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YPs at the JCC: Cocktails in the Courtyard

CINCINNATI, OH Candle Lighting Times Shabbat begins Fri 7:56p Shabbat ends Sat 8:57p

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In wake of rabbi’s murder, Miami Jews fretting over security

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Want stress-free travel planning? Look no further than Rick Cauthen

Celebrate the Jewish New Year with the JCC Fresh farmer’s market

“Angels” coming to Cincinnati

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Did the U.S. raise Hellfire by delaying missile transfer to Israel?

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Defying European antiSemitism, Hungarian camp points to renewal of Jewish life

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Affection for place, tradition, cuisine attracts me to Mecklenburg Gardens LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!

The time is “ripe” for a Rosh Hashanah filled with just-picked produce and other foods fresh from the farm, when the Mayerson JCC features JCC Fresh, a super-sized farmer’s market in its front parking lot on Sunday, September 14 from 9:30am to 1pm. Apples and honey will take center stage at this one-time event that will add a fun and healthy twist to the age-old traditions that go hand in hand with this holiday. The event is free and open to the public and is being sponsored in partnership with a local Farmer’s Market. It will feature dozens of area farmers who will be selling some of the sea-

sons best locally grown fruits and vegetables, such as heirloom tomatoes, beets, berries, peppers and more. Plus, there’ll be plenty of cottage industry vendors on hand selling a wide variety of other products such as challah, artisan breads, coffee, soaps, salsa and more. Freshly baked kosher products will also be for sale, courtesy of the Atara Girls High School. “JCC Fresh is a great way to bring awareness to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which marks a time of personal reflection and renewal,” says Rabbi Shena Jaffee, Director of Jewish Family Life at the Mayerson JCC. “The Jewish New Year provides

the perfect opportunity to promote a commitment to better health, wellbeing and environmental responsibility.” In this spirit, the farmer’s market will include healthy cooking demos as well as other engaging programs that showcase Jewish culture and highlight the holiday in a unique way. Local farms will be offering honey tastings at the event, and an orchardist will be offering apple tastings. A local cooking supply store will be making salsa and vegetable soup right on-site using fresh produce from the other booths. Jewish gift shops have also been invited to sell High Holiday-related items,

such as candlesticks, challah covers and other decorative pieces. To promote health and well-being, the JCC Fitness Center and J Spa will be offering body fat testing and chair massages at the event, and personal trainers will be fielding fitness-related questions. In addition, JFS will have a booth to bring awareness to their food pantry as well as other important work, and provide information about how participants can give back. Cash and major credit cards will be accepted by most vendors. To learn more about JCC Fresh Farmer’s Market, please call the J.


2014 Rosh Hashanah Cover

COLORING CONTEST SIZE: Art MUST BE no larger than 8.5" Wide X 11" High. Image should be vertical on the page

MATERIALS: Anything that shows up bold and bright, such as markers, crayons, paint or cut paper.

AGE CATEGORIES: Open to children of all ages. All entries must be received by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE 18 WEST NINTH, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OH 45202 All entries MUST BE no larger than 8.5” W x 11” H. Entries must have a completed entry form attached to the back. Please print clearly.

2014 Rosh Hashanah Cover Coloring Contest Entry Form Child’s Name:

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Cedar Village seeks OMA volunteers Cedar Village will begin its 12th semester of Opening Minds Through Art (OMA), an art program for individuals with dementia. Community members are

needed to be one-on-one volunteers on Friday mornings beginning at the end of October. The training session will be the morning of Friday, September 5 at Cedar Village. No art skills are

needed and volunteers will be trained to work with the Cedar Village residents on specially designed art projects. For more information, please contact Diane Slovin at Cedar Village.

“Angels” coming to Cincinnati Cincinnati will have a unique opportunity to explore a most fascinating topic, “Angels,” when Jewish Crossroads makes its debut local appearance at the Mayerson JCC. “Touched by an Angel” will be a stimulating, entertaining, mind-opening exploration of this intriguing subject. Jewish Crossroads combines lecture and drama to engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds, winning rave reviews from thousands throughout the US, Canada, England and Israel. Shlomo Horwitz, Crossroads' founder and presenter, began his educational career reaching out to teens in the slums of Tel Aviv. His “day job” has him directing at a research firm which consults to the US and foreign governments. He conducts a prominent, daily Talmud class, and on weekends, can be seen playing lead guitar in popular East Coast Jewish band. “Touched by an Angel” will be a one-night-only Jewish Crossroads presentation on Tuesday evening, Sept 2, 8:15 PM at the Mayerson JCC. Classic and more obscure sources will be investigated and their true meanings will be portrayed as the audience gets to “meet” angels, and even an “angel who went wrong.” This unique event is being brought to Cincinnati by the Kollel and its affiliate, Sarah’s Place.

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Wise Temple welcomes you to S’lichot services Picture beautiful, historic Plum Street Temple gas-lit as it was in days of old. Imagine a sense of calm that comes from serene music, quiet prayer, and personal reflection. This spiritual deep breath is found at Wise Temple’s S’lichot service, often referred to as the most beautiful service of the year. Wise Temple welcomes everyone to this poetic and reflective service which prepares one’s heart, mind and spirit for the Days of Awe and Repentance. “One of the best ways I have found to enhance my connection to my congregation and my Judaism, is by attending the S’lichot service at Plum Street Temple,” says Naomi Ruben,

who hasn’t missed this service in years. “I enjoy indulging in both fruit and a bit of chocolate at the pre-service dessert buffet, while talking with adults I know, and those I meet for the first time that evening. I eagerly anticipate the moment when Rabbi Kamrass instructs us to enter the historic and gas-lit sanctuary in silence. The beautiful music and thought-provoking prayers help me transition to a reflective mindset in anticipation the High Holidays. After services, it’s a joy and a personal thrill to participate with other congregants in changing the Torah covers to welcome in the Days of Awe. It's a not-to-bemissed event for me every

year!” If you want a beautiful beginning to the High Holy Days and a truly unique service experience, join Wise Temple on August 31 at Plum Street Temple. At 9:00pm enjoy an amazing dessert reception. At 10:00pm enter the peaceful sanctuary for a spiritual service where we will celebrate Havdalah, participate in prayer, and hear the sound of the shofar in the still of the night. This is a great opportunity to invite a friend or perhaps make an evening out of it by planning dinner with others before the dessert reception and service.

Rick D. Cauthen


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Kosher Rosh Hashanah Items: Potato Latke Mix Gefilte Fish

Potato Kugel Mix Honey Macaroons Kosher OR Non-Kosher Items: Any canned items that are Low Sodium, Low Fat, and/or Sugar Free Brown Rice Whole Wheat Pasta Jams/Jellies Anything gluten-free The Israelite encourages you to perform your Tzedekah by donating these items to the JFS Food Pantry. To do so, or to volunteer, please contact Sandee Golden at the Pantry.

Sabras and slap shots: North Americans bring hockey know-how to Israel By Hillel Kuttler

Courtesy of Laurie Boschman

Ex-NHLer Laurie Boschman instructing young Israeli hockey players at the Canada Centre in Metulla, July 2014.

Ottawa resident who assembled and accompanied this summer’s group with plans to make it an annual event. Miller and fellow Canadian Zach Springer were the only Jewish members of the North American delegation. And of the five teenagers, just Koike had been abroad before. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I’ve had a great time,” Koike said during the trip. “The idea of hockey in Israel sounded like two cool things put together.” Boschman, who scored 229 goals for five teams in a 14-year NHL career, had run hockey clinics for youths in four European countries while working for a Christian group, Hockey Ministries International – but never in Israel. In Metulla, he and Bonhomme, a defenseman who starred at Ohio State, led morning and afternoon onice drills along with midday training sessions that included running the rink’s steps and weight and cardiovascular exercises. Springer and his friend, Jack Moore, both 15 from Kingston,

Ontario, imparted knowledge of the goalie position to their Israeli peers. By week’s end, Springer said, the two were particularly gratified by the progress shown by one of the Israelis. Teaching in the program “was one of the main reasons I went,” Springer said. All the while, the Washington coach, Tom Newberry, was instructing two dozen Israeli coaches seeking certification by U.S.A. Hockey, the Colorado-based organization that promotes youth hockey and oversees coaching; Newberry is its Southeast director. The Ice Hockey Federation of Israel will honor the certifications, he said, with a goal of developing an indigenous certification program. Newberry said the aim this summer was “to use this group of [Israeli] coaches as guinea pigs and see what works.” Newberry’s 12 hours of classroom instruction and some on-ice work centered on what he called “the science behind athlete-development.” That included training coach-

The American Israelite “LET THERE BE LIGHT” THE OLDEST ENGLISH-JEWISH WEEKLY IN AMERICA - EST. JULY 15, 1854

VOL. 161 • NO. 6 THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014 2 ELUL 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 7:56 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 8:57 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 BETH KOTZIN SAUNI LERNER 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 JENNIFER CARROLL Production Manager BARBARA ROTHSTEIN Advertising Sales JULIE BROOK Office Manager e Oldest Eng Th

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BALTIMORE (JTA) – Drew Koike knew a bit about Israel: its capital, location, climate and biblical roots. But it never dawned on the 14year-old Washingtonian that hockey existed in the country. That was until earlier this year, when the coach of his hometown hockey program invited Koike and two other young charges on a summer trip to Israel to play and teach the sport. The quartet spent 11 days there, mostly at the ice rink inside Canada Centre, a sports facility in the northern town of Metulla. Joining them were four Canadians, notably Laurie Boschman, a former National Hockey League veteran, and Tessa Bonhomme, who played for the Canadian women’s gold medal-winning team at the 2010 Olympics, as well as two teenage goalies. For the eight North Americans, mostly non-Jews, venturing to the Middle East meant sharing their wisdom with more than 50 Israeli children devoted to the sport in a country with almost no hockey consciousness. The visit grew out of the trip to Washington, D.C., four months earlier of 24 kids from the Canada Israel Hockey School, a program located at the Metulla rink. In equal measure, the visit to Metulla reprised the hockey camps run there nearly two decades ago by the late Roger Neilson, a longtime NHL coach and observant Christian who loved Israel. Returning to Canada, Neilson would rave about each summer’s experience. His programs are credited with having planted the seeds of hockey in Israel. “Our plan from Day 1 was to start up the camp the way Roger Neilson used to do – bring kids here from North America from different backgrounds,” said Mitch Miller, an

es to teach fundamentals like skating and stickhandling at age-appropriate levels, along with helping the adults fashion a coaching philosophy that includes a positive approach and recognizing when kids aren’t grasping a skill, then re-teaching it. “It’s extremely positive to be in a room with a bunch of people who are eager to learn. They’re fully engaged, taking copious notes,” Newberry said of the sessions. “It’s exciting to know that … these gentlemen are really more than coaches; they’re students of the game.” With only three ice hockey rinks in Israel – the others are in Maalot and Holon – most of the participating coaches came from in-line hockey programs. “These are people who are quite passionate about hockey,” Boschman said. “That’s really fun to see in a non-traditional hockey market.” Throughout the program, Newberry updated the parents of the three Washingtonians on the Hamas bombings of Israel, which were occurring far from Metulla. “We’re not letting it bother us,” he said of the attacks, which Israel would respond to in the nearly monthlong Operation Protective Edge. “We’re completely safe, enjoying the country, the friendships and the incredible food.” Before the hockey program started, the visitors spent several days touring. From Metulla, they also took side trips to the Sea of Galilee, the old city of Acre, and the kibbutz and Druse village where several of the Israeli players live. The mother of one Israeli player told them she’d moved the family to Metulla to be closer to the rink. “It warms my heart to hear those kinds of stories,” Miller said. Of the Israeli players, Koike said, “They’re fun to be with and fun to play hockey with. They’re really talented and work hard. You can tell that just by watching.”

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powder, meat, chicken and fish, bread, snack foods and household and personal care items. Clients “shop” at scheduled times, choosing their items in the same manner as shopping in a grocery store. The Pantry strives to serve everyone in a confidential and dignified manner. Each client speaks with a JFS case manager, who works to empower them to make improvements in their situation. Items needed at the Pantry at this time are:

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viding kosher food products, when those observing kashrut come in for assistance, JFS can help them through a difficult time. The JFS staff plus community volunteers maintain the food pantry, now located in Jewish Family Service Barbash Family Vital Support Center conveniently and discreetly located in Clifton on the campus of Hebrew Union College. Food is donated to the pantry through congregations and other Jewish-affiliated groups. JFS also purchases kosher and non-kosher food in bulk from the warehouse of the Freestore Foodbank and maintains an inventory of non-perishables, fresh produce, eggs, milk

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It is a mitzvah to feed the hungry. The American Israelite, as part of its Tzedekah, is providing information about the needs at the Jewish Family Service (JFS) Food Pantry. The Pantry is the source for free kosher and non-kosher food, fresh produce, personal care, and household care items for individuals in the Greater Cincinnati Jewish community who are experiencing financial difficulties as well as individuals who reside in the 45219 and 45220 zipcodes. Based on federal poverty statistics and studies of poverty within Jewish communities, it is possible that as many as 9% of Jewish households in the Cincinnati area could be in need of food assistance. By pro-

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Jewish Family Service Food Pantry has pressing needs

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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The ‘science’ of Israel on campus: CAMERA preps students for upcoming challenges By Sean Savage (JNS) – While Israel has been engaged in a seemingly endless summer war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which is indiscriminately firing rockets at Israeli cities, pro-Israel students are about to re-enter an increasingly hostile environment for the Jewish state on their college campuses. Just a couple of weeks before the start of the 2014-15 school year, 53 pro-Israel student leaders prepared for that challenge by convening in Boston this week for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America’s (CAMERA) annual Student Leadership and Advocacy Training Conference. The varied three-day event included lectures such as “Less Hamas, more Hummus,” training on how to craft a personal narrative, mastering debate tactics, and gaining knowledge on some of the anti-Israel campus groups students may need to confront. Allison Moldoff—a rising junior at Simmons College who led a battle on her campus to allow study abroad to Israel— described learning about how the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) “are not only anti-Israel, but that there’s a lot of anti-Semitism

hidden there as well.” “We also learned how to react to these groups on campus,” she told JNS. “Whether it be body language or what words you choose or the tone of your voice, there’s really a science to answering these groups, so your point can be made and you are accurately defending Israel.” Elliott Hamilton, a rising senior at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., who was attending CAMERA’s summer conference for a second time, said the gathering helped “reinvigorate his love for Zionism and defending Israel.” Hamilton, who has attended other pro-Israel conferences, praised CAMERA’s unique approach to teaching students how to confront anti-Israel programming on campus. The students “were given the tools and the information to combat the various anti-Israel programming and how to address the bias in a powerful way,” he said. “Everyone at the conference got hands-on experience that will be necessary to fight the information battles we face in the coming year,” said Hamilton. An increasing number of schools have faced anti-Israel divestment votes by students governments. During the 20132014 school year, such votes took place on 15 campuses, nearly a 100-percent increase

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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The American Israelite

Courtesy of Sean Savage

ttendees of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America’s (CAMERA) annual Student Leadership and Advocacy Training Conference in Boston.

from the previous academic year. At the same time, only onethird of the divestment proposals passed. CAMERA made it clear that it hopes to continue that trend. On the last day of the conference, a two-hour mock divestment vote gave students an opportunity to act out both sides of the debate in front of a mock student government panel consisting of CAMERA staffers. Despite the mock vote’s noncollege student friendly 8:30 a.m. start time, the undergrads appeared energetic and eager to apply the knowledge they had accumulated over the previous two days of the conference. The students were divided into two sides—one pro-Israel and the other pro-Palestinian—and volunteered to present their case to

the student government. Students were judged not only on their ability to draw on facts about the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also on their presentation style. Echoing the real-life debates that have taken place on dozens of campuses, the students engaged in a discussion over frequently made accusations against Israel, such as the apartheid analogy. The mock divestment debate was a new addition to this year’s conference. CAMERA also invited students other than the main group of conference attendees to share their experiences on campus and “to provide [the attendees] with a variety of tools ranging from social media training to combating BDS resolutions,” said Aviva Slomich,

director of CAMERA’s campus department. Hali Haber, a student at the University of Central Florida and president of her school’s pro-Israel club Knights for Israel, felt that the mock BDS debate was the best part of the conference. “I think practicing how to talk to the other side is extremely important,” Haber told JNS. “I hoped that I would take away the confidence it takes to advocate on campus, and I did.” Haber, like fellow conference attendee Elliott Hamilton, had attended a number of other seminars run by pro-Israel organizations and felt that CAMERA’s program stood out for its straightforward approach with students. “I think CAMERA’s conference is really unique,” she said. “They explain their goal up front and they also take everything that other conferences specialize in and put it all into one amazing conference.” “What [CAMERA] stands for is not anti-Palestinian or anti-Arab, it is pro-peace and pro-facts,” said Allison Moldoff. The Simmons College student added, “I can say very confidently that I am happily a CAMERA fellow because I know what I am doing is factual and true.”


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In wake of rabbi’s murder, Miami Jews fretting over security By Anthony Weiss

Courtesy of Joe Raedle

n North Miami Beach, Fla., a makeshift memorial was created near where Rabbi Joseph Raksin was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2014.

(JTA) – The streets of North Miami Beach look different since the murder of Rabbi Joseph Raksin. At Northeast 175th Street and 8th Court, in the heavily Orthodox neighborhood where he was killed, a memorial of candles is arranged in a Star of David that the community keeps lit. Police officers have stepped up their patrols, filling the streets at all hours. Raksin, a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic sect who was in town from Brooklyn, N.Y., to visit his grandchildren, was shot on the morning of Aug. 9 while walking to synagogue on

the Sabbath. Though police say no evidence has emerged that anti-Semitism was a motive in the crime, or that the killing was linked to several other recent hate crimes, Raksin’s murder has raised unsettling questions about security in the Miami Jewish community. It also has the community contemplating security measures already common at Jewish institutions throughout Europe and South America. “We don’t know if Rabbi Raksin’s murder was a hate crime or not,” said Jacob Solomon, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. “We do know that it

followed local anti-Semitic incidents. We do know that it happened in a climate of a worldwide dramatic increase in anti-Semitic behavior. It happened in a climate of peak concern about antiSemitism.” About two weeks before Raksin was killed, a North Miami Beach synagogue was spraypainted with swastikas and the word “Hamas.” Cars in nearby Miami Beach were smeared with “Jew” and “Hamas” in cream cheese. The day after Raksin was killed, a vandal scratched a swastika and an iron cross on the door of a car parked for the MIAMI on page 22

Jewish student assaulted at Temple University By Eric Berger PHILADELPHIA (Jewish Exponent) – Hillel, the campus student group, is expressing “outrage” over an attack on a Jewish student at Temple University on Wednesday and is calling on the university to ensure the safety of its Jewish students. At the same time, the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is condemning the attack and is claiming the alleged assailant was not a member of its organization. Daniel Vessal, an upperclass member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and a fellow with the

National Briefs Blocked Israeli cargo ship in Calif. unloads after deking activists OAKLAND, Calif. (j. weekly) – An Israeli-operated cargo ship blocked from unloading its goods for four days in Oakland by antiIsrael protesters feigned a return to sea before doubling back secretly to port. The standoff began Saturday when the Piraeus, operated by Zim Integrated Shipping Services, Israel’s largest shipping company, was scheduled to dock at Oakland Port. Hundreds of protesters organized by the Arab Resource and Organizing Center in San Francisco blocked the entrance to the port to prevent longshoremen from entering, ostensibly to draw attention to Israel’s operation in Gaza. The ship remained at sea for a day, then docked from Sunday until Tuesday afternoon, when it left with its cargo intact, seemingly headed for Southern California. Instead it

Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a proIsrael organization, allegedly was assaulted during move-in day at Temple’s main campus here. Vessal had approached a table manned by members of Students for Justice in Palestine, known as SJP, during Templefest, where students gather information about campus activities and started talking with them, according to reports that were confirmed by Temple Hillel’s director, Phil Nordlinger. One of the pro-Palestinian students then allegedly punched Vessal, and he and others with the group allegedly started yelling antiSemitics slurs at Vessal.

Vessal, who went to seek medical treatment at Temple University Hospital and was later released, could not be reached for comment. Nordlinger said that when he spoke with police, they told him that they were still investigating and did not say whether they planned to arrest the alleged assailant. In its statement issued Thursday, Hillel of Greater Philadelphia and Hillel at Temple University called on the university “to take action against Students for Justice In Palestine with the clear message that all students may express themselves in peaceful and non-violent ways without fear of physical assault and that expressions of ethnic hatred will not be tolerated

on Temple’s campus.” “Hillel is concerned for the safety of Temple’s Jewish and pro-Israel students,” the statement continued, “for their ability to openly display symbols of Jewish identity and affiliation on campus, and for their right to express their support for Israel without intimidation.” The group said it was working with Temple administrators and police to “assure the safety of Temple’s Jewish students.” The incident comes amid widespread concern that campuses across the country will see increased antiIsrael and anti-Jewish hostilities in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war this summer.

It also came just a few days after the Temple Hillel held its annual orientation for new students, Freshfest, educating students and their families about Jewish life on campus. The group answered questions about topics such as safety, scheduling conflicts over the High Holidays and Shabbat programming. At the time, Israel-related issues were not expressed as a major concern by either the students or their parents. Students and staff talked about how the campus has not had as much conflict over Israel among students as other schools in recent years and that the pro-Palestinian groups

quickly turned around and docked at another terminal, where two dozen longshoremen worked overnight to unload the cargo.

tions of financial malfeasance by its leadership is planning to step down. David Frankel will resign from the New York social service agency before the end of this year, according to a report by the Forward newspaper. Frankel, a former corporate executive and commissioner in New York City’s Department of Finance, took the reins in August 2013, shortly after longtime CEO William Rapfogel was arrested in an insurance kickback scheme involving millions of dollars. Rapfogel, his predecessor David Cohen and former CFO Herbert Friedman have all pleaded guilty — admitting their involvement in the fraud. Last month Rapfogel was sentenced to 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison.

tion that started a day after he was exonerated in 2010, The New York Times reported Tuesday. He had been convicted of murdering Rabbi Abraham Pollack in 1994 as Pollack collected rent in a Brooklyn apartment building. Through discussions with three witnesses whose testimony led to his conviction, Collins found that city lawyers had threatened two of them and a third had been offered an incentive for providing incriminating testimony. Collins also found that the prosecution hid evidence that could have led to his acquittal.

bank accounts in the names of companies contracting with the Israel charity in order to cash checks stolen from the group’s office in Rockville Centre, L.I.

State Dept.: Israel may be targeting slain teen Khdeir’s family in arrests (JTA) – A State Department spokeswoman accused Israel of targeting the family of murdered Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir in recent arrests. Following Khdeir’s abduction and murder in a Jerusalem forest on July 2 by three Israelis, Israeli police arrested his cousin Tariq Abu Khdeir, an American citizen, at a protest on July 5. Tariq Abu Khdeir, who has since returned to the United States, was beaten by police while he was held. On July 28, Israel arrested another American cousin, also named Mohammed Abu Khdeir. A U.S. consular official visited Mohammed Abu Khdeir in prison on Aug. 14. Met Council’s new CEO David Frankel to step down (JTA) – The CEO who took over at the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty following revela-

Man wrongly convicted of N.Y. rabbi’s murder receives $10 million settlement (JTA) – Jabbar Collins, who was wrongly convicted of the 1994 murder of a New York City rabbi and spent 16 years in prison, received a $10 million settlement from the city. Collins, 42, reached the settlement following three years of litiga-

N.Y. woman admits to scamming $180K from Jewish National Fund NEW YORK (JTA) — A suburban New York woman admitted to stealing another person’s identity in order to scam more than $180,000 from the Jewish National Fund. Marie Augustin, 42, of Westbury, Long Island, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Nassau County Court to third-degree larceny and first-degree identity theft, the The Associated Press reported. Prosecutors said Augustin used a fake driver’s license in another person’s name and opened several

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Schechter network partnering with Montessori group NEW YORK (JTA) – The Conservative movement’s Schechter Day School Network and the Jewish Montessori Society have announced a strategic partnership. Under the new arrangement, the two North American Jewish day school associations will share some programming and resources. Uncertain future for U.S. Export-Import Bank, which lends to Israeli companies (JNS) – For the first time in 80 years, the United States could find itself without an international export credit agency if Congress does not reauthorize the charter of the United States Export-Import Bank, which is set to expire on Sept. 30. A failure to reauthorize the ExIm bank by that deadline could have significant financial implications for countries like Israel, which is home to companies accustomed to receiving loans from the bank.


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THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

Did the U.S. raise Hellfire by delaying missile transfer to Israel? By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS) – The Obama administration was forced to go on the defensive last week regarding accusations published in The Wall Street Journal that White House and State Department officials were unaware of the Pentagon practice of transferring missiles to Israel. The newspaper further reported that Hellfire-missile transfers to Israel have been held back for further review. The article strongly implied that President Barack Obama’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at an all-time low as a result of perceptions among U.S. officials that Israel is not doing enough to end its conflict with Hamas in Gaza, culminating in what the WSJ characterized as a “combative” phone call between the Obama and Netanyahu on Aug. 13. As this news has spread, some pro-Israel observers say they feel betrayed by what they regard as the administration breaking its promise not to allow political and diplomatic disagreements to interfere with U.S.-Israel security cooperation.

The administration maintained that the extra review process is not unusual in a situation when the United States delivers weapons to countries involved in active combat. Further, the administration claimed that the review process was not on hold, as the WSJ article suggested. “We’re not holding anything,” said U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf in Monday’s press briefing. “A hold indicates, technically, that you are not moving forward on making a decision about a transfer. So when we talked about this in other places, if there’s a hold on a request, that means it’s not moving forward. These requests are still moving forward; there’s just additional steps in the process now, and there’s been no policy decision made to not move forward with them. Again, they’re just going to take a little while longer.” “We’ve seen in other situations, like Egypt, where the process stops. That’s not the case here,” she added. As Harf mentioned, usually the U.S. and Israel enjoy a military-to-military relationship that

Courtesy of Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott A. Raegen

Navy aviation ordnancemen place a Hellfire missile on an MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "chargers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 26 for a live-fire training mission in 2011.

allows for direct weapons transfers between the Pentagon and the Israel Defense Forces. According to Harf, there has been no change in military cooperation, other than the additional oversight of America’s weapons sales to Israel resulting from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. “We, as an administration… are taking additional care to look at arms as we’re providing them

to the Israelis,” said Harf. “Obviously, we have continued to move forward. There’s been absolutely no change in policy in terms of the fact that we want to provide these [missiles].” But despite Harf’s defense, the timing of the delay—coming on the heels of the administration’s public admonishment to Israel to take “more care to protect civilian casualties”—has caused some observers of the

U.S.-Israel relationship to characterize it as more fragile than either government is letting on. “I don’t think we know the facts about this incident, but it occurs against a background of considerable tension between the Obama administration and the government of Israel,” Ambassador Elliott Abrams, who served as a top national security adviser to President George W. Bush, told JNS.” Unfortunately, it seems that tension is growing and will not abate while the Obama team is in power.” “This was very obviously retaliation,” said a senior official at a pro-Israel organization in Washington, D.C., on condition of anonymity. “They’re pissed off about the diplomatic spat over [Secretary of State] John Kerry’s failed cease-fire initiative, which dragged in Qatar and Turkey and extended the Gaza conflict. And so they’ve gone ahead and they have put these missiles under review.” “It’s a reversal of the president’s promise that security issues and the military-to-military relationship will be separated HELLFIRE on page 22

Where Jews of color go to ‘feel normal’ at summer camp By Rebecca Spence PETALUMA, Calif. (JTA) – On a cool Sunday evening, Jewish campers with nervous smiles took to the stage one by one to perform poems they had composed on the theme of identity. One girl riffed on being taunted for having “fuzzy eyebrows” and “bushy hair.” Another rhymed about being told “You don’t look Jewish” too many times to count. If this doesn’t sound like your typical summer camp fare, it’s because Camp Be’chol Lashon has a markedly different mandate than most Jewish camps. Nestled in the misty hills of Marin County, the northern California camp is the country’s only Jewish sleepaway camp geared to Jews of color. “Part of the goal is to make these kids feel normal in a Jewish context,” said Diane Tobin, the founder and executive director of the camp’s parent organization, the San Francisco-based nonprofit Be’chol Lashon, which promotes racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in Jewish life. Tobin, 61, and her late husband, the eminent Jewish demographer Gary Tobin, founded the nonprofit in 2000, three years after adopting an African-American son. Now entering its sixth season, the organization’s camp integrates

traditional Jewish practice with educational activities that speak to the diversity of Jewish life around the globe. Each morning, after the more typical fare of Wiffle ball and field sports, campers gather clues about the country they will “travel” to that day before going through “Customs” and having their makeshift passports stamped. Throughout the day, between kayaking and swimming in the pond, campers make food and crafts inspired by the particular country they are “visiting.” During a JTA visit to the camp, campers spent an afternoon writing poems in an art room decorated with cultural items they had made, including woven baskets from Mexico and feathered raffia masks from Colombia. Aaron Levy Samuels, a New York-based black-Jewish performance poet, had flown in for the day to facilitate the poetry workshop. Samuels, 25, whose first poetry collection, “Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps,” was published last fall by Write Bloody Publishing, said that growing up in Rhode Island, he and his brother were the only two black kids at their local synagogue. The son of an AfricanAmerican, Samuels said he identified with the struggles that Be’chol Lashon campers were going through and wished he

could have attended such a camp. Maia Campbell, 14, of San Francisco, who has attended Be’chol Lashon since its founding, echoed that sentiment. “It’s been really cool because my synagogue is basically all white people,” said Campbell, whose mother is AfricanAmerican. “So I saw that there are other people like me.” The camp is not just for Jews of color, as evinced by one white camper’s poem about her identity as a “nerdy Jewish girl.” It’s also very much a family affair. Tobin’s son, Jonah, is a junior counselor and her daughter, Sarah Spencer, serves as the camp’s co-director. “The kids all come with very different stories about who they are and where they’ve come to be,” said Spencer, 38, a marriage and family therapist who is also the mother of two biracial children. “Here they get to practice explaining who they are to one another and we help them to feel good about whatever that is.” Savannah Henry, a 21-year-old counselor whose father is AfricanAmerican, said that before her rabbi at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, Calif., told her about Be’chol Lashon, she had spent a miserable summer at a more mainstream Jewish camp. “I was the only Jew of color,” she said of her experience at a

Reform Jewish summer camp in Santa Rosa. “I just didn’t connect that well.” When she discovered Be’chol Lashon four years ago, Henry’s

outlook changed completely. “If I had been a camper here, I would have fit in perfectly,” she said. “It’s definitely made me more of a proud Jew.”

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Defying European anti-Semitism, Hungarian camp points to renewal of Jewish life By Maayan Jaffe (JNS) – The 70-year-old taboo of expressing anti-semitic views started to break down over the last several years in Hungary, where 100,000 Jews live among a population of 1 million. Stoked by the rise of the neo-Nazi political party Jobbik, that flame has been fueled to greater heights during the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas. But roughly 100 miles from Budapest, on a 17-acre patch of land between a forest and a lake in rural Hungary, lies a camp that for 25 years has given young Jews from central and eastern Europe the strength to be proud of their religion and to shape their communities. Camp Szarvas, an international Jewish summer camp funded by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, is completing its 25th summer this month. Those involved say that despite the increase in European antiSemitism, there is a continuing and remarkable resurgence of Jewish life in the area—and much of it starts at Camp Szarvas. “Young people, former campers, they are becoming rabbis and counselors and community professionals,” said Diego

International Briefs Australian Jewish school evacuated by bomb scare SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – Students at a Jewish school in Melbourne were evacuated amid a bomb scare. More than 200 students at the King David School were moved off the campus after 8 a.m. Thursday when security personnel found an abandoned van containing a suspicious object near the school. The Australian Jewish community’s Community Security Group alerted local police, and the department’s Bomb Response Unit used a remote-controlled robot to examine the van. The van did not contain explosives, and the campus was declared safe at approximately 11 a.m.. Life-size statue of Amy Winehouse to go up in London (JTA) – A life-size bronze stat-

Courtesy of Zoltan Szabo

Prayer services at Camp Szarvas in Hungary in July 2011.

Ornique, director of JDC Europe. “Here campers learn more, engage more, lead more.” Ornique, who has been working in the field for the past 11 years, said the testament to the camp’s success is that today the majority of the people who work and teach there are from Europe. When the camp was launched 25 years ago, staffers came mostly from Israel, and some came from the U.S. “It’s a renewal of Jewish life, where Europeans are engaged in Jewish culture and thinking,”

Ornique told JNS. “Local people have the right tools to lead—this is a remarkable outcome.” Each summer, between 1,200 and 1,600 children between the ages of 6 and 18 attend Camp Szarvas. Youths from two or three countries participated when the camp was founded, said the current director, Alexander “Sasha” Friedman. Today, children come from 26 countries (including the U.S. and Israel) to learn about each other, to engage with what it means to be Jewish around the world, and

ue of the late Jewish singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse will be erected in the London neighborhood where she lived. The statue, showing Winehouse leaning against a wall with her hand on her hip, will stand in a market in the Camden neighborhood near where she died in 2011. It will go up on Sept. 14, which would have been her 31st birthday. Winehouse, known for hits like 2006’s Grammy Award-winning “Back to Black,” died at 27 of alcohol poisoning.”

The volume was the highest since the hotline was launched except for January 2009, when Israel conducted its last ground invasion of Gaza. Many of the calls concerned verbal attacks that compared Jews to Nazis or accused them of being child killers. Britain has seen a spate of protests against Israel since the conflict began in early July. This week, a branch of the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s removed kosher food from its shelves during an anti-Israel protest. “The actual data is bad enough but cannot convey the mood of the Jewish community, with many people telling us that they have never felt so bad, have been under such pressure, nor worried so much about what the future may hold,”

Calls to UK anti-Semitism hotline soar since start of Gaza conflict (JTA) – The number of calls to an anti-Semitism hotline in the United Kingdom have jumped nearly fivefold since the beginning of Israel’s conflict with Gaza, according to a British Jewish anization. In July, the hotline of the Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s watchdog on antiSemitism, received 240 calls, according to the Independent, a British publication. The hotline averaged 50 calls a month during the first half of 2014.

Wallenberg Foundation off the hook in Argentina libel case BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation does not have to compensate the grandson of a World War II Argentine diplomat who the group accused of let-

to express their Jewish identity through words, song, and dance. Every day is a life-changing experience, many of the campers say. Friedman, who was a Szarvas camper and counselor, said the summer experience has a ripple effect. When campers return to their hometowns, they teach their families and friends about Judaism and encourage community growth. New synagogues, JCCs, and cultural centers are being built, usually with the support of current and former Szarvas campers. “They are proud Jews,” Friedman said. A hallmark of the camp is its pluralistic perspective. Jews from all denominations come together to form a family. Campers that come from nonstructured communities see hope in a Jewish future. Others build their Jewish future as a result of the summer at Szarvas. “There is a good chance you will find someone who will be your partner for life here,” Friedman told JNS. “We have had many Szarvas weddings. Just last year, a wedding took place on the camp grounds. The campers met at camp, were counselors together, and 10 years later got married here. Their journey started here.” In recent years, Szarvas has

served as a model for similar camps. According to Friedman, there are now six other Jewish immersion camps across central and eastern Europe, all of which use the Szarvas methodology. The camp also has a Zionist agenda, promoting Hebrew words and a love of the land of Israel. Still, noted Ornique, campers are not pushed to make aliyah. He said that is a personal decision and that the camp, as well as JDC, are more focused on creating a strong Jewish community on the ground in Europe. Martin Levi is a Szarvas alum who now heads JDC youth programming in Latvia. He told JNS that while the recent surge in European anti-Semitism has struck a difficult chord with him, he is still glad he reconnected to his Jewish identity.. “I have never questioned the decision of being Jewish. … I have no regrets,” he said. Levi said he is grateful to Szarvas and believes that the community of current and former campers can look forward to another quarter-century of success. “Today’s campers will take over at some point,” said Levi. “We are creating generation after generation of kids… who can express their Jewish identities”

ting 100 Argentine Jews die in Nazi gas chambers. Argentina’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Justice, in a 5-1 vote this week overturned the judgment against the Wallenberg Foundation. An appeals court had upheld the original ruling. Juan Carlos Hipolito Irigoyen, a grandson of Luis Hernan Irigoyen, who was stationed at the Argentine Embassy in Berlin during the Nazi regime, had sued the Wallenberg Foundation for damages after it said the plaintiff’s grandfather was “responsible for letting approximately 100 Argentine Jews die in the gas chambers.” The high court held that “it cannot be deemed to be a gratuitous insult; on the contrary, it is a harsh questioning, of a kind not unusual in historical disputes.” The foundation had been ordered to pay 50,000 pesos – approximately $6,000 – in compensatory damages.

of husband and wife, Jak Karako, 77, and Georgia Karako, 69, inside their apartment last Friday. They had been stabbed multiple times. The Karakos were the former owners of Oren Bayan, a leading textile company in Turkey. According to media reports, the police are searching for the couple’s caretaker, whom they suspect of committing the crime.

Well-known Turkish Jewish couple found murdered (JTA) – A prominent Turkish Jewish couple were found murdered in their Istanbul home. Police discovered the bodies

Vandals target Jewish school in Denmark (JTA) — A Jewish school in Denmark’s capital city had its windows broken and anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on the building. “No peace in Gaza” and “No peace to you Zionist pigs” were scrawled last week on the walls of the historic Caroline school in Copenhagen, the French news agency AFP reported.” The Caroline school was founded in 1805 and bills itself as the world’s oldest still functioning school.


ISRAEL • 9

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

Jews abetting Hamas are no voice for peace By Yitzhak Santis (JNS) – Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the group that invaded and “occupied” the Philadelphia Jewish Community Services Building and on Aug. 20 simulated and protested the (legal) blockade of Gaza outside of the UJA-Federation of New York, has declared in northern California, “Zionism isn’t welcome in our town.” There, JVP joined with a radical Bay Area coalition on Aug. 16 seeking to prevent the unloading of Israeli goods in Oakland. The action’s announcement, proclaiming “Stand Against Zionism Everywhere,” extols the “resistance in Gaza [that] is still alive and thriv-

ing, despite Israel’s ongoing attempts to destroy it.” This “resistance,” the announcement continues, has “been going on since 1948, since Israel came into existence. And it will not cease until Israeli apartheid falls.” These are euphemisms. Bringing down “Israeli apartheid” is a call for Israel’s destruction. The “resistance in Gaza” is the radical jihadist group Hamas, responsible for the murder and maiming of thousands of Israelis and causing three wars. The Hamas Charter says “the Jews” caused the French and Communist Revolutions, initiated both world wars, and that the entire world is controlled by Jewish money, in addi-

tion to promoting the anti-Semitic “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and calling for Israel’s “obliteration.” Who, then, is this self-proclaimed Jewish “voice for peace” whose actions in effect support Hamas terrorism? JVP’s executive director, Rebecca Vilkomerson, describes her group as “the Jewish wing of the [Palestinian solidarity] movement,” with the mission “to facilitate conversations inside the Jewish community… [to] put that wedge in, saying the Jewish community’s not agreeing on these issues.” That’s it. JVP JEWS on page 19

Courtesy of Joe Mabel

October 2007 demonstration in Seattle by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace.

The student operation to bring Sderot back from the edge By Tsvi Dahan (JNS) – Many continue to pray that Israel’s recently completed Operation Protective Edge will finally bring an end to the rockets that have rained down on the Negev city of Sderot since the second Palestinian intifada broke out in 2001. Yet for residents of the beleaguered town that is only a Qassam’s-throw from Gaza, victory is not measured by military gains. The people of Sderot want to win back their city. They want to find a way of restoring its beat and rhythm. But even if the immediate threat of rockets is curtailed, a city with a sordid history of terror stands little chance of ever being revived. And terror is only one variable in the equation. Sderot remains one of Israel’s most impoverished cities, with a disproportionately large number of welfare recipients, many of whom are illiterate immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. The burden of educating and integrating individuals of these diverse backgrounds is, by its own admission, beyond the capacity of Sderot’s local municipal authority, which is overwhelmed with simply trying to protect its citizens from the ongoing security threat. Additionally, young people tend not to stay in Sderot, and this negative net migration means the city also has a population that is mostly elderly. Enter Ayalim’s latest initiative: building a student village in Sderot. Ayalim, the largest Zionist youth movement in Israel, aims to develop the country’s social and geographical peripheries. Although the Negev and Galilee together comprise around 80 percent of Israel’s total land, only 8 percent of the country’s economy comes from those areas. With the vision of realizing David Ben-Gurion’s dream of “making the desert bloom,” Ayalim hopes to reverse that trend. Since its inception in 2002, Ayalim has built 14 student villages across Israel, housing close

to 1,000 students. But with more than 300 students set to move in beginning this October, the Sderot village will become the biggest one yet. Construction began just before the outbreak of the latest operation in Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave final approval for the village at an Aug. 10 cabinet meeting. As a non-profit, Ayalim aims to keep costs down by using existing buildings and finding other inventive ways to reuse in its formation of student villages. In the case of Sderot, the village will utilize an abandoned elementary school in the town center as well as recycled shipping containers. Bizarre as it may seem, shipping containers make for ideal housing because in addition to being cost-effective, they are extremely durable and quick to build. Did the latest operation in Gaza mean that construction was put on hold? “Absolutely not,” said Anaelle Lauer, who is also part of Ayalim’s partnership development team. “In fact, just the opposite. We think this is the exact time to continue to demonstrate our solidarity with the citizens of Sderot, and for that reason we’re going full steam ahead.” According to Lauer, the volunteers—who are in their “shnat sherut,” a gap year for Israeli posthigh school students performing national service—are working around the clock to get the project finished in time. “It isn’t always easy,” she said. “Sometimes you’re up on a ladder hammering away and a siren blares, and then of course you have 15 seconds to scramble to the [bomb] shelter.” It isn’t only Israelis who are giving up their time to rebuild Sderot. At the behest of ARZA, the Zionist wing of the Reform movement, a group of rabbis from around the U.S. volunteered at the construction site during the height of Operation Protective Edge. Unafraid to get

their proverbial hands dirty, the rabbis were involved in anything from bricklaying to spackling. “The work [Ayalim] is doing in Sderot is of utmost importance,” said Rabbi Bennett Miller of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, N.J. “I was honored to be a small part of it.” Come October, the village will be populated with students from Sapir College, an academic institution located just outside Sderot. Current enrollment stands at about 8,000 Israelis. Since Sderot offers very little by way of student housing, however, most of them are SDEROT on page 19

Courtesy of JNS

The construction site of an abandoned elementary school in Sderot which Ayalim is using to build a student village.

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10 • ISRAEL

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Alleging U.N. bias, Israel again keeping distance from Gaza probe By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – The United Nations probe into the Gaza conflict hasn’t even begun, but Israel already is convinced that it won’t end well. In a resolution adopted by a vote of 29-1 with 17 abstentions, the U.N. Human Rights Council moved last month to establish a commission of inquiry “to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The United States cast the sole vote against. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the council for choosing to investigate Israel rather than nearby crisis zones such as Iraq or Syria, and implied he would not cooperate with U.N. investigators. “The report of this committee has already been written,” Netanyahu said following a meeting with visiting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “The committee chairman has already decided that Hamas is not a terrorist organization. Therefore, they have nothing to look for here. They should visit Damascus, Baghdad and Tripoli. They should go see ISIS, the Syrian army and Hamas. There they will find war crimes, not here.” Israel has been down this road before. Following the end of the last Gaza conflict, in early 2009, its government refused to cooperate with a U.N. investigation led by the South African jurist Richard Goldstone. The probe, dubbed the Goldstone Report, alleged that Israel had inten-

Israel Briefs IDF strikes kill three Hamas commanders TEL AVIV (JTA) – Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed three senior Hamas commanders. Among those killed in the Thursday morning strikes were Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Abu Shamala, the coordinators of the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was released more than five years later in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The third slain commander was Mohammed Barhoum, according t Israeli reports. It remains unclear whether the chief of Hamas” armed wing, Muhammad Deif, was killed in an airstrike Tuesday. The conflict between Israel and Hamas resumed Tuesday after Hamas rocket fire broke a 24-hour cease-fire. Also Thursday morning, Hamas bombs wounded two Israelis.

Courtesy of Emad Nasse

A Palestinian child amid the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 18, 2014.

tionally targeted civilians, though Goldstone later personally retracted that allegation. Israel rejected the original report as inaccurate and biased. This time, the commission will be chaired by William Schabas, a Canadian-born professor of international law at Middlesex University in London. Schabas said in an Aug. 12 interview with Israel’s Channel 2 that it would be “inappropriate” to assert that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Last year, Schabas said that Netanyahu would be his “favorite” leader to see tried at the International Criminal Court. Schabas’ father is Jewish and he sits on the advisory board of the Israel Law Review. In the Channel 2 interview, he said he would not let his personal opinions affect his investiga-

tion. “What someone who sits on a commission or a judge has to be able to do is to put these things behind them and start fresh, and this is of course what I intend to do,” Schabas said. “It’s in Israel’s interest to be there in that discussion and give its version of events. If it doesn’t, then that leaves an unfortunate one-sided picture of it.” Israeli cooperation could have softened his report’s conclusions, Goldstone wrote in the 2011 Washington Post Op-Ed in which he backed down from the report’s most scathing criticism of Israel. Goldstone noted that subsequent investigations by the Israeli military indicated that it was not Israel’s intent to target civilians. “Although the Israeli evidence

Netanyahu says Gaza op will continue, suggests return to peace talks TEL AVIV (JTA) – In statements defending Israel”s conduct in its ongoing conflict in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “will look forward to restarting peace negotiations” with the Palestinians. On Wednesday, speaking in English, Netanyahu compared Hamas to ISIS, the militant Islamist group in Iraq and Syria, and said that “no other country has acted more rigorously than Israel in defending itself within legitimate means.” In a Hebrew statement, he said Israel”s military operation will continue until calm returns to his country. “We have hit Hamas very hard,” Netanyahu said. “We are determined to continue the campaign by all means for as long as it takes.

Israeli teenagers in June. In a video posted by Israeli media, Hamas spokesman Salach Al-Aruri told a conference in Istanbul organized by the World Association of Muslim Scholars that it was the al-Kassam Brigades that guided the kidnapping of Israeli teenagers Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach. AlAruri praised the “heroic action of the Kassam Brigades who kidnapped three settlers in Hebron,” according to The Jerusalem Post. Hamas leadership had formerly denied any involvement with the kidnappings. Previous reporting in American and Israeli media had suggested that Hamas was either not involved or that the kidnapping was carried out by a rogue group within Hamas. Al-Aruri”s statement appears to validate the claim by Israeli officials who insisted that the Hamas organization in Gaza had ordered and financed the attack.

Hamas admits kidnapping Israeli teens (JTA) – A senior Hamas official acknowledged that the Hamas military wing was behind the kidnapping and murder of three

U.N. watchdog expected to report Iran complying with nuclear deal (JTA) – A report from the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations is expected to show that

that has emerged since publication of our report doesn’t negate the tragic loss of civilian life, I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes,” Goldstone wrote. “Israel’s lack of cooperation with our investigation meant that we were not able to corroborate how many Gazans killed were civilians and how many were combatants.” Among Israeli legal experts, there is broad agreement that Israel must do its part to present its version of events, even while disagreeing about how best to do that. Only Israel’s state comptroller has indicated that he will be investigating the Gaza conflict. Amichai Cohen, an international law expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, said the comptroller’s probe is insufficient and that Israel should launch an investigation by experts. “The comptroller himself doesn’t have knowledge in international law, in criminal law, in military law. That’s not his specialty,” Cohen told JTA. “You need something independent and transparent.” Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based NGO UN Watch and a vocal critic of the Human Rights Council’s treatment of Israel, said Israel should do what it did in 2009: publish accounts from the conflict that show its side of the story without directly cooperating with the investigation. “If the U.N. decides to have a

one-sided inquiry, they will write a one-sided report,” Neuer said. “I’m confident Israel will make sure that the commission will have no excuse to say they didn’t have the information.” Shlomy Zachary, an Israeli human rights lawyer, noted that Israeli cooperation with previous U.N. investigations has helped mitigate criticism of Israel – for example, in a 2010 U.N. investigation of the so-called flotilla incident. That probe, known as the Palmer Commission, was charged with investigating the storming of a Turkish boat aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The report ultimately condemned the raid, but it also criticized the conduct of protesters on board the ship and determined that the Gaza blockade was legal. “When Israel cooperated with international bodies, the results were in favor of Israel,” Zachary told JTA. Neuer agreed that the 2010 probe was a good model for U.N. investigations, but he noted that it was supervised by the U.N. secretary-general, not the Human Rights Council. Neuer said that given the commission’s record of bias, Israel’s options are more limited. Ultimately, the conclusions of the latest investigation will not be legally binding on Israel. But if its conclusions are harsh, it could further ratchet up international criticism. Cohen said that could put added pressure on Israel to exercise restraint should another round of conflict take place.

Iran is complying with the terms of an interim agreement regarding its nuclear program. Under the agreement, which Iran signed in November with the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China, Iran agreed to freeze nuclear enrichment above 5 percent and dilute its 20 percentenriched uranium to 5 percent. It also agreed to freeze many of its centrifuges and pause construction and fuel production for its plutonium reactor. In return, the six powers agreed to ease some sanctions on Iran, estimated at the time to give Iran about $7 billion in relief. To ensure compliance, inspectors from the U.N.”s International Atomic Energy Agency committed to visiting Iran”s nuclear production sites regularly.

pumping and distribution of water, cutting the coastal strip”s water supply by half, according to Haaretz. In addition, hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been unable to bathe regularly. Haaretz reported that the water shortage could lead to the spread of infections and skin diseases.

Gaza experiencing severe water shortage TEL AVIV (JTA) – Gaza residents are suffering from a severe water shortage as a result of the ongoing conflict there. Damage to wells and Gaza”s energy infrastructure has disrupted the

Israel Police: Put lawmaker Hanin Zoabi on trial for incitement TEL AVIV (JTA) – The Israel Police recommended that Hanin Zoabi be put on trial after the Arab-Israeli Knesset member allegedly insulted and threatened officers during an interrogation. Zoabi, of the Balad party, should be tried for inciting to violence, making threats and insulting a public servant, the police said Tuesday, according to Haaretz. During an interrogation last week over a previous incident, police alleged that Zoabi called the Arab-Israeli officers “collaborators” who should be used “to wipe the floor.”


SOCIAL LIFE • 11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

YPS AT THE JCC: COCKTAILS IN THE COURTYARD It was one part “mixology” and two parts “mix and mingle” on Tuesday, April 29th when young professionals stirred things up at the Mayerson JCC for a fun and engaging evening featuring an expert mixologist from one of the hottest bars in town, who shared some tips and tricks on the art of bartending. Plus, participants got to enjoy appetizers and a chance to wind down after work with other twenty and thirty somethings! YPs at the JCC is a program of the Mayerson JCC for young professionals, 21-35. More photos on Page 12

ANNOUNCEMENTS ENGAGEMENT elice and Michael Shane announce the engagement of their daughter, Lindi, to Adam Vernick, son of Susan and Leonard Vernick of Baltimore, Maryland. Lindi is the granddaughter of Arlene Furst and the late Rafael Furst, and Roberta Shane and the late Phyllis and Sidney Shane. Adam is the grandson of Eudice and Leonard Tucker and the late Rose and Morris Vernick. Lindi attended Indiana University for her undergraduate degree and graduated magna cum laude from DePaul University College of Law. She is currently an attorney at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. Adam attended Boston

F

Lindi Shane and Adam Vernick

University and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and works as an attorney at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. An April 2015 wedding is planned in Dayton. The couple resides in Cincinnati.


12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE

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YPS AT THE JCC: COCKTAILS IN THE COURTYARD Continued from Page 11


CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

AJC HONORS DINNER American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Regional Office presented its 2014 National Human Relations Award to Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Cincinnati, at a tribute dinner on Monday, May 5, 2014. The award recognized Dr. Ono’s outstanding professional achievements, community leadership, and dedication to excellence. Co-chairs were Dianne Dunkelman, Bobby Fisher, and John M. Tew, Jr., MD.

Bobby and Arna Fisher with honoree Santa J. Ono, PhD who received AJC”s National Human relations Award on May 5th at the Hall of Mirrors.

AJC President Rick Michelman and event co-chair Dianne Dunkelman present Dr. Ono with his award, marble bookends.

Keynote speaker Ken Stern, Emory University, Dr. Gila Naveh, Chair, Dept. of Judaic Studies, UC; Ari Finkelstein, Dr. Ono, Matthew Kraus, UC Dept. of Judaic Studies, Arna Fisher.

Dr. Ono with students from UC Hillel.

The “Bow Tie Brigade” Bobby Fisher, Dr. Ono, J. David Rosenberg and Dr. John Tew, Jr.

Jim Miller, AJC Board of Governors member; John Stein, AJC past president; Dr. Susanna Schwartz, AJC board members Seth Schwartz and Sandy Kaltman attended the event honoring Dr. Ono.


14 • DINING OUT

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Affection for place, tradition, cuisine attracts me to Mecklenburg Gardens By Bob Wilhelmy Mecklenburg Gardens is a year-round restaurant, and that’s a good thing. But warm weather, like now, is the quintessential time of year to visit and dine. The GARDENS, folks—the gardens! Personally, I have been to al frescos everywhere in Our Fair City. A few are nice, a good number are passable, but most are forced and unworthy of the concept. Mecklenburg Gardens deserves special reverence in the hierarchy of eateries with open-air dining. Be mindful of history— near ancient history these days— when you and your family or friends take a seat under the grape leaves in front of the restaurant. Others who came before you were of beer-drinking age in 1865, when the Gardens began serving Cincinnati’s immigrant German laborers. Just think of that fact alone, and the imagination cannot help but come alive. In addition to longevity, the outside area at Mecklenburg Gardens is substantial, with many tables to accommodate dozens and dozens of diners. Another factor is the nature of the setting, which features a block wall surrounding the garden. Arbor trellis sits atop the wall, and a canopy entwined with grape vines covers the space. I’m a fan, and have been for a long time. When I was a sprout (in the early 1950s) of wee seven or so, eating out was among the rarest of rare occasions for me. One summer night back then, my parents took me to Mecklenburg Gardens. We sat and ate beneath that very arbor, alive with grape leaves—an experience I remember to this day. Another personal attraction for me is the food at Mecklenburg Gardens. You will find a German core to the menu, but lots of other options for your dining pleasure as well. The menu features a small plates section, where items such as bier braised short ribs are found. There are eight sandwich choices, many with a German heritage. Rounding out the bill of fare are salads, soups, schnitzels and homemade desserts. I love to eat German dishes, such as schnitzel and sauerbraten, and desserts such as strudels and Bavarian crème puffs. To be fair, I love to eat, period. But the German dishes at Mecklenburg Gardens are good, wholesome, hearty offerings. With a cold beer, on a late-summer evening, under the grape leaves of the arbor, it’s hard to beat such meals. There’s nothing like the garden in the early evening, or even inside at the bar or in the dining room, having a wiener schnitzel, crisply fried, with German fried

Annemarie and Tom Harten behind the bar.

An outdoor view of the garden and UC fans waiting for a shuttle, seen from across Highland Avenue in University Heights.

potatoes and red cabbage. Or you may wish to try two new schnitzel favorites of mine: the eggplant, featuring breaded slices of eggplant with spaetzle and red cabbage, served with lemon-caperartichoke butter; or the paprika chicken, a breaded breast with roasted red pepper-tomato sauce, also served with spaetzle. Some house specials that rank well above run-of-the-mill restau-

rant fare are: the goulash, a Hungarian beef stew, loaded with root vegetables, and served over spaetzle; the aforementioned sauerbraten, which is a long-marinated eye of round beef, sliced, with the classic gingersnap sauce, served with potato salad and red cabbage; and a bit more Nordic, the crispy fried whitefish, served with German fried potatoes and tartar sauce.

The garden area in mid-summer.

But wait a minute! We have not had a beer yet, have we? You must, if you are a beer lover. For instance, Spaten Optimator is on tap! I can say from experience, Spaten is a fine beer, and ideal in providing the right complement to hearty German foods. Also, Mecklenburg Gardens features a list of some 25 imports from Germany. There is a full bar, too, along with a wine list, of course,

but for my money, good, crisp, cold beer is the ticket, the perfect beverage when German food is on the table. Prost! Mecklenburg Gardens 302 E. University Ave. Clifton 221-5353


DINING OUT • 15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

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12110 Montgomery Rd

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221-5353

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111 Main St

300 Madison Pike

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Milford

Fort Wright, KY

9525 Kenwood Rd

965-0100

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101 Main St • Historic Milford

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Ambar India Restaurant

Asian Paradise

Cincinnati's first and only true wine, restaurant and wine retail store. Come in and enjoy an appetizer or entrée paired with one of the 100 wines we pour daily.

Cincinnati 541-9600

Cincinnati 321-6300

9386 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 489-1444

Cincinnati 745-9386

Loveland 1332C-2 Vine St. • 381-0903

Pomodori’s

Over-the-Rhine

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7880 Remington Rd

Williamsburg

Montgomery • 794-0080

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16 • OPINION

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As school resumes, how to talk to children about the Gaza war By Jack Wertheimer NEW YORK (JTA) -- With the new school year nearly upon us, Jewish educational leaders are scrambling to prepare their teachers to discuss this summer’s Gaza War. The most pressing challenge is to design age-appropriate conversations: At which grade level might classroom discussions include potentially frightening topics, such as the wounding of non-combatants, kidnapping of young Israelis and sirens warning of incoming rockets? And how should teachers address the tough issues of civilian casualties in Gaza and the flagrant hostility toward Jews and Israel that has erupted in many parts of the world? These questions are difficult enough, but are especially freighted with anxiety because they hold the potential to revive stereotypes of Israel that North American Jewish schools have been trying to counter. When Israel was forced to wage three major wars during its first quarter century, its image as an embattled enclave overshadowed everything else about its existence. In recent decades, though, Jewish schools have endeavored to present a more rounded picture of Israeli life. Without denying the existential challenges facing the Jewish state, teachers have drawn attention to the rich tapestry of Israeli culture — its diverse inhabitants, culinary treats and eclectic music, for example — and, of course, its technological wizardry. School trips to Israel have highlighted the country’s natural beauty and its enjoyable recreational scene, even while exploring the strong connections between the land and the Jewish religion. Educators are understandably loath to resurrect the earlier imagery that simplistically portrayed Israel as a country permanently on war footing. Responses to the Gaza war require North American Jewish schools to address a second topic that had been pushed to the background in recent years — antiSemitism. Students in all likelihood are not oblivious of the virulent hostility to Israel and Jews surfacing in the media and on the Web. It’s not clear how prepared schools are to address this issue. In reaction to the overemphasis on the Holocaust the 1960s through the 1980s, the pendulum of American Jewish fashion has swung away from discourse about anti-Semitism. Now, with the blatantly negative media coverage of Israel’s prosecution of the war and the resurgence of anti-Semitism around the globe, the subject warrants considerably more attention. The dilemma facing schools in addressing the new anti-Semitism is how to avoid reviving what historian Salo Baron once described as

“the lachrymose [tearful] conception of Jewish history.” The saga of the Jews is about a great deal more than persecution. Yet with the barely concealed animosity toward Jews evident in some quarters here in America and abroad, alas, the need to teach young people about the insidious nature of anti-Semitism has become pertinent again. As they formulate a school response to the war, educators might consider three important lessons derived from “Hearts and Minds,” a recent report on Israel education in North American Jewish schools: First, one size does not fit all students. Classrooms this September will contain some students who are largely ignorant about the Gaza war and others who have been exposed to it up close. Students who spent part of the summer in Israel undoubtedly will attest to what it was like to run to bomb shelters or sense the fear aroused in Israel’s populace by Hamas tunnels. Teachers will face the daunting task of bridging differences in what students heard from their parents and absorbed elsewhere about the war. The diversity of students and their families adds a considerable measure of complexity to an already challenging situation. All of this places a great responsibility upon teachers to prepare differentiated responses to a broad range of students. Second, when teaching about Israel, it is imperative to work with students’ minds as well as their hearts. Jewish schools have focused their attention especially on the latter, an understandable approach with younger children. But by their middle school and high school years, students deserve to be exposed not only to the joyous dimensions of the Jewish state, but also to the complexities within Israeli society and outside of it in the tough neighborhood of the Middle East. And third, teaching about other Jewish communities — their achievements and challenges — does not detract from a connection to Israel but strengthens the ties of students to the Jewish people and also Israel. In some parts of the world, notably in several European countries, Jewish communities are under siege. American Jewish students should not be shielded from these ugly realities. This is the time to teach students about the interconnectedness of all Jews, a lesson that will also strengthen their engagement with Israel and its people. The Gaza war presents Jewish schools with a teachable moment, a time to explore with their students (in an age-appropriate manner) the asymmetrical struggle in which Israel is engaged and the surge in hatred confronting Jews — including children — in many parts of the world.

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My war story: a new Torah for Sderot By Nachum Segal (JNS) – This summer has been incredibly difficult for our brothers and sisters in Israel. Instead of vacationing with their families or making memories at day camps, most Israeli children have spent the sunny days hiding in bomb shelters and learning more than their fair share about the Iron Dome missile defense system. Instead of jumpstarting their careers or focusing on basic training, thousands of young men and women have found themselves on the front lines of the war in Gaza. It has been a very long and challenging summer, to be sure. But as the war slips into its second stage, Jews around the world are sharing inspiring stories, anecdotes of extreme charity and unprecedented displays of brotherhood that have taken place over the last few weeks. These stories buoy our spirits and help us remember just how fortunate we are to be members of “the Tribe.” Since I spent some time in Israel during the war, I have a few stories of my own, and one in particular stands out above the rest—a life-altering moment that I experienced in the rocket-battered Negev city of Sderot. The story actually begins in January, with a phone call from Yossi Baumol, executive director of the American Friends of Sderot. Yossi explained that he was in dire need of a Torah for an Ethiopian Synagogue in Sderot. The congregants had been using ritually unfit Torahs until that point, and they were pining for a kosher Torah to call their own. I immediately got on the case. Dr. Joe Rozehzadeh, Simon Jacob, and I decided to dedicate the Torah in memory of Joe’s father,

my father, and Simon’s father-inlaw. Promptly, a Torah was on its way to Sderot. Joe, Simon, and I postponed the Hachnasat Sefer Torah (Torah dedication ceremony) until all three of us could be in Israel together. After much discussion, we settled on Friday morning, Aug. 8 (the eve of Shabbat Nachamu) as the date for the ceremony. As the war unfolded, we made a conscious decision to stick to our plan. Not only did we want to see it through, but it dawned on us that a celebration of this kind was more important during a war than at any other time. We were committed to giving our Torah a proper homecoming and standing in solidarity with the citizens of Sderot when they needed us most. On the morning of Aug. 8, Nachum Segal Network general manager Miriam Wallach, Joe, Simon, and I arrived in Sderot with an entourage of family and friends. Though we were overcome with excitement, we were also somewhat nervous because there had been several air-raid sirens that morning. Later, we would realize that while sirens rang out immediately before and after the event, not one sounded while we were actually singing and dancing with the Torah. The first thing we noticed was that the “synagogue” was actually a trailer with a capacity of no more than 30 people. The congregants, Ethiopians spanning generations, were beaming with joy and pride. In addition to genuine excitement about the Hachnasat Sefer Torah, it was clear that they were simply thrilled to have a reason to celebrate outdoors on a sunny day. In a city plagued by aerial terror, moments such as

these were not taken for granted. All at once, we began. The small group gathered together, dancing with the Torah at the entrance to the synagogue as we raised our voices in song. Israeli musician Yehuda Katz joined us for the ceremony, and his sweet vocals and instrumentals helped set the mood. As the members of the congregation chose one song after another, we were pleasantly surprised by the selections. We had assumed that an Ethiopian synagogue would mark the occasion by singing melodies that American Jews couldn’t possibly know, and we were all prepared to just hum along and clap when it seemed appropriate. It turned out, however, that their Hachnasat Sefer Torah set list matched our own without exception. The universality of the custom was moving. As we danced together in the summer heat, we were overcome with emotion. Who would have guessed that a Sephardic Torah would be dedicated by a group of American Jews to an Ethiopian synagogue in Israel? But at that moment, it made perfect sense. All of the labels melted away and all that was left were Jews, members of a single family, celebrating a shared heritage in their beloved homeland. This point was driven home one last time when we began packing up to head back to Jerusalem. As we turned to bid our hosts farewell, we opted for Hebrew, the only common language between us. Only when we began wishing one another “Shabbat Shalom” did we realize just how fitting it was that our parting words would be in our XXXXXXX on page xx


JEWISH LIFE • 17

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

Sedra of the Week

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT SHOFETIM DEUTERONOMY 16:18-21:9

“Those who are compassionate

to the compassionate!”

that a soldier’s life is not worth more than an innocent victim’s life. But we must add to this that if the “innocent victim” has bought into the evil of the enemy, or if the enemy is a terrorist purposely waging war from the thick of residential areas because they know our ethical standards, we dare not allow them to gain the edge and enable evil to triumph. Yes, we must try as much as possible to wage a moral war but morally we must never allow immorality to triumph. Our sages correctly teach: “Those who are compassionate to the cruel will end up being cruel to the compassionate!” But short of allowing immorality to triumph, the IDF governs its actions on the side of compassion for innocents, even in battle. 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: SHOFTIM (DEVARIM 16:18—21:9) 1. With what does Hashem communicate to the Jewish people? a.) Miracles b.) Prophets c.) Signs in the sky 2. Is it permitted to speculate about the future? a.) Yes b.) No 3. Who speaks to the army before a war? a.) King 5. B 17:14-20 The verses in question seem to put a limit on a king's power, in fact his powers were quite extensive. However, even those powers had checks on them. Lastly, his son would only inherit the throne if he was worthy. Rashi

destroy it because the human being is [derives his sustenance from] the tree of the field;’ (or as alternatively rendered, “Is the tree of the field a human being who is capable of escaping a siege?”) Can it be that our Torah cares more about a fruit tree than about innocent human beings? First of all, one might argue that a fruit tree, which gives human beings nutrition, the wherewithal to live, is of greater benefit than an individual born to an environment which preaches death to all who reject Jihadi fundamentalism or who do not pass the test of Aryan elitism. Such individuals are sub-apples, because they are out to destroy free society. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (end of the nineteenth century), dean of Yeshivat Volozhin, in his masterful commentary on the Bible known as Ha’amek Davar, provides the beginning of a second answer. He insists that when the Bible ordains that we “utterly destroy” even the women and children (as it also commands in Deut. 7:1-2), this is limited “to those who gather against us in battle.” (Ha’amek Davar, ad loc.) It is almost as though the Bible took into account our present Operation Protective Edge against Hamas, who cynically use the population of Gaza as human shields from which they send out missiles against the innocent Israeli population. If we did not strike back at the Gazan apartments and the UNWRA schools and hospitals which are being used as launching pads against the innocent Israelis, we would be granting a victory to the terrorists and we would be teaching all terrorists to use civilians in such a way. Indeed, war stinks; to paraphrase Golda Meir, I don’t hate Hamas for attempting to drive us out of Israel - but I do hate Hamas for making us take the lives of innocent Gazans. Michael Walzer, in his classic Just and Unjust Wars, maintains

WHAT’S HAPPENING @ YOUR

b.) Prophet c.) Priest 4. What is done if a corpse is found and foul play suspected? a.) Search for the suspect b.) Bring a calf as a type of sacrifice c.) Redeem the victim with charity and good deeds 5. Is a Jewish king an autocratic ruler? a.) Yes b.) No

with trust and simplicity without trying to predict the future. Rashi 3. C 20:2 This was a unique position: not the High Priest and not a regular Priest. 4. B 21:3

EFRAT, Israel – “When you draw near to a city to wage war against it you shall [first] call out to it for peace.” (DEUTERONOMY 20:10) Despite the bad press we constantly receive at the hands of the media, I do not believe there is an army in the history of world warfare which operates with the degree of ethical sensitivity that is adhered to by the Israeli Defense Forces; we never target civilians despite the fact that our enemy only targets Jewish civilians. We have always subscribed to a policy known as “purity of arms,” the foundation for which harks back to the Bible, and particularly to this week’s Torah portion of Shofetim. Both Maimonides, as well as Nahmanides, maintain that this principle of initially requesting peace before waging war - and for Maimonides, that includes the enemies’ willingness to accept the seven Noahide laws of morality, most notably “Thou shalt not murder” (Maimonides, Laws of Kings 6:1; Nahmanides, ad loc.) applies even when waging a battle in self-defense, even when warring against Amalek or the seven indigenous inhabitants of the land of Canaan. But then, as we read further, the picture seems to get a bit complex, even murky. The Bible continues to prescribe that if the enemy refuses to make peace, then “from those of the cities which the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance, you shall not leave any living being alive; you must utterly destroy them” (Deut. 20:16-17), and this would seem to include innocent women and children as well. How are we to understand our compassionate Bible, which teaches that every human being is created in the divine image and is therefore inviolate, sanctioning the destruction of innocent residents? In order to compound our question, only two verses after the command to “utterly destroy” appears the following curious and exquisitely sensitive - divine charge (Deut. 20:19): “When you lay siege to a city... to wage war against it and capture it, you may not destroy a fruit tree to lift an axe against it; after all, it is from it that you eat, so you may not

to the cruel will end up being cruel

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

ANSWERS 1. B 18:15-18 Hashem would provide someone like Moshe who did not use sorcery but was clear in his message. Ramban 2. B 18:10-13 A person should serve Hashem

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin


18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

JEWZ

IN THE

By NATE BLOOM Contributing Columnist On Lauren Bacall Let me say at the top that BACALL was talented, smart and beautiful. Also, when most American Jewish film fans found out, sometime in the ‘50s, that this “A” list actress was Jewish–there was a little psychic “kvell” boost in the Jewish community. But let’s not make her more of a Jewish pioneer than she was. Her style and look was, perhaps, a bit more ‘urbane’ than most of her contemporary female film stars–but they provided no clue that she was Jewish and most Americans didn’t know she was Jewish. Also, while she met, by her own account, a touch of antiSemitism at the start of her career–it was usually bigoted remarks made by people who didn’t know she was Jewish. Let’s talk turkey: in Hollywood, Jewish actresses rarely had/have a problem with being Jewish. They had/have a problem if they “looked Jewish” and are thus viewed as less marketable— Bacall didn’t have this problem. She also had the career backing of Humphrey Bogart’s many powerful film industry friends (mostly non-Jewish). Bacall penned three memoirs. She mentions Israel once in passing: that she made a film there in 1987. Regarding her decision to raise her children in Bogart’s Episcopal faith; she writes that she and Bogart agreed “that they had to have some religious identity” and there was a good Episcopal school nearby, but the kids “had to be baptized as Episcopalians to go there”–so her children were baptized and raised Episcopal. She’s honest to a point–but let’s be frank–while not an anti-Semite, Bogart was from a fancy WASP background and if his kids were going to have a religion he wasn’t going to let them be raised Jewish. He was very much the senior member of the couple and his wishes easily prevailed. I think the desire to make Bacall “more Jewish” than she was is one reason that the tale of her being a “first cousin” of Israeli President SHIMON PERES became widespread. I don’t have the space here to go through the various stories and how they conflict. Suffice it to say that the two met in Israel in 1987 and probably discussed whether Bacall’s long-estranged father (WILLIAM PERSKE) and Peres (born Perske, or Persky) were related–neither claimed to be actually related to

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NEWZ

each other. As for “first cousins” well, that would mean that Peres’ father and Bacall’s father were brothers. Clear records (like the US census) prove they couldn’t be brothers. Her father, by the way, was actually born in New Jersey—not Poland, like all of Peres’ family. In sum, Bacall was Jewish and a big star–but BARBRA STREISAND was the first “A” list actress to be, in every way, out-and-proudly Jewish. Candid Camera Returns A new version of “Candid Camera” premiered on TVLand on August 11. You can view new episodes on Tuesday nights (8PM) and catch-up via ondemand and/or free website viewing. ALLEN FUNT (1914-1999), created the program in 1948 and it ran until 1992 (sometimes on air as a regular weekly series and sometimes as a special). Funt always appeared as the show’s co-host. The new version is co-hosted and produced by Allen’s son, PETER FUNT, 67. He has a separate distinguished career as a TV/print journalist. In a recent CBS “Sunday Morning” profile, Peter said that the program would be contemporary in that they would, now and again, address social issues in a funny way. The first episode included a very amusing and thought provoking segment in which customers seeking service at an Arizona tire store were told that the store only served gay people and were asked if they were gay. Peter’s co-host is the charming and “very Jewish” actress MAYIM BIALIK, 38. She looks much more stylish as a cohost than she appears in character on “Big Bang Theory.” World Cup Notes I didn’t tell you about any Jewish players at the recent World Cup because I didn’t know of any until very recently. Then, last week, I followed a lead and helped confirm that DeANDRE YEDLIN, 21, a defender on the American team who saw action in two World Cup Games, is Jewish. Born and raised in the Seattle area, he most recently played for the Sounders professional team and recently signed with a top British team. His mother, REBECCA, now a college sports instructor, had him when she was very young and he was raised by his maternal grandfather. DeANDRE is now “very close” to his mother–it doesn’t seem like the same is true of his father (who isn’t Jewish).

FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO

women were togheter and safe in Scotland. The marriage of Miss Ann Henry, daughter of Mrs. George Henry, and Mr. Julius Frieberg, son of Mr. Julius W. Frieberg, will be solemnized Sunday evening, Sept. 17th, at the home of the bride’s mother, in the presence of the immediate family. Rabbi Victor E. Reichert officiating. – September 7, 1939

50 Y EARS A GO

125 Y EARS A GO The betrothal of Miss Jennie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Mailender of 1355 Locust St., E. W.H., to Mr. Charles Scherer, a clothing merchant of Urbana, O., has been announced. Miss Hanna Loewenstein, of Fairfield Avenue, Walnut Hills, was tendered a very pleasant party Friday afternoon in honor of her return from Michigan and the Northern Lake resorts. The eight Jewish convincts in the Ohio Penitentiary were excused from work on September 5th and will also be excused on the 14th, having an opporunity to attend services. Special food has been provided for those days. – September 7, 1889

100 Y EARS A GO

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin W. Diamond, 6810 Meadow Ridge Lane, announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Steven Ira, Saturday, Sept. 12, at 9am, at Adath Israel Synagogue, Reading Road and Lexington Avenue. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to worship with the family on this happy occasion and attend the Kiddush following the service. No cards. Steven is a grandson of Mrs. Jacob Diamond. Meyer Oscherwitz, 5448 Grafton Avenue, passed away Thrusday, Aug. 27. He was 55. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Ethel Lowitz Oscherwitz; two daughters, Mrs. Selig O’Koon of Louisville and Miss Bernice Oscherwitz of this city; two sisters, Miss Gertrude of Chillicothe, Ohio, and Mrs. Jack Rinsky of Cincinnati; and five brothers Maurice and Louis Oscherwitz, both of Chillicothe, and Nathan, Bernard and William Oscherwitz, all of this city. Services were held at the Weil Funeral Home Sunday, Aug. 30, with interment in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Cemetery. Rabbi David L. Indich officiated. – September 3, 1964

25 Y EARS A GO Julie and Barry Elkus announce the birth of a daughter, Hannah Judith, Aug. 29. Maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Fred Blazer of Colorado Springs, Colo. Paternal grandparents are Dr. Fred Elkus of Cincinnati and the late Judith Elkus. Harry and Dianne Schneider announce the birth of a daughter, Rachel Margalit, Aug. 19. Paternal grandparents are Ruth and Jerome Schneider of Cincinnati. Maternal grandparents are Hilda and Walter Goldsmith of Los Angeles. The wedding of Michelle Parrett and Edward Frank took place Aug. 20 at the Cincinnatian Hotel in the presence of the immediate family. Rabbi Sidney Zimmelman officiated. A dinner reception followed. The bride is the daughter of Genevieve Gabel of Ft. Mitchell, KY and Donald Parrett of Detroit. The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Frank of Cincinnati. Michelle attended the University of Cincinnati. Edward is a graduate of Cornell University. After a honeymoon in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, the couple resides in Cincinnat. – September 7, 1989

10 Y EARS A GO

75 Y EARS A GO The many friends of Mrs. Mark G. Feder, 505 Forest Avenue, and Miss Alma M. Bloom, 975 Lenox Place, are gratified to learn of their rescue from the British liner, Athenia, sunk early Monday morning, Sept. 4th, 200 miles northwest of Ireland while en route from Liverpool to Montreal with 1,347 passengers and crew, including 311 U.S. citizens. The British blame a German torpedo and the Germans blame an Allied mine. Survivors verified the report that the boat was torpedoed by Germans. Reports said more than 100 were lost. Cincinnati relatives received a cable saying the two

Dr. Albert Weisbrot will be the cantor for Congregation B’nai Tzedek’s High Holiday services this year. Dr. Weisbrot’s love of Jewish liturgy began at age 13, when he participated in the High Holiday Choir at Adath Israel Synagogue. He continued to do so for more than 30 years. Dr. Weisbrot was also the High Holiday Cantor at Roselawn Syngogue for one year and has performed at many local Jewish community functions including Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron. He has served as cantor for High Holidays at the Jewish Community Center of Oyster Bay, New York, for the last three years. His voice has been polished over the years with professional voice training by Karl Resnick. Dr. Weisbrot, who recently moved his office to Cedar Village Drive in Mason, Ohio, has been practicing family medicine for the last 25 years. – September 16, 2004


COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 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 • jewishcincinnati.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

JEWS from page 9 seeks to divide American Jews— Israel’s main foundation of international support—so as to reduce or eliminate U.S. backing for Israel for the benefit of Israel’s enemies. JVP is part of the international NGO “soft power” war, whose unrelenting attacks on Israel’s right to self-defense ultimately aid Hamas. This global political warfare strategy includes sustained delegitimization campaigns, BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions), and promoting a “right of return” for Palestinians, which means dismantling Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. It partners with a wide coterie of radical leftist, Islamist, and Arab ultranationalist groups to promote its program. When asked, JVP states that they are “agnostic” about a twostate solution. But that is a smokescreen. The group’s actions demonstrate a clear anti-Israel agenda. A JVP contingent marched at a July 12 “peace” demonstration in San Francisco, where “anti-war” protesters waved Hamas banners and burned an Israeli flag while

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

chanting in Arabic “Ya Hamas, ya habib, udrub, udrub Tel Abib!” (Oh, dear Hamas, strike a blow at Tel Aviv!) Signs read, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “From Gaza to Ramallah Forever Intifada,” and “F*** Zionism!” The rally’s advertising demanded an “end to US aid to Israel and to Zionist rule over Palestine.” In Los Angeles, JVP teamed up with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) to “put on a massive die-in street theater.” AMP’s website refers to Hamas as a “Palestinian resistance group.” In Detroit, JVP protested for the release of convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh. An FBI press release describes her “role in the 1969 bombings of a supermarket and the British Consulate in Jerusalem, which were carried out on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization.” That bombing killed two people. Odeh is charged with immigration fraud, for allegedly not informing U.S. officials of her terrorist conviction. Who funds JVP? That is a mys-

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

tery. Its 2013 Annual Report lists its 2012 income as $1.15 million and states that some 80 percent of its income is derived from “individual donors.” But it fails to identify them or the size of their gifts. Why? Knowing JVP’s funding sources is crucial to understanding why JVP seeks to weaken the Jewish community’s natural support for Israel. But JVP hides its funding sources. Again, why? JVP calls the current conflict with Hamas “Israel’s war on civilians”—which follows Hamas PR guidelines to describe “anyone killed or martyred” as “a civilian from Gaza or Palestine.” JVP demands an “end [to] the siege on Gaza,” a central Hamas demand. JVP insists the U.S. “suspend military aid to Israel,” which would also benefit Hamas and other jihadist terrorists. Finally, when JVP supports the call to “Stand Against Zionism Everywhere,” it is clear whose water they are carrying. JVP stands unmasked as anything but a voice for peace

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SDEROT from page 9 forced to find accommodation in surrounding settlements and kibbutzim. This means that they end up contributing very little to the development of the town. “But we’re changing all that,” said Effy Rubin, Ayalim’s director of partnership development. “We’re hoping that the [Sderot] student village will have the same impact that our others have had elsewhere in Israel. A trifecta of education, integration, and innovation. When you have young people move into distressed communities, the change is almost immediate.” Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi was delighted at the news that Ayalim would be building a village in the heart of his city. “Both in vision and in spirit, the establishment of a student village is great news for the city,” he said. “This is the first step in our strategic plan to transform Sderot into a student city as well as providing solutions for affordable accommodation to our young people, and of course to hundreds of students who study in Sapir College.” In addition to subsidized housing in the village, each resident of the village will receive a full scholarship to Sapir College. In return, students are expected to give back 500 hours annually to the local community. This includes volunteering with Sderot’s youths, both in conjunction with the city’s school system and within the framework of informal education. As with all the other student villages built by Ayalim, the Sderot village will have a family center connected to it that will host local events and social activities. Lauer said that “charity begets more charity,” and in her experience, the buck never stops with just the 500 mandatory hours. “What you’ll find is that [Ayalim’s] residents will keep on volunteering in projects of their own initiative,” she said. Rubin explained that there is

SENIOR SERVICES

• • • • •

Up to 24 hour care Meal Preparation Errands/Shopping Hygiene Assistance Light Housekeeping

(513) 531-9600 a problem with the Sderot’s branding in that young people simply aren’t enticed by the town’s image as a desperate, rocket-strewn wasteland. But over the years, Ayalim has gained a reputation for spearheading change. “If anyone can change Sderot’s image, its Ayalim students,” said Rubin. “We also want to show that violence won’t prevent Israelis from living near the border. On the contrary, if anything, violence just spurs us on to build and develop more fiercely than ever. As the new pioneers of Israel, Ayalim’s young people are what today’s Zionism is all about. Making a difference to their own lives and the lives of those around them through social welfare.” Indeed, Kiryat Shmona Mayor Rabbi Nissim Malka was so impressed by the impact that Ayalim’s student village has had on his city that he actually put forward a proposal to change the name of one of the city’s streets to “Ayalim St.” He said he wanted to show gratitude to Ayalim for “changing the face of the city, both in terms of education and providing solutions to the other needs of the community.” Ultimately, Ayalim politely declined the street-naming gesture, explaining that its aim was “to be a seamless part” of the city, not to manage it. What happens once Ayalim students graduate? Do they abandon their city? While Lauer won’t claim that the students will all stick around in Sderot, she does think a large number will end up settling in the surrounding villages. While the student village may be a transient population that changes every few years, Ayalim has other projects to encourage young people to put down roots in Israel’s periphery. One such initiative is “Garin,” an affordable housing project for Ayalim’s married alumni as well as other young people looking to find cheaper accommodation in return for giving back to the community.


20 • BUSINESS

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Want stress-free travel planning? Look no further than Rick Cauthen By Beth Kotzin Assistant Editor When planning a cruise, or any vacation, there are alot of details...and questions, and concerns. Sure, you can plan it on your own, but then how can you be sure you haven’t missed something crucial to your trip? If you are looking for someone to help you navigate through the cruise booking process, look no

further than Rick Cauthen, a certified travel consultant who works as an independent contactor to help you get the most out of your travel experience. Cauthen focuses mainly on cruises but also plans land travel packages as well as vacations/cruises for the LGBT community. Cauthen is unique in that he will do in home (or at work) consultations. He will come to you to help plan your trip, allowing you

to work around your schedule. This type of boutique service is unusual these days, but Cauthen is happy to provide it. “People who enjoy being taken care of, who like having someone else take care of it all...I can make it easy for them,” said Cauthen. “I provide high quality customer service.” Cauthen takes the time to listen to his clients, and find out what they are looking for from their cruise vacation, and then

plans it all for them - from plane tickets to cabin selection to excursion planning - so that the client has nothing to do but sit back and enjoy their vacation. Cauthen likens his talents to those of a Real Estate agent; he finds the right “property” for you, and that way you aren’t spending all your valuable time researching cruises and wading through the overwhelming amount of information.

He is a member of the West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance and works through the Cincinnati Cruise Vacation Specialists. The CCVS website lists the services he offers and what cruise options are available. First time cruisers to experienced sailors can all benefit from Cauthen’s hands-on approach and attention to details.

Former BBYO advisor Walter Solomon elected chair of BBYO International Board of Directors BBYO is proud to announce that Walter Solomon of Lexington, KY has been elected Chair of BBYO’s International Board of Directors. Solomon succeeds Estee Portnoy of Bethesda, MD. “Walter is not only an innovative and visionary leader with proven dedication and passion for our movement, but also a phenomenal role model for our teens: a BBYO alum who embodies the skills and values learned as a teen in the organization,” said Portnoy.

“It has been an honor to serve as Chair of the Board of BBYO for the past four years, and now I look forward to continuing to work with Walter to further BBYO’s impact.” During his twenty years in Cincinnati, Walter served as a BBYO Chapter Advisor. As a volunteer, he not only continued his commitment to BBYO, but also to Judaism by helping Jewish teens in the community experience all of the benefits of BBYO – leadership skills, self-confidence,

Jewish friends, a stronger personal identity and a sense of Jewish pride. Walter was even further involved in the Cincinnati Jewish community as he was a member of Adath Israel Synagogue and he also served as: Board Member, Vice President, Strategic Planning of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati; Board Member, President of the Board for the University of Cincinnati Hillel; Board Member, Jewish Vocational Services; and Board Member,

Rockwern Academy. Walter, who was deeply involved in BBYO as a teenager in Charleston, SC, was in Cincinnati for 20 years, the first ten years with Procter & Gamble in Marketing/Brand Management and the second ten years running privately-held start-up companies in health care and software. He is responsible for Corporate Strategy and Business Transformation at Ashland Inc. “BBYO was a formative experience that prepared me to be the

person I am today,” said Solomon. “Many of my community, business and personal relationships were fostered while in BBYO and continue decades later.” Solomon, who became a member of the BBYO International Board of Directors in 2008 and has served as its Treasurer and Vice-Chair, began his term on July 1, 2014.

The business of hiring and getting hired at Jewish non-profits By Alina Dain Sharon (JNS) – It has been six years since the economy crashed in 2008, and while finding employment has been a challenge, the tide may be taking a turn for the better—particularly in the non-profit sector. But where do Jewish non-profits fall within the current landscape, from the perspective of both job-seekers and employers? Broadly speaking, employment continues to be “a buyer’s market,” says Linda Wolfe, director of career development and placement at JVS Chicago, an affiliate agency of the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services (IAJVS). “Employers are like kids in a candy store,” she tells JNS “They have their choice [among] hundreds and hundreds of candidates.” Yet when it comes to non-profits, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a clear upward trend in “industries in the Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations subsector group establishments” since about 2011. Seasonally adjusted employment in these industries totaled 2,925,300 employees in June 2014, down from 2,964,600 in 2008. But with some fluctuation, the number of employees has been slightly rising since 2011. The unemployment rate for these industries was 4.9 percent in June 2014, up from 3.5 percent in

Courtesy of Bob Cumins

A job fair organized by the Jewish Federations of North America in 2013.

2008 but down from 2011. Statistics also show that employees in these industries are earning more per hour and working fewer hours. In May 2014, employees in this sector earned about $25.90 an hour, a significant rise from $19.57 in 2008. They also worked 30.7 hours per week this May, down from 33 hours in 2008. These findings underscore the wider growth in part-time jobs across the country. As the Wall Street Journal reported this month, while full-time jobs last plunged by 523,000 in May, part-time jobs grew by about 800,000 that month. Just 47.7 percent of adults in the U.S. are currently working full-time.

When it comes to Jewish nonprofit jobs, the job-posting JewishJobs website currently lists about 800 openings. A graph created by the service shows that 2014 has so far seen the highest number of jobsper-week advertised on the site since its inception. The number of weekly job advertisements has been on the upswing since about 2010, says Benjamin Brown, the founder and director of JewishJobs.com. Brown founded the site in 2001 while studying towards a graduate degree in American Jewish history and looking to find a job at a Jewish organization. The site eventually became a major job searching and posting resource for the Jewish com-

munity. As such, Brown emphasizes, the growth in the number of jobs advertised as shown in the graph could also be influenced by Jewish organizations’ growing awareness about the site. Nonetheless, the graph is still telling. “In 2009, when the economy took a hit, the stock market suffered and various other industries suffered, [and] the Jewish job market was no exception,” Brown tells JNS. He says that in 2009, “there was no heartbeat, the economy was dead… this [trend] just generally reflects the whole economy.” On JewishJobs organizations advertising employment tend to be Jewish federations, Jewish schools from child day care centers to preschools to high schools, Jewish community centers, American fundraising arms of overseas Jewish non-profits, local non-profits, and major advocacy organizations. About 6,000 organizations have been using the job-posting site since it was launched. When it comes to job applicants, other than graduating college students, the candidates applying for positions through the site tend to be “what I would call second career changers,” Brown says. The economy does have an effect on decisions to transition to a career in the Jewish non-profit sector, but many job-seekers also simply decide to do something they are more passionate about.

Some former employees of forprofit organizations “were [laid] off by their work or the whole department was eliminated,” and some “get burned out with the for-profit work schedule,” Brown suggests. The job market has also seen a growth in the number of applicants per opening—a trend that is evident in the Jewish non-profit sector, indicates the Joel Paul Group, a 29-yearold New York-based executive search and recruiting firm conducting national searches for entities with 501c3 non-profit status such health and human services organizations. Eighty-five percent of the agency’s work is with Jewish organizations, with searches primarily focusing on middle to upper level executives. “From 2008 to now, there has been an increase in the number of jobs available to job-seekers. But the numbers of candidates are increasing as well,” William Hochman, CEO and owner of the Joel Paul Group, tells JNS. But these days, “there are still more applicants than there are jobs out there,” he says. Hochman also points to a fallout that resulted from the recession, which forced for-profit workers like lawyers or accountants whose jobs got downsized to rebrand their skills for jobs at non-profit organizations. “One thing the recession did that might not be evident… is that while the non-profit [organizations] got

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FOOD • 21

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

A Summer Treat Zell’s Bites

by Zell Schulman With everyone out of school your refrigerator and freezer become the focus for "what's to eat" mom? Let the kids take over and allow the family to enjoy these easy favorites. They‘re perfect for a summer lunch menu.

1 Cup low fat milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder 3 ice cubes

1/2 lb ground veal Pinch of cayenne pepper to taste 1 tablespoon lemon juice Pinch of salt

4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Method

Method 1. Combine ingredients, mix well, and shape into 4-ounce oval burgers. Chill. 2. Serve on whole wheat or sour dough buns with garnishes and other accompaniments.

l. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your food processor. Process until smooth. 2. Place in a 1-1/2 quart saucepan and simmer over low heat for 3 hours.

BARBECUE SAUCE Makes 1 quart

KIWI MINT SORBET Makes one quart

This sauce is great to have in the freezer. It's spicy but good. Use it over ribs, chicken, hot dogs, fish and as a marinade for roast.

Pluck or purchase some fresh mint from your herb garden or favorite farmer’s market and prepare this cool and refreshing dessert. It freezes great.

1. Combine the yogurt, milk, malted milk powder, chocolate, syrup, and vanilla extract in the blender bowl of your food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. 2. Add the ice and blend or process until smooth. Serve immediately. SUMMER BURGERS Makes 6 burgers

B L E N D E R C H O C O L AT E MALT Makes three eight ounce drinks

Let your teenagers have a turn in the kitchen. These burgers are easy to prepare, and you can make them up ahead of time, then freeze them until you’re ready to prepare them. They can be broiled in the oven or finished on the grill.

Ingredients 1-1/2 cups vanilla nonfat frozen yogurt 1 Tablespoon chocolate- flavored syrup

Ingredients 1/2 lb ground beef, extra lean 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 lb ground turkey

CONTINUED from previous page

doing before,” he tells JNS The Joel Paul Group has helped its Jewish organizational clients hire non-Jewish candidates. “If the organization is monikered as Jewish,” says Hochman, people such as the CEO or the fundraiser will most likely be Jewish. But if someone is performing strictly internal job functions such as the head of accounting, the CFO, or the head of IT, their religion is not relevant, Hochman explains. “You want diversity,” he says. “You’re hiring people for their skill sets, except in the cases [like the CEO or fundraiser] I described.” At the same time, she says, jobseekers are realizing “that you can’t always assume that you’re going to get the exact position that you came from, so there’s a scaling down of expectations.” The Jewish federations in particular, according to Kurzweil, are not necessarily looking for candidates with specific degrees or job histories. “There’s a tremendous move in the federations towards bringing in people who are risk-takers, who are innovators,” she says. Wolfe says candidates need to take initiative to show potential employers that they understand the organization, and to explain how they intend to solve the organization’s problems. But along with that, she says they need to be prepared for a reality in which 50-year-old candidates are often being interviewed— and subsequently managed—by much younger supervisors.

decimated because donors weren’t giving as much due to recession issues, new candidates [came] into the non-profits who in the past would have gone to accounting, finance, [or] Wall Street,” he says. “Let’s say that [before the recession] there were 20 applicants for a certain job, now there can be 35, because there are transitional candidates added to the pool,” Hochman adds. On the CEO hiring level, Hochman explains, “Traditionally the non-profit organizations have taken leaders from the non-profit sector,” but in the past few years, many non-profits “have [also] hired lay leaders… people who have day jobs in the for-profit sector and are now going to be CEO of organizations such as the UJA-Federation of NY, Birthright, JFNA (Jewish Federations of North America), or the Orthodox Union.” Non-Jewish candidates are also applying for, and getting, jobs at Jewish non-profits. Stephen Moran of Malden, Mass., who is not Jewish, is currently seeking employment after he was laid off in 2011 from his position as a senior analyst at a bank. Moran has visited Israel several times and is interested in Judaism and its traditions. He is applying to jobs of different levels at a variety of organizations, including Jewish ones. “You need to reinvent yourself to earn a living if you aren’t getting [your needs met with] what you were

Ingredients 3- 8 oz cans tomato sauce 1 teaspoon cumin 1 cup cider vinegar 10 drops Tabasco sauce 4 whole bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup brown sugar 4 cloves crushed garlic 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 medium onion, grated 4 Tablespoons chili powder STUDENT from page 6 did not have a strong presence last year. The school did, however, receive significant negative attention in June after an adjunct professor made inflammatory statements in an online forum about the Holocaust and Jewish influence in academia. A Temple University spokesman initially told a Washington, D.C., media outlet that the school “promotes open discussion and expression among its diverse community of scholars. The exercise of academic freedom necessarily results in a vigorous exchange of ideas.” Temple later released a statement distancing itself from the professor, Alessio Lerro. “These statements have incited strong reaction, and rightly so,” the statement said. “The university, predictably but nonetheless inappropriately, has been painted with those statements, which were those of the speaker and not Temple.” Meanwhile, SJP distanced itself from Wednesday’s incident and asserted that the Jewish student had “harassed” its members. In a statement released over Twitter on Thursday, the group said: “A student, who is not a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, slapped a former student who was repeatedly harassing the SJP table.” “In all the years that SJP has existed at Temple, arguments have never escalated to physical confrontation. Temple SJP condemns

Method

Ingredients 3 ripe kiwis 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cups water 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon Vodka (optional) 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 1 cup heavy cream or 1 egg white

this act of physical violence, just as we condemn the violence that is committed against Palestinians by the state of Israel on a daily basis.” In the statement, SJP asserted that Vessal called its members “terrorists” and “Hamas.” The organization denied that its members used any anti-Semitic slurs. “SJP condemns and opposes anti-Semitism in all of its insidious forms, particularly when it is thinly veiled as ‘activism’ and exploits the Palestinian cause to justify its bigotry,” the statement read. Rabbi Howard Alpert, director of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, said the SJP assertion that the alleged assailant was not a member of the group is “not relevant.” The organization “needs to be held responsible for the actions of their guests and individuals at their table, whether or not they are students,” Alpert said. Temple University released a statement Thursday morning saying it was investigating the incident and that it would “not tolerate violence of any kind directed against members of the Temple community.” University officials declined to release the name of the alleged assailant, citing privacy concerns. The full Temple statement follows: “Temple University is investigating a report of an attack against a student late Wednesday afternoon. The attack is alleged to have included physical violence and antiSemitic statements and religious slurs.

Processor Method l. Peel and slice the kiwis. Set aside Mix the water and sugar together in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and you have a thick syrup. Cool to room temperature. 2. Place the sliced kiwis, orange rind, sugar, mint leaves and vodka, if using in bowl of your processor. Process 15 seconds. With machine running, pour in cooled sugar syrup. Process 5 more econds. Remove ingredients from processor bowl, and place in a metal bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 2 to 4 hours or overnight. 3. Several hours before serving, remove from the freezer and cut the frozen sorbet into smaller pieces then place back into the processor bowl and process until smooth. With machine running add the heavy cream or egg white and process until light and fluffy, about 15 to 30 seconds. Return to the freezer until ready to serve.

“As part of its investigation, Temple asks that anyone with information about the incident contact Campus Safety Services immediately at 215-204-1234. “Temple University unequivocally condemns the disparagement or assault of any person based on religion or nationality. The university will not tolerate violence of any kind directed against members of the Temple community. “In addition, university officials Wednesday night reached out to leaders of the Temple Jewish and pro-Palestinian communities to discuss the incident and a best path for moving forward.” Asked about this week’s incident and the statements made by the adjunct professor over the summer, Alpert said, “Temple university needs to take strong action to avoid that pattern of behavior becoming the reality at” the school. Alpert said he spoke with the dean of students, who told him that the police “were taking the matter seriously and still investigating.” He said “we should withhold judgment” about why the assailant has not been arrested until the investigation is completed. The rabbi added, “I think Temple University needs to consider taking a strong stance against the tendency of anti-Israelis to slide into anti-Semitism and to recognize that anti-Israelism attracts individuals who are motivated by hatred of Jews.”


22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES LEWIS, Myron, age 93, died August 7, 2014; 11 Av, 5774. WATERMAN, Leslie Stuart, age 63, died August 22, 2014; 27 Av, 5774. GLASSMANN, Gart, age 85, died August 23, 2014; 28 Av, 5774.

O BITUARIES

LEWIS, Myron Myron Lewis was born New Kensington, Pennsylvania on November 12, 1920 to Louis and Anna Lewis (nee Schwartz). When he was a boy, his family moved from Pittsburgh to Library, PA, a small town where he could not continue his studies to become a bar mitzvah, after his father lost his business during the depression. However, during his retirement he studied with Rabbi Seymour Friedman in Aventura, Florida and was bar-mitzvahed at the age of 85 at Congregation Emanu-el Israel in Greensburg, PA, in a dual service with his daughter-in-law Nina Lewis He graduated from Schenley

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High School in Pittsburgh, PA and was a navigator in the US Army Air Force during WWII. He opened the Lewis Bros men’s and boys’ clothing stores in Jeannette and Latrobe, PA after the war, in partnership with his brothers. He was a person who loved people and always greeted everyone warmly, whether family, friends, or people he regularly saw and from customers at his store to people working at restaurants or other businesses he frequented. Customers of his store would stop in to see him, to say hello, even when they did not need to purchase anything that day. The store carried a wide range of clothing for dress, casual wear, work, and sports, including hunting and fishing attire. He carried boys and men’s clothes, regular and big men’s sizes. He also carried shoes and boots for dress, casual wear, work and sports, as well as hats, gloves and belts. Once he started playing golf, he also sold golf clubs and balls, shoes, and accessories. He wanted his customers to be satisfied. All alterations were free and as fast as the customers needed them. He trained the seamstresses himself. Myron and Betty raised their family in Jeannette. He was active in the Latrobe downtown merchants association, holding the presidency for many years. He was a member of Congregation Emanu-el Israel of Greensburg, PA. He retired in 1981 and settled in Aventura, FL at Flamenco Towers, where he served as the condominium association president for 10 years. He moved to Hyatt Classic Residence in Aventura in 2005, where he continued an active life, and moved to Winston Salem, NC in 2012. He started playing golf later in life – in the 1970’s – and became a member at Lincoln Hills Country Club in Irwin, PA. Upon retirement he continued playing golf, and also started playing tennis on a regular basis

after he moved to Florida. He and Betty were avid travelers (Israel, Soviet Union/Russia, Europe, AsiaPacific, Carribean/Mexico, Latin and South Americas), ballroom dancers (recreational, not competitive), and bridge players throughout their lives. Myron Lewis, 93, loving and devoted husband of the late Betty Rae Lewis (nee Friedman) for 65 years, passed away on August 7, 2014. He was preceded in death by brothers Herbert and Manuel Lewis and sisters Gertrude Evans and Ruth Roberts. He was the loving father to and is survived by son Jon Mark Lewis (wife Nina) of Greensburg, PA, daughter Melisa Beth Lewis Levin (husband Alan) of Winston Salem, NC, and son Leonard William Lewis (wife Jennifer), the latter of Mason, OH. Loving uncle to nephew Thomas Evans (and late wife Arlene). He is also survived by grandchildren Benjamin (wife Nari) Lewis of New York, NY, Beth (husband William) Hicks of Boston, MA, Sarah Lewis of New York, NY (fiance Jason Marino), Alexis (husband Cody) Davis of Maineville, OH, and Arielle Lewis of Mason, OH, and by great niece Tara Evans (partner Kevin Klopp), 4 great grandchildren (Hannah, Erika, David, and Kira), and 2 great-great nephews (Tyler and Shane). Myron’s funeral was held Thursday August 14, 2014 at the Beth David Memorial Gardens Chapel (arranged by Levitt Weinstein Memorial Chapels), 3201 NW 72nd Ave., Hollywood, FL, 305-932-2700, services officiated by Rabbi Seymour Friedman – the same Rabbi Friedman who he studied with in preparing for his bar mitzvah. Donations in Myron’s name can be made to Congregation Emanu-el Israel of 222 North Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601.

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MIAMI from page 6 rabbi’s memorial service. The incidents raised the specter that anti-Semitism, which has been on the upswing worldwide since the start of hostilities in Israel and Gaza, is a growing risk on the sunny streets of southern Florida. The Miami-Dade Police Department has said that all indications in its investigation point to the killing as being an armed robbery gone wrong, and Jewish communal officials have praised the police handling of the matter. Still, the murder has placed the Jewish community on edge. “A lot of people are convinced that this is a hate crime,” said Mark Rosenberg, a local resident and a chaplain for the Florida Highway Patrol. As a result, local Jewish organizations have intensified their focus on security. In a joint statement by the AntiDefamation League, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the American Jewish Committee, the Greater Miami Rabbinical Association and Chabad, local leaders said they were refocusing on coordinating security with police, increasing security training and greater public awareness. A spokesman for the Chabad community of North Miami Beach also told JTA that local institutions were hiring additional armed security guards and planning to install more security cameras. “For decades, institutions in South America and Europe have been hardened, meaning bollards in front of their doors or large cement planters or guards or volunteer groups that provide neighborhood watch services,” said the federation’s Solomon. “Climatically, we are definitely

HELLFIRE from page 7 from the diplomatic relationship,” the official added. “The claim that [the administration] is making, that this is the normal thing that happens when countries request arms in the middle of a conflict, is simply false.” Obama himself has weighed in on separating diplomatic disagreements with military cooperation relating to Israel. “Even while we may at times disagree, as friends sometimes will,” Obama said during his remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s policy conference in 2011, “the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable and the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel is ironclad.” Despite the less-than-perfect relationship between Israeli politi-

moving in that direction.” Solomon also noted that while there were anti-Semitic overtones to some local protests of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, the protests generally were small, isolated events. Crime is also nothing new to the residents of North Miami Beach. “North Miami Beach in particular is open to neighborhoods that are not good neighborhoods,” said Rabbi Phineas Weberman, a chaplain with the Miami-Dade Police Department. According to statistics compiled on City-Data.com, the rate of rapes, assaults and robberies in the city of North Miami Beach, which covers part of the area’s heavily Jewish neighborhood, have all been significantly higher than the national average for more than a decade. Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police, which protects the rest of the neighborhood, said the district had been “an active area” for shootings in 2014. For now, daily life has resumed, but with a fearful edge. CBS 4 Miami reported that on the most recent Sabbath, residents walked to synagogue in clusters for safety. The local community has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Raksin’s two assailants, who remain at large. “From a Jewish perspective, from a moral perspective, of course a hate crime makes a huge difference,” Rosenberg said. “But from a safety perspective, for a residential neighborhood, it doesn’t really matter. You don’t want to live in a neighborhood where people get shot.”

cians and the U.S. executive branch, Congress has never been more closely allied with Israel’s concerns—it recently passed legislation to grant $225 million in emergency funds to replenish Israel’s stockpile of Iron Dome defense system missiles. “A lot of people are blowing [the Hellfire issue] out of proportion in my opinion,” said Marvin Klemow, former vice president of Israel Aerospace Industries in its Washington, D.C., office. “So there’s an extra review. OK. The question is: Are they going to be delivered or not going to be delivered, and when? “I think it’s an attempt to stir the teapot,” Klemow told JNS. “I think the Hellfires will eventually be delivered [to Israel]. It’s not the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last, but in the end I believe the United States government will supply the missiles to Israel.”


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