s rhubarbstrawberry compote:

1 lb. rhubarb, trimmed of leaves and cut into 1-inch pieces

8 strawberries, trimmed and cut in half or quarters

1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

To make the crust: Combine the crust ingredients in a small

To make the cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and farmer’s cheese until fluffy, gradually adding the sugar in increments, then adding the eggs one by one.

Add the vanilla, lemon juice (if using), and sour cream and beat until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the pan over the crust. Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit inside, undisturbed, for at least two hours

so it sets properly. Place it in the refrigerator and let cool completely before serving, at least six hours. Cheesecake is delicate, so be gentle.

To make the red currant glaze: While cake is cooling in the oven, in a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and water and cook over very low heat, stirring, until the mixture starts to thicken, about four minutes. Immediately stir in the currants and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to bubble up slightly and thicken, 10-12 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let cool. The glaze can be prepared up to three days in advance of serving and stored in the refrigerator.

To make Liza’s rhubarbstrawberry compote: In a medium saucepan combine the fruit and sugar and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has released some of its juice and the sugar has melted into it.

Simmer about 10 minutes, until the liquid has thickened into a syrup. Let cool. The compote can be prepared up to three days in advance of serving and stored in the refrigerator.

Use any leftovers in place of jam on toast or as a topping for yogurt or ice cream.

The cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. Serve it chilled with a spoonful of glaze (or compote) and a cup of coffee.

Director Benny Fredman talks about his movie about Haredim, Home

By Hannah Brown, The Jerusalem Post

If the details in Benny Fredman’s latest movie, Home, the story of an ambitious young Haredi Orthodox man who opens a computer store in his neighborhood only to see it destroyed by religious thugs, ring true, that’s because it’s based closely on the director’s own experiences.

The movie, which screens June 4 as part of Dayton's JCC Film Fest, is fictionalized, Fredman said, but he lived the basic premise: He built a business in the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem, which was embraced by some Haredim but demonized by others, who harassed him and eventually burned the place to the ground.

The movie, which won Ophir Awards for its lead actor, Roy Nik, and for supporting actor Dror Keren, Fredman’s co-screenwriter, is an autobiographical film, he said.

“The real story happened between 2006 and 2008. Everything that happens in the movie is real; it’s just concentrated. What really happened was more brutal, more violent, with more incidents, and it took place over a longer period of time.”

This is distressing to hear, because what happens in the movie is quite violent. “Since 2008, this kind of thing has spread to other parts of Jerusalem, not just Geula, and to Bnei Brak; it happens over and over, all the time. They burn a store down; everything goes on as usual.

“Great fun,” he said sarcastically.

This is despite that the store sold computers and phones not connected to the Internet — with the permission of the local religious authorities — for people who wanted to write, many of them scholars, and for children to play games. These authorities exacted a steep price for their seal of approval, which was later challenged by zealots who harassed, threatened, and beat Fredman and burned his store.

This harassment had a deep and long-lasting effect on the young entrepreneur he was back then: he is no longer Haredi, and he became a filmmaker, making movies such as the action thriller Suicide in 2014 and the television series Suspect, also a thriller.

“It was very complicated to explain the different factions in the Haredi community, their autonomous economy, the supervisors who pull down these high salaries for nothing,” he said. Then there are the extremists “who go by their feelings, and once they have the feeling that something is bad, there’s nothing you can do.”

It would take another article to explain all the ways these extremists harassed Fredman and his family, even blocking the street where they lived so traffic could not pass on multiple occasions. “And you never know when it’s going to end.”

The romantic element

But there is another side to this story, which is a key part of the film: his relationship with his wife, to whom he was married when he opened the store and to whom he is still married. “I was Haredi, and she is still Haredi. And what interested me when I made the film was why did we stay married after what happened?”

Much of the movie details their relationship, show-

JCC Film Fest presents Home, 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, June 4 at The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton. $12. Purchase tickets at jewishdayton.org/events.

ing how his wife, called Nava in the movie and portrayed by Yarden Toussia-Cohen (the granddaughter of renowned Jerusalem lawyer Shlomo Toussia-Cohen, who even had a street named after him), is at first upset that her husband chooses to become a businessman rather than continuing full-time yeshiva study.

“When I went to make the movie, I had two choices: to make a movie about a guy who opens a store and gets into trouble...to tell a story about the reality in Geula, or to tell the story that I chose to tell, a much bigger story about a couple who lives together in the same house and discovers there is no connection between them — not in their dreams or aspirations, on the border of a marriage that is a complete mistake, and what they do with that, how they survive and manage to build a home, how they overcome their differences and stay together.”

This is very much the story of Fredman and his wife, who are celebrating their 21st year of marriage, “in spite of our differences, in spite of the fact that it seems unbelievable.” He worked to develop the movie for 10 years, and “the focus is a love story that develops in unexpected ways...They go through a whole Via Dolorosa to come to a much stronger, happier place.”

He and his wife have four children, two of whom are very observant and two of whom are less strict.

this difficult period” was his wife. He went on to study filmmaking and was also kept busy with the trials of those who beat him and burned his store, some of whom received prison sentences.

He met actor Dror Keren on the set of Suicide, his previous film, and when Keren saw Fredman’s wife on the set, he was curious, wondering how this secular director and his Haredi wife managed to make their marriage work.

When he heard the whole story, Keren was enthusiastic about turning it into a film, and, after a period of healing, Fredman was able to work with him on a draft of the script, which they fine-tuned over several years.

Growing up, he enjoyed his studies in a Lithuanian yeshiva from an intellectual point of view. “But the atmosphere suffocated me. You feel you need to breathe,” he said.

As a young man, he was studying near the Jerusalem Cinematheque and started “escaping” to movies there. “I could study Gemara for 12 hours and then see Wild at Heart by David Lynch or Heavenly Creatures by Peter Jackson. I can recite (dialogue) from every movie from the ‘90s.”

Growing up with his American grandmother, who would visit for holidays, he was also introduced to some children’s movies, he said.

After that period of visiting the cinematheque, he opened his store, and the Haredim who wanted it to close “really lynched me.” He ended up in the hospital, beaten within an inch of his life and wiped out economically. He also went through a social crisis.

“I had been Haredi; I didn’t know who I was anymore; I didn’t recognize myself...Even though I knew the people who did this to me were from an extremist faction and all that, I couldn’t be part of the community anymore.”

The one “who held my hand, who was at my side for all this, who supported me and helped through

“We built it as a Western; the inspiration was High Noon but with a Jewish heart,” he said, referencing the classic 1952 Western by Fred Zinneman, starring Gary Cooper as the only honest man in town facing down the outlaws on his own — a movie that is widely seen as a metaphor for the red-baiting scandals of the 1950s.

But they worked very hard to keep it faithful to the reality of Jerusalem’s Haredi community, with his wife and one of the film’s producers, Shalom Eisenbach, who also comes from a religious background, and others on set working to make sure every detail was accurate.

They took particular care with the many outfits worn by the wife in the film, including her wigs, which show “the evolution of their relationship” as the main character encourages her to wear still-modest but more flattering and more feminine styles than she was used to. “When she commits to their relationship, it changes the way she sees herself too, and you can see it through the styles she wears.” Looking back on what happened to him with his store, he feels that he “made the mistakes of a 25-yearold. Now, as a 43-year-old, I would tell myself, ‘Get up and leave; it’s not worth it to stay and get caught up in this.’ You learn to take the craziness of your dreams into perspective. You say, What am I endangering? What am I risking? Is it worth it? But when you’re young, you don’t say that. You’re all in. I built something back then; I didn’t want anyone to take it away.”

Despite his pessimism about the fate of anyone who dares to open a store like his, he said firmly that Home is not an anti-Haredi movie.

“It’s not a movie where the Haredim are bad and fight a secular figure who is good...In my movie, all the characters are Haredi...There’s a real spectrum of Haredi characters...Of course, the situation is very charged and tense now, with the proposed bill to draft Haredim being discussed, but I don’t think this film will contribute toward anti-Haredi feelings. Anyone who gives the movie a chance will understand the complexity of the issues.”

Rafi Delouya

Benny Fredman: 'Everything that happens in the movie is real; it's just concentrated.'

Ofer Albobi/United King

Roy Nik and Yarden Toussia-Cohen in Benny Fredman's Home.

Doc unspools storied life of Jewish outsider artist, Nuremberg trials guard Nathan Hilu

By Linda Buchwald New York Jewish Week

In the documentary Nathan-ism, Jewish artist Nathan Hilu is hardly ever without a Sharpie or crayon in his hand, drawing something from his memories.

Hilu was a Lower East Side native who, as a U.S. soldier at 19, was assigned to guard Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials. The experience left an indelible mark upon him: In the ensuing decades, Hilu processed these memories by obsessively creating art from this time in his life, often repeating the same images, simple figures with words written around them in a messy if compelling scribble.

“I’m not really a big, great artist. I’m a memory man,” Hilu, who died in 2019 at 93, says in the film, which will be screened as part of Dayton's JCC Film Festival. “That’s where my pictures come from.”

In 2012, Tablet Magazine called Hilu the “most significant Jewish Outsider artist you’ve never heard of.” With the documentary, Israeli-American filmmaker and editor Elan Golod hopes to change that. He spent eight years mak

JCC Film Fest presents Nathan-ism, 7:15 p.m., Thursday, June 20 at The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton. $12. Purchase tickets at jewishdayton.org/events.

ing Nathan-ism, which chronicles Hilu’s daily life as a lonely, aging veteran and the history of the Nuremberg trials. The result is a movie that takes us inside the obsessive mind and cluttered apartment of a unique New York artist who is desperate for his story as a witness to one of the most significant trials in history to be heard.

“It’s not that he feels like drawing, he has to draw — it’s a way of communicating,” curator Laura Kruger, who has been credited with “discovering” Hilu, told the New York Jewish Week about Hilu in 2019.

Golod first learned about the artist almost nine years ago when he read an article about a small retrospective of Hilu’s art at Hebrew Union College’s museum that was curated by Kruger.

“I was fascinated by the circumstances of his story, but also the dissonance between a very heavy subject matter done in colorful Crayola colors,” Golod said. “That felt cinematic to me.”

Golod envisioned his project as a short film, and at first Hilu, not understanding Golod’s intentions, was hesitant to participate. But after a few phone calls and in-person meetings without the camera, Hilu warmed up to the filmmaker. Golod ended up filming Hilu over the last four years of his life. Each time he visited — usually every week or

two — Hilu would show him a shopping bag full of art he had made since their last meeting.

He ended up with more than 300 hours of film of Hilu, who shares with Golod his memories of how well the Nazis were treated in jail, as well as the time Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer told him that Hitler made a mistake and didn’t have to kill the Jews.

Other talking heads in the film include Kruger; retired counselor for war crimes accountability for the U.S. Department of Justice Eli Rosenbaum; and art journalist Jeannie Rosenfeld, who all weigh in on the importance, volume, and validity of his work.

stories don’t sound true, he insists they all are. As Hilu says in the film, “I am no historian. All I can do is show you my part of history.”

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The film also demonstrates the importance of oral history — specifically, historical events as remembered by those who were there — while also grappling with the fallible nature of memory. As Hilu draws and narrates his often-repeated stories of his encounters with Nazi criminals, he is quick to emphasize that though some of his

In the film, Golod endeavors to verify Hilu’s stories, albeit with mixed results — largely because a 1973 fire destroyed Hilu’s military records. And yet, even if the details get hazy, Golod insists that Hilu never tried to intentionally dupe anyone, he was simply expressing his version of events as he remembered them. “I think he’s obviously telling his truth,” Golod said.

Nathan Hilu, the subject of Nathan-ism

Elan Golod

Arts&Culture

Gene Wilder doc salutes comedy legend

By Stephen Silver, JTA

When Mel Brooks was filming The Producers, he recalled an executive approaching him and saying, “The curly-haired guy—he’s funny looking. Fire him.”

Brooks said he would fire the actor, but never intended to actually do it. And when The Producers came out, it became a classic in no small part because of that “curly-haired guy” — otherwise known as Gene Wilder.

That story is one of many retold about the actor in Remembering Gene Wilder, a new documentary about Wilder that Dayton's JCC Film Fest will screen June 18.

The relationship between Wilder and Brooks is a key subject of the film, and for good reason: The two worked together on three classic films, The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein, and were close friends. Brooks is interviewed at length in the documentary.

But according to the director of the film, it’s notable that Wilder’s Jewish comedic sensibilities came from a very different place than Brooks’ — they were subtler, more softspoken.

“His style was a little bit different; he wasn’t a borscht belt comedian, but he certainly learned from them,” the documentary's director, Ron Frank, said. “Take Mel Brooks, a New York Jew through and through, and pair him with Gene Wilder, a Wisconsin Jew.”

Wilder grew up watching Jewish comedians like Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis on TV in his Milwaukee home. But, Frank said, he himself “wasn’t a comedian — he was a comedy actor. He played it real. Most of his performances, he didn’t force the comedy, he didn’t force the humor, he was more or less himself, and that made it real and funnier.”

Gene Wilder entered the world with the given name Jerome Silberman, born in Milwaukee in 1933. His father was a first-generation Russian Jewish immigrant, and his mother was second-generation. He first developed his comedic gifts at a young age, when his mother became ill, and a doctor told young Gene to try to make her laugh.

“Jokes are in the genes when it comes to Jewish comedy,” Frank said. “I’d say that’s helped Jews survive, for centuries.”

Wilder soon headed to the Army, and from there, he went to the New York theatre scene and began his movie career in the late 1960s. His movie debut was the 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde, in which he played a hostage of the titular couple. His second film, the following year, was Brooks’ The Producers

He continued to star in popular movies throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, including the 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and a series of comedies with Richard Pryor. In the 1990s, he appeared in a pair of Will & Grace episodes, one of which won him an Emmy.

Wilder died in 2016, at the age of 83, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Frank said the documentary had been in the works since 2018.

Perhaps Wilder’s most Jewish role was in 1979’s The Frisco Kid, in which Wilder plays Rabbi Avram Belinski, who travels from Poland to the American West and meets an outlaw played by Harrison Ford. In

JCC Film Fest and Dayton Hadassah will screen Remembering Gene Wilder, 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 18 at The Neon, 130 E. 5th St., Dayton. Tickets are $12 and include a 9:30 a.m. reception. Purchase tickets at jewishdayton.org/events.

that movie, Wilder’s character sports a black hat and a bushy beard, and chants a convincing rendition of the end of the weekday morning prayer service, with correct Hebrew pronunciation, while wearing tefillin and a prayer shawl.

In reality, Wilder’s Jewish identity was mostly secular. “I have no other religion. I feel very Jewish and I feel very grateful to be Jewish,” Wilder told an interviewer in a 2005 book called Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. “But I don’t believe in God or anything to do with the Jewish religion.”

Jenny Caplan, a scholar on American religion and popular culture at the University of Cincinnati and author of the 2023 book Funny, You Don’t Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials, told JTA, “Gene Wilder was a great example of a performer whose Jewishness was, at times, implicit, explicit, and invisible.”

She added, “In the hands of a writer and director like Mel Brooks, Wilder became the ideal blank Jewish canvas who could embody the sort of unspoken Jewish inflections and line readings that make characters like Leo Bloom, Frederick Frankenstein, and Jim in Blazing Saddles so hilariously Jewish to a Jewishlyliterate audience, without anything that would mark the characters as obviously Jewish to a less Jewishlyliterate viewer.”

The now 97-year-old Brooks is interviewed extensively in the film, sharing stories from his many years working with Wilder.

“I don’t think we could tell this story without him,” Frank said of Brooks. “It was just a delightful interview…Mel said, ‘I’ll give you a half an hour,’ and we

ended up staying an hour. And he told stories that I wish I could put in the film, but it would probably be a three-hour movie.”

Frank added that Brooks, who was 95 when they sat with him, “remains an unbelievable storyteller, and he lived up to that reputation.”

Other interview subjects include the Jewish film historian Ben Mankiewicz, singer Harry Connick Jr., and actress Carol Kane. The archival footage extensively features Wilder with his third wife, Jewish comedy legend and Saturday Night Live original cast member Gilda Radner, who died of cancer in 1989. Frank said that the couple’s often unhappy marriage was one of the things he hadn’t known about Wilder coming into the project.

Frank is the director of the film, Glenn Kirschbaum is the writer, and it was executive-produced by David Knight and Julie Nimoy. Nimoy is the daughter of the late Jewish Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy, and Frank had worked on an earlier documentary about him.

“The Nimoys and the Wilders were friends, and after Gene had passed, it was David and Julie’s idea to approach Karen, Gene’s widow, about (a film),” Frank said. The film focuses on Wilder’s entire life and career, including his battle with Alzheimer’s at the end of his life.

Frank said the film had some nontraditional funding sources, including what he termed “Alzheimer’srelated drug manufacturers and associations.”

Wilder’s own voice-over from his audiobook serves as narration for the film, and it contains a wealth of clips, whether from his movies, numerous talk show appearances, or home movies from throughout his life.

Frank noted that Jewish audiences in particular reacted very positively to the film when a test screening was held in Beverly Hills with Brooks in attendance, and that response continued into the Jewish film festival run.

“It appealed to them in all sorts of ways, and it’s not necessarily Jewish jokes…when they laugh really hard, you know it’s great when the laughs cover the following lines, that’s how long the laughs last. That’s what happened there,” Frank said.

He expects that to carry over to general audiences. “People just love Gene, all across the country, Jewish or not Jewish,” he said.

Gene Wilder (center) as a Polish rabbi in the 1979 film The Frisco Kid alongside Harrison Ford.

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder

The true story of a 6-year-old Jewish boy who was baptized, kidnapped, and raised by the Pope

By PJ Grisar, Forward

Enough time has passed, the Vatican decided in 2019, to examine the record of Pope Pius.

The church unsealed papal archives long sought after by historians, and researchers have begun to paint a damning portrait. Pius XII, the head of the church through World War II, was not the quiet hero of Jews that many defenders long claimed. In September 2023, unearthed letters suggested that Pius knew the genocidal worst about the death camps and said nothing and, in 2022, historian David Kertzer’s book The Pope at War revealed that Pius only interceded on behalf of a very specific victim: ethnic Jews who were baptized. Into this context arrives another reappraisal, of another Pope Pius, on a similar theme. The film Kidnapped explores the case of Edgardo Mortara, a 6-year-old Jew from Bologna

JCC Film Fest presents Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara, 7:15 p.m., Sunday, June 23 at The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton. $12. Purchase tickets at jewishdayton.org/events.

who was secretly baptized, taken from his family, and made a kind of ward to Pope Pius IX.

The story, which Kertzer chronicled in a 1997 book, and was for a time in development with Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, is realized with period aplomb by director Marco Bellocchio. It is a righteously angry work, portrayed with disturbing beauty. The film is at its most unsettling, and damning, when the violence of Edgardo’s abduction gives way to the quieter trauma to his soul in the pristine halls of papal Rome.

Bellocchio, a Marxist and atheist raised in the church, was drawn to the story of Mortara — whose 1858 kidnapping prompted outrage throughout Europe and the United States — as a “crime committed in the name of an absolute principle.”

And so we see the certainty of Pius’ functionaries, who ferry Edgardo away from his home and deposit him in the House of the Catachumens, an institution for the conversion of Roman Jewry. Edgardo meets the Pope and, with other Jewish children, eats sweets at his table on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and even takes a seat on his lap. Throughout the film,

the pageantry of the church is juxtaposed with the domestic faith of the Mortaras. A detailed crucifix at an altar and a Latin catechism are spliced with the Mortaras’ grief as they prepare for Shabbat or, with their other young children, recite the Shema before bed. In Bellocchio’s accounting, Jewishness lives at home, with Edgardo’s true family, and it is lovingly rendered. Scenes in the House of Catechumens are caustic in their sterility, but terrifying for how pleasant and even gorgeous they often appear.

child is eating well and feeding off the indoctrination of the priests. Edgardo’s terror, and his desire to return home, are bound up in a harder-toshake belief that his baptism was in fact an act of grace. The message comes through when young Edgardo is asked to define dogma and describes it as a matter set down and not open for debate, a deeply unJewish concept echoed in Pius IX’s non possumus, in which he refused to return the child to his parents.

the conflicting reports of the time — which either claim Edgardo as a fervid believer and evangelical prodigy or a terrified child whose mother was driven to madness — is that Mortara entered the priesthood when he came of age and resisted returning to his family when the Kingdom of Italy snatched Rome away from the Papal States. Indeed, Edgardo left newly unified Italy rather than make a homecoming, settling in France and eventually dying in Belgium in 1940. Kidnapped sprinkles its stately presentation with bombastic underscoring and moments of magical realism. It's certainly an indictment of the church’s excesses, highlighting its cruelty to Jews and its stunning capacity for evading accountability, which has a modern corollary in its sex abuse scandal. More than that, the drama challenges the dogma of Christian viewers who may believe the unbaptized are doomed to hell.

When Edgardo (played as a child by Enea Sala) reunites with his parents, wonderfully portrayed by Barbara Ronchi and Fausto Russo Alesi, their worst fears are realized. Their

While presenting the Pope (Paolo Pierobon) as a paranoid tyrant whose influence is in decline, Bellocchio is eager to grapple with the ambiguities of the true story.

The truth, complicated by

The film can’t, however, fully rebuke the church’s power of persuasion, or even the Catholics who still defend the kidnapping. Belief, it argues, is a more mysterious force than the mortal zealots who serve as its agents. It's tempting and not unfounded to regard Mortara’s tenure in the church as a lifetime case of Stockholm Syndrome, but that conclusion is the easiest and least interesting.

Toward the end of the film, the adult Edgardo (Leonardo Maltese), whose journey began when a household maid, believing him to be near death, anointed him, hopes to save his mother’s soul in the same way. She refuses baptism.

“I was born a Jew and I will die a Jew,” she tells him. It’s a conviction we must admire, but Edgardo’s position, that Jesus alone can save and conversion is an ultimate mercy, can’t be so readily dismissed. Much of the world — and even today’s liberal Pope — believes it. Bellocchio’s film is not out to destroy this fundamental article of faith, only the dangerous certitude that enabled the unforgivable.

Paolo Pierobon as Pope Pius IX and Enea Sala as Edgardo Mortara in Kidnapped

Cohen Media Group

Arts&Culture

In My Neighbor Adolf, the guy next door is you know who

By Hannah Brown, The Jerusalem Post

We all have trouble with our neighbors at one time or another. But what would you do if you were convinced the annoying guy next door was none other than Adolf Hitler?

That’s the somewhat bizarre premise of the engaging dark comedy My Neighbor Adolf, directed by Leon Prudovsky and co-written by Dmitry Malinsky, which screens as part of Dayton's JCC Film Fest June 30. This movie, which combines comedy with a certain amount of suspense and pathos, also works as a lightly comic psychological study of a lonely Holocaust survivor who thinks that only by catching Hitler can he move on from his own trauma.

The movie, set in a small town in Latin America in 1960 — not coinciden-

JCC Film Fest presents My Neighbor Adolf, 7:15 p.m., Sunday, June 30 at The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton. $12. Purchase tickets at jewishdayton.org/events.

tally the year when Israeli forces captured Eichmann in Argentina — tells the story of Mr. Polsky (David Hayman), a Holocaust survivor from Germany who lost his entire family and lives alone in a ramshackle house.

The only pleasure he seems to have in life is watering the black roses that were his late wife’s favorite before the war.

The story gets going when a pushy woman (Olivia Silhavy) with a German accent, who turns out to be a lawyer, comes by looking to rent the house next door to Polsky for her client. Polsky is upset at the prospect of anyone moving in but when he gets a glimpse of the new tenant, a bearded man with piercing blue eyes who calls himself Mr. Herzog (Udo Kier), he is stunned to the core.

Years before the Final Solution was underway, Polsky sat opposite Hitler at the World Chess Championship in Berlin and is convinced that this neighbor’s dead blue eyes are exactly the ones he remembers from that day.

When Herzog’s dog, a German shepherd, naturally relieves itself on his lawn and when the lawyer insists the fence between their property is in the wrong spot and Polsky’s beloved roses are now

on his neighbor’s lawn, the haunted survivor sees these annoying but inconsequential acts as nothing less than a declaration of war.

As he tries to retaliate in various ways, he also works to entrap his neighbor, who is a painter and whose house holds other clues that convince Polsky that Herzog is Hitler.

But when he goes to the Israeli consulate, the Intelligence officer (a deadpan Kineret Peled) predictably treats him like a nudnik.

Polsky won’t let go of his obsession and decides to find some kind of smoking gun that will prove to the world he is right, which leaves him no choice but to befriend his neighbor. Their psycho-

logical tug-of-war goes on in parallel with their chess games.

The movie raises certain questions it can’t answer about the nature of evil — Herzog is certainly a pretty banal figure – and revenge, and at times the story meanders. It works best if you don’t take it too seriously and don’t ponder what it would really be like to sit down for chess with the mass murderer who killed your family.

Prudovsky, a director who is drawn to lowkey heroes, made one of the only really enjoyable Israeli romcoms, Five Hours from Paris, and is most comfortable with the broad comedy of a schnook like Polsky trying to apprehend the worst criminal of the 20th century.

David Hayman, a Scottish actor, is unexpectedly touching as the lonely survivor. Udo Kier, who has played his fair share of Nazis, underplays to the point where it skews the movie a bit toward the theory that Polsky is just nuts.

Kier has played Hitler before, in the strange 2002 short film Mrs. Meitlemeihr, in which he portrayed Hitler hiding in London after the war and posing as a woman. He also played Hitler in the Amazon series Hunters opposite Al Pacino.

United King Films/Luis Cano

David Hayman (L) and Udo Kier in My Neighbor Adolf.

Rabbi Dr. Samuel B. Press, age 87 of Dayton, passed away April 29. Rabbi Press was born in Middletown, Conn. in 1936 and raised in Springfield, Mass. He graduated from Yeshiva College with honors and received the Talmud Prize. After college, Rabbi Press served in the U.S. Air Force and was the Alaska Command Jewish Chaplain of Alaska serving the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was also the Chief Rabbi of Alaska. Rabbi Press was the founding rabbi of the Oyster Bay Jewish Center Synagogue in New York.

In 1978, Rabbi Press came to Dayton and served nearly 25 years as the senior rabbi at Beth Abraham Synagogue. He began programs with other faith communities and was president of the first joint synagogue programming with classes, and joint services. During his years, he served on numerous Jewish

and community committees including several interfaith and interracial committees. He served the Dayton Jewish Community Center, Community Hebrew School, Hillel Academy, Jewish Family Services, and was the founder of the Dayton Synagogue Forum. Rabbi Press was respected as a Jewish scholar, having published several articles. He was published in many magazines and journals, and his writings appeared in the media. Amb. Tony P. Hall stated that during Rabbi Press’s years in Dayton, he made an enormous difference in the lives of the congregants as well as the citizens of Greater Dayton. His service reached far beyond the synagogue, serving as the director of the Dayton Black-White Coalition, was a member of the board of directors of Womanline, Dayton Free Clinic, was a member of the advisory committee at Good Samaritan Hospital, and the ethics committee at Miami Valley Hospital. Rabbi Press is survived by his devoted son, Adam M. Press; his beloved and devoted sister, Dr. Rosalyn Avigad; and countless members of his congregation whose lives he touched in so many profound ways. Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to American Friends of Magen David Adom in his memory.

Francine Roberts of Englewood, passed away on May 4, two months shy of her 97th birthday. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was a graduate of Brooklyn College. Francine met the love of her life, Irwin, while double-dating with her cousin, and they were happily married for over 70 years. Francine

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was a loving wife, devoted mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, and friend. She was preceded in death by her mother, Betty; her father, Herbie; mother-in-law, Lillian; father-in-law, Arthur; and loving husband, Irwin. She is survived by her loving sons, Lawrence (Sherri) Roberts, Jeffrey (Connie) Roberts, grandchildren Chaim (Jessica) Roberts, Tama Roberts, Shoshana (Michael) Rubin, Benjamin Roberts, and great-grandchildren Aaron Roberts, and Dahlia and Miles Rubin. Francine was an active community volunteer and she loved gardening, oil painting, playing mah jongg, B’nai B'rith bowling, traveling, reading, and lifelong learning with classes from Sinclair Community College. Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. If desired, contributions may be made to the Beth Abraham Ritual Fund or the National Kidney Foundation.

Wittenberg prof.

Continued from Page Eight

ultimately identify the Israelis with the Nazis. This is not a Nazi operation. And that's whether you like or not like the nature of the Israeli response. The people who are interested (in genocide) are certainly in the right-wing of Israel. They're interested in ethnic cleansing, forcing them out. Israel is not doing that."

Berenbaum said he doesn't trust the casualty numbers on either side of the Israel-Hamas war.

"I grew up in the Vietnam generation. But if we look at what Israel claims the numbers are and what the Palestinians claim the numbers are, there may be as little as a 2:1 ratio of civilian casualties with military casualties. If it's a 2:1 ratio for urban warfare, in the history of warfare, that's not good, but it's also not bad."

David Saphire, age 80 of Centerville, passed away peacefully on May 5, with family by his side. He was preceded in death by his wife of over 40 years, Sandy Saphire, in 2021; his sister-in-law Pat Saphire; and his parents, Harold and Shirley Saphire. He was surrounded by love from his son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan and Maureen Saphire, his sister and brother-in-law, Marilyn and Carl Weiss, his brother Richard Saphire, sister-in-law Billie Blackmore, and numerous other family members and friends. Born in Cleveland, David spent his childhood in Shaker Heights before moving to Columbus to attend The Ohio State University, where he obtained his undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees. Before practicing law, David had many interesting jobs such as selling hot dogs at Indians games, driving a taxi in Columbus, and serving as a captain

The professor also emphasized he will not draw a direct line between Gaza and the Holocaust as it was carried out in Poland, or any other genocide.

"Genocides are not conducted in the same way across the world and over time."

He noted he'll continue to support student protests accusing Israel of genocide in the fall if students decide to pick them up.

Anes' wife, Heather Wright, is also Jewish.

An associate professor in the political science department, she teaches classes on human rights and about Israel in her Holocaust Politics course.

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Wittenberg's Anes pointed out to The Observer that he doesn't align with calls to dismantle Israel, and that he prefers to think of his role as just a student facilitator.

"My activism is really only to get the students started. We have a very small number of students who are knowledgeable or care. My job has been to model that they can express themselves non-confrontationally. We had one event on campus that was well-attended and then a second smaller one, but not until April. We are hardly a hotbed of activity."

in the Army. David eventually moved to Dayton where he spent the majority of his life as an attorney for E.S. Gallon & Associates. Dayton was also where he met the love of his life, Sandy. They built a house in Centerville and shared many memorable adventures in their over 40 years together. David’s life was led by his strong desire to help others in need. He took a personal interest in each client he worked for, and treated them as if they were family. In his free time, he enjoyed watching sports, most especially Reds baseball and Buckeye football, or any game which his son Jonathan was officiating. David was a hero to more people than he was likely aware. His impact on others will continue to reverberate in the world. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. May David and Sandy’s memory be a blessing.

and mischaracterize Michael’s support of our students and his sharing of a flyer on Facebook, which you only had access to because you and Michael are personal Facebook friends."

"I have to say that he's not going to get away with that," Berenbaum said of Anes' plans to avoid the topic of Gaza and Israel while in Poland.

Anes noted he'll continue to support student protests accusing Israel of genocide in the fall if students decide to pick them up.

She told The Observer in an email that she does not share her husband's view that Israel's "self-defensive response constitutes genocide."

Wright sent the email to reiterate that Anes did not want to be interviewed "or included" in this story.

"The Fulbright-Hays grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to me, as a political scientist, under the auspices of Wittenberg University. The project proposal, content, and award contain zero content about either Israel or the Gaza conflict, which Michael has told you on two separate occasions," she wrote.

"It is unfortunate that you feel the need to exaggerate

"The place from which you remember an event shapes how you remember it," Berenbaum said. "Place is not merely geographical, it's place in time. And everybody is going to ask a question about that. People are going to ask questions."

The notion that Israel behaves like Nazi Germany, Berenbaum said, has been a staple of anti-Israel propaganda for almost 50 years.

"It coincides with the Soviet accusation that Zionism is racism, which was in the '70s (1975 at the U.N.). That was a Soviet thing propaganda-wise to associate Israel with Nazism and the like and to use it as a tool of delegitimization.

"Every scholar who writes that Israel is committing genocide should be prepared to defend it. Not giving you an interview or not being prepared to defend that, that's not scholarly. If I write something, I've got to be prepared to defend it. Whatever I say, I have to be willing to defend."

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Natalie R. Cohn

Scot & Linda Denmark

Susan Dlott

Howard & Sue Ducker

Bruce & Debbie Feldman

Lynn Foster

Stanley Frankowitz

Felix Garfunkel

Mrs. Jack Goldberg

Stephen Goldberg

Kim & Shelley Goldenberg

Lynn & David Goldenberg

Debby & Bob Goldenberg

Michael Goldstein

Martin Gottlieb

John Gower

Judi & George Grampp

Art & Joan Greenfield

Syd & Lois Gross

Harold & Melissa Guadalupe

Dr. & Mrs. Stephen Harlan

Ralph & Sylvia Heyman

Barbara Hollander

Martin & Joan Holzinger

Linda & Steve Horenstein

Joan Isaacson

Rachel Jacobs

Michael Jaffe

David & Susan Joffe

Joseph & Marsha Johnston

Linda Ohlmann Kahn & Dennis Kahn

Jeffrey Kantor

Susan & Stanley Katz

Allan & Linda Katz

Cantor & Mrs. Jerome Kopmar

Ellen & Michael Leffak

Edye Leuin

Sarah Moore Leventhal

Laurie & Eddie Leventhal

Todd & Gabriele Leventhal

Meredith Moss Levinson

Norm & Kay Lewis

Ellie Lewis

Judy Lipton

Beverly A. Louis

Donald & Carole Marger

Scott & Brenda Meadow

Suzi & Jeff Mikutis

Kristen Mitchem

Irvin & Gayle Moscowitz

Eleanor Must

Bobbie & Jack Myers

James Nathanson

Myrna Nelson

In honor of Natalie M. Davis RN NICU

Neonatal, Cedar Sinai Hospital, L.A.,

grandaughter of Martin Nizny

Phil Office

Ann Paddock

Sharyn Reger

Susan & Nathaniel Ritter

Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Rubin

Alice & Burt Saidel

Barbara Sanderow

Diane Schultz

Linda & Joel Shapiro

Katherine Sher & Jared Serota

Michael Silverman

Diane Lieberman Slovin

Allan Spetter & Claudia Birch

Susan Spiegel & Lisa Hanauer

Jeff & Cathy Startzman

Myron Stayman

Maggie Stein

Marc & Maureen Sternberg

Col. Jeffrey Thau, USAF, (Ret.) & Rina Thau

Bob & Suzanne Thum

Mr. Lawrence Wagenfeld

The Waldman Family

Ms. Judith Weber

Donald & Caryl Weckstein

Michael & Karen Weprin

Ronald Bernard & Judy Woll

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