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On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders. The month of May was chosen due to the highly successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American
Jewish History in May 2004, which was organized by the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History. This coalition was composed of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.
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CINCINNATI, OH Candle Lighting Times Shabbat begins Fri 8:38p Shabbat ends Sat 9:39p
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Expected far-right surge in European elections raises worries
I want to apologize to all members of my beloved community. Our article in last weeks issue about an alternative view on religion was strictly for information purposes. It was the farthest thing from
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Sleepless in Israel: Shavuot all-nighter comes to life in the Jewish state
my mind to legitimize or promote any view that differs from mainstream Judaism. I am sorry if this has created any confusion in the community and I take full responsibility for having made this error.
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Please forgive me and the entire staff. Sincerely, Netanel ( Ted ) Deutsch, Publisher
Northern Hills Synagogue selects Rabbi David Siff as new spiritual leader Director of AJC Cincinnati Regional office retiring
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Northern Hills SynagogueCongregation B'nai Avraham has hired a rabbi with a Ph.D. in philosophy and a “passion for puppetry” to become its next spiritual leader. Rabbi David Siff, 39, takes the position vacated by Rabbi Gershom Barnard, who retires in June after leading the Conservative synagogue for 39 years, including the move to its current location on Fields-Ertel Road in Warren County. Rabbi Siff will be assuming the Northern Hills' pulpit around the beginning of August. “I am thrilled to come to Cincinnati and join the Northern Hills Synagogue community,” Rabbi Siff said. “Northern Hills is a place where people care for each other and are involved in activities to help others. I look forward Rabbi David Siff
to continuing in the tradition of Rabbi Barnard, who made Northern Hills Synagogue a community where everybody can find a spiritual home.” Rabbi Siff, his wife, Tanya, and children Hannah, 5, and Daniel, 1, will be moving to Northern Hills from Brooklyn, where he served as rabbi at Flatbush Jewish Center for the past two years. Rabbi Siff received both rabbinical ordination and a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy from the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and taught classes on mysticism at Rutgers University. Before attending the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Siff earned a master's degree NHS on page 22
March of the Living 2014: A journey of a lifetime for Cincinnati teens
Belgian Jews gather to mourn after museum attack
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This past April, 14 high school seniors from Cincinnati joined more than 12,000 people from around the world to march from Auschwitz to Birkenau and proclaim in a voice 12,000 strong: NEVER AGAIN! Unlike millions of other Jews before them, they made the choice to walk into these camps; their ancestors had no choice. It was not easy spending an entire week visiting concentration camps and mass Jewish burial sites, and seeing traces of a once thriving Jewish population that no longer exists. However, they made the decision to own their history, and bear witness to these atrocities so they The 2014 Cincinnati March of the Living Delegation
will never be forgotten. “I am so proud of our group,” explains Abby Solomon, Cincinnati Delegation Head. “They learned so much about themselves and their Jewish identities, something that is crucial before graduating from high school and taking their next steps in life. I am confident that each of them left the trip with the need to teach others about their journey and feeling empowered to never let something like the Holocaust happen again.” Each year, the March of the Living MOTL on page 22
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Visit us NOW! Coming soon: Rabbi David B. Siff, PhD Call: (513) 931-6038 • eMail: cherylkb@fuse.net • Click: http://nhs-cba.org
5714 Fields Ertel Road Cincinnati, OH 45249 (between I-71 and Snider Rd.)
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For more information on advertising, contact Ted Deutsch at (513) 621-3145 or publisher@americanisraelite.com
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Director of American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Regional Office Barbara Glueck retiring After 22 years as Director of American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Regional Office, Barbara Glueck will be retiring this summer. On AJC’s behalf, she has been a tireless advocate for such issues as a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, sanctions against Iran, and immigration reform. Barbara Glueck is the longest-serving Jewish communal agency executive in Cincinnati. At AJC, her longevity and wisdom have earned her the title “Dean of Directors.” Known for her outreach to leaders of diverse groups, she has prepared AJC Board members to meet with elected officials, Christian leaders, and diplomats of many foreign countries. She created AJC's Community Intergroup Seder, developed the Thanksgiving Diversity Lunch, and continued the Simon Lazarus Awards for high school volunteers. For fifteen years, she used AJC's Hands Across the Campus program to help many Catholic high schools reach out to a diverse population. After the
Barbara Glueck
riots in 2001, she chaired the Citizens Police Advisory Committee for eight years, working with the Cincinnati Police to improve the training of officers in understanding minorities. Ms. Glueck is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, a member of its Education Committee and a member of the education panel of the Cincinnatus
Association. Before she joined the AJC staff, she was the first development director for the Walnut Hills High School Foundation and taught freshman English at the University of Cincinnati. Reflecting on her years of service, she comments, "AJC's strong tradition of volunteer involvement has been the high point of my career." Barbara’s successor will be charged with maintaining the excellence of AJC Cincinnati’s strong program focus on international advocacy, intergroup relations, comprehensive immigration reform, and energy policy. "The entire community has benefitted from Barbara’s outstanding ability to build relationships and connect people with issues,” says AJC Cincinnati president Rick Michelman. Sandy Kaltman is chairing the upcoming search committee, which includes Michelman as well as Jan Armstrong Cobb, Jim Friedman, Jay Price and John Stein.
20th annual JCC fundraiser includes golf, tennis, and dinner The 20th annual JCC Adams Classic will be held on Thursday, June 19 at the Losantiville Country Club. Co-chaired by Mark Newman and Cory Pollock, the JCC Adams Classic is the JCC’s only annual fundraiser. The fun event includes a day with two golf tee times, a prostart tennis tournament, a dinner with award-winning local chefs and a raffle with many high-ticket prizes. The tournament is open to the public and the registration deadline is June 3. This year the JCC Adams Classic will recognize the award winning JCC Early Childhood School. The JCC Early Childhood School provides a high-quality, age appropriate Jewish and secular curriculum that encourages development, curiosity, imagination, and self-esteem. “The JCC Adams Classic is the only annual JCC fundraising event, and it has been an important source of support for many JCC programs and services for 20 years,” said Betsy Singer-Lefton, JCC Adams Classic coordinator. “The JCC Adams Classic helps support the critical programs and services of the
“The JCC Adams Classic is the only annual JCC fundraising event, and it has been an important source of support for many JCC programs and services for 20 years.” JCC and helps us continue to make our school accessible to everyone, regardless of race, religion, ability, or situation. ” Players can sign up either individually or in groups of four (golf), or pairs (tennis). Registration includes participation in the golf or tennis tournament, lunch, refreshments, cocktail reception, Course of Caterers dinner, and gifts. The tennis tournament is played in 8 game Pro Sets. Doubles teams can be made up of all men, all women or mixed doubles. Each double will play a 3 – 4 round draw. Prizes will be awarded for champions and runner ups.
After game play has concluded, the Course of Caterers dinner and raffle drawing conclude the day. Dinner is catered by some of the best restaurants and chefs in Cincinnati. Each Executive Chef is donating one of their signature dishes. This year’s raffle includes a Florida vacation, a 42” Smart HDTV, an iPad and more! The raffle is open to the public and attendance is not required to win these great prizes. For more information about how to volunteer, register, or buy raffle tickets, please contact Betsy SingerLefton at the JCC for more information.
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Cedar Village: Built on Jewish values ation of our family, is far greater than can be expressed with mere words.” This philosophy and commitment is not, of course, confined solely to services in the health care center. Our apartments, both the independent and assisted living, are examples of this every day. So often we admit residents who have suffered a loss, whose abilities may be declining or who just no longer feel -- or are -- safe in their own homes. The transition can be challenging, even difficult but our staff goes above and beyond to make it a success. Time after time, we see individuals who move in and really discover a whole new life. Just yesterday I met a family member of an assisted living resident. This daughter lives out of state, and she and I have emailed often as she reads and responds to our weekly enewsletter. I introduced myself to her yesterday and she threw her arms around me and said “You gave my mother her life back.” It’s not the first time any of us have heard those words but they have tremendous meaning and impact every time. As we grow new programs and services, we do this again on a foundation of our values. What you will see as we move forward are more services designed to help people age in place, to support them in their homes wherever their homes may be. It is where our industry is headed and where we must head as well. You will see more services for those with memory care provided in a new assisted living setting and you will see an increase in the complexity and intensity of care we provide in all of our settings. And what you will also see, always, is a commitment to our values, to making aging an enriching and fulfilling experience, and to demonstrating, daily, that life does, indeed, begin at Cedar Village.
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VOL. 160 • NO. 31 THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014 29 IYYAR 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 8:38 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 9:39 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 Phone: (513) 621-3145 Fax: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher JORY EDLIN BETH KOTZIN Assistant Editors YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor ROBERT WILHELMY Dining Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM IRIS PASTOR ZELL SCHULMAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists
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between June 3 and June 22 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The Museum can make special arrangements for additional hours. Christian Brecht, Consul General of Germany in Chicago, offered the exhibit to Martin Wilhelmy, honorary consul of Germany in Cincinnati. AJC and the JCRC of the Jewish Federation are co-sponsors of the display of large-scale posters and videos, together with the Skirball Museum.
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German Consul General Dr. Christian Brecht
and several films examining the lives of Jews in Germany today. Viewers will see and hear how survivors, entertainers, educators, journalists, business people, teenagers, entrepreneurs, and rabbis are shaping Jewish life in Germany. The panels also feature QR codes that allow smart phone users to access additional audio-visual content. The first Midwest showing of this exhibit will be at the Skirball Museum in Mayerson Hall at Hebrew Union College in Clifton. The Museum is open to the public
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Exhibit on Jewish life in Germany today to open at HUC Jewish immigration from the Former Soviet Union to Germany grew enormously during the same period when Russian Jews flocked to Israel. Starting with some 28,000 Jews in 1990, by 2005 Germany had added over 200,000 Jews, a number which includes non-Jewish members of their households. Over 100,000 Jews in Germany today would meet the halachic definition. Taking note of this spurt in numbers, the German Foreign Ministry has created a multimedia exhibit of 25 photographs
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using a mirror. She also has a little wheelchair dance that she does now. It would be so easy for her to be discouraged, and give up because the milestones are few and far between, but she and our staff work hard on the next accomplishment and celebrate them together.” We work very closely with our hospital partners, relationships that have become even more critically important to our success. We’ve built preferred provider relationships, had contracting success and work every day on making sure those alliances are strong. When we tour staff from hospital systems through our building, they comment not just on the beautiful physical plant with which we are blessed, but more on the interactions they see every day between our staff, residents, tenants, patients and families. The warmth, the touch, the connection are all palpable, all a manifestation of our values, all a part of what makes Cedar Village Cedar Village. It is not a coincidence that six of the nine elder abuse shelters that exist in this country are housed in and sponsored by Jewish organizations. Our Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention has been a safe haven for more than a dozen individuals, helping them to escape from horrible conditions of abuse and go on to live out their lives in safety and with dignity. The daughter of one recent Shalom Center success wrote us a powerful letter. She said, “I’m not sure where to begin this letter other than to say up front that you very well may have saved the life of my father. You offered a protected environment for this dear man, who has been repeatedly abused by a much younger wife.” She went on to say that, “I do not know what the future will hold for my father and his wife. I do know at a crisis time in his life you provided a wonderful, safe and caring environment. My appreciation, and the appreci-
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We talk about our grounding in Jewish values, in the absolute importance of caring for our elders and doing so with love and respect. We talk about it when we recite our simple mission statement, that ‘Aging be an enriching and fulfilling experience,’ and when we say, and mean, that ‘Life begins at Cedar Village’. We see that played out every day at Cedar Village. We see that in our hospice staff, who are commended in letter after letter from families who write things like, “You made my mom’s last days peaceful and you helped us all through this experience. I don’t know what we would have done without you.” We see it in the intensive effort we have made, and continue to make, in improving our services to individuals with dementia, educating our staff, family members and even the community to understand and better manage this difficult, and growing, diagnosis. Through unique programs and partnerships, like our creative expression program and our partnership with a local university, we live our values by enriching the lives of individuals with dementia every day. Most of you are familiar with OMA, Opening Minds through Art, a partnership that brings structured creative expression activities to individuals with cognitive impairment. One of the OMA students wrote that at the beginning of the semester she was afraid. She was uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with someone with dementia, that she was actually dreading this weekly volunteer experience. Yet at the end of the semester, she said that she realized that she and her partner, a woman with advanced dementia, had built a strong bond and that they had “more in common than not,” a core concept in the way we work with individuals afflicted with this disease. The care and commitment that
are intrinsic to being a Jewish organization have helped us to build strong and important new services. We have developed a powerful partnership with a local hospital and are providing rehabilitation services for many, if not most, of their most complicated ENT surgical patients. These are people who have had, for the most part, some sort of cancer involving the mouth or throat and who require a tracheotomy and specialized trach care. These are not the kinds of cases most of our postacute rehab colleagues take or could take. Yet we take them and we achieve great success with them. Why? Because our staff has the skills, commitment and dedication to help these individuals recover. Our first trach patient was a younger gentleman whose care was difficult and complex. The entire team worked together, from nursing to therapy, from social services to dining and more, to help him heal. And when his trach was removed and he spoke to staff for the first time, the words he said were heartfelt and profound. He simply looked at them and said, “Thank you.” Not all the tears that day were in his eyes alone. It is not enough to just offer services. It is not enough to just meet standards. Our values and our vision require us, obligate us, to exceed expectations. Debi Tyler, our Director of Rehab Services, shared this story with me, “We have a 50-year-old patient with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. When she arrived, she was unable to roll over, stand, walk or even bend her elbows or make a fist. She has made slow, steady progress, works so hard in therapy (does extra time), and can now stand, take a few steps, eat with special utensils, and wash her own face. Whenever she is able to do something new, she says, "Oh happy day!" She and her husband still flirt with one other, and OT (occupational therapy) had her practice puckering up for a kiss
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By Carol Silver Elliott Contributing Writer
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $1.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 per year and $2.00 per single copy elsewhere in U.S. by The American Israelite Co. 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE, 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. The views and opinions expressed by the columnists of The American Israelite do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the newspaper.
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Hadassah’s Red & Black Brunch kicked off their new Chai Society The Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah hosted its inaugural Red & Black Brunch on Sunday, March 9, 2014, kicking off Hadassah's new Chai Society level of giving. Attendees wore red and black in their outfits in honor of
the life-saving work accomplished at Hadassah Hospital. Dr. Shelly Negari, a Hadassah Medical Center pediatric doctor from Israel, was guest speaker. Pilar Samuel and Julie Torem were the event Co-Chairs. The brunch was
held at the home of Diane Yasgur. Dr. Shelly Ben Harush Negari is in Cincinnati as part of the collaboration of Hadassah Hospital and the Israel Exchange Program in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She is in her sec-
ond year of clinical fellowship studying Adolescent Medicine with Dr. Jessica Kahn. After her fellowship here is complete, she plans to return to Israel and establish an Adolescent Medicine program in Jerusalem. She focused
her talk on eating disorders, adolescent medicine and the importance of the establishment of a multidisciplinary program that addresses the needs of these patients.
Hadassah’s unique Tupperware party ‘FUN-raiser’ had women laughing in the aisles By Beth Kotzin Assistant Editor On Thursday, May 15, Hadassah held their latest fundraiser, which was a Tupperware party. But this wasn’t your grandmother’s Tupperware party. It wasn’t even your mother’s Tupperware party. Because this one was led by the nation’s most unique (and highest-selling) Tupperware consultant: Dee W. Ieye. Dee isn’t your average Tupperware lady; in fact, she’s not a lady at all. Dee is really Kevin Farrell, a character actor from Columbus who decided to drop out of Hollywood and become a drag queen Tupperware consultant. As “Dee”, he costumes himself up as a trailer park queen and showcases his product with songs, jokes, and down-home talk that had the almost 60-strong audience on the floor. With everyone laughing and enjoying the “show”, Dee had the crowd whipping out their pens to
order the latest and greatest in the Tupperware catalog. Co-chairman of Membership, Laura Berger, who planned the event with her co-chair Sarah Wise, said, “ Our Tupperware with a Twist FUNraiser event was both fun and successful. We wanted to show the fun side of Hadassah and at the same time raise money for Hadassah Hospital. Dee W. Ieye made the event incredibly entertaining!” Dee will be donating a percentage of the sales back to Hadassah. Membership events and fundraisers such as these are becoming more popular, and it is helping increase Hadassah’s membership while raising much-needed funds. “We got 3 new members from the Tupperware party,” said Bonnie Ullner, Chapter President. “We’re very pleased!” Hadassah membership can be yearly or lifetime, and you can join anytime. To be a part of more events like these, join Hadassah today!
ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE FREE! EE B IR THS • B AT /B AR M I TZVAHS E NGAGE ME N TS • W E DDINGS B IR THDAYS • A NNIVE R SAR IE S Place your FREE announcement in The American Israelite Newspaper & Website by sending an email to articles@americanisraelite.com
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ADL anti-Semitism study is historically large, but how accurate? By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS / Washington Jewish Week) – While there seems to be no argument on the size of the AntiDefamation League’s newly published study on anti-Semitism, concerns have arisen about the accuracy of the survey’s findings on certain countries. The “ADL Global 100,” released last week, measures anti-Semitic sentiments in 102 countries around the world and is considered the largest poll ever conducted on the subject. “While this survey is but one additional tool in understanding and assessing anti-Semitism, now people around the world who care about combating anti-Semitism and hate have data which indicates where the problems are and where we need to focus attention,” Michael Salberg, ADL director of international affairs, told JNS. Using the same survey that has for 50 years guided its research in the U.S., the ADL, in partnership with Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, asked 53,100 people to answer a set of 11 questions based on common anti-Semitic canards. Questions related to respondents’ perception of Jewish financial power, loyalty, media control, and the Holocaust. If respondents said at least six of the 11 statements were true, they were considered anti-Semitic. Based on that standard, the survey found that 26 percent of respondents worldwide held anti-Semitic beliefs. Unsurprisingly, the Middle East and North Africa was the region with the highest concentration of antiSemitism, at 74 percent. Within that region, the West Bank and Gaza had the highest number of respondents, 93 percent, surpassing the anti-
National Briefs Sen. Menendez withdraws U.S.-Israel cooperation bill over Iran deal oversight (JNS) – The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), reportedly withdrew the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 over the intention of committee member U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) to include an amendment requiring Congressional oversight of the Iranian nuclear talks. U.S. legislators call on Hungarian leader to recognize government role in Holocaust (JNS) – A bipartisan letter signed by 29 Jewish members of
Courtesy of Peter Isotalo via Wikimedia Commons
Members of the Swedish Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, take part in a nationalist demonstration in Stockholm in June 2007. Some experts have questioned the recent Anti-Defamation League survey’s finding of a low level of anti-Semitism in Sweden.
Semitic threshold. Experts who spoke to JNS about the survey were supportive of ADL’s efforts, but had concerns about the accuracy of some of the findings. Many countries ADL ranked among the least anti-Semitic are in northern Europe. Sweden was the third-least anti-Semitic nation in the survey, at 4 percent, and the Netherlands was the fourth lowest, at 5 percent. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, finds those figures to be odd. He noted that the Swedish city of Malmo, which is home to about 700 Jews, has for the past few years been on the Wiesenthal Center’s “do not travel” list. “You’re talking about countries in which shechita (kosher slaughter) is illegal, in which there are Holocaust deniers and generally very negative attitudes [about Jews],” Cooper said. “Jewish kids in schools in Scandinavia are bullied because
they’re Jews. So the idea that Sweden is somehow that shining beacon in Scandinavia, it’s just way off.” Cooper also mentioned efforts in neighboring northern European countries – with similarly low antiSemitism concentrations in ADL’s survey – to ban circumcision. Manfred Gerstenfeld, a Dutcheducated Israeli author and former chairman of the steering committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, similarly took issue with the findings on Sweden and the Netherlands. “The problem is that antiSemitism of course doesn’t express itself only through prejudices. It also expresses itself through acts, and this study gives you no insight into that,” said Gerstenfeld, citing a 2013 study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in which 60 percent of Swedish Jews interviewed saw anti-Semitism as a very big or fairly big problem in their country.
Congress to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expresses “deep concern” over his decision to move forward, despite objections from the Hungarian Jewish community, with the construction of a monument commemorating the Nazi occupation of Hungary during World War II.
Times-said J Street has accused Israel of war crimes, gives a platform to advocates of the movement to boycott Israel, and has called on the U.S. not to veto U.N. resolutions that criticize Israel.
Conservative Jews call out synagogue umbrella over vote in favor of J Street (JNS) – An advertisement signed by more than 70 Conservative Jews called out the movement’s synagogue umbrella organization for its recent vote in favor of J Street’s application to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The ad-which appeared Thursday in the New York Jewish Week, The Jewish Press (New York), The Jewish Advocate of Boston, the Washington Jewish Week, and the Baltimore Jewish
Israel divestment resolution resoundingly defeated at University of Washington (JNS) – A resolution to divest from Israel was resoundingly defeated by the student senate at the University of Washington (UW) last week. Resolution R-20-39, which called on school administrators to “examine its financial assets to identify its investments in companies that provide equipment or services used to directly maintain, support, or profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land,” was overwhelmingly struck down by a vote of 59-8, with 11 abstentions. Pro-Israel student activists from UW Huskies Against
Gerstenfeld – the author of “Demonizing Israel and the Jews,” a 2013 book on modern anti-Semitism – said another problem the ADL poll neglects is anti-Israel sentiment. The poll only mentions Israel once, when it asks if respondents believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country. That statement received the highest percentage of affirmative answers across regions, with an average of 41 percent. “In the Netherlands, 39 percent of the population thinks that Israel is running a war of extermination against the Palestinians. A genocidal war,” Gerstenfeld told JNS. “Now I don’t need 11 questions on prejudices, this single question is enough to define somebody as an extreme anti-Semite. … If you are against the [Israeli] settlements you are not an anti-Semite. If you say Israel is a Nazi state, then you are an extreme anti-Semite,” he said. Another problem with drawing conclusions from the ADL poll can be attributed to differing perspectives on whether an affirmative answer to a particular question is actually a reflection of personal Jew-hatred. “[With] questions about Jewish power or influence, I think one of the things you find is how people in these surveys enormously overestimate the number of Jews in their country or in the world,” said Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of international Jewish affairs for the American Jewish Committee. “But the reality probably is, in many areas Jews certainly have an influence well beyond their number in society, so is someone reflecting a certain reality that we ourselves recognize or is someone expressing an anti-Jewish sentiment?” The poll shows low averages for
anti-Semitism in Asia, with some exceptions. One of them is South Korea, whose 53-percent concentration of anti-Semitism was well above the regional average of 22 percent. Baker explained that South Koreans have an intense curiosity about Jews, and that they make up the largest number of visitors to Europe’s Holocaust museums and sites of former concentration camps. In that way, canards the survey considers signs of anti-Semitism can be considered cultural aspirations outside of the Western world, according to Baker. Yet despite the criticisms, experts agree that ADL’s survey should serve as a baseline for understanding world anti-Semitism. In Gerstenfeld’s estimation, the study “confirms what we have known, [what] is being hushed up by all kinds of whitewashers of [the anti-Semitism of] Muslims.” “We are being told, and the administration in the U.S. is part of [it], that you have radical Muslims and then you have perfectly moderate Muslims, and [the moderates] are the majority and they are two distinct groups,” he said. “That is nonsense! I have been saying that for years and this study proves it. The truth is that there is a broad range of Muslim gradations, with very radical ones and moderates at the two extremes.” The Wiesenthal Center’s Cooper believes that at the very least “it’s important that the ADL did the report,” and that the results should be a call to the Jewish community to unite against anti-Semitism. In a Jewish world often divided along denominational, political, and ideological lines, the survey might be “an important building block” in getting Jews to understand that “we have a lot of enemies out there,” he told JNS.
Divestment, as well as unaffiliated student senators, spoke out against the divestment resolution.
Dennis Holtschneider, sent an email to students and faculty after the vote calling the request “problematic in a number of ways.”
DePaul students approve Israel divestment in referendum (JTA) – DePaul University’s student body voted in a referendum to approve a divestment resolution targeting Israel. The student government ballot initiative passed with 54.2 percent of the vote, with 45.8 against, The DePaulia student newspaper reported last Friday. A total of 2,908 votes were cast by students at the Chicago Catholic university. The ballot question asked: “Do you think that DePaul should follow socially responsible investment practices and divest its funds from companies that profit from Israel’s discriminatory practices and human rights violations?” According to the paper, the university’s president, the Rev.
Four rabbis indicted on kidnap conspiracy charges (JTA) – Four Orthodox rabbis and one of their sons were indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap and torture Jewish men to force them to grant religious divorces to their wives. Rabbi Mendel Epstein and his son David Epstein, Rabbi Martin Wolmark, Rabbi Jay Goldstein and Rabbi Binyamin Stiller were charged May 22 in a New Jersey federal court with participating in a kidnapping ring. According to the indictment, the ring was organized to force reluctant husbands to grant their wives a get, or a Jewish divorce, in exchange for fees running to tens of thousands of dollars.
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Hillary’s choice: Clinton seeks to differentiate herself from Obama on Mideast By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – A month before her foreign policy autobiography, “Hard Choices,” hits the bookstores, Hillary Rodham Clinton made an easy choice: She pitched her diplomatic credentials to a friendly Jewish audience. Clinton’s speech to the American Jewish Committee on May 14 was meant to send a signal to the proIsrael community, insiders say, that a Clinton presidency would smooth over tensions ruffled by the Obama White House. So while she broadly defended Obama administration policies, she also suggested areas where she had differences with the president, such as on Iran. “President Obama has said that the odds of reaching a comprehensive agreement are no more than 5050,” Clinton said, referring to the U.S.-led talks between the major
Courtesy of Ronald Sachs
Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking at the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum, May 14, 2014.
powers and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program. “I personally am skeptical that the Iranians will follow through and deliver. I’ve seen many false hopes dashed over the years,” she said. “We will have to be tough, clear-
eyed and ready to walk away and increase the pressure if need be. “No deal is better than a bad deal,” Clinton said. “From my perspective, we cannot and should not accept any agreement that endangers Israel or our own national security.” Robert Wexler, the former Democratic congressman from Florida who was the first major Jewish politician to join the Obama campaign, in early 2007, said the differences Clinton is emphasizing reflected not just her worldview, but also the changed foreign policy reality she heads into should she announce for the presidency. “President Obama, in terms of foreign policy, was elected to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – that was his primary charge,” said Wexler, who now heads the Center for Middle East Peace. “The expectations the American people would have for a President Hillary Clinton
would be different. The calling may be to reassert to a degree of American leadership, which is entirely consistent with Secretary Clinton’s worldview.” Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator under a succession of Republicans and Democrats, including Bill Clinton, said Hillary Clinton was a good soldier for Obama’s bid to transform the world, but also demonstrated understanding that her boss may have overreached. “She understood the world was not a transformative place, it was transactional,” said Miller, now vice president at the Wilson Center, a for-
eign policy think tank. “In that respect she was much more hawkish on Syria,” where Clinton joined calls for a U.S. strike on the Assad regime to contain the bloody civil war. Obama opted to seek authorization for a strike from Congress, and then abandoned the option when it was clear he lacked support. “On Israel-Palestinians she knew it was not going anywhere,” Miller said. “If the president wanted her to focus on it, she did it in a rhetorical way, but she had no interest in being a linchpin.” That, Miller said, was in contrast CLINTON on page 21
At Shavuot, celebrating the giving of the law—and the mother-in-law? By Edmon J. Rodman LOS ANGELES (JTA) – In the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells us to “Honor your father and your mother,” but on mothers-in-law, it’s mum. That is until we come to the two-day holiday of Shavuot and read the Book of Ruth, which records the relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Since Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and in Ruth we can observe another form of giving – that of loving familial support – we can use the holiday to explore the giveand-take of the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship. It’s a relationship often marked in our times by tension, hackneyed jokes and even cartoon strips such as Mell Lazarus’ “Momma.” Sons-in-law, of which I am one, don’t feel left out, as there is much for them to take away, too. An in-law bond is knit when Ruth (whose husband has just died) says to Naomi, who has just tried to convince her to return to her homeland, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you lodge, I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Though beautiful in sentiment, for some – myself included – it also seems like a size-too-small sweater, leaving little room for movement. “What about the freedom to live the life my spouse and I want?” I can remember thinking soon after tying the knot 32 years ago. “What does my mother-in-law have to do with that?” I foolishly thought. Apparently it’s a question many of us have failed to examine carefully, as websites are filled with tales of mother-in-law woe about intrusive and too frequent visits, and unasked-
for advice, especially about child rearing. “She comes over four to five times a day which started right after we got married,” begins a letter in an advice column tagged “Mother-inLaw from Hell” on the Aish website from a woman who has been married for eight years. Another letter in the “Dear Rachel” column on the Chabad website begins, “My motherin-law is constantly criticizing me and my ability to parent.” Marilyn Kagan, a Los Angeles therapist with over 30 years of experience counseling individuals and couples, as well as teaching a groundbreaking course at the American Jewish University here called “Marriage for Life” (formerly “Making Marriage Work”) has seen her share of tumultuous relationships whose discord is rooted in in-law issues. “How can you be more compassionate?” is a question Kagan counsels wives to ask when they are having differences with their mothers-inlaw. “Put yourself in your mother-inlaw’s shoes,” she advises, “she’s losing the definition of what she’s been doing much of her adult life.” Kagan says she also wants the daughter-inlaw to realize that she’s the one who “sets the home life and that has to be respected.” When problems begin to build, Kagan says, “sometimes you need to say, ‘Mom, let’s get together and talk.’” For a script she suggests beginning with something like, “I know you love your son and I am grateful for this human being, and I know that you and I want the best for our family,” before speaking about a specific problem. As for the husband, who is often caught between his wife and mother,
Kagan suggests that “men need to take a deep breath. They can’t withdraw like a turtle.” For a husband to choose between a wife and a mother “makes them feel like bad boy,” says Kagan, who hosted a Los Angeles radio call-in counseling show and a television show on the Disney affiliate here in the 1990s. Instead, she says, “a husband needs to be a big boy.”
Office Manager Needed Must have experience with MS Office. Must know Quick Books, and must be able to hit the ground running. Quick Books Pro Competitive salary Part-time • Flexible hours Call Netanel “Ted” Deutsch at The American Israelite (513) 621-3145 publisher@americanisraelite.com
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Why is Greece the most anti-Semitic country in Europe? By Gavin Rabinowitz ATHENS, Greece (JTA) – When the Anti-Defamation League published its global anti-Semitism survey last week, Greece, the cradle of democracy, captured the ignominious title of most anti-Semitic country in Europe. With 69 percent of Greeks espousing anti-Semitic views, according to the survey, Greece was on par with Saudi Arabia, more antiSemitic than Iran (56 percent) and nearly twice as anti-Semitic as Europe’s second-most anti-Semitic country, France (37 percent). On its surface, the poll suggests that anti-Semitism is running rampant in Greece. Much of the blame goes to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which has found fertile ground for its extreme-right ideology in the ruins of Greece’s economic crisis. In elections held Sunday for Athens mayor, for example, 16 percent of the vote went to Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, a man notorious for beating a female political opponent during a television interview and for the large swastika tattooed on his shoulder. But both the ADL and Greece’s small Jewish community caution that the reality is more nuanced than the poll numbers suggest. “There is a danger of sensationalizing it, a danger of overplaying the psychological impact of the poll,” Michael Salberg, ADL’s director of
Courtesy of Gavin Rabinowitz
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras speaks in a Synagogue in Thessaloniki in March 2013, the first visit by a sitting prime minister to a Greek shul in more than a century.
international affairs, told JTA. “There needs to be real hard internal look at the data and examining what are the forces at play.” For their part, Greek Jewish leaders took pains to point out that despite widespread bigotry, Greece hasn’t seen the sort of anti-Jewish violence that has cropped up in some other European countries, such as France. “Despite the poll showing high levels of anti-Semitism, it must be noted that in Greece over the last four years we have not had any antiSemitic violence against people or Jewish institutions,” said Victor
Eliezer, the secretary general of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece. “This is not a poll about violence, but rather a survey on stereotypes, and yes, there are a lot of stereotypes among the Greek public,” he said. The poll gauged anti-Semitism based on whether respondents agreed with a majority of 11 statements on Jewish power, loyalty, money and behavior that the ADL says suggest bias. They include such statements as Jews talk too much about what happened to them during the Holocaust; Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries they live in; Jews think they are better than other people; Jews have too much power in the business world; and Jews have too much control over global affairs. Critics have suggested that the survey is deeply flawed because the statements are not fair indicators of real anti-Jewish bias. Of the 579 Greeks polled, 85 percent said Jews had too much power in the business world, 82 percent said Jews have too much power in the financial markets and 74 percent said Jews have too much influence over global affairs. The margin of error for Greece was plus or minus 4.4 percent. In Greece, anti-Semitic viewpoints are aired frequently, particularly the notions that Jews control the global economy and politics. In 2012, when the Golden Dawn’s Kasidiaris read in Parliament from the anti-
Semitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the reading drew no condemnation from the other lawmakers present. Nor was there public condemnation when Golden Dawn slammed the recent visit by the American Jewish Committee’s executive director, David Harris, as a trip to ensure further “Jewish influence over Greek political issues” and safeguard the interests of “international loan sharks.” Golden Dawn hasn’t been alone in expressing such sentiments. Earlier this year, the left-wing Syriza party’s candidate for regional governor accused Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of heading a Jewish conspiracy to visit “a new Hanukkah against the Greeks.” Syriza reluctantly dropped the candidate, Theodoros Karypidis. At the heart of Karypidis’ theory was a move last year by Samaras to shut the allegedly corrupt Hellenic Broadcasting Authority and replace it with New Hellenic Radio and Television, known by its Greek acronym NERIT. According to Karypidis, NERIT is derived from the Hebrew word for candle, “ner,” which he links to Hanukkah. Even the mainstream political parties have long histories of using anti-Semitic tropes. “Greeks are fond of conspiracy theories, as they are steeped in conspiracy on a personal level,” Euthymios Tsiliopoulos, a journalist
and political commentator, wrote on the popular current affairs website The Times of Change in the wake of the Karypidis scandal. “As so many things are conducted through under-the-table, backroom deals, most naturally assume that the whole world is run in this manner,” he wrote. “As such, there is willingness to believe that the hardships the country and its inhabitants have undergone throughout the centuries is due to the machinations of foreigners. After all, it’s easier to believe this than to fix the perennial ills plaguing Greek society.” Still, there are some signs of improvement. Samaras and his government have moved to condemn anti-Semitic expressions and launched a crackdown on Golden Dawn, jailing many of its leaders. The government also has acted against Holocaust denial and runs school education programs together with the Jewish community. “From the results of the poll, what is clear is that these stereotypes are very prevalent in Greek society,” Eliezer said. “How do you combat these stereotypes? Only through education.” The ADL’s Salberg hopes the results of the poll will motivate others to act, too. “Perhaps,” he said, “these very sobering numbers will raise questions within civil society among religious and civic leaders who don’t hold those views.”
Expected far-right surge in European elections raises worries By Toby Axelrod BERLIN (JTA) – Armed with ropes and long sticks, a group of teens in Germany’s capital headed out under the cover of night. Their goal: to tear down from lampposts the campaign posters of the neoNazi National Democratic Party. The young people are one small posse among those who fear gains for far-right parties in the upcoming elections for European Parliament. While the NPD seems unlikely to get more than a single seat, farright parties in other European countries are looking forward to major advances. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, told JTA that he is worried about “a surge in the number of extremist, racist and anti-Semitic lawmakers in Strasbourg and Brussels.” The parliament, he said, should establish a “no platform policy toward those parties to ensure that they are completely marginalized in the decision-making process.” Taking place May 22-25 amid economic hard times, the elections are expected to yield a strong showing for far-right, far-left and
Courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Some 250 supporters of the far-right National Democratic Party marching on May Day in Rostock, Germany, are accompanied by riot police, May 1, 2014
anti-establishment parties. Polls suggest that Euroskeptic parties are likely to take a quarter or more of the parliament’s maximum 751 seats. Despite their antipathy toward the European Union, such parties – some unable to win significant representation in the national parliaments of their own countries – are eager for the platform provided by the European Parliament. The president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor,
warned that anti-establishment and anti-European parties on the far left and far right are a danger to “all Europeans, including Jews.” While some Euroskeptic parties have built alliances with likeminded factions from other countries, they are a fractious lot. There is a divide between left and right, as well as fissures within the right. Far-right parties aiming for broader appeal have been reluctant to cooperate with overtly fascist parties.
“Even if those Euroskeptic extreme-right parties will be more powerful in the next parliament – and they will be – their power will not be enough to block legislation. I don’t believe this will happen,” said Jean-Yves Camus, a French researcher on anti-Semitism and far-right parties, citing such divisions. But their growing power reveals profound discontent with how the EU is being run. More and more people are saying “the kind of Europe that is being offered is not our cup of tea,” he added. Extremist parties have become “more polished, more professional in communication and have changed their way of saying things so they don’t appear as extremist as they are,” said Viviane Teitelbaum, a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament who serves on the steering committee of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians. For example, she said, the leader of France’s National Front, Marine Le Pen, “doesn’t use the same language against democracy in general as her father [party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen] was using ... She does not deny the
Holocaust like her father did. But it is a matter of time.” Teitelbaum went on to say, “You cannot be just a little bit democratic or a little bit fascist. When you are a fascist, you are a total fascist.” In France, the National Front is expected to garner nearly a quarter of the vote for European Parliament and potentially will be first among all French parties. It has agreed to form a parliamentary alliance with Holland’s Party for Freedom, led by Geert Wilders, which polls suggest could take some 17 percent of the Dutch vote. The UK Independence Party, an ardently anti-EU group, is predicted to finish first in Britain’s European Parliament election, even though it holds no seats in the country’s House of Commons. Its leader, Nigel Farage, has said he will not form an alliance with the National Front, citing the French party’s record of “antiSemitism and general prejudice.” The alliance being formed by Wilders and Le Pen also would not include more extreme parties such as Golden Dawn in Greece or ELECTIONS on page 21
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
Shaken by Ukraine’s turmoil, Kiev Jews form self-defense force By Cnaan Liphshiz KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) –At an empty Chabad school near the banks of the Dnieper River here in Ukraine’s capital city, six uniformed Jews with handguns and bulletproof vests are practicing urban warfare. Leading the training last week is a brawny man who at irregular intervals barks Hebrew-language commands at the men to test their drilled responses to different scenarios, including “ma’atzor” (firearm malfunction) and “mekhabel” (terrorist). The men, who belong to Kiev’s newly formed Jewish Self-Defense Force, all have some combat skills from the Israeli or Ukrainian armies
or background in martial arts, but they are clearly rusty. Living in a country that had been at peace since World War II, they hadn’t expected to have to use their skills to defend their local Jewish community. But that changed with the recent turmoil in the country. Amid the months of upheaval, there have been scattered attempts to torch synagogues, as well as assaults on Jews. Two rabbis were stabbed near Kiev’s Great Choral Synagogue, in January and in March. Such incidents led to the creation and deployment of the self-defense force around some of Kiev’s Jewish institutions ahead of the country’s May 25 elections.
“We were naive, I guess. We had thought this conflict would not affect the Jewish community, but now we know we are a target,” said Tzvi Arieli, the group’s founder and trainer in techniques he mastered in the Israel Defense Forces. “Honestly, we should have formed this force months ago.” Arieli and his team are worried that their community has become a pawn in the fight that pro-Russian separatists have waged against the Ukrainian government since the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February. “The separatists are on a mission to portray the Ukrainians as antiSemites, and to do that they are tar-
geting the Jewish community,” said Gedaliah, another prominent member of the eight-man Jewish force who requested that only his first name be used. “Failing that, they’d love to illustrate how the Ukrainian government is helpless to protect the country’s Jews and harm its legitimacy.” But that helplessness is real enough, according to Gedaliah. “The message we got from meetings with high-level officials is that however much they’d like to protect potential Jewish targets, they are overstretched, understaffed and simply not up to the task,” he said. “They basically told us to take steps to defend ourselves.”
Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, a chief rabbi of Ukraine who leads the Great Choral Synagogue, gave the green light several weeks ago to the formation of the self-defense unit under Arieli’s command. The unit, its members say, has the backing of Ukrainian police. “We have a direct line to police top brass in case any of our members are detained by police,” Arieli said. The men are licensed to carry their personal handguns for selfdefense purposes. They also have five bulletproof vests that Arieli, a soft-spoken former emissary to Kiev of the Bnei Akiva Zionist youth UKRAINE on page 19
Belgian Jews gather to mourn after museum attack By Cnaan Liphshiz BRUSSELS (JTA) – Hunched over a small island of memorial candles for the victims of the attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Paul Ambach is lost in thought. “Once again, Jewish blood in Belgium, which is no longer Belgium,” said Ambach, a wellknown Jewish musician from Antwerp, as he stared at the candles Sunday from a vigil for the four people killed by the unidentified gunman who opened fire at the museum the previous day. Ambach said he was also thinking about past attacks on Belgian Jews, including a 1981 car bombing outside an Antwerp synagogue that left three dead.
International Briefs Pope Francis visits Western Wall, Yad Vashem on final day of Mideast trip (JNS) – On Monday, the final day of his Mideast trip, Pope Francis visited the Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, among other major sites in Jerusalem. At the Western Wall, the pope prayed by the remains of the Second Temple and left a note inside an envelope in one of the cracks between the stones. Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said, “From this place, this holy place dedicated to you and me and millions of others worldwide, I wish to join you in asking the believers of all faiths to fight hatred and growing anti-Semitism.” Francis met with Jerusalem Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, urging his “Muslim brothers” to “respect and love one another as brothers and sisters.” “May we learn to understand the
Undeterred by the fact that the killer is at large with at least one other accomplice – a driver who brought him to the scene – approximately 2,000 people, many with their small children, showed up at the museum entrance for a vigil a mere 27 hours after the attack. The gathering was also attended by Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo and other ministers, who took time off from Belgium’s federal elections Sunday to show solidarity with Belgian Jewry. Also present was a group of young Muslim women. “We don’t know who is behind this, and it doesn’t matter. We came because we are hurting and crying inside,” said one of the women, Yfia Souad.
Another group of Jews convened nearby for a screening of a film about the Holocaust. The event had been scheduled long before the shootings, but instead of canceling, organizers dedicated the event to remembering the museum attack’s victims – Emanuel and Miriam Riva, a married couple in their 50s from Tel Aviv; Alexandre Strens, an employee of the museum in his 20s; and Dominique Chabrier, a French volunteer at the museum. Security camera footage from the museum showed the killer approaching the entrance to the museum quickly but calmly while carrying two bags and wearing a baseball cap that obscured his eyes from the lens.
suffering of others,” the pope said, Israel Hayom reported. “May no one abuse the name of God through violence.” The pope laid a wreath at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery, where Israeli leaders and soldiers are buried, before visiting Yad Vashem. There, he laid a wreath in the “Hall of Remembrance” and kissed the hands of half a dozen Holocaust survivors. “Never again, Lord, never again,” said Francis. “Here we are, Lord, shamed by what man, created in your own image and likeness, was capable of doing.”
tives to the European Parliament. In France, the far-right National Front won a plurality of the vote with 26 percent, spurring Socialist President Francois Hollande to seek an urgent meeting of top government ministers. National Front leader Marine Le Pen called for new national elections. The U.K. Independence Party was forecast to win 30 percent of the vote, up from 18 percent in the 2009 elections. The party wants Britain to withdraw from the European Union. Dutch politician Geert Wilders and his right-populist, anti-Islam Party for Freedom suffered a setback, finishing fourth and losing two seats. The results come on the heels of anti-Semitic attacks in France and Belgium.
Far-right parties gain in European elections (JTA) – Far-right parties across Europe won an increased share of the vote in elections for the European Parliament. Centrist, pro-European Union parties won a majority of Sunday’s vote led by the conservative European People’s Party. Far-right parties made significant gains, however, in France, the United Kingdom and Greece, among other nations. In Greece, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party finished third despite a government crackdown on its leadership and will send three representa-
BELGIAN on page 22
U.N.’s Ban condemns Brussels shooting (JTA) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing of four people in a Brussels Jewish museum. Ban’s spokesman said in a statement on Sunday that the U.N. chief “reiterates his strong condemnation of all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and trusts that Belgian author-
Courtesy of Cnaan Liphshiz
Adults and children participating in a silent vigil outside the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels for the four victims of a shooting there by an unidentified gunman, May 25, 2014.
ities will do everything possible to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators of this crime to justice swiftly.” Ottawa shuns call to close exhibit seen as extolling terrorism TORONTO (JTA) – The City of Ottawa will not close an art exhibit denounced as a glorification of terror by Israel’s embassy and the local Jewish community. “Invisible,” the creation of Toronto-based Palestinian artist Rehab Nazzal, focuses on “Palestine... and its military occupation by Israel,” according to a gallery brochure. French Jewish brothers attacked (JTA) – Two French Jewish brothers were attacked while on their way to synagogue. The brothers, aged 18 and 21 from the Paris suburb of Creteil, were attacked from behind Sunday by two men on bicycles, according to a statement from the French Jewish organization SPCJ. Tunisian Jew reportedly stabbed in Djerba (JTA) – A Jewish Tunisian man
was stabbed in the chest after a fight at the Jewish market in Djerba. Tunisia’s chief rabbi, Chaim Bitan, was quoted as telling the news site AfricanManager.com that the unnamed victim sustained wounds that are not life threatening in the stabbing May 22 and was in the hospital. The report said the attacker was a Muslim man. Amsterdam earmarks $1.18M as compensation for Holocaust victims (JTA) – The City of Amsterdam earmarked $1.18 million from its budget to pay back fines it unjustly collected from Holocaust survivors. The allocation, which Mayor Eberhard van der Laan announced May 22, is for fines that the city had imposed on hundreds of Jewish Holocaust survivors for properties they owned but for which they had failed to pay ground lease fees after the German army invaded the Netherlands in 1940, the Het Parool daily reported.
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Accepting Jewish values prize, Bloomberg strikes universalist tone By Ben Sales JERUSALEM (JTA) – Michael Bloomberg received the $1 million Genesis Prize for embodying Jewish values. The billionaire and former New York City mayor said they could just as well have been Christian, Muslim or Hindu values. In Jerusalem on Thursday for the first awarding of what some have called the Jewish Nobel, Bloomberg made a day of it. He appeared with
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to discuss urban innovation, spoke to the media and received the Genesis Prize from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a grandiose ceremony hosted by Jay Leno. The prize honors a laureate “whose actions, in addition to their achievements, embody the character of the Jewish people through commitment to Jewish values, the Jewish community and/or to the State of Israel.” Bloomberg praised Israel and remarked fondly on his Jewish
upbringing that set him on the path to success, first as the founder of a major financial software and media company, then as a three-term mayor of America’s largest city. But he noted repeatedly that the values he absorbed as a child could have come from any culture or religion. “No one religion has a lock on great people or terrible people,” Bloomberg said at a news conference preceding the award ceremony. “The values I learned from my parents are probably the same values I hope
Christians and Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists teach to their people.” The Genesis Prize is a joint project of Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, a coalition of Russian Jewish philanthropists who funded the prize. The group also funds organizations and programs that engage Russian-speaking Jews in Israel, the United States and the former Soviet Union. In selecting Bloomberg, the Genesis group chose a fellow billion-
aire who is perhaps better known for defending Muslim rights than Jewish ones. As New York City mayor, Bloomberg was a strident defender of plans to build an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, a controversy he brought up at the news conference. “There was a brouhaha in New York when they wanted to build a mosque near the World Trade Center,” he said. “If I’m going to be able to build my shul, they need to be able to build their mosque.”
Sleepless in Israel: Shavuot all-nighter comes to life in the Jewish state By Deborah Fineblum (JNS) – Regarding Shavuot – when Jews from around the world celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai – Rabbi Chayim Vital wrote on behalf of his master Rabbi Isaac Ben Solomon Luria (“Ha’Ari), “Know that one who does not sleep at all on this night, even for one moment, but rather immerses himself in [the waters of] Torah the entire night, can be assured that he will live out his year; no injury will befall him during this year.” That level of protection is certainly a draw, but those who have experienced all-night Shavuot learning in Israel will testify that the experience brings with it other, less tangible rewards. Less than a week after making aliyah to Ma’ale Adumim, Tanya Gusovsky was handed a list of the local all-night Shavuot learning “ops” by her new landlady, who also
Israel Briefs
Courtesy of atanya via Wikimedia Commons
Torah study like what is pictured in this scene at the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem is typical of the first night of Shavuot.
offered to act as her guide for the night. Gusovsky says she will never forget the sight she beheld when, coming around the corner from her home, she spied “a river of people
flowing in every direction, traveling from one shiur (lecture) to another.” Two years later, despite the late hour, she can still recall the take-away messages of many of the teachers she heard that night.
in the Knesset on Monday to have Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, made into an official national holiday in Israel. This year’s Jerusalem Day was observed Wednesday.
the West Bank if the peace process fails. “The idea of taking unilateral steps is gaining ground, from the center-left to the center-right,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Bloomberg View columnist Jeffrey Goldberg.
IDF budget cuts mean no money for ‘elements that produce security,’ official says (JNS) – The Israel Defense Forces will begin ceasing various activities as of early June, while certain military functions such as vehicle repairs are expected to dwindle one after the other, defense officials said. “The significance of the emerging 2015 budgetary outline is that we will not be able to begin the year at all,” Defense Ministry DirectorGeneral Maj. Gen. (res.) Dan Harel told military correspondents at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday, Israel Hayom reported.
Peres and Abbas accept Pope Francis offer to pray for peace at the Vatican (JNS) – Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accepted an invitation by Pope Francis to pray for peace at the Vatican. “In this, the birthplace of the prince of peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with Israeli President Shimon Peres, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace,” Francis said on his Mideast trip. “I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.”
MKs propose bill to make Jerusalem Day a national holiday (JNS) – MK Yoni Chetboun (Habayit Hayehudi) proposed a bill
Netanyahu open to unilateral moves if peace process falters (JNS) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be open to entertaining ideas of unilateral annexation of certain areas of
Israel to rebuild synagogue demolished during 1948 war (JNS) – The Israeli government has made plans to allocate 50 million shekels ($14.3 million) for the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Arab Legion during the War of Independence in 1948, Israel Hayom reported. Two synagogues that defined the Jerusalem skyline at the time were blown up: the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue and the Hurva Synagogue. The Hurva Synagogue was rebuilt in 2010, but the Tiferet Yisrael ruins were left as they were. IDF suggests video of Palestinian deaths could be forgery (JNS) – A senior Israel Defense
In a way, the ancient tradition of all-night learning on Shavuot is designed to make up for some of our sleepy ancestors. The Midrash reports that, more than 3,000 years ago, our Israelite forebears slept in that morning when they were to receive the Torah. So in staying up all night learning Torah, we are trying to demonstrate their descendants’ level of excitement about – and gratitude for – the gift of Torah. The cheesecake, it seems, came much later. Also known as the Festival of Weeks (See Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10 for the Torah origins), the Festival of Reaping (Check out Exodus 23:16), and Day of the First Fruits (as in Numbers 28:26), Shavuot is celebrated for just one day in Israel, as opposed to two in the Diaspora. The holiday numbers among the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrimage festivals when Jews everywhere finish up their seven weeks of Omer Forces official has cast doubt on the accuracy of a recently released video that purportedly shows the deaths of two Palestinian teens near the Ofer military prison on May 15. “Since I have a lot of experience with forgery, I won’t say anything unequivocal until we conclude the investigation,” the anonymous IDF official told Haaretz. Israeli transportation minister proposes expansion of Jerusalem’s borders (JNS) – Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) announced Thursday that he intends to promote a bill that would expand the borders of Jerusalem. “This is the time to promote an initiative that will strengthen Jerusalem, expand its borders, and preserve its Jewish national character. I intend to support the Greater Jerusalem as Capital of Israel Bill,” Katz said. The bill calls for the communities of Ma’aleh Adumim, Givat Zeev, the Gush Etzion bloc, and Betar Illit to come under the jurisdiction of Jerusalem and the state of Israel.
counting, which begins on the second day of Passover. Tradition also teaches that on Shavuot, the Jews would bring their bikkurim (first fruits of Israel’s Seven Species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates) to the Temple in Jerusalem. The custom of all-night Torah study goes back, it appears, to 1533, when Rabbi Joseph Caro, author of the “Shulchan Aruch,” a guidebook to Jewish law, invited many of his Kabbalistically minded colleagues to learn with him at a Shavuot allnighter. Besides Torah, Talmud, and Mishnah, many also learn the Tikkun Leil Shavuot (Rectification for Shavuot Night) with its excerpts from the 24 books of Tanakh. Legend has it that Rabbi Caro and others living in the Ottoman Empire at the time were able to keep awake thanks to the region’s fine – and SLEEPLESS on page 19
Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball title spurs Spanish antiSemitic tweets (JNS) – About 18,000 antiSemitic Spanish tweets were posted following Maccavi Tel Aviv’s recent win over Real Madrid in the Euroleague basketball finals. The Jewish community in Catalonia, Spain, now plans to file a legal complaint on the tweets. Pro-Palestinian activist Corrie's family takes legal battle to Israeli Supreme Court (JNS) – The family of the late American pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie has appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that absolved the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of blame in her 2003 death in Gaza. Corrie, 23, was killed while trying to block an Israeli bulldozer in operations in southern Gaza during the height of the Second Intifada. An Israeli court in 2012 supported the findings of an IDF investigation that said the bulldozer driver could not see Corrie and that her death was an accident.
SOCIAL LIFE • 11
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
ROCKWERN ECEC SHABBBAT BREAKFAST
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rockwern Academy’s annual ECEC Shabbat Breakfast took place February 7, 2014, and was a beautiful showcase of its youngest students’ knowledge of Hebrew songs and Jewish traditions. Led by Etti Scheier, Coordinator of Jewish Programming and Outreach & Judaic Studies teacher at Rockwern, it was truly a joyful and meaningful celebration shared with generations of Rockwern families.
Ambulance donated by the Friedman family.
GIFT ernice Friedman and family recently purchased an ambulance, which is the third ambulance donated by the Friedman family, to benefit American Friends of Magen David Adom in Israel. The ambulance was presented at a gala event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, and was donated in loving memory of Arthur H. Friedman and Albert and Sadye Harris.
B
BIRTH achel (Pearl) and Robert Callif are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter,Josephine Danielle Callif, on March 29, 2014. Josephine (Josie) is also welcomed by her sister, Sasha. Josephine's grandparents are Eve Pearl of Cincinnati, Elaine and Rick Pearl of Newport, Ky. and Lynn and David Callif of Cincinnati. Josephine is the great grand-daughter of Elaine and the late Donald Bornstein of Louisville, Ky., Neal and the late Sylvia Callif of Columbus, Ohio, the late Eugenia and Sigfried Susskind of Cincinnati and the late Naomi Pearl Abrams and Henry Pearl of Cincinnati.
R
12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
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ROCKWERN ECEC SHABBAT BREAKFAST Continued from Page 11
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
SHOFAR MAKING WORKSHOP AT NHS Northern Hills Synagogue - Congregation B'nai Avraham held an shofar-making workshop on February 9th. Under the direction of Maksim Shilkrot, Director of Programming and Education, members of all ages learned about the role of the shofar and had a hand's-on experience in making their own.
CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13
14 • DINING OUT
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Cafe Mediterranean brings Mediterranean cuisine to us By Bob Wilhelmy Summer on the Mediterranean Sea is wonderful, says Fahri Ozdil, owner of Café Mediterranean restaurant. The really cool thing is that we Greater Cincinnatians have a bit of that same wonder here, at Café Mediterranean. You may not be able to see the sea, but your taste buds will not know the difference. Sit yourself down behind a plate of delectable Mediterranean style food, and transport yourself to those magnificent coastal areas through the palate. Ozdil is a purist when it comes to the foods of his native Turkey, and his love of the Mediterranean approach to eating. When he and I sat at a table in his restaurant and talked about this article, we did so over a beaker of hot tea. The taste was remarkable, and I told him so. Ozdil proceeded to tell me this, with conviction: “You have to respect what you are doing; the tea for Turkish people, very, very important. You have to make it very slowly. You have to respect the tea, to do it the way we have learned to do it over hundreds and thousands of years. Just boil water and throw the tea in—no! It takes time to steep it and get it to perfection. In a nutshell, that is the emphasis behind everything done at Café Mediterranean. Take the stuffed baby eggplant, for example. They are baked after being stuffed with baby raisins, green and red peppers, pine nuts, onions, garlic and extra virgin olive oil for the sauté. The finished dish is chilled and served cold, but the taste and texture is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. “We are doing a lot more salads for the summer and that is because people love them. The Greek salad, with the fresh ingredients and the feta cheese is a favorite. And the shepherd’s salad is one everybody likes, with the tomatoes and onions, and peppers and fresh mint and parsley, with the perfect dressing. People, they love it and they come in here just for that,” Ozdil said. “Also, we added a chicken roulade to the menu, and this has been very popular. We butterfly the chicken breast and stuff with spinach, mushrooms, green peppers, spices and herbs. The rolls are pan seared to get the nice brown and baked outside, then we slice it on top of mashed potatoes. It makes a beautiful dish, and people love it—the taste, it is very good.” For those thinking healthy
One of the hot entrée dishes.
One of the hot entrée dishes.
eating, the benefits of the Mediterranean diet were showcased in a recent article in the New York Times, according to Ozdil. The gist of that article is becoming more widely known among health-conscious Americans—a diet centered around vegetables, grains, fruits, garlic, herbs and olive oil is a winner in the healthy-human category. None of this is news in Jewish circles, where eating “clean,” careful and kosher
The exterior of Café Mediterranean.
dates back thousands of years. Given those facts, Café Mediterranean is a place Jewish diners should put at the top of their list of good places to eat, Ozdil reasons. “Since that article in the Times, we have had more people here to eat. They come here, and 95 percent, they come back again. Ozdil travels to New York City three or four times a year to buy herbs and spices for the foods he prepares in his Blue
Ash eatery. Why? Because those particular herbs and spices are imported directly from Turkey, and the imported varieties are not available here. He could buy herbs here, such as oregano, but he says the flavors are just not the same. So he travels to the Big Apple to get the imported Turkish varieties. The meals seen with this article are of the type made better by all those imported herbs and spices, and the trouble it takes to
procure them. For an authentic taste of Mediterranean cuisine, head to Café Mediterranean restaurant. See you there. Cafe Mediterranean 9525 Kenwood Rd. 745-9386
DINING OUT • 15
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
RESTAURANT DIRECTORY 20 Brix
Ice ’N Ez
Pomodori’s
101 Main St
115 Reading Rd.
121West McMillan • 861-0080
Historic Milford
Mason
7880 Remington Rd
831-Brix (2749)
336-0062
Montgomery • 794-0080
Ambar India Restaurant
Izzy’s
Slatt’s Pub
350 Ludlow Ave
800 Elm St • 721-4241
4858 Cooper Rd
Cincinnati
612 Main St • 241-6246
Blue Ash
281-7000
1198 Smiley Ave • 825-3888
791-2223 • 791-1381 (fax)
7625 Beechmont Ave • 231-5550 Andy’s Mediterranean Grille
4766 Red Bank Expy • 376-6008
Spicy Olive
At Gilbert & Nassau
5098B Glencrossing Way • 347-9699
7671 Cox Lane
2 blocks North of Eden Park
8179 Princeton-Glendale • 942-7800
West Chester • 847-4397
281-9791
300 Madison Ave • 859-292-0065
2736 Erie Ave.
7905 Mall Road • 859-525-2333
Cincinnati • 376-9061
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www.BangkokTerrace.com
Specializing in traditional culinary dishes with a modern twist. Price: $30 and under Closed Mondays 4034 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio
513-541-9600
Stone Creek Dining Co.
Loveland
Johnny Chan 2
9386 Montgomery Rd
239-8881
11296 Montgomery Rd
Montgomery • 489-1444
The Shops at Harper’s Point
6200 Muhlhauser Rd
489-2388 • 489-3616 (fx)
West Chester • 942-2100
Cincinnati
Kanak India Restaurant
Tandoor
321-1600
10040B Montgomery Rd
8702 Market Place Ln
Montgomery
Montgomery
793-6800
793-7484
Baba India Restaurant
The Best Japanese Cuisine, Asian Food & Dining Experience In Town
3120 Madison Rd
Bangkok Terrace 4858 Hunt Rd Blue Ash
Marx Hot Bagels
The Cream of Caffeine Coffee Co.
891-8900 • 834-8012 (fx)
9701 Kenwood Rd
4081 E. Galbraith Rd
Blue Ash
Cincinnati
891-5542
793-0293
Cincinnati
Mecklenburg Gardens
Tony’s
541-9600
302 E. University Ave
12110 Montgomery Rd
Clifton
Montgomery
221-5353
677-1993
Cincinnati
Padrino
Walt’s Hitching Post
321-6300
111 Main St
300 Madison Pike
Milford
Fort Wright, KY
965-0100
(859) 360-2222
Cincinnati
Parkers Blue Ash Tavern
Wertheim’s Restaurant
745-9386
4200 Cooper Rd
514 W 6th St
Blue Ash
Covington, KY
891-8300
(859) 261-1233
Bistro Grace
"Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in America"
Chinese Restaurant News - 2004 Cincy Magazine Best of the North 2014
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1/2
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4034 Hamilton Ave.
Breadsmith 3500 Michigan Ave.
Cafe Mediterranean 9525 Kenwood Rd
Cincinnati
West Chester Hours: 7671 Cox Lane (513) 847-4397 Sun. 12 to 5, Mon. - Thurs. 10 to 7 Fri. 10 to 8, Sat. 10 to 7 Hyde Park Hours: 2736 Erie Avenue (513) 376-9061 Mon. - Thurs. 10 to 7, Fri. & Sat. 10 to 6
936-8600
www.thespicyolive.com
Carlo & Johnny 9769 Montgomery Rd
Now open under new management
The American Israelite can not guarantee the kashrus of any establishment.
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16 • OPINION
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George McGovern, Auschwitz, and the Nigerian schoolgirls By Rafael Medoff (JNS) – U.S. officials say it would be “too risky” to send commandos to rescue the 300 schoolgirls being held hostage by Islamist terrorists in Nigeria. If that’s the problem, they should look to the late George McGovern for the solution. Back in 1944, the future U.S. senator and Democratic presidential nominee was the 22 yearold pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber in World War II. Among his targets: German synthetic oil factories in occupied Poland – some of them less than five miles from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. And that’s where a possible solution for Nigeria comes in. Some years ago, the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies arranged for Holocaust survivor and philanthropist Sigmund Rolat, together with filmmakers Stuart Erdheim and Chaim Hecht, to meet with McGovern in his home in South Dakota. The former presidential candidate spoke on camera, for the first time, about the Roosevelt administration’s rejection of requests to bomb Auschwitz. Despite his well-known advocacy of sharp reductions in U.S. defense spending and his vigorous opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War, McGovern believed there were times when American military force was justified. As an example, he cited the possibility of bombing the notorious Nazi death camp where an estimated 1 million Jews were gassed to death during the Holocaust. The interviewers raised the familiar questions that have been asked about the feasibility of an air assault on Auschwitz. What effect would such bombings have had? McGovern replied that, from his perspective as a pilot, there was “a pretty good chance we could have blasted those rail lines off the face of the earth, which would have interrupted the flow of people to those death chambers.” He also believed that he and his fellow pilots “had a pretty good chance of knocking out those gas ovens.” Wasn’t there a danger of accidentally harming some of the Jewish prisoners? “It was certainly worth the effort, despite all the risks,” McGovern said. After all, he noted, the prisoners were already “doomed to death”
and a bombing raid could have slowed down the mass murder process, thus saving many more lives. What about the propriety of ordering pilots to carry out a dangerous mission that had no military value? Is it justified to put the lives of servicemen at risk for a non-military goal? That is exactly the question raised in recent days by U.S. generals regarding the idea of sending U.S. commandos into Nigeria. McGovern’s answer: Ask for volunteers. The generals may consider such a mission not worth risking soldiers’ lives – but let’s see if the soldiers agree. According to Senator McGovern, if his commanders had asked for volunteers to bomb Auschwitz, “whole crews would have volunteered.” That was because most American soldiers in World War II understood that the war they were fighting was not just a military struggle but a moral one, as well. In McGovern’s view, they would have recognized the importance of trying to disrupt the massmurder process, even if it meant endangering their own lives in a risky raid. It seems likely there would be plenty of American soldiers today who would feel the same way. There is ample precedent for such an approach. In August 1944, the Polish Home Army launched a revolt against the Germans in Warsaw. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favored airlifting supplies to the rebels, even though he knew that the materials would have little impact on the revolt and, in fact, a large portion was likely to fall into the hands of the Nazis. Churchill recognized the symbolic and political value of such an expression of solidarity with the Poles. British air force commanders strongly opposed risking pilots’ lives for a nonmilitary goal. So volunteer pilots were solicited – and they signed up in droves. There’s a good chance the same thing would happen today if volunteers were sought to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls. Doing so would not make America the world’s policeman. It would not drag the United States into a foreign war. It would just give some kindhearted American servicemen and women an opportunity to act on our country’s noblest ideals.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, AJC is providing urgently needed support for IsraAID, a leading Israeli non-governmental relief organization, which is bringing urgent humanitarian assistance to flood-stricken areas in BosniaHerzegovina and Serbia. IsraAID responds generously and compassionately to those in need, following Jewish tradition. The organization has sent medical, trauma, and relief professionals to the two European countries. Sincerely, Barbara Glueck Director AJC Cincinnati Regional Office Dear Editor, After reading the article on page 3 of last week's issue (“Congregation Beth Messiah provides a different approach to Judaism”), I experienced a mixture of shock, disbelief, repulsion, and bewilderment. A response from your readership is in order. For most of its two thousand year history, Christianity has unabashedly sought to convert Jews, often by coercion or force. Overwhelmingly, Jews have resisted, even giving up their lives rather than convert to a religion whose central beliefs are in direct conflict with Judaism's most basic principles of faith. In the last century, a new strategy surfaced for accomplishing what other methods had not: blur the lines of distinction between the two religions, thereby luring unsuspecting spiritually-seeking Jews (especially those lacking adequate knowledge of their own religion) into thinking that Christianity was the
path to becoming better, more complete Jews. Christianity was portrayed as “a different approach to Judaism,” exactly as worded in the title of your article. This actually amounts to a “different approach” to presenting Christianity, by making it resemble Judaism: e.g. calling houses of worship “synagogues” rather than churches; calling leaders “rabbis” rather than ministers or pastors; referring to Jesus (a name which even the most unreligious Jew is uncomfortable uttering) as Yeshua; using Hebrew in the liturgy; using familiar Jewish objects such as menorahs or Torah scrolls. But when all is said and done, so-called “Messianic Judaism” (an ironic title since mainstream, traditional Judaism is strongly messianic) or “Jews for Jesus” or any other such groups that seek to proselytize Jews are not Judaism at all. They cannot be because their central beliefs are in conflict with basic tenets of Judaism. They are, in fact, Christianity....misrepresenting themselves as something different. All streams of Judaism today recognize them as Christian (Including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist). Even the U.S.military require their chaplains to wear the cross as their identifying insignia, despite their request to wear the Star of David. (For a more in depth understanding of the differences between Judaism and Christianity, readers are urged study Aryeh Kaplan's booklet “The Real Messiah? A Response to Missionaries.”) It is unfortunate that well-meaning Jews in search of spiritual fulfillment are being misled into abandoning the religion of their birth and of
the generations before them who chose martyrdom rather than succumb to conversion. Today’s unsuspecting converts are victims no less. Michael and Rachel Wolf are, themselves, such victims and now they einthusiastically seek others to join them. Had they originally searched their own religion, they would have found what they were looking for: a personal, loving and forgiving G-d; the promise of life after death; a love of neighbor; a sense of meaning and purpose; a cohesive community; and, yes, the belief in the coming of a Messiah (one of Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith). While the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and the Jewish Foundation invest millions of dollars in helping our two Jewish day schools, funding Jewish overnight camp scholarships, and sponsoring trips to Israel to promote and support a viable Jewish community in Cincinnati, the Israelite grants sympathetic visibility and legitimacy to a missionary movement dedicated to stealing Jewish souls right under our noses! The Israelite owes the Jewish community an apology. You should be publishing an expose of this group instead of helping to market it. At the very least, you should cancel your plans for three more installments of this outrageous endeavor. Your reporter did get one thing right, even if she later retracted it: “Christians are Christians; Jews are decidedly not Christians.” Lee Shonfield Cincinnati, OH
A new gauge of global anti-Semitism By Abraham H. Foxman NEW YORK (JTA) – The AntiDefamation League’s Global 100 Index of Anti-Semitism is the broadest public opinion survey of attitudes toward Jews ever conducted. It is one of the most important efforts we have undertaken in our history as an organization. The survey was conducted in more than 100 countries and territories, and 53,100 people were interviewed, representing 4 billion adults around the world. Our basic findings were sobering: More than one-quarter of the people surveyed (26 percent) harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. The stereotypes receiving the most support worldwide were those questioning the loyalty of Jews and those assert-
ing excessive Jewish power and influence. And, despite decades of efforts to promote Holocaust awareness, only 33 percent of those surveyed are aware of the Holocaust and believe that it is accurately described by historians. We approach this project with a sense of pride but also humility, knowing that it provides direction rather than definitive answers. The survey will form a baseline for further consideration of anti-Semitism and Holocaust awareness. Most importantly, the survey will, we hope, begin conversations among governments, scholars, NGOs and others around the world on attitudes toward Jews, and lead to new initiatives to counteract these pernicious attitudes. In this regard, a few comments are in order.
First, we recognize that polling public opinion, however important a barometer of the state of antiSemitism in a particular country, is only one factor. Other indicators, such as how many anti-Semitic incidents there are, how secure the Jewish community feels, how antiSemitism plays out in politics, culture, entertainment and religion, are all elements in assessing the extent of anti-Semitism in a particular society. In polling anti-Semitic attitudes, this survey plays an important role in setting the stage for the broader discussion of anti-Semitism in varying societies. Second, as the organization primarily responsible for dealing with GLOBAL on page 19
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
...in modern times, when our society is endeavoring to integrate people with blemishes and we have become much more accustomed to them, blemished kohanim would not disqualified. Kohen who is giving the blessing. God’s “presence” is alongside the Kohen, who merely expresses what God is doing, so the people must be focused on God and not on the individual Kohen (see Avishai David, Rav Soloveitchik on the weekly portion of Naso). Hence, if the blemish of the Kohen-Priest will distract people from concentrating on God, the Kohen-priest must abdicate his function. At the same time, however, the halakhah (Orah Haim 128:30) maintains that if the Kohen is known in the community, if the people are used to seeing people with blemishes, or if the Kohen’s blemish is covered with a prayer shawl, the Kohen would certainly be allowed to give the benediction. And this means that in modern times, when our society is endeavoring to integrate people with blemishes and we have become much more accustomed to them, blemished kohanim would not bedisqualified. Many years ago, when I was the young rabbi of a fledgling apartment-synagogue in the Lincoln Center area of Manhattan, a very tall gentleman named Adolph Katz and his two tall sons came for our Passover morning service. Since the last name Katz is usually derived from the two Hebrew words “Kohen tzedek”, Righteous Kohen-priest, we offered him the Kohen aliyah, which he accepted with alacrity. But when I then asked him to join us in giving the congregation the Priestly benediction during the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah, he sadly responded that that would be impossible. “When I first came to America as a very young man, I began my career making and selling toilet bowls”, he explained. “As a result of a soldering accident, I lost two fingers. My rabbi at the time told me that I could no longer bless the congregation…” He showed me his hand which was missing the two central fingers. When I explained to him that since he would be covering his fingers with the prayer shawl, he was obligated to join with me in granting the Priestly benediction, he smiled broadly, but then his eyes welled up with tears. “When I
left Czechoslovakia, and saw my father for what I knew would be the last time, he gave me a final blessing. ‘Remember, you are a Kohenpriest’, he reminded me, ‘and you are entrusted with asking God to bless Israel with peace. To truly be worthy of such a privilege, you must always keep the Sabbath holy’. And so I was careful never to work on the Sabbath day. But once I was told that I could no longer give the benediction invoking God, I began to work on the Sabbath – so in my father’s eyes, I’m no longer worthy to participate in the benediction.’” I stood up on my tip-toes and hugged him. “Of course you are worthy. You will join me in the blessing and from now on you will keep the Sabbath day holy”. We shook hands and for the next eighteen years Adolph Katz served as the “Kohen Gadol” of our congregation. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel
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T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: NASO (BAMIDBAR 4:21—7:89) 1. Who carried the curtains of the Mishkan? a.) The priests b.) First born c.) Family of Gershon 2. Who carried the boards of the Mishkan? a.) The priests b.) First born c.) Family of Merari 3. How were the curtains and boards carried? a.) Wagons incense was never brought as a sacrifice by a private person. Rashi
EFRAT, Israel – “Speak to Aaron and his sons saying so shall you bless the children of Israel, say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause His Face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord forgive you and grant you peace… And I (the Lord) shall bless them” (Numbers 6:22-27). In this stirring Biblical passage, the Kohen-Priest, descendants of Aaron the first High Priest are instructed to raise their hands, spread out their fingers in a manner to form the Hebrew letter “shin” for the Divine Name Sha-ddai (Almighty God) and so to bless the congregation of praying Israelites. Here in Israel, the Kohen-Priests rise to fulfill this function every day and in Ashkenazi congregations in the diaspora, every festival service (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, sixteenth century Polish decisor rules that in the Diaspora it is only possible for Jews to feel joy on the Festivals, when the Bible commands us to be joyous, and since the Divine Presence can only be felt in places of joy, the Priestly benediction is limited in the Diaspora to festival prayer services). As a Kohen-Priest myself, whenever I join my fellow Kohanim to bestow the blessing (and especially when I am joined by some of my children or grandchildren), I am filled with emotions of sanctity and privilege to be participating in a four thousand year old tradition expressing an unbroken DNA lineage which extends backwards to the very first Sanctuary (Mishkan) service in the desert and will hopefully continue forwards to the Messiah and the long awaited period of world redemption. But what if a Kohen-Priest has a bodily blemish, caused by a birth defect or the result of an accident or war injury? It would seem from our Torah reading of about a month ago (Emor, Lev.21:15-25), that this would disqualify the Kohen-Priest from officiating in the Sanctuary, which would logically include disqualification from the priestly benediction. Is this fair? Is the Kohen to be punished because he is blind or club-footed? The Talmud and the Code of Jewish Law explain that the people receiving the blessing must understand that it is God and not the
WHAT’S
b.) Hand c.) Donkeys 4. When were the sacrifices of the princes brought a.) At the giving of the Torah b.) Dedication of the Mishkan c.) Rosh Chodesh (first of the month) 5. What did the princes bring in a bowl to the Mishkan? a.) Wine b.) Flour c.) Incense
3. A 7:7,8 4. B 7:10 5. C 7:14 This was a special sacrifice because
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT NASO NUMBERS 4:21-7:89
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. C 4:25 2. C 4:31
Sedra of the Week
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist At the Movies: with Asides Many theaters, including one in Cincinnati, are presenting two special screenings of “Driving Miss Daisy” during the week of June 1 and the week starting June 8. NO, this isn’t a re-showing of the Oscar-winning 1989 film (based on ALFRED UHRY’s 1987 play). Rather, it’s a film record of the play as it was presented on the Australian stage last year. Angela Lansbury, now 88, stars as Daisy Wertern, a proud Southern Jewish woman, with James Earl Jones, now 83, costarring as Hoke, her compassionate chauffeur. Lansbury recently told a British paper: “I saw the original stage production of ...Daisy and loved it. Afterwards, I met Alfred Uhry, and we came to an agreement that some day I would play Daisy. Years passed. Then it was suggested that I do it in Australia, of all places, alongside James Earl Jones. I’m not exactly a spring chicken…but I thought: “Australia – why not? What a wonderful place to go and try something. The great thing about theatre, you see, is that it’s all about illusion. At my age, I simply can’t get away with playing a 72-year-old woman like Daisy in the movies. But on stage, with make-up, I can. So the theatre, really, is the only place older actresses can still work.” Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, is the director, writer, and star of “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” He plays Albert, a cowardly sheep farmer whose girlfriend leaves him after he chickens out of a gunfight. When a mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But Albert’s moxie is tested when her husband, a notorious outlaw (Liam Neeson), comes to town. Some comic relief is provided by SARAH SILVERMAN, 43, who plays Ruth, the fiancée of Albert’s best friend, Edward (Giovanni Ribisi). Ruth is a prostitute, but she won’t have sex with Edward because, as Silverman recently told David Letterman, “We’re Christians and we’re not married.” On another topic, Silverman told Letterman that she recently found her name in a definition of ‘offensive’ in a textbook. Tongue-in-cheek she added, “Hitler and DON STERLING are too likeable to be listed. [But] I am the meaning of offensive.” Meanwhile, Theron, 38, spoke to “Vogue” this month,
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opening up for the first time about her romantic relationship, now about six months old, with SEAN PENN, 53. She said they had been good friends for 18 years before their platonic relationship became romantic. She says: “It just kind of naturally happened, and before I knew it, I was in something that was making my life better.” Penn, as you might have heard, was honored on May 17 with a Jewish Values Award. The awards were created by and are presented by SHMULEY BOTEACH, 47, a well-known Orthodox rabbi and author. Penn, who is far to the political left of the rabbi, was honored for his really cloak-in-dagger role in helping Orthodox Jewish businessman JACOB OSTREICHER escape from a Bolivian jail last year. In accepting the award, Penn noted he did so not because his late father was Jewish – but because Ostreicher had been unjustly jailed by a corrupt regime (he was held for three years in brutal conditions and never formally charged). Osteicher re-counted at the awards banquet how Penn not only helped him escape – but after the escape took him into his own home for several weeks and provided everything that Ostreicher needed to begin recovering from his trauma. It was critical support that ultimately allowed Ostreicher re-join his family with his bearings largely restored. Zeppelin Deflated? As I write this, it is still possible that an injunction will be issued to prevent the June 3 release of a re-mastered version of Led Zeppelin IV, which includes their iconic tune, “Stairway to Heaven” (1971). Finally, the heirs of guitarist RANDY CALIFORNIA (19511997) are bringing a legal action to obtain royalties for what has seemed obvious to many for decades – that much of “Stairway” music was lifted from a 1968 tune that California wrote and Zeppelin band members heard every night for months when they toured with “Spirit”, California’s band. Even if they don’t get the injunction, Wolfe’s heirs may well prevail after a full trial or via a lucrative settlement. Zeppelin has lost several similar suits. Born Randy Wolfe in California – Randy California drowned while saving his young son from drowning. Spirit is best known for their monster 1968 hit, “I Got a Line on You”, which Randy wrote.
FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO
125 Y EARS A GO The nuptials of Mr. Alfred M. Cohen and Miss Millie Phillips, daughter of P. Phillips, Esq., are set for June 19th, at the Allemania Hall, and the large number of relatives and friends will combine to make the list of those present a very large one. Miss Phillips is well known in society, and there is probably no Jewish young gentleman in the city who has a larger circle of friends and acquaintances than Mr. Cohen. For over 12 years he has led the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in its successes and besides is identified with the Mound Street Temple, and with other numerous charitable institutions as an officer. Cincinnat is gradually getting all the conveniences of the largest cities and keeping fully abreast of the times. The newest is the “Metropolitan Fire and Accident Notification Co.” Their object is to promptly notify businessmen when there is anything wrong at their place of business, such as a fire, doors unlocked, window or transom open, bursting of water pipes, etc..., or of anything requiring their immediate attention, between 6 pm and 7am. The notice is sent by a vehicle which will convey the subscriber in the shortest possible time to the desired point. The subscription price is very small. The office is at 60 Main Street – May 30, 1914
100 Y EARS A GO
75 Y EARS A GO Within a few months after the passing of one of his brothers, Walter Friedlander, and one of his fellow deans, Dr. Herman Schneider, Dr. Alfred Friedlander succumbed Sunday, May 28th, to a heart ailment. He was an internationally renowned physician, educator and hosptial administrator. Born in Cincinnati July 5, 1871, the son of Abraham J. and Lisette Friedman Friedlander, he had been in medical practice since 1919 and dean of the U.C. College of Medicine since 1934. He had been chief of staff at General Hospital since 1937 and was acting superintendent there that summer. He also was superintendent of Holmes Hospital. For years he was associated with the late Dr. Henry W. Bettman. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Gertrude Hyman Friedlander; a son, Alfred J. Friendlander; a daughter, Mrs .Roy (Peggy) Lamson, Jr., Williamstown, Mass.; brother, Edgar; and sister, Mrs. Henry Stix, St. Louis. Interment was in Walnut Hills Cemetery Tuesday morning, with the Maertz-Dethlefs Co. in charge. – June 1 1939
50 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. Harry Waxman announced the engagement of their daughter, Harriette Barbara, to Mr. James M. Katz, son of Mr.. and Mrs. Abraham Katz. Miss Waxman attended Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Katz completed his undergraduate work at UC and is in the Ohio State College of Dentistry. The wedding will be solemnized Dec. 27., Rabbi David I. Indich will officiate. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Samuelson, 1532 Yarmouth Avenue, announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, David Ray, Saturday, June 6, at 9am, at North Avondale Synagogue. Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and attend the Kiddush following the service. David is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Sol Samuelson and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Berger of Midland, Ohio. – June 4, 1964
25 Y EARS A GO Yaacov and Chava Rabenstein invite their friends to a reception in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Shoshana Sora, on Sunday, June 18 (Sivan 15) from 3-5 pm at New Hope Synagogue, 1625 Crest Hill Avenue, Roselawn. No in town invitations. Fred and Joyce Siegel (Kravetz) announce the birth of a daughter, Brooke Lauren, May 27. Brooke has a brother, Matthew Hirsch. Maternal grandparents are Marian Kravetz and the late Harry Kravetz. Paternal grandparents are Bernice Siegel of South Euclid, Ohio, and the late Martin Siegel. – June 8, 1989
10 Y EARS A GO Lily and Jack Cohen, of Indianapolis, IN, announce the engagement of their daughter, Dr. Shana Lynn Cohen, to Mr. Brian Todd Zwick, son of Michael and Myron Zwick of Cincinnati, OH. Shana is the granddaughter of Stephanie Marks, the late David Marks and the late Harold Cohen, and Selma Kahn and the late Jerry Kahn of Indianapolis. Brian is the grandson of the late Rosalind and Sam Meisel of Cincinnati, and the late Solomon and Bertha Zwick of Cincinnati. The families are planning a wedding for May 7, 2005 in Indianapolis. – June 3, 2004
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS Access (513) 373-0300 • jypaccess.org Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7258 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Chabad (513) 731-5111 • campchabad.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 •camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Community Mikveh (513) 351-0609 •cincinnatimikveh.org Eruv Hotline (513) 351-3788 Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (Miami) (513) 523-5190 • muhillel.org Hillel Jewish Student Center (UC) (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati 513-961-0178 • jcemcin.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • www.jvscinti.org Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family (513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org
SLEEPLESS from page 10 potent – Turkish coffee. But although the Torah decreed it and the ancients pioneered its observance, Shavuot has made another mark on the Jewish psyche far more recently than the 16th century. In 1948, one month after the birth of the State of Israel, Jews were still banned from visiting the Kotel (Western Wall) by the Jordanians who were in charge of that part of the city. For 19 years, Jews would gaze across barbed wire fences at the Old City and Temple Mount they could not approach. But on Shavuot of 1967 – just six days after the Israelis took back the Old City in the Six Day War – the Kotel was officially opened to the Israeli public. For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, Jews could visit the Western Wall and walk the ancient streets of the Old City. And some 200,000 of them poured in that day: religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, all celebrating their newfound freedom to worship by those ancient stones. These days, tens of thousands of Jews re-enact that return when they
The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Sha’arei Torah (513) 620-8080 • shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Shevet Achim (513) 426-8613 • shevetachimohio.com Congregation Zichron Eliezer (513) 631-4900 • czecincinnati.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com
make their way to the Kotel in time for morning prayers, feet barely touching the ground after a full night of Torah learning and no REM sleep. Among them will be the students at Orayta, a yeshiva located just up the steps from the Kotel. “At dawn, we dance down to the Kotel to join upwards of 50,000 Jews for the morning prayers,” says Orayta Rosh Yeshiva (dean) Rabbi Binny Freedman. “The intensity of Jewish unity as Jews of all shapes and sizes put aside their differences and come together is simply one of the most beautiful moments of the year.” They may not have the Kotel, but other communities around Israel also share in the tradition of all-night learning. “There is an aura here around that night that’s unlike any other night of the year,” says Gabie Sykora of Ra’anana. “Women and men, teens and older people, religious and secular, everyone out all night learning in groups and chevrutas (pairs), in synagogues and in homes, like all Israel is learning Torah together. You know you are
EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) (513) 262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati (513) 631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 BBYO (513) 722-7244 • mayersonjcc.org Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234-0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (937) 886-9566 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org ORT America (216) 464-3022 • ortamerica.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com
part of something bigger than yourself, and something in the air that night tells you that it’s time to take your own spiritual growth up a notch.” Now, Sykora says, she can’t imagine spending Shavuot anywhere but Israel. “In Israel, where our history took place, we are also participating in creating our people’s destiny because we’re still growing and learning. And where else in the world could you go to a shul for learning on Shavuot on a street named Har Sinai?” she says, referring to the Ra’anana street on which the Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael synagogue is located. In the weeks leading up to their first Shavuot in Israel, the Sykoras witnessed a unique phenomenon: every imaginable variety of cheesecake blossoming in bakeries and supermarkets around town. Dairy foods such as cheesecake and blintzes among Ashkenazis, and other cheesy treats such as kelsonnes (cheese ravioli) among many Sephardis, are an integral part of the celebration-often washed down with the coffee in hopes of keeping the all-night learners conscious.
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business@ americanisraelite.com or call 513-621-3145 UKRAINE from page 9 movement, obtained from donors in Israel. The team also has baseball bats to wield as clubs, but no helmets or proper first-aid kits. Arieli is working to raise additional funds on Facebook to buy gear for prospective new members. At the schoolyard, the men practice running for cover as their comrades fire imaginary shots at an abstract enemy, shouting “bam, bam, bam” while pulling the triggers GLOBAL from page 16 anti-Semitism, ADL frequently encounters comments suggesting we have a vested interest in finding anti-Semitism. With this global survey we do not seek to exaggerate how much anti-Semitism there is in the world; rather, we want to document empirically how things actually are. Indeed, one of the many fascinating aspects of this poll is the positive side of the story, highlighted by countries where anti-Semitic attitudes are absent or relatively minor. We see that in several Asian countries, like Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines. We see lower numbers in several West European countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands. And, in general, English-speaking countries have significantly better attitudes than the world at large toward Jews. These positive findings are important. They show how varied attitudes are and suggest the need for further investigation to determine what common factors bring people in some countries to have more positive attitudes toward Jews. Third, over the years questions have been raised about ADL’s methodology in assessing attitudes through similar polling. ADL polling is based on an index of antiSemitism developed back in the 1960s by academics from the University of California, Berkeley. They looked at 11 classic stereotypes about Jews – statements about Jewish power and influence, Jewish loyalty and personal traits. The index we used in the Global 100 is based on these 11 stereotypes. Our analysis rests on the idea that if an individual agrees with six or more of these stereotypes, he or she
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(513) 531-9600 of their empty firearms. They are all friends in their 20s to 40s, but there is little joking around. They go over the moves again and again, taking care to hug walls as they turn corners with their firearms extended until they secure the entire space. Staggering under the weight of the 40-pound ceramic vest, Gedaliah shakes his head and says, “This is going to take some getting used to.”
is deemed to have anti-Semitic attitudes. The strength of this methodology is its high bar: It does not rest on agreeing with any one statement. But agreeing to six or more of these age-old anti-Semitic assertions makes clear one’s biased attitude toward Jews. Moreover, these 11 statements are not random. These are stereotypes that represent the main antiJewish canards through the millennia. Fourth, there is the question of the relationship between attitudes toward Israel and attitudes toward Jews. It is evident that the Middle East conflict matters with regard to anti-Semitism. However, from our findings in the survey, it is not clear whether the Middle East conflict is the cause, or rather the excuse, for anti-Semitism. Either way, the high numbers of those who harbor antiSemitic attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa are a challenge to the region – and the international community – going forward. When it comes to religious factors affecting anti-Semitic attitudes, Muslims have significantly higher anti-Semitic attitudes overall than do members of other religions. If, however, we only look at the countries outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the numbers for antiSemitic attitudes for Muslims are still higher than those among Christians but not significantly so. For the ADL, this survey is an important beginning. The conversations that will ensue, in governments and in civil society, will ultimately be the test of the impact of this worldwide poll. We trust it will provide a better understanding of global anti-Semitism and its global reach, and will lead to serious efforts to address this worldwide problem.
20 • SHAVUOT
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The trepidation of the world By Dr. Erica Brown (JNS) – We count 50 days between Passover and Shavuot, officially called the Omer. Traditionally this is regarded as a time of mourning because of the infighting and death of thousands of students in the Talmudic era and the fact that the Omer sacrifice, which was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on Shavuot, could not be given once the Temple was destroyed. The Omer, however, originated as a biblical concept before there was an actual Temple or any rabbinic scholars: “You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you bring the sheaf of the wave offering (the omer)... you shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh week; then you shall present a wheat offering of new grain... as first fruits to the Lord.” (Lev. 23:15-17). Spring naturally gets our attention as the weather and the plant life around us change. If we were farm-
ers, we would be more cognizant of our surroundings, counting the days until the harvest. With the harvest came our economic security for the year. On Passover, we recite the blessing for dew as a way to replenish the world with moisture, and we recite the Song of Songs, which takes us deep into the lush world of fruit and fragrance. The book, too, notes the changes: “For now the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of pruning has come.” (Song of Songs 2:11-12). Between Passover and Shavuot, new grain was harvested, and people brought baskets of new produce to the Temple as a way of thanking God for their bounty. The grain offering was one of joy precisely because it meant that we had sustenance for the year ahead. We also had taxes connected to this bounty. Before we could partake of our own food, we had to take off a portion for the poor, the priests and, of course, bring an
offering to God. We sanctify the fruit of our labors so that we understand that we work not only for ourselves. But the joy we experience upon bringing the offering, represents the end of weeks of tension, hinted at in the quote above. Rabbi Moshe (d. 1606) wrote a work called Mateh Moshe, mostly about customs and laws observed by Polish Jewry. He calls the countdown between Passover and Shavuot days of trepidation probably based on his reading of a midrash (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, Emor 23:654). He understood that farmers felt themselves to be in peril until they were sure that the harvest would be plentiful in any particular year. The economic insecurity had an impact on their spiritual life. Counting for them was not only about waiting to relive the giving of the Torah on Shavuot; it was about the fiscal expectations and the worries connected to farming. Nogah Hareuveni, in Nature in Our Biblical Heritage, sensitizes us
to some of the natural phenomena that would have made Middle Eastern farmers anxious: “Each of these 50 days can bear either blessing to the crops or irreparable disaster. It was natural that the farmers of the land of Israel should count off each day with great trepidation and with prayers to get through these fifty days without crop damage.” Rain or harsh eastern winds could wreak havoc to the harvest. Shavuot is the only one of our three pilgrimage holidays (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot) that is not marked by a specific date but dependent on our act of counting. Some believe that this counting connected Shavuot to Passover in powerful spiritual ways, averting pagan celebrations that had to do with marking agricultural accomplishments alone. Seeking to spiritualize economic stresses and economic gains, we think of Passover and Shavuot within fiscal terms and religious frameworks, elevating pure
agricultural anxieties and expressions of happiness to a spiritual art form. We know all about economic downturns. We know about the 99 percent and Wall Street bonuses. What we don't always appreciate are the spiritual, emotional and psychic costs of changing economies and how important it is to acknowledge trepidation within a religious framework. Money is powerfully connected to identity. Our capacity to count down or count up means something more if we see it within a sacred lens. Trepidation can be paralyzing, but sometimes it gives way to joy. And when it does, we count the days for the blessing they are. Happy counting! Dr. Erica Brown is a writer and educator who works as the scholarin-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and consults for the Jewish Agency and other Jewish non-profits.
Down with the boring Shavuot cheesecake! By Mollie Katzen
it up (in every sense) when the cheese achieves your preferred texture. The longer it stands, the firmer it becomes. Time and gravity – and your taste – are the textural determinants. You also get to decide on the salt content. Try this for dessert or brunch, with some artisan honey warmed and spooned over the top like a syrup, and possibly also some fresh fruit, toasted nuts, and scones or little cookies. You can get cheesecloth in most grocery stores.
(JNS) – Fresh cheese is a staple in classic Shavuot foods, traditionally wrapped in a soft, egg-like blintz that is then fried lightly in butter. Variations on this theme can keep things interesting and expand your kitchen craft. You can try freshening up your blintz package with a cheese upgrade – namely, simple homemade ricotta, which tastes sublime. Cheesecake is another way to expand the joy of this holiday. Small cheesecake bars, topped with early strawberries, are a wonderful way to usher in the transition-to-summer month of June. A Thai tea cheesecake is beautiful and surprising, rounding out your holiday with a sense of orange expansiveness – and it is actually easier than handcrafting blintzes.
Ingredients: 1/2 gallon whole milk 1 cup whole milk yogurt 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Courtesy of Mollie Katzen
Cheesecake bars.
Cheesecake Bars If you love cheesecake, but feel guilty after eating it, pursue it in a small way instead. These bars hit that spot perfectly, especially when adorned with a perfect small, ripe strawberry. Yield: About 1 1/2 dozen. Ingredients: 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese 1/2 cup (half an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 2 large eggs, beaten
A handful or two ripe strawberries (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (or 325°F if using a glass pan). Have ready a 6-by-9 inch baking pan (ungreased) or the equivalent. 2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the brown sugar, crumbling the sugar into the flour with your hands until uniformly distributed. Add the melted butter, and stir to thoroughly combine. Press this mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan. 3. Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and eggs in the bowl of a food processor, and buzz until completely smooth. Pour this
mixture into the pan, spreading it into place. 4. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top surface is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven, and allow it to cool completely before chilling. Let it chill for at least two hours, and serve cold, cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. Ideally topped with sliced strawberries. Homemade Ricotta Homemade ricotta is not only more soulful than anything you can buy, but also more economical, producing approximately one pound of cheese for the price of a half-gallon of milk. You can determine the thickness of the cheese simply by keeping watch over the project and wrapping
Directions: 1. Combine the milk and yogurt in a large saucepan or a kettle, and whisk until smooth. Place over medium heat, and warm for about 15 minutes, or until tiny bubbles form along the sides. The top surface may bulge slightly, and a little skin might develop. All normal. 2. Remove the pan from the stove, and pour in the lemon juice without mixing. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for an hour to curdle. 3. Prepare a 4-layer cheesecloth net about 16 to 18 inches square. Lay this inside a medium-large fine mesh strainer or colander balanced over a bowl. Long pieces of cheesecloth will drape down the sides. Pour the curdled mixture into the net so the liquid drips into the bowl, and the solids remain in the cheesecloth. Don’t press it or try to hurry the process along in any way, or you’ll lose some of the cheese. The whey needs to drip at its own pace.
4. After about an hour, lift the side-flaps of cheesecloth and without actually knotting them, tie them neatly around the cheese. Let it stand, slowly dripping, for another two hours – or even longer, if you like a firmer, drier cheese. 5. Salt the cheese to taste, transfer it to a tightly covered container, and refrigerate. It will keep for about 5 days. Thai Tea Cheesecake From “The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation” Yield: 8 or more servings Thai iced tea morphs into a dessert (it didn’t have far to go), and all I can say is, this is kind of amazing. No baking required – just a patted-into-place crumb crust and a stovetop-thickened filling. Cool to room temperature, then chill, and/or (in my perfect world) freeze. Brew and strain the tea well ahead of time. To get the proper strength for this recipe, steep 1/2 cup Thai tea in 2 1/2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain, pressing out and saving as much of the water as you can. Chocolate crumb crust ingredients: 6 to 7 ounces graham crackers (10 or 11 long ones) 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted Chocolate crumb crust directions: 1) Place the graham crackers in a food processor and buzz to fine crumbs. You should have about 2 cups.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • 21
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
Movie about young Polish nun who discovers she is Jewish opens at Mariemont Theater May 30 “Ida”, a critically-acclaimed film about a young novitiate nun who, upon meeting a relative for the first time, discovers she is actually Jewish, opens at the Mariemont Theater on Friday, May 30. The film already has opened in New York and Los Angeles, and is now enjoying its national rollout. “Ida” won the “Toronto International Fim Festival 2013 International Critics Award” and
the “Cinequest Film Festival, 2014-Best Narrative Feature: Drama.” Critics have hailed it as one of the finest European films in recent memory, and have been impressed with the “exceptional artistry” From acclaimed director Pawel Pawlikowski (Last Resort, My Summer of Love) “Ida” is a moving and intimate drama about a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland who, on the verge of taking
her vows, discovers a dark family secret dating from the terrible years of the Nazi occupation. 18-year old Anna (newcomer Agata Trzebuchowska), a sheltered orphan raised in a convent, is preparing to become a nun when the Mother Superior insists she first visit her sole living relative. Naïve, innocent Anna soon finds herself in the presence of her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza), a worldly and cynical Communist Party insider,
who shocks Anna with the declaration that her real name is Ida and her Jewish parents were murdered during the Nazi occupation. This revelation triggers a heart-wrenching journey into the countryside, to the family house and into the secrets of the repressed past, evoking the haunting legacy of the Holocaust and the realities of postwar Communism. In this film, Pawlikowski returns to his native Poland for the
first time in his career to confront some of the more contentious issues in the history of his birthplace. Powerfully written and eloquently shot, “Ida” is a masterly evocation of a time, a dilemma, and a defining historical moment; “Ida” is also personal, intimate, and human. The weight of history is everywhere, but the scale falls within the scope of a young woman learning about the secrets of her own past.
CLINTON from page 7
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist group. Obama said during the campaign that he would meet with Ahmadinejad, seen as a Holocaust denier and seeker of Israel’s destruction. Obama’s campaign also mercilessly ripped Clinton for backing the Revolutionary Guards designation, likening it to her support for the legislation used by President George W. Bush to go to war with Iraq. The third difference to be highlighted is Clinton’s opposition during the ‘08 campaign to participating in Durban II – the 2009 reprise of the 2001 U.N. anti-racism conference that devolved into an anti-Israel free-forall. Obama would not commit during the campaign to boycotting the ‘09 conference. In each case, the source argued, Clinton was vindicated. Ahmadinejad ignored Obama’s spring 2009 call for dialogue with Iran’s leadership. The legislative bid to designate the Revolutionary Guards as terrorist did
not pass, but the guards were implicated in the violent repression of mass Iranian protests following the contested 2009 presidential election and were accused of torturing and raping men and women in prisons around Iran. As for Durban II, the Obama administration at first sought avenues through which U.S. participation would prevent an anti-Israel tone, but eventually conceded this was unlikely and chose not to participate. The person who made the decision was Samantha Power, then a National Security Council member, who had derided Clinton as a “monster” during the campaign and championed engagement in international forums. Clinton will face fierce resistance from Republicans to any bid to differentiate herself from Obama. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives already are investigating her role in securing the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, before and after a September 2012 attack that left four Americans dead.
In her AJC speech, Clinton said she helped shepherd sanctions through Congress that in 2010 set the stage for the pressures on Iran that brought about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s election. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), a key sponsor of those sanctions, derided the claim. “The fact is the Obama administration has opposed sanctions against Iran led by Sen. Menendez and me every step of the way, as was thoroughly documented at the time,” Kirk said in an email to JTA, referring to Robert Menendez (D-N.J). “I agree with Secretary Clinton that U.S. sanctions have proven successful, but it was the Congress, not the White House, that led the way.” At the time, Obama administration officials said they wanted to delay the sanctions until they were undergirded by U.N. Security Council sanctions, a sequence Clinton noted in her speech. After the Security Council resolutions were in place, Obama green-lighted
the congressional sanctions. Steven Rabinowitz, a publicist who works with Jewish and Democratic groups, said Clinton might have work to do in a pro-Israel community that had avidly embraced her during her Senate career. “I hope people can draw the distinction between Hillary the person who we know and love and Hillary the loyal secretary of state for the guy who beat her and embraced her,” Rabinowitz said. Judging from the reaction to her AJC speech, Clinton is on her way. Speaking immediately after her was Matthew Bronfman, a member of the group’s executive council. “Thank you Madam Secretary, and speaking of hard choices, we know you have a hard choice to make coming up soon, and speaking on behalf of AJC we hope you make the right one,” he said. The crowd whooped its delight.
starts to resist being stirred. 3. Remove from the heat, and immediately add the cream cheese in pieces; it will melt in. Whisk exuberantly until the cream cheese is completely incorporated, and the mixture becomes uniform. This will likely take several minutes. 4. Pour the hot mixture directly into the crust, and let it cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold. Make the topping in the meantime.
ELECTIONS from page 8
Jobbik, Hungary’s third largest party, won 20 percent of the vote in national elections and is expected to post a similarly strong showing in the European Parliament contest. It is fervently anti-Roma and its leaders have often used antiSemitic rhetoric. By contrast, the National Democratic Party has never managed to pass the 5 percent threshold necessary to gain a seat in Germany’s national parliament, though it currently has seats in two state legislatures. But the NPD has a chance of breaking into the European Parliament for the first time. A German Supreme Court ruling in March eliminated the threshold to gain a seat in the European Parliament, so a party needs only about 1 percent of the vote to claim one of Germany’s 99 seats on the EU body, the largest representation of any country. “The possibility that the NPD will get a seat is relatively high, and I see this as very dangerous,” said Jonas Fegert, the president of Studentim, a Jewish student group in Berlin that has
been working with the Brusselsbased European Union of Jewish Students to raise awareness about the threat of extremist and populist parties possibly winning a seat. Meanwhile, vigilantes are busy tearing down NPD posters in Berlin that proclaim, “We are not the world’s welfare service,” “Money for grandmas, not for Gypsies” and “Stop massive immigration!” “Their slogans appeal to people who are not necessarily far right, so I think they are relatively dangerous,” said a 17year-old student at Berlin’s Jewish high school who took part in the recent nighttime vandalism and spoke on condition of anonymity. Some of the NPD posters were too high for her to reach, even when she tried standing on a friend’s shoulders. “It’s bad if the posters hang there and nobody does anything about it,” she said. “To be against foreigners and to be racist goes against the democratic values of our country.”
to John Kerry, her successor, who made the revival of Israeli-Palestinian talks a centerpiece of his policy only to see them collapse last month. The June 10 release of “Hard Choices” is widely perceived as Clinton’s opening salvo for a 2016 run for the Democratic presidential nod, the prize Obama took from her in a bitter 2008 primary election. As her Jewish campaign goes forward, a source close to Clinton said, she and others close to her will subtly introduce three areas of Middle East policy in which her 2008 differences with Obama were validated over time. They include two postures that got her into trouble with the Democratic base in 2008 and helped contribute to her defeat: Her stated opposition during the primaries to meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s thenpresident, and her support as a U.S. senator from New York for legislation that would have designated Iran’s
CONTINUED from previous page 2) Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, stir in the cocoa and sugar, and pour in the melted butter. Mix to thoroughly combine, and then transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. 3) Spread it out to cover the bottom completely and evenly, letting it begin to climb up the sides of the pan. Pat it into place, gently at first, and then firmly – turning the pan as you go, and building a nice edge flush with the rim. Set aside. Filling ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 1/2 cups strong-brewed Thai tea, strained and cooled (see note) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 8 ounces cream cheese Filling directions: 1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in the tea and vanilla. 2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Cook and stir for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the custard thickens to the point where it
Topping ingredients: 2/3 cups sour cream 2 tablespoons brewed Thai tea (optional) 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Pinch of salt Topping directions: 1) Whisk together all the ingredients – until smooth and uniform. 2) Spoon on top of the pie, spreading it to the edges of the crust. 3) Carefully (so as not to disturb the top surface) cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate or freeze until serving time. Serve at any temperature from very cold to partially (or even mostly) frozen.
Jobbik in Hungary. Golden Dawn, with its swastika-like symbol and antiimmigrant platform, could finish third or fourth in the Greek vote for European Parliament. Golden Dawn’s leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, a Holocaust denier, is currently in prison with other party activists facing charges filed in the wake of the murder of an anti-fascist Greek musician. Earlier this month, a Greek court ruled that the party would be allowed to participate in the European Parliament elections. “We are worried, yes, but not afraid,” said Victor Eliezer, secretary general of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece. “We are sure that European democratic forces generally – and especially in Greece – will safeguard the principles of democracy.” He added, however, that “all of us have to make every possible effort to educate society that the threat of neo-Nazis is an existing one and not just a Jewish illusion.”
22 • OBITUARIES
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D EATH N OTICES
NHS from page 1
FRIEDMAN, Lorraine E., age 93, died May 25, 2014; 25 Iyar, 5774
from the Reconstructionist Rab-binical Seminary in Philadelphia. Rabbi Siff said that his study and teaching revolves around consideration of Jewish responses to contemporary concerns: Is it ethical to eat conventionally raised eggs and milk? Should I read my kids’ e-mail? Do I have to buy a Prius? His priority on the bimah is to bring joyfulness to prayer, with both congregational melodies – “the synagogue melodies everyone knows from their childhood” – and contemporary Jewish music. “Stuff that is easy for people to catch on to and sing along with,” he said. Siff said he was also eager to work with the Northern Hills choir. Rabbi Siff was reared in western Massachusetts and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, with a degree in cognitive science. His parents moved to Cleveland during the year before he started college. At Dartmouth, Siff both led and taught
SCHWARTZ, Rose, age 101, died May 26, 2014; 26 Iyar, 5774.
O BITUARIES FRANKEL, Gloria Gehler Gloria Gehler Frankel, of Boynton Beach, Florida - formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio passed away on Friday May 16, 2014. She is pre-deceased by her parents, Charles and Mildred Gehler. She is survived by her husband, Robert Frankel of Boynton Beach, her children Stephanie and David Schulte of Riverside, IL , Jonathan Frankel and Kimberly O'malley of Denver CO, and her grandchildren Ben and Kate Schulte and Charlie and Max Frankel. Contributions can be made to Hospice of Palm Beach. Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation,5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33407.
MOTL from page 1 (MOTL) trip encompasses a week in Poland during Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), followed by one week in Israel over Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day), and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). While more than 12,000 other teens and adults from around the world take part in this life changing experience every year, there are several important factors that set Cincinnati’s MOTL trip apart. First, Cincinnati is the only delegation to draw exclusively from one specific city; other delegations are made up of states, regions, or entire countries or
prayers to students and led services at a local nursing home, but ultimately decided to become a rabbi during a semester off from school that he spent working with the homeless in New York. “I realized that the homeless crisis was endemic of a spiritual problem with our society,” he said. After college, Rabbi Siff went to Israel, where he spent five months on a kibbutz, experiencing a joy in religious observance, which he has sought to share ever since. He also discovered and fell in love with Jewish study. Studying in the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, he met Tanya Malinsky, whom he eventually married. Tanya Siff recently completed a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and plans to open a practice in Cincinnati. He said he particularly enjoys engaging children in Jewish study and prayer. He loves to lead musical Kabbalat Shabbat services as well as childrens’ programs and sing-alongs. In his previous position in Brooklyn, he became a regular guest at the local JCC and library, where he led both
Jewish and secular children's music. Siff also likes incorporating drama into family programs, sometimes by having stuffed animals enact stories, with children as their puppeteers. He teaches Hebrew through singing, music and yoga and envisions a Hebrew school that feels more like summer camp than a classroom. “Northern Hills Synagogue is a diverse and welcoming community, and I want to build on that,” Rabbi Siff said. “ We need to recognize that many people don't understand Hebrew, and don’t know the reasons for our traditions. We need to offer them a meaningful experience. We also need to maximally embrace and integrate non-Jewish family members and make sure they feel at home and spiritually nourished.” Siff is particularly happy to be coming to Northern Hills because it brings him into proximity of his parents, in Cleveland, and his brother in the Dayton area. After getting to know the Northern Hills and Cincinnati Jewish communities, Siff said his long-term
goals were to develop the musicality and participatory nature of services and expand children's and family programming. “We plan to offer a range of programs so that people of all ages and backgrounds have something they can find valuable,” he said. “I would like the synagogue to be a wonderful, appealing destination for a family to spend Shabbat morning.” Rabbi Siff also plans to engage with the Jewish Federation, as well as the larger interfaith community, to find ways different groups may come together for community programming and to address social issues on the basis of shared values. David Bernstein, newly elected President of Northern Hills, noted, “We are so delighted to welcome Rabbi David Siff to our Northern Hills family. Rabbi Siff has a very warm and engaging personality and connects very well with our members, both young and old. We welcome all members of the Cincinnati Jewish community to come and meet Rabbi Siff."
continents. This is made possible by the generosity of The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, which provides Israel Travel Grants to all of Cincinnati’s Jewish teens, enabling many to take part in MOTL who may not have been able to afford to do so otherwise. The trip is coordinated by the Mayerson JCC with support from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Cincinnati delegates also have the advantage of being able to participate in six intensive pre-trip sessions with the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. The program is designed to give participants a solid foundational knowledge of the Holocaust before embarking on the trip, which adds a critical layer of insight and context to their experience that delegates from other regions do not get. Participants hear from local Holocaust survivors, which helps prepare the group for this intense experience and gives them a more personal connection to the dark history in Poland. Cincinnati delegates also get the chance to bond with one another before the trip, which makes for a richer and more meaningful experience for everyone involved. During the week in Poland, participants are guided through old towns and synagogues in Krakow and Warsaw, giving them a picture of
the thriving Jewish communities before the war and contrasting that with life in the camps and Ghettos and the destruction that came as a result of the war. Walking into concentration camps such as Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Plaszow and Majdanek, participants heard more than the dramatic statistics and numbers retold in history books, they heard testimony from those who survived, and the words of those who perished at each of the camps, giving the group an even more intimate connection with the experience. “Standing in the midst of atrocity was overwhelming, but the teens drew strength from one another, processing their emotions both individually and as a group,” explains Matt Steinberg, one of the Cincinnati Delegation leaders. “One of the most powerful moments for me was when we had a small ceremony before leaving Birkenau,” recalls Lauren Rosenston, senior at Lakota East High School. “We were standing in a place where thousands of people had died and where the Nazis had strived to erase the Jewish population entirely. Yet 14 teenagers stood there, arm in arm, and sang in memory of those who had died and celebrated the fact that there were survivors.” “There is no way to describe the
two weeks I spent on March of the Living in words,” says Kelsey Bardach, senior at Cincinnati Country Day School. “From walking in and out of gas chambers and through memorials of the millions of lives lost, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to go through the experience with.” From darkness to light, from sadness to celebration… After the grey and gloomy week in Poland, a week in Israel was refreshing, fun, and meaningful to all. From riding camels in the Negev (desert) and sleeping in a Bedouin tent, to touring the famous sites, including the Western Wall, the Dead Sea, Yad Vashem, and many others, participants built a strong connection to their Jewish homeland. Cincinnati teens also had the unique opportunity to spend Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) with host families in Netanya, Cincinnati’s Sister City. Whether they had been to Israel many times before, or this was their first time in Israel, after spending an intense week in Poland, participants appreciated what it meant to be in Israel, celebrating that the Jewish people continue to live on with a homeland of our own!
BELGIAN from page 9
lous preparations and perhaps some training. As Belgian police launched a manhunt, reports emerged that the perpetrator was wearing a camera in what analysts said was a sign that he was following the pattern of Mohammed Merah, who documented his 2012 attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, that left four Jews dead. Standing in front of the museum’s door, Ambach wondered why it was not armored and guarded like the Great Synagogue of Europe, which is
located 400 yards away and was the site of a 1982 shooting attack that wounded four. “But you can’t live under armor. I know I won’t,” he said. Agnes Bensimon, a Jewish mother from Brussels who attended the screening, said fear would not prevent her from attending a Jewish gathering. “It’s a frightening thought, but there is no question of capitulating,” she said. “That’s what terrorists attempt to achieve, and they will not achieve it here. Sadly, we are experienced.”
Placing one bag on the ground, he produced an automatic rifle and entered the museum for approximately one minute. Inside, he opened fire, hitting his victims in their heads and necks, before making his escape. Counterterrorism experts said the man’s apparent calm, quick getaway and selection of target – the museum is one of the few Jewish institutions in Brussels that is not under permanent police protection – suggest meticu-
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