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Scottsdale rabbi NCJW’s ‘Ruth Place’ is finally here singled out in email blaming Jews ‘for everything evil N in this world’ SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

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ongregation Or Tzion Rabbi Andy Green arrived in his Scottsdale office last Friday morning to discover an email with the subject line “HITLER WAS RIGHT RABBI GREEN.” The body of the email was filled with vile antisemitic slurs blaming Jews “for everything evil in this world” and claiming “Zionist Jews control everything from the courts to the banks to the media.”

The email’s sender demanded that Green contact a district court judge in Utah and “convince your servant” to drop a charge against him. He referenced a court case number, included also in the subject line, and the name of the judge. “If you do not use your influence to right this wrong I will execute you and every other JEW (sic) I can find tonight at midnight of your Sabbath.”

The email, which was also sent to Or Tzion’s cantor, Dannah Rubinstein, but landed in her spam folder, was signed “Shalom, Viktor Sitkevicz” and provided an address in Tempe should Green wish to communicate further.

Initially, Green wasn’t worried when he read the email, he told Jewish News.

“We all are aware that there are folks who buy into conspiracy theories and clearly this individual thought that I, through my ‘magic rabbi power,’ could influence a court case in Utah, which I have no relationship to, nor have I ever lived in, that jurisdiction,” Green said.

However, because the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tracks antisemitic incidents he contacted Sarah Kader, ADL Arizona’s community manager. Upon reading the email, Kader immediately contacted law enforcement, including the FBI, Tempe Police SEE RABBI, PAGE 2 Department and Maricopa County

early five years after Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego first approached Civia Tamarkin, president of the National Council of Jewish Women Arizona (NCJW AZ), about the need for more trauma-informed care for sexual abuse survivors, Ruth Place — the result of that long-ago conversation — is finally operational.

NCJW AZ established Ruth Place just as it helped in the founding of other Greater Phoenix institutions such as Jewish Family and Children’s Services, the Child Crisis Center and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Gallego, Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, Arizona State Rep. Laura Terech, Scottsdale City Council members Tammy Caputi and Solange Pictured from left: Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, National Whitehead gathered with Tamarkin Council of Jewish Women Arizona President Civia Tamarkin and Ruth Place Program Director and Ruth Place supporters to cut Camea Peca.

COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS the ribbon on the new center, which is housed in three rooms at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church.

Rev. Jamie Booth, the church’s pastor, has been looking for ways to help the wider community, she told Jewish News.

SEE RUTH PLACE, PAGE 3

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American Jews are giving mightily to Israel. Is there enough left to go around?

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2023 Phoenix Jewish News Print Dates

Congregation Or Tzion Rabbi Andy Green was invited to give the invocation at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

Green is pictured with District 2 Supervisor Thomas Galvin, left.

COURTESY OF RABBI ANDY GREEN

January 6 January 20 February 3 February 17 March 10 March 24 March 31 April 7 April 21 May 5 May 19 June 9 July 14 August 4 August 18*

about her Judaism with her fellow council members and speaking out for her rights Phoenix Jewish leaders who attended a and beliefs. march Washington, D.C., in support of She inalready has some practice at Israel and freeing the hostages, and against advocating for herself. antisemitism.

“One time, I was in class and someone “Theme story not about Thehim story is called theisR-word andme.

I told not that thereteacher is antisemitism ourhallway community to. The was ininthe and that has student been exacerbated since Oct.she 7, another repeated the word,” that arethan feeling vulnerable, and that said.Jews Rather letting the situation go, we that our partners in able law she are toldfortunate her theater teacher, who was enforcement to intervene.and the agencies that address antisemitism are doing the right saying things “If someone has a all disability, to us safe,” Green said.the F-word,” thekeep R-word is like saying “Wesaid. have no tolerance for those who Stern send threatening communications to While performing in the musical Jewish faith leaders or toanother any other people “Hairspray,” she had occasion in States Attorney to America,” tangle withsaid theUnited offensive word, which Gary Restaino a press release. The U.S. appears in the in script.

Attorney’s Office,bad District of Arizona will “That’s really and my friend said handle Mindock’s prosecution. it on stage.

I was not OK with that, so I “The and ourand lawtold enforcement went to FBI the director her it was partners must people make a bad word for take people with who disabilities, threats their word anditintervene, because but sheatwouldn’t take out,” Stern said. protecting human life know is ourabout absolute She let her mother the priority,” said they Chadwere Alvarado, special conflict and able acting to convince agent in charge theneed FBI’stoPhoenix the director of of the removefield the office. word from the script.

Green said there is good an “My friend Al was next news to meand when important for the community I told thelesson director andJewish he gave me the in this story.

There a period our biggest hug ever andwas said that heinloved country’s history when lawSadly, enforcement me so much,” Stern said.

Al died wouldn’t haveon come the2021. aid of a rabbi, in a car crash Oct.to24, and “as much as weit’smake “That was hard; very comparisons hard to get to the sense insecurity thatvery we upset,” as Jews emotions outofand I was very, in are feeling right now, this sheAmerica said. is On onethe more example of how different recent anniversary of his death, things thana from my Stern are made cake the andGermany took it that to the grandmother crash site. fled. Instead of rounding up Jews, law enforcement “I don’t know howis Idoing did everything it without necessary and its myself,” power toshe ensure crying. I’m so within proud of said. myAmy and Hummell, the safety of other Jews in our executive director of JN community,” he said.

Gesher Disability Resources, agreed that Stern is a good fit for ADDPC because To an antisemitic incident, go to adl.org/ of report her ability to self-advocate. report-incident Hummell. co-hosted a book event with Meyers a few years ago for “My

SOPHIE STERN

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August 25 September 1 September 8 September 15 October 6 October 13** October 20 November 3 November 10 November 17 December 1 December 15

Sheriff’s Office. They reached out to Green and let him know that Jeffrey Mindock, the email’s actual sender and Tempe resident, has made death threats before without acting on them, “which is somewhat comforting,” Green said.

A few key staf f members of the Conservative congregation and its security team were apprised of the situation, and Green did not lead the Friday night service.

Fortunately, he had already been scheduled to spend the evening with his family, so nobody was surprised by his absence.

Not wanting to cause unnecessary alarm, the message was not shared more widely until after Mindock was taken into custody, something Green found out Saturday morning.

Green felt that the news of Mindock’s arrest made the Saturday morning service *Best of Magazine less tense for those few who were aware **Annual of the situation. He added howDirectory grateful he is to law enforcement, “the hero of this story, as well as the ADL, the Jewish Community Relations Council and all the WWW.JEWISHAZ.COM

other organizations that we are blessed said JoninMeyers, director of ADDPC. to have place that support our Arizona “Our hope is to create and promote Jewish community.” opportunities for people He is also grateful for to allbe ofembraced, the “love become part of the community and encouragement” he’s receivedand fromfind his equitable opportunities wherever they congregation, which “is deeply heartening.” might live,” “With the he warsaid. in Israel, we’re seeing a Meyers first came to know Stern dramatic increase in antisemitism across the through her mother, Amy Silverman, who country and Arizona is not immune. ADL read her to personal about raising is so glad provideessays support to our Jewisha daughter with Down syndrome on KJZZ, community professionals, institutions and National Public Phoenix for affiliate synagogues andRadio’s we’re grateful our station. relationships with law enforcement, so wastogether so captivated bythe theJewish essays weMeyers can work to keep that he reached out to Silverman, and the community safe,” Kader told Jewish News. two became friends.

Green is in the public eye and has been That’srecently how Stern firstNews learned the quoted in Jewish andofother open council seat, but there’s no doubt news articles. Two days before receiving she earned hergave position, Meyers said. the email, he the invocation at the To become a council Stern Maricopa County Board member, of Supervisors. had to apply and demonstrate that she He’s also visibly Jewish and wears had his somethingeverywhere valuable tohe contribute, said. yarmulke goes andhe knows “She’s on “people the council because that there are who might wantshe to deserves to be on the council,” he said. harm me because of it,” he said.

Stern is creating a life andscary career “In some ways, it’s a sad, timeastoa member of her community, which makes be Jewish right now,” he said. her a great addition.

Still, most of the comments he’s received since Hamas’ deadly attack Oct. 7 have Stern graduated fromonMcClintock been supportive.

Thisand incident Highpositive Schooland in Tempe last year now has not cowed himCommunity into being someone attends Glendale College, other who has always with athan focus onhedance.

She been. is a regular “This is not to Company change theTheatre, way that performer at going Detour Ia am,” he said.

As farcompany as his social Scottsdale theatre for media adults posting goes, “I’m already as careful and as I with intellectual, developmental am likelydisabilities. to remain. I’m not certain what physical ledIn this particular to threaten me fact, when individual Stern attended her first but I don’t think in that being quiet as Jews council meeting January, she couldn’t has stopped waitever to tell peopleantisemitism.” of her involvement with The same day heinformation received the threat, Detour and share about its Green attended an event at the Arizona upcoming shows.

State Housenohonoring “There’s questionthe that240 she hostages is going kidnapped Hamas. A few days later, he to thrive,”byMeyers said.

“She’s very participated hispassionate congregation’s regular gregarious in and about the baking event for refugees. things that matter to her.” On Nov. 14, heStern was also among a number of insights Greater looks forward to sharing

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TORAH COMMENTARY ............. 15 TORAH COMMENTARY ................. 12 SPECIAL SECTION: SPECIAL SECTION: HOME SERVICES ...................... 16 CAMP & SCHOOL ............................. 13 SPECIAL SECTION: SPECIAL SECTION: CHARITABLE GIVING .................18 HOME DESIGN & COMMUNITY 21 REAL ESTATE............................... .....................................16 Community SPECIAL SECTION: Calendar WEDDINGS .......................................... 17 Milestones

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Sophie Stern at her high school graduation in 2022 COURTESY OF SOPHIE STERN

Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love and Down Syndrome,” Silverman’s book about her daughter.

When Gesher’s speakers’ bureau, Damon Brooks & Associates, was asked to find a speaker about Down syndrome for an event this spring, Hummell first asked Silverman to speak, thinking Stern might be too young.

They decided instead that Stern should tell her own story; it’s a real bonus that she is not afraid of public speaking.

“It’s not the same when someone tries to tell a person’s story for them,” Hummell said.

Additionally, helping people with disabilities find jobs was one of the reasons for acquiring the bureau. Unemployment in the disability community is upwards *Best of Magazine of 75% and of that percentage, 75% are ready, willing and able to work — but **Annual Directory haven’t been given the opportunity, Hummell said.

“People have it in them to speak up but WWW.JEWISHAZ.COM don’t know how, and often they’re not cheered on. Sophie has family support

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HEADLINES RUTH PLACE

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“Ruth Place fits the bill,” she said.

Ortega called Ruth Place “faith in action.”

Ruth Place offers a self-contained program with “a beginning, a middle and an end” that allows traumatized people of every gender “to develop the tools and the resilience that will enable them to grow beyond that trauma,” Tamarkin said.

In researching treatment methods, Tamarkin talked to many therapists before turning to the Arizona Trauma Institute (ATI), a continuing education provider for trauma sensitivity training. Dr. Camea Peca, Ruth Place’s program director and designer, is also a staff member of ATI. Peca got her start working with children but more recently, she also worked as a trauma therapist for families experiencing sexual abuse.

“Children have the advantage of greater neuroplasticity, while adults have built ‘old wiring’ to protect themselves as well as evolving certain behavioral patterns, something that’s completely normal and understandable,” Peca told Jewish News.

However, using an “empowerment model, whatever you can wire in, you can wire out.”

Ruth Place is not a medical program and thus is not covered by health insurance. The eight-week program costs $600 per person, but “nobody will ever be turned away for lack of money,” Peca said. It operates on a sliding scale and donors sponsor, or pay for, participants who can’t afford it.

The course of salutogenic-based trauma recovery, a focus on identifying a person’s strengths and how to improve their wellbeing, will teach participants self-regulation techniques, as well as how to recognize patterns they’ve developed to manage stress.

“We are not providing therapy or focusing on what’s wrong, but focusing on what’s right and building those skills in a community of people,” Peca said. A pilot group of five people had its first of eight sessions on Tuesday, Oct. 31, the day before the ribbon-cutting event. Peca intends to keep groups to a maximum of six people.

Ruth is Hebrew for compassionate friend, which is why the name Ruth Place was chosen, Tamarkin said. She spoke of the “five arduous, very difficult years” it took to open this “labor of love.” Through difficult moments when it seemed it would never come together, she believed that “if we build it, they will come.”

The Cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale will both refer patients to Ruth Place, Gallego and Ortega told Jewish News.

Phoenix has made investments and upgrades to its family advocacy center, but “some women don’t want to be at a government facility,” said Gallego, who is also a private donor to Ruth Place. This space “feels like being in a living room, and it’s easier to heal when you’re in a beautiful environment with a lot of support services.

This is a magical place.”

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which serves as the fiscal agent, but the two are accounted for separately.

Tamarkin estimated Ruth Place would need approximately $450,000 each year, and it has raised about half of the first year’s funding, though she expects things to go more quickly now that there is an actual program in place.

“It’s difficult to raise money for an idea on paper,” she told Jewish News. Now, Ruth Place’s development team is able to apply for family foundation grants and government funding. Tamarkin hopes to see 50-80 people enter the program in the next year.

After Wednesday’s ribbon cutting, she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, and “so is my husband,” she laughed.

In praise of Tamarkin and NCJW AZ’s effort, Gallego said, “Some organizations talk, this one acts.”

The Jewish mayor pointed out current challenges with antisemitism and said it’s significant that the words “Jewish Women” are part of an organization “that welcomes men and people of all faiths. It’s a very diverse group that made this happen.”

Tamarkin seconded the point, saying Ruth Place’s represents NCJW AZ’s founding value of tikkun olam. “Ruth Place will repair lives, across diverse communities and all across the Valley” in a time with “unspeakable horrors and human suffering in Israel and in Gaza, and an unprecedented time of flagrant hate and antisemitism.”

Allie Bones, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Jewish former chief of staff, was also recognized on Wednesday for the role she played in building the idea for Ruth Place.

“I planted a seed,” Bones told Jewish News. “It’s very exciting and I’m very proud to see this come to fruition.”

Rev. Katie Sexton-Wood, executive director of Arizona Faith Network, Rabbi Andy Green, spiritual leader of Congregation Or Tzion, and Paul Rockower, executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, were also in attendance on Wednesday. Both Green and Rockower are personal donors to Ruth Place. JN For more information, visit ruthplaceaz.org

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Cornell professor and Arizona superintendent discuss the ‘campus antisemitism crisis’ MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

P

rofessor William A. Jacobson, who is Jewish, believes that rising antisemitism on college campuses has been more than a decade in the making due to the “racialization” happening on the country’s universities.

Jacobson, a clinical professor of law and director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell University in New York, will share his thoughts in a panel discussion, “Campus Antisemitism Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here?” on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Tefillah in Scottsdale. Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne will also be on the panel and Rabbi Pinchas Allouche will moderate.

“When I left private law practice and joined Cornell in 2007, I began to realize that everything was being presented as an anti-colonial struggle — white Israel versus nonwhite Palestinians,” said Jacobson.

“I covered a lot of the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement in the earlier years. I began to notice everything was being reframed around racial lines, oppressor versus oppressed and Jews were being left on the side because Jews, inaccurately, were the white oppressor.”

He explained that in 2020, Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack imposed an “anti-racism initiative” on campus; Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” was suggested summer reading for the whole university.

“What happened post George Floyd at Cornell, and elsewhere, is now everything from an administrative mandate level is viewed through a racial lens,” said Jacobson. “So, whereas you had students for Justice in Palestine and other groups trying to racialize the dispute, now you have the entire campus focused on race and I think that’s the accelerant, and the spark was what just happened.”

Since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that antisemitic incidents across the United States are up 388% over the same period last year and several universities have documented a rise in antisemitic activity lately.

“Jewish students at Cornell were shocked that there were actually people marching in support of Hamas, and Cornell became a particular hot spot,” said Jacobson.

On Oct. 15, Russell Rickford, a history professor at Cornell, said at a pro-

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Palestinian rally that he was “exhilarated”

by Hamas’ attack on Israel. He later issued an apology for his choice of words. In 2017, during a “kneel-in” event in support of professional athletes and students fighting against racism, Rickford led a “Free Palestine” chant, which had nothing to do with the topic of the demonstration.

Another incident occurred at Cornell on Oct. 29, when police were called to the school’s kosher dining hall after antisemitic posts were made on Greekrank, a site that students use to rate fraternities and sororities. The post included threats to “shoot up” the building and kill and rape Jewish students.

On Oct. 31, Patrick Dai, 21, from Pittsford, New York, was arrested and charged with posting threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications, a federal charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. At his hearing on Nov. 1, he did not enter a plea.

In a statement issued Nov. 1, Pollack said, “We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell; indeed we will not tolerate hatred of any form, including racism or Islamophobia.” She also stated an “enhancement to the prominence of our attention to antisemitism in our diversity and equity programming.”

“Why is there this need whenever you mention the current issue, which is the gross antisemitism sweeping campuses in the world, why do you have to throw Islamophobia in there? It makes no sense,” said Jacobson. “This administration does not understand the problem. It has imposed a massive DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) structure on the campus.

And rather than reexamining whether that DEI structure is making things worse, they said, we’ll tweak it a little and add something on antisemitism. Why wasn’t it there to begin with? That’s the problem.”

Horne shares similar sentiments. In addition to being superintendent, he sits on the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing board for the state’s public universities. He questioned how college students are getting their viewpoints and plans to address antisemitism at the next Board of Regents meeting.

“Polling is showing that people over 24 are very strongly supportive of Israel and people under 24 are not,” he said.

“So, they’re not getting it from their parents. They must be getting it from

JEWISH NEWS

William A. Jacobson, left, and Tom Horne.

COURTESY OF WILLIAM A. JACOBSON AND TOM HORNE

professors, and I’d like to find out if we can. For a teacher or a professor to use the captive audience of a classroom to push their personal ideology is unprofessional conduct.”

Antisemitic activity is not only happening on college campuses. Horne held a press conference on Nov. 8 to address an incident that occurred at Shadow Mountain High School in Scottsdale during a joint meeting of the student-led clubs sponsored by Amnesty International and UNICEF discussing the war in Gaza. A presentation by students in both clubs accused Israel of human rights violations, illegal occupation and apartheid.

At the press conference, Horne talked about his Judaism publicly, sharing that he lost many family members during the Holocaust. He also referenced his email to all public-school superintendents that stated the presentations during the club meeting were “one-sided propaganda in favor of Hamas terrorists, which caused antisemitism at an Arizona high school, and you may wish to have them, and their clubs, off your campuses.”

“My role, in respect to K-12 schools, is to alert the local superintendents to avoid allowing these things on their campuses,” said Horne.

Horne is addressing these issues in hopes of removing antisemitism on high school and college campuses in Arizona, but Jacobson wasn’t so optimistic about Ivy League universities.

“I’m very pessimistic that these elite colleges can be saved as regards to Jewish students because the faculty is so endemically hostile to Israel and Israel is important to the significant majority of Jewish students,” said Jacobson. “I don’t know that it can be salvaged at this point. I know that sounds very pessimistic, but I’m (being) realistic.” JN For more information, visit bethtefillahaz.org/ event/campus-antisemitism-crisis.html.

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Jewish candidate for congress says he’s ‘part of a legacy’ SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

A

ndrei Cherny, grandson of Holocaust survivors, is one of several Democrats vying for the opportunity to turn Arizona’s first congressional district from red to blue next fall, something that came close to happening in 2022 when Democrat Jevin Hodge lost to veteran congressman Republican David Schweikert by less than a percentage point.

Cherny, who led Arizona’s Democratic Party a little more than a decade ago, brings years of political experience to his campaign and is confident that when the primary votes are counted next August, he will be the winner. He has already been endorsed by elected Arizona Democrats Kelli Butler and Mitzi Epstein, among others.

At the moment, Cherny faces such primary opponents as Marlene GalánWoods, a former TV news reporter, former Republican and widow of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods; Arizona House Rep. Amish Shah (LD24); and Conor O’Callaghan, someone new to politics but with a strong quarter of fundraising.

“There’s a reason that local leaders are coming to our campaign and giving us support, whether it’s volunteers, donors or people jumping in to offer their endorsement,” Cherny told Jewish News.

Cherny, an active member of Paradise Valley’s Temple Solel, inherited an interest in politics from his immigrant parents, who fled Czechoslovakia shortly after the Soviets invaded in 1968 in an effort to crack down on political reforms in the country.

As a teenager, Cherny’s mother left Prague to live on a kibbutz in Israel for a time but returned for college where she met and married his father, who became Prague’s first bar mitzvah after the end of World War II. “My parents refused to spy and

Andrei Cherny poses with his family at his son’s bar mitzvah at Temple Solel in Paradise Valley.

inform on people they knew in the arts community, so they were shown the door,” Cherny said. Cherny was born and raised in the United States in “a typical immigrant household,” where his parents worked hard, with sometimes three or four jobs between them. His father was a public school teacher and union member, and Cherny was raised on Democratic politics.

“It really felt that I was part of a legacy and something larger than myself, and it gave me an appreciation for America and the opportunities we have here with democracy and freedom that I might not have had otherwise,” he said.

That belief has stuck with him and the main driver of his campaign is defeating threats to democracy and freedom — “whether it’s the freedom to have the right to choose, the freedom to choose

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COURTESY OF ANDREI CHERNY

Andrei Cherny stands in front of his campaign office.

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what books you read or freedom from what happened on Jan. 6,” he said.

“Over the past few years, I would get these phone calls from my mother, who was watching CNN and saying this all looks so familiar to her,” he said.

Temple Solel is planning a spring trip to Liberec, a city in the Czech Republic, where congregants will visit the city’s one synagogue, now rebuilt after being destroyed during Kristallnacht. Cherny’s mother, grandmother and aunt were members of the synagogue, “an amazing story connected to the Czech Torah scroll on loan to Temple Solel, through the Westminster Torah Scroll Trust,” said Solel Rabbi John Linder.

“Judaism is a core part of the Cherny family’s identity,” Linder told Jewish News. Both Cherny and his wife, Stephanie, are involved in the temple’s religious school and Stephanie is a member of Solel’s board. “In our building, Andrei is Ben and Belle’s father, with a humble presence and always stepping up to be of service.”

Cherny, who is a strong supporter of Israel, believes he will be a better representative of the district than Schweikert, “who’s just been invisible,” he said. Should he win, he intends to “hear the voices — not just of Democrats but the entire district — whether people voted for me or not,” he said.

Cherny uses X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to criticize the politics of Schweikert, who voted three times to elect the Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan as the Speaker of the House. Cherny posted, “You

know the old saying: Birds of a Trumpobeying, election-denying, abortionbanning, ethically-challenged feather flock together.”

It’s Mark Kelly, the staid Arizona senator, who is a role model for his campaign. “He’s a strong Democrat, but somebody who can also reach across party lines. I think that’s the right kind of approach to winning this district and also serving it,” Cherny said.

On the other hand, he has little approbation for Arizona’s senior senator, Krysten Sinema, whom he ran against in 2012 for Arizona’s 9th congressional district. He lost that race, but emphasized “we tried to warn people then that she wasn’t fighting for what Democrats believed and was every Republican’s favorite Democratic state legislator.”

He views next fall’s election as “a team effort and just because one Democrat believes something, doesn’t mean that somebody else is going to believe all the same things,” he said.

“We need to elect more pro-Israel Democrats, too,” Cherny said. “I was always very taken with the idea of tikkun olam and the obligations that we have, as Jews, to help heal the world and to finish God’s work.”

Cherny has not won a political race but got an early taste of national politics while he was at Harvard University. He wrote in praise of then-President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign, articles that found their way to the White House where some of Cherny’s lines were used in Clinton’s 1997 inaugural address.

Cherny was arguably the youngest

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HEADLINES LOCAL presidential speechwriter in American history when he was hired by the Clinton White House and a few years later, he did the same work for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. Cherny also practiced law as a financial fraud prosecutor and as Arizona’s assistant attorney general. In 2013, he co-founded and headed Aspiration, Inc., an online financial company he developed after helping Senator Elizabeth Warren launch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and after getting a bird’s eye view of “the inherent problem with big banks’ business models,” he said.

“We created fair financial options for people: accounts that didn’t have overdraft fees, late fees and ser vice fees; we took on big oil by helping our customers move billions of dollars away from being used to finance oil drilling and pipelines, as well as gun manufacturers,” he said.

Cherny said he is asked frequently, “sometimes with the tone of surprise,” why he wants to run for office in such a polarized political climate.

All of the vitriol he will invariably face is worth it to him because he believes “we’re at a moment of existential threat for our democracy, freedoms and for our planet.” Looking around, he worries that many politicians are “there solely for the performance,” so he is anxious to fill the leadership vacuum they’ve created and work to improve the lives of his constituents. More than “getting on cable news or trending on social media” he wants “to roll up his sleeves and get things done,” he said. JN

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JEWISH NEWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

7

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To teach the Holocaust is to honor the legacy of its victims and survivors SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

D

ozens of teachers listened to filmmaker Roberta Grossman speak on Oct. 24 about her 2018 award-winning documentary, “Who Will Write Our History” and why she labored for eight years on a film about Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.

“Sometimes my friends roll their eyes and say, ‘Oh God, not another Holocaust film,’ and my retort is, ‘Have there been six million films?’ Even that isn’t enough, since it doesn’t count the survivors.

Everybody has a story,” said Grossman, who has made several Holocaust-related films.

“Who Will Write Our History” tells the story of the Oyneg Shabes (the Joys of Shabbat), the codename for a group of writers and scholars imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, who both smuggled reports of atrocities to the outside world and documented their lives and culture rather than let the Nazis tell it or risk their history being forgotten altogether.

“The reason we’re all here is that we don’t want to forget these people; we want to honor their legacy and memory,” Grossman told her packed audience at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society (AZJHS) on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The Oyneg Shabes created an archive of eyewitness accounts, drawings and poems from daily life in the ghetto. They sealed thousands of pages in containers, including metal milk cans, which they buried beneath buildings just before the ghetto was burned and nearly all of its occupants murdered. Grossman wears a necklace with a milk can pendant in honor of the archive.

Before Grossman’s presentation, about 75 teachers of the Holocaust spent most of Tuesday at Phoenix’s Burton Barr Central Library for the annual Murray and Sabina Zemel z”l Educator Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide. The free conference is open to all who teach grades six to 12 and aims to help Arizona teachers build programs, develop curricula and share what works when it comes to teaching the grim but profound history.

Carla Fuja and Gabriela Herdocia, teachers at Safford High School in Southern Arizona, said the conference had given them a lot of good information they intend to use.

This is Fuja’s first year teaching the material and she was especially impressed

by the Holocaust survivors who told their stories earlier in the day.

“Knowing that there are still so many survivors who are willing to come and speak to the students is awesome,” she said.

Herdocia was also impressed by the survivors and is anxious to have them come to her classroom. She has taught the Holocaust before in Florida but never benefited from a survivor’s living testimony. Being able to talk and work with Fuja as they navigate such a difficult subject will also be helpful, Herdocia said.

Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School teacher Ashley Crose has been teaching the Holocaust to sophomores, juniors and seniors for several years and is a teacher fellow with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). Crose presented at Tuesday’s conference and shared curricula resources with his fellow teachers from the USHMM. He has also found that the testimony of survivors is beneficial to the students, which is why he had already scheduled a survivor to come to his class the next day.

Lori Redman teaches American and world history at Chandler High School and next year, she’ll introduce a Holocaust and genocide studies course, which will be the first of its kind in the school district.

Barry and Barbara Zemel fund the teacher’s conference in honor of Barry’s parents — his mother, Sabina, was a Holocaust survivor. Additional funding is provided by the Phoenix Holocaust Association and Arizona State University’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies. Other partners include ASU Jewish Studies, the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix, Phoenix Public Library, Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University and AZJHS. A grant from the Helios Education Foundation goes toward paying for substitutes for teachers who attend the conference, according to Jacob Flaws, who heads ASU’s World War II studies master’s program and chairs the conference’s planning committee.

“This is the second year that the conference has been presented under the auspices of ASU and I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Sheryl Bronkesh, PHA president. “We had outstanding speakers this year and a robust cadre of teacher attendees.”

Roberta Grossman speaks at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

Charlotte Adelman, center, shares her tale of surviving the Holocaust while Tony Fusco, left, and Adelman's son, Marc, right, look on.

COURTESY OF PHOENIX HOLOCAUST ASSOCIATION

Arizona teachers at a daylong conference about Holocaust education.

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NOVEMBER 17, 2023

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COURTESY OF PHOENIX HOLOCAUST ASSOCIATION

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HEADLINES LOCAL The day of the conference, the MartinSpringer Institute brought its traveling exhibit, “Through the Eyes of Youth: Life and Death in the Bedzin Ghetto,” for attendees to familiarize themselves with before installing it at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, where it will be displayed Oct. 26-Nov. 14.

Redman is working with MartinSpringer to bring the same exhibit to Chandler’s students in February after being installed at Chandler Center for the Arts.

“It was a huge hit with the kids and teachers last year, but we want to open it up to the community first because it’s the type of exhibit a lot of people have never had the opportunity to see,” Redman said.

Redman, who is Jewish, said many of her students come in with limited knowledge of the Holocaust. When they are made aware of what people their age went through, “they’re just amazed,” she said.

Resistance was the theme of the Oct. 24 conference, which she liked because it’s something Redman’s students always ask about: “Why didn’t the Jews fight back?”

“Resistance is not just physical fighting,” Redman tells them. “It’s music, it’s love, the fact that people got married,

1948

had babies, studied Hebrew, celebrated, created art and kept living. That’s all resistance and it’s huge.”

Grossman’s film comes with teaching materials that many teachers expressed interest in using in their classrooms.

Redman has even used some of the material from the Oyneg Shabes’ archive.

She uses it to demonstrate historical perspective, empathy and why it’s key to hear from the victims and survivors themselves, which can be difficult for her students, “who are 14 and 15 and can’t always put themselves in somebody else’s shoes,” she said.

Robin LaCor te, the Holocaust education program coordinator for Martin-Springer, brought teachers from Flagstaff to the conference and set up the traveling exhibit.

“Every time one of these trainings occurs, we touch more people, and even if the same people are here again, every single time their knowledge gets deeper and their passion for the subject becomes more intense,” she said.

All of the organizations who were part of the day are “building a community of educators,” she said. “It just feels like there’s this cohesive community coming together.” JN

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COURTESY THE JEWISH NEWS IN LONDON AND THE JERUSALEM POST

‘Jews worldwide haven’t been this fearful in living memory’ Jewish media outlets worldwide call for combating the surge in antisemitism JEWISH NEWS IN LONDON AND THE JERUSALEM POST

T

wo decades ago, the former British Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, astutely likened antisemitism to a constantly evolving virus. One that, in the modern era, specifically targets the Jewish nation-state.

He aptly described this prejudice as a deeply ingrained malignancy, perpetually lingering beneath the surface of society.

For many of us in the global Jewish community, the great man’s words were not merely a statement of truth but also

a stark reminder. Until recent days, the extent and intensity of this virulent strain of hatred were tragically underestimated.

While the need for stringent security measures at schools and synagogues has long been a familiar reality, the realization that such profound levels of hatred and indifference to the threat exist on a global scale has been a devastating shock.

We dared to hope such malevolence had been relegated to the annals of history.

Today, in an unprecedented moment in

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Jewish history, we unite as Jewish news outlets spanning borders, continents and religious affiliations to issue this open letter — something we never envisioned as necessary or even conceivable.

The events of recent weeks have surpassed even the somber portrayal offered

by Rabbi Sacks all those years ago. Some of those who propagate hatred, concealing their prejudice under the veneer of being ‘anti-Israel,’ no longer find it necessary to obscure their malice.

We’ve witnessed raw hatred against Jews in cities across the globe.

In Dagestan, a mob ran towards planes on a runway to check passengers’ passports, hunting for disembarking Jews.

In Sydney, when authorities lit the famous Opera House in Israel’s colors, a crowd sang ‘Gas the Jews.’

In Lyon, France, a woman was stabbed at her home, and a Swastika was spraypainted on her front door.

In London, red paint was daubed on Jewish school doors and the Wiener Holocaust Library.

In Berlin, Magen Davids have been spray painted on homes, a haunting echo of scenes in that German city 90 years ago.

On campuses across the United States,

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‘martyrs’ who butchered Jewish children in their beds on Oct. 7 are being celebrated, while a student at Cornell University was arrested for posting death threats against Jews.

This is not a call for two states living side by side in peace. This is not legitimate opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu and his government How could we have been so blind to this malignancy in our midst?

And yet, all that we have seen so far isn’t even our worst fear. Our gravest concerns lie in what the future may hold.

Meanwhile, some world leaders act as cheerleaders, sometimes inadvertently but at other times, not. Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro said: “If I had lived in Germany of 1933, I would have fought on the side of the Jewish people, and if I had lived in Palestine in 1948, I would have fought on the Palestinian side.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Hamas is not a terrorist organization.”

The head of the UN Antonio Guterres said 7/10 “didn’t happen in a vacuum.”

No, it didn’t, Mr Guterres. It required decades of indoctrination, years of holding up terrorists as heroes to be lionized, a sure way to fame and, often, fortune, JEWISHAZ.COM

HEADLINES LOCAL and the presence of a terrorist organization whose central aim is to wipe Israel — and every one of our a Jewish family and friends — off the face of the earth.

Have no doubt, that Hamas is cheering those ‘from the river to the sea’ chants because a Palestine between the river to the sea leaves not a single inch for Israel.

Why do so many still seek to deny what’s in Hamas’ own charter?

And why are so many good people still silent when cheerleaders for terrorists decide the worst massacre of our coreligionists since the Holocaust is a good moment to open up a second, global front targeting Jews on campus, at work, on the streets and at home?

Clearly not everyone marching under the Palestinian flag fantasizes about our deaths or the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.

But please, try to understand that whether it’s one person, 100 people, or 10,000, the chilling impact of seeing so many people echo and excuse hateful chants is profound.

It’s not easy to speak on behalf of Jews in one country, never mind the world, nor do we purport to. As journalists, we report, opine and comment. But the level of fear among our readers is like nothing in memory. It feels like those two equilateral triangles that combine to

form our beloved Star of David represent a six-pointed target.

This is heightened by the fact there will be those who dismiss every word in this piece as having been written in bad faith, part no doubt of our supposed control of power and the media that has manipulated their warped minds. There will also be Jews who tell you this article doesn’t speak for them. Before those in the media feel the urge to put them on the airwaves in an attempt at ‘balance’, please first ask for an ounce of proof that they represent more than a tiny band of misfits. Some are more likely to stand alongside the Iranian regime that is so despised by much of the Muslim world than they would with most Jews.

Please don’t, however, mistake this growing fear for a lack of determination to fight our corner as citizens deserving of support and protection in our home nations, or doubt our solidarity as a people numbering just 16 million. In fact, we’ve never been so determined, so energized, so united and so proud, as highlighted by the huge uptick in sales of Stars of David. The incredible response in holding rallies, supporting charities, and fighting running battles on social media is something that will remain a source of pride for as long as those horrific images from Kibbutz Beeri and the peace rave.

1948

YEARS

This unity has been a light in the darkness. Another has been the support, publicly and sometimes not, of our real friends in all communities. Again, we will never ever forget this.

Our collective Jewish heart bleeds for the families of those who lost relatives in the Hamas atrocities and those facing agonizing waits for news of the kidnapped men, women and children. Whether directly or not directly, many of our readers will be connected to these innocents.

But our hearts bleed too for the innocents killed in Gaza as a result of this entirely unnecessary war launched by Hamas.

Over the unbearably painful days ahead, we — as providers of news for secular or religious Jews, those who frequently critique Israeli policy and those who don’t, those who see Israel are central to their identity, and those who are drawn nearer by crises such as this — call on the world to listen and treat us as you would want to be treated.

It shouldn’t be too much to ask. JN This piece is an initiative of the Jewish News in London and The Jerusalem Post, and is being published in Jewish media outlets around the world.

2023

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HEADLINES LOCAL COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Jewish police chaplain receives certification award Rabbi Dr. Robert L. Kravitz has been a volunteer police chaplain with the Arizona Department of Public Safety/ Highway Patrol (ICPC), the City of Phoenix Police Department and the City of Scottsdale Police Department for almost 30 years. Recently, he received the International Conference of Police Chaplains’ Diplomate certification for his service.

“Diplomate and Fellow credentials represent the highest level of achieve-

ment within ICPC,” said Julie Kirkland, an ICPC staff member.

The criteria for Diplomate credentials include: full member in good standing, have been a law enforcement chaplain for not less than 15 years, must have held a Master’s level credential for at least 5 years, completed 50 continuing education units of training, have two personal references in a related field and have performed service to or on behalf of ICPC. Kravitz has fulfilled hundreds of class-

room training hours, decades of volunteer chaplaincy service and assisted with several ICPC regional and national training seminars. Currently, he is the senior police chaplain for the City of Scottsdale.

The Scottsdale PD posted about Kravitz’s accomplishment on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

“We are proud to announce that one of our SPD Chaplains, Rabbi Robert Kravitz, has achieved the distinction of Diplomate Chaplain through the

Rabbi Dr. Robert Kravitz receives his award.

COURTESY OF SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC.) Congratulations and Thank You, Rabbi Kravitz!” JN

Local bar mitzvah project National History Day winner An October 14 Arizona Historical League event that named Terry Goddard, Michael Crow and seven others as “Arizona History Makers” also recognized National History Day winners, including Ira Parsons, a member of OR ADAM Congregation in Scottsdale, whose bar mitzvah project won this year’s state championship.

The National History Day contest, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, History Channel and others, attracts 600,000 middle- and highschool students annually.

“This year, while studying to become a bar mitzvah, I discovered there were many important pioneers in American history who were Jewish, yet Hollywood, pop culture and my textbooks omitted them

or their Judaism,” wrote Ira, currently a freshman and Jewish Club member at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School.

His work highlighted Jewish political, economic and cultural contributions in America’s Colonial, Revolutionary, Antebellum, Civil War and Wild West periods.“My historical argument is that Jewish people played pivotal roles in 450 years of building our nation and crossing its frontiers, that post-Civil War prejudices largely erased this from American memory, and that it is not possible to fully understand the United States without knowing this popularly forgotten history.”

Borrowing a term from the entertainment industry to describe non-Jewish performers cast in Jewish roles, he titled his project, “Goywashing History: From

Bunker Hill to Boot Hill, The Jewish Pioneers That Hollywood, Pop Culture and Textbooks Forgot.”

Ira uncovered Jewish abolitionists who fought alongside John Brown and 18,000 Civil War soldiers who were Jewish, He discovered many Jewish cowboys and gunslingers (Boot Hill even had a Jewish cemetery), and profiled Levi Strauss (responsible for the cowboy’s uniform), Wyatt Earp (who wore a kippah, had a Jewish wife and whom Doc Holiday called “a damn Jew-boy”) and Jewish members of Native American tribes, including chiefs.

“It is not possible to fully understand the United States without knowing this history,” his project concluded, “one intertwined with African American and Native American history. Far from being latecom-

Ira Parsons, left, with Terry Goddard on Oct. 14.

COURTESY OF IRA PARSONS

ers or ‘the Other,’ Jewish Americans are foundational to our national story.”

After presenting at his bar mitzvah ceremony in May, Ira traveled to Washington, D.C., to present at the National History Day contest in June.

Both the Arizona Historical League and Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board sponsored his trip. JN

Holocaust survivor lights the menorah during Chanukah in Carefree On Dec. 11, Holocaust survivor and author Dirk Van Leenen will light the menorah in Carefree on the holiday’s fifth night, sponsored by the Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA).

Van Leenen will speak about his family’s harrowing story of survival during the Holocaust. He was born in Holland to a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father after the Second World War began. His father helped to save thousands of Jewish people from the Nazis, who eventually found out what he was doing and arrested him. Van Leenen’s family was put on a train for a four-day trip to Bergen-Belsen, with no food, water or toilets; many died on the

journey. The day after the family arrived, the camp was liberated. However, his aunts, uncles and all but two of his cousins, died in other camps. The two surviving cousins escaped from the train.

Van Leenen wrote three books about his experiences and speaks about it publicly. His books “Resistance on a Bicycle,” “The Americans are Coming” and “The Last Train to the Concentration Camp,” will be available for sale on Dec. 11 at the menorah lighting.

PHA will sell sufganiyot (traditional Chanukah jelly doughnuts) to complement the free hot coffee and hot chocolate served all eight nights during Chanukah

in Carefree.

Chanukah in Carefree is an annual event and this December will be its seventh year.

The program runs Dec. 7-14, beginning each night at 5:30 p.m. in the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion in Carefree. The yearly event also raises funds for neighboring organizations. This year’s Spirit of Giving recipient is the Cave Creek Unified Education Foundation.

Chanukah in Carefree receives support from the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix, among other organizations. JN For more information, visit chanukahincarefree.com.

Dirk Van Leenen COURTESY OF PHOENIX HOLOCAUST ASSOCIATION

Jewish News is published by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, a component of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix.

Arizonan represents IDF widows and orphans Shira Siegel represents the Israel Defense Forces Widows and Orphans Organization (IDFWO), a nonprofit that provides immediate and long-term support for families of fallen IDF soldiers and security personnel, including care packages, hotel rooms for displaced families from the Gaza envelope and emotional and financial support.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has created an urgent situation for the organization as it has for so many nonprofits.

Siegel was born in Arizona, where her 12

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

parents, brothers and grandparents still reside. She moved to Israel alone when she was 19 and became a Lone Soldier in the IDF, where she served in a combat search and rescue unit for two years and eight months. “I am proud of my service to Israel,” she said. In addition to her work with IDFWO, Siegel is in her final year at Bar Ilan University.

Amidst the chaos and devastation of Oct. 7, Siegel and her colleagues took immediate action and established a “chamal” (a phone hotline system) composed of trained

psychologists within IDFWO offices.

Dedicated volunteers made over 18,000 phone calls, extending comfort towards those inquiring about the well-being of those who lost loved ones and those still missing.

Additionally, IDFWO provided accommodations for displaced families from vulnerable areas, sent dozens care packages, filled with candies and toys for the children, challah for Shabbat and messages of hope.

The organization also has a scholarship awards program, and as of March 2023, this

JEWISH NEWS

program has provided financial support to 130 orphans and widows to pursue their education, and a research grant to broaden knowledge of grief management.

“These families have paid the ultimate price for our freedom, and it is our responsibility and moral obligation to stand beside them. We offer not just tangible aid but an authentic community of people who comprehend their pain intimately,” Siegel said via email. JN For more information, visit idfwo.org.

JEWISHAZ.COM

HEADLINES LOCAL COMMUNITY BRIEFS

JTO expands scholarship opportunities to more students The Jewish Tuition Organization is expanding its scholarship reach to more students.

At a recent board meeting the JTO’s board voted to of fer scholarships to any student attending a qualified Jewish day school.

Until this recent vote, the JTO was limited to Janet Silva COURTESY OF JEWISH TUITION ORGANIZATION six Phoenix area

Jewish day schools.

Janet Silva, JTO’s executive director, advocated for the change. “Our role is to support students to receive a Jewish education regardless of their financial situation and this change allows the JTO to help more students,” Silva said in a press release. Silva took over as executive director on Aug. 1.

Because scholarship funds go with the student and not the school, when students change schools the scholarship money follows them.

Chandler’s Tamim Academy is the first new school to join JTO’s current six partner schools.

“We are looking forward to our families working with the JTO to help fund their children’s Jewish education, and we are excited to support the JTO in their efforts, said Tamim Academy Director Rabbi Tzemach Gelman.

The JTO’s other partner schools include Desert Jewish Academy in Chandler, Pardes Jewish Day School in Scottsdale and Phoenix Hebrew Academy, Shearim Torah High School for Girls, Torah Day School of Phoenix and Yeshiva High School of Arizona, all located in Phoenix.

In addition to broadening the reach of students who have access to scholarships,

the application process for the families has been streamlined and more tools are now available through JTO’s customer relationship management system (CRM).

“Our goal is to help our families and provide as much assistance as we can and we feel these new procedures and tools will do just that,” stated Silva.

The JTO will communicate the new process to families in the coming weeks and hold meetings for families that have questions or need personal assistance with the new application process or using the CRM tools. JN For more information, visit jtophoenix.org.

JFCS raised over $40,000 for mental health, healthcare and social services The Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS) raised more than $40,000 at its inaugural Puttin’ for a Purpose golf event on Sept. 28. Knight Swift Transportation sponsored the event.

The money will support JFCS in its commitment to deliver mental health, healthcare and social services to children, adults and families throughout Maricopa County, regardless of age, faith or background.

The event, held at Putting World in Scottsdale, was structured in two seg-

ments. In round one, participants competed across 18 holes with the objective of achieving the lowest score. In round two, participants were given a single opportunity to sink a 50-foot hole-in-one. In addition to the putting activities, attendees were treated to complimentary food and refreshments and had the opportunity to win a range of valuable prizes.

“The support we received at this event underscores the collective commitment to the mental and physical well-being of

children, adults and families in Maricopa County,” said Len Gutman, JFCS’ vice president of philanthropic services. “I want to extend our deepest gratitude to every individual who attended, our generous sponsors, JFCS team members, volunteers, emcee Kayla Mortellaro of KDUS and the staff of Putting World. Together, you helped make an impact.” JN Puttin’ for a Purpose raised more than $40,000.

To register for JFCS’ upcoming Brighter Tomorrow Luncheon fundraiser on Jan. 24, 2024, visit jfcsaz.org/BTL.

COURTESY OF JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICE

Chabad of the East Valley rabbi’s solidarity mission to Israel Rabbi Mendy Deitsch, head of Chabad of the East Valley and the Pollack Chabad Center, joined 28 Chabad shluchim, or emissaries, from the United States, Canada and Australia on a three-day solidarity mission to Israel. The visit, in coordination with Chabad in Israel, was an opportunity to bring comfort and hope to soldiers, those wounded and recovering in hospitals, broken families driven from their homes and all those in mourning or awaiting the fate of loved ones who are now held hostage by Hamas.

“Due to the terrible atrocities perpetrated against our brethren in Israel, the

pain and suffering that countless innocent people have experienced, I could not in good conscience stay still here in Arizona.

I felt a calling to go to Israel,” Deitsch said in a press release.

The emissaries distributed funds directly to the people and organizations on the ground. “We were deeply moved by the way Israel banded together, by the resilience, the faith, the fortitude of the people of Israel amidst so much pain and tragedy. The immense passion and positivity that the Israelis have, the determination to put their lives back together no matter how hard it is, they know that

we cannot sit back and be victims or be pitied; we need to stay strong and defend ourselves at all cost,” Deitsch said.

The Chandler Jewish Preschool and Tamim Academy students, CTeen and other Jewish schools also took part in this mission by preparing uplifting cards, letters and artwork that were distributed during the visit. JN

After the Hamas attack, Rabbi Mendy Dietch went to Israel where he helped wounded IDF reservist Amit Ben Margolit put on tefillin.

COURTESY OF CHABAD OF THE EAST VALLEY

Holocaust survivor honored by social studies education conference Boy’s Life, A Man’s Memory”, created a website that includes a curriculum and was instrumental in creating a Holocaust Education Center at the Arizona Jewish Historical Center. The Center features a unique filmed presentation he prepared, filming answers to hundreds of questions that participants can ask interactively. That exhibit will be featured in the planned Arizona Holocaust and Education Center. JN

1948

YEARS

2023

Be a part of our upcoming special sections December 1:

Senior Lifestyle • Chanukah • Charitable Giving

December 8:

For more information on the exhibit, visit azjhs.org.

Chanukah Gift Guide • Charitable Giving

PHOTO BY SHANNON LEVITT

On Oct. 21, the Arizona Council for Social Studies recognized Holocaust survivor, author and educator Oskar Knoblauch with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to social studies education in Arizona at its conference in Tucson.

Knoblauch has presented his personal history and inspirational message to more than 100 schools in Arizona, where he has encouraged students to be “upstanders” and work for peace and understanding.

Knoblauch wrote his memoir, “A

Jewishaz.com • 602-639-5866 • jlipson@jewishaz.com JEWISHAZ.COM

JEWISH NEWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

13

OPINION

Commentary

I’m an Israeli advocate for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.

We’re still in this together.

HAVIVA NER-DAVID | JTA

O

ne of my son’s close friends was fatally wounded fighting Hamas in Gaza this week. Yair Nafusi was his name. He would have been 21 next month. He was born on Hanukkah, thus his parents chose the name Yair, to “light up.” Indeed, he lit up many lives.

As we said goodbye to Yair’s physical presence and buried his body, I felt deep reverence and gratitude to this young man who gave his life to protect me and the more than 1,000 people standing around his grave, as well as the diversity of people living in this country and Jews around the world. They count on Israel to be a safe haven. Especially in times like these. Violent anti-Jew hatred is very much alive.

The Oct. 7 “Black Sabbath” Hamas massacre triggered a deep fear for our survival as Jews — and justifiably so. What reinforced our fear was the hailing of that massacre by much of the world, including the progressive (even Jewish) left, as a necessary step towards “freeing Palestine.”

Like many of the thousands of victims of this massacre (some who died, some who were wounded, and some who will suffer trauma for the rest of their lives) and of the almost 250 hostages taken by Hamas, I am an activist who believes in a vision of Jews and Palestinians living on this land in partnership and peace. I devote much time and energy towards building a shared society among Palestinian and Jewish Israelis, especially in the Galilee, where I live. And I continue to believe in this vision.

I also believe terror and war are not the solution to the ongoing conflict. Only once we all (Palestinians and Jews) recognize one another’s suffering, acknowledge the truth in both our narratives, and take responsibility for the conflict and its solution, will we be able to have a true and lasting peace.

I recognize Israel’s contribution to this conflict, and I hold our current government partly responsible for the ‘“success” of Hamas’ attack, although certainly not for its brutality.

The events that have unfolded since Oct. 7 have been eye-opening. My work building Palestinian-Jewish coexistence has always assumed partnership: a belief in the humanity and rights of both the Palestinian and Jewish peoples. That is why my novel, “Hope Valley,” about the friendship between a Palestinian and a Jewish Israeli woman, is told from their alternating points of view.

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF JTA

And yet, when I watch the pro-Palestinian protests by “progressives” from London to New York to Washington, I see activists crossing a line from struggling for peace and Palestinian rights into promoting a hateful, terrifying, dangerous anti-Jewish agenda.

It is a line crossed when they blame the conflict on Israel and Jews alone; when they call Hamas “freedom fighters” who were justified in using barbaric violence to achieve their goals; when they distort the complicated history and present reality of Israel-Palestine into a black-and-white story of white colonialist Jews invading Palestine to commit genocide on an indigenous Palestinian population.

It’s the same dangerous line crossed by those who say innocent Israeli citizens deserve to be butchered, burned, raped, maimed; who glorify Hamas as a progressive humanitarian group when its covenant specifically calls for wiping Israel and the Jewish people off the earth; who call Israel’s retaliation against Hamas “genocide” — as if the IDF’s intention is to wipe out the entire Palestinian nation.

Hamas is no good for Palestinians and no good for Jews. It wants a fundamentalist Muslim dictatorship on the land from the river to the sea, devoid of all Jews. And Christians. And LGBTQ folk. It is no good for anyone who believes in democracy. It is simply no good for humanity. What Israel faces now in Gaza is a moral dilemma.

Hamas wanted the IDF to retaliate so it could make Israel look bad. It worked.

What Israel is doing is bad — killing thousands of innocent people, including children. But not evil. Hamas is evil. And while so many across the globe who promote Palestinian rights don’t want to see the difference, I do.

I do spiritual companion work for clients

around the world, including liberal rabbinical students and rabbis. They report among some of their peers a lack of knowledge of historical and political facts about IsraelPalestine, as well as about anti-Jewish tropes and their underlying theories, that concerns me immensely. I grew up Orthodox Jewish Zionist in New York, where the Palestinian narrative was omitted from my education.

That was highly problematic. But so is teaching only the Palestinian narrative, or not balancing the progressive world’s bias towards the Palestinian narrative with the Jewish one. Future Jewish leaders especially need to understand both narratives, and not simply go with the tide of the times.

Human rights include Jewish human rights. It is possible to believe in human rights for both Jews and Palestinians. It is possible to cry for the innocent Palestinian lives lost in this war (from Israeli bombs, Hamas and Islamic Jihad missiles and Hamas using their own citizens to protect their terrorist cells) while believing in Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’

attempt at the annihilation of Israel and all Jews.

It is even possible to demand from Palestinians truthful examination of their leaders’ culpability.

Devoting time and energy towards building Palestinian-Jewish partnership and fighting for equality, justice and peace, I have had to hold many truths. I have had to find a way to deal with feelings of guilt over Jewish Israelis’ part in the injustices inflicted upon innocent Palestinians (blame that must also be shared with Arab countries and Palestinian leaders) without losing my sense of self, self-respect and a belief in my right to live here, and even exist.

It has not been simple, but it is possible.

I expect my Palestinian and progressive Jewish counterparts to go through a similar process. Some have, but not all, and unfortunately the voices of those who have not are reverberating loudly throughout the world (ironically, less so in Israel, where advocates for Palestinian rights and a lasting peace more often hear and heed the voices of the “other” side).

I do believe if we remove Hamas and replace our leaders — the Palestinian and Israeli leaders who stand in the way — with worthy ones who will talk and be willing to compromise, we can build a lasting peace. Then no more soldiers like Yair, or victims of terror, or casualties of war, will have to pay the price for our inability to do so. JN The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70

OPINION

Letter to the editor There was an article in your paper in which the author referred to Hamas as: “Palestinian militant group Hamas” (“CJP’s emergency campaign is a ‘great path’ to provide immediate aid to Israel,” Nov. 3, 2023). This description is highly inaccurate and offensive, especially when used in a Jewish publication. Hamas is officially designated as a terrorist organization, not a militant organization by many countries including the USA and the European Union. I am shocked that the Phoenix Jewish News used the word “militant” to describe Hamas. As a native Phoenician and Israeli who has family in Israel, I would request that the Jewish News of Phoenix refer to the murderous, sadistic, barbarous Muslim Hamas at the very least, like you finally did at the end of the article, as “Hamas terrorists.”

Additionally, I am requesting that from now on, you use the term “Jew-hatred” instead of “antisemitism.” Jew-hatred is a much more impactful term.

Respectfully, Stefanie L., Phoenix and Netanya, Israel

A NOTE ON OPINION

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in these opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Community Foundation, Center for Jewish Philanthropy, Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Cleveland Jewish Publication Company or the staff of the Jewish News. Letters must respond to content published by the Jewish News and should be a maximum of 200 words. They may be edited for space and clarity. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters and op-ed submissions should be sent to editor@jewishaz.com 14

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

JEWISH NEWS

JEWISHAZ.COM

RELIGIOUS LIFE TORAH STUDY

Never give up on a fellow Jew RABBI DOV LEVERTOV |

PARSHAH TOLDOT: GENESIS 25:19 - 28:9

I

srael. A part of every Jew. Just the name brings up a flurry of emotion and in the current situation, even more Rabbi Dov Levertov COURTESY OF RABBI DOV LEVERTOV so now with our brothers and sisters at war. The Jewish nation and our G-d given land, Israel, have always been a hot topic across all walks of life and now we are once again seeing how our small nation, and the small gift of land G-d has given to us, is at the center of the news and headlines.

The ugly face of those that are antiIsrael and anti-Jewish is not a new phenomenon. One of the highlight sections of the Passover Hagadah is Vehi Sheamda, a reminder that in the midst of the celebration of our freedom that there was, and will be, those who hate us and want our demise. And for thousands of years, we have survived and flourished in the face of hate and in spite of the attempts at our annihilation.

But how do I approach an Esau, the wicked brother of Jacob, the anti-Jewish Jew? It burns a hole in our hearts when some of our own seem to be oblivious to the thousands of rockets threatening our Jewish family in Israel. When in the name of “moral values” they take up the positions of explaining and excusing terror on our Jewish brethren.

I find myself thinking about these “Jews” and the first thought is to question their lineage, to write them off from our nation.

Chasidism enlightens us as how to view an Esau Jew. The higher on the spiritual ladder one is, unfortunately, the farther one can fall. Esau in his spiritual source stems from a very elevated and lofty spiritual level. And to find and free that spark inside of him became a core focus of his parents, Isaac and Rebecca, as they toiled to raise him and guide his return to his spiritual potential.

Esau is described in the Torah as full of passion, but it was misplaced. Instead of continuing in the ways of Isaac and Abraham, focusing on advancing Judaism and connection with G-d, he became a man of the field and focused on the material world around him.

When we see an Esau Jew, lining up on the wrong side of history and seemingly abandoning our heritage, our people, our land and our G-d, we must look to his depth and see his core. See the divine G-dly spark within him and never give up on praying for him and helping guide his return home.

A story is told of a follower of Rabbi Sholom Dovber of Lubavitch, whose son was going wayward and rebelling against the “old, ancient” Torah and Jewish traditions. With a great deal of pain, he arranged for a meeting between his son and the Rebbe. The young man had become an avid horse lover and strode into town riding on a strong young horse.

During the discussion, the Rebbe asked him about his new passion and his new horse. The young man explained that his strong young horse is twice as fast as an ordinary one and can get him to his destination at double speed. The Rebbe replied, “This is when you’re going the right way towards your goal, but if you’re going the wrong direction, you get twice as distanced from the goal.” The analogy was clear and after a short few moments, the young man took the message to heart and replied, “But once you see your mis-

SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING NOVEMBER 17 - 5:06 P.M. NOVEMBER 24 - 5:03 P.M. SHABBAT ENDS NOVEMBER 18 - 6:03 P.M. NOVEMBER 25 - 6:00 P.M. Find area congregations at JewishAZ.com, where you can also find our 2024 Community Directory.

take, you can return to the correct path twice as fast.”

We must emulate our forefathers and learn from them. Isaac and Rebecca never gave up. Until the end of their lives, they prayed and encouraged the spiritual return of their son Esau. Because a Jew never abandons a fellow Jew. A Jew never gives up on a fellow Jew. Let us continue to raise our Jacob voices in prayer and Torah study and cement it with mitzvah actions on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Israel. But let us also pity and pray for the misguided ones that they should quickly see their error and return to being an active and proud Jew. And in the merit of the unprecedented unity amongst worldwide Jewry, may we speedily merit to usher in the era of world peace with the arrival of Mashiach now! JN Rabbi Dov Levertov is director of the Chabad of Phoenix.

The inhumanity of humanity RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D.

T

here are no suitable words to determine how barbarism is an accepted form of protest. Societies were developed to enable people to act in a civilized manner so as to Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D, be able to live COURTESY OF RABBI IRWIN WIENER together. While there are those who would disturb the balance of needs and wants with the ability to attain these, accepted methods of containment were established for the safety of all.

When we, as a society, determine that exceptions can and often do occur, the one thing that is certain is that we develop other methods to sustain the balance.

First and foremost, there are laws. Then there is law enforcement. Next are the courts. Finally, there is judgment. For the most part, we retire at night with a secure feeling.

How much more is this essential in dealing with countries with different cultures and beliefs? When disputes occur, we attempt to reconcile them through JEWISHAZ.COM

dialog and compromise. When all else fails, we go to war. Such is the fate of humanity since Cain and Abel.

However, when nation-states determine that terror and killing are the only remedies for correction, then we have wholesale murder. We should expect society to become outraged and undertake the responsibility of controlling this madness. The one ingredient that prevents such action is a simple word called intimidation.

There is a tendency to shy away from what we know to be correct because we do not know what will be next and it is easier to capitulate than stand and fight. Our being tells us the right way to respond, but fear holds us captive.

How sad!

From the beginning, we learned that there is evil and there is good. Why we have both has been the eternal question asked by generations and will probably remain something that is debated forever.

Some will try to simplify, but the truth of the matter is that all experiences are measured by bad or good pronouncements.

Over the past many years, we have been inundated with international horror stories of murder and mayhem. People are

murdered because of different cultures, tribal feuds or in the belief that it is commanded by God. The arrogance of it all is that we presume to suggest that these differences permit us to dominate others whom we determine to be different. Who are we to create an atmosphere of distrust because we do not understand someone or try to reconcile these differences?

What are we if we allow our humanity to disappear because we feel superior and forget the simple rule of life, which is to live together?

Sitting in our chairs, either reading the newspaper, magazine or watching television, we can visually see acts of barbarism that boggle the mind. Children strapped with bombs to destroy this thing called humanity because of hatred taught from the cradle to the grave. We hear all sorts of excuses. Occupation is the byword of the season and the seasons past. Yet, when the dust settles, the mayhem is more concentrated, more severe, with devastating results. It seems that the world is not satisfied unless it has someone or something to blame for its ailments. Scapegoating has been around since Adam and Eve blamed each other and, in turn, the snake for their misfortune and ultimate expul-

JEWISH NEWS

sion from the Garden.

The inhumanity of humanity requires a strong response to bring civility to life.

Only when the family of man comes together, determined to forge a bond of tolerance, will we see the results we all yearn and dream about. We may never like everyone, but to survive, we must respect everyone’s right to exist. We were created to live. Living requires accommodation and compromise and the willingness to listen as well as be heard. Most of all, it requires respect for life!

When a murder occurs in our communities, we ask law enforcement to apprehend, respect the law, await the outcome and then determine the punishment, if needed. How much more so is this needed in the framework of human existence in a world that has become so small that we can reach out and touch someone?

Our potential is unlimited. Our understanding is boundless. Our destruction is of our own choosing. Being different is a blessing. How boring life would be if we were all the same. JN Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D., is the spiritual leader of Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation.

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

15

SPECIAL SECTION HOME SERVICES

Some Jews are taking down their mezuzahs due to antisemitism.

Some non-Jews are putting them up.

ANDREW LAPIN | JTA

W

hen a man broke into the home of a Jewish family in Studio City, California, at the end of October yelling antisemitic language and “Free Palestine,” neighbors quickly honed in on a key detail: The assailant had allegedly previously questioned the family about the mezuzah on their door.

This caused some fear among secular Jews on their block, said Menachem Silverstein, an Orthodox comedian and rabbi who is close friends with the victims.

He said an Israeli neighbor told him that he was considering taking his family’s mezuzah down.

But the response from Silverstein’s non-Jewish neighbors, he said, “gave me goosebumps”: They proposed putting up their own.

“I’m tearing up. I’m like, this is the most beautiful thing anybody has ever said to me,” Silverstein recalled to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It was the inspiration I needed, personally.”

The neighbors ultimately decided that the break-in was a one-time incident and held off on following through with their offer. Still, Silverstein said, the mere gesture that they might be willing to support Jews in this way stuck with him at a time when so many Jews say they are feeling alone and unsupported by the non-Jews they know.

He compared the moment to the “I am Spartacus” scene in the 1960 movie, in which the hero’s countrymen all identify as him in order to protect his identity. It also calls to mind the myth that the king of Denmark wore a yellow Star of David to shield the country’s Jews under Nazi rule.

“If everyone has a mezuzah, no one has to take it down and you can’t identify the Jews who have a mezuzah,” he said.

And to Silverstein, the gesture invoked something even more gut-wrenching.

“To me it felt like the precursor to ‘We’ll hide you when you’re in our attic.’”

Silverstein’s reaction taps into a broader conversation taking place in Jewish homes and communities around the world. As antisemitic sentiment has risen across the world in the wake of Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 Israelis in a terrorist attack on Oct. 7, Jews are questioning whether their mezuzahs — small boxes containing a passage from the Torah commanding Jews to inscribe the words on the doorposts of their homes — make 16

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

The mezuzah contains a passage from the Torah commanding Jews to inscribe the words on the doorposts of their homes. COURTESY OF MARTA IWANEK/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA

them vulnerable to attacks by identifying their homes as Jewish.

In some places, as in Studio City, it seems that the fears have been justified.

In Canada, an Ontario couple says they believe their mezuzah was a giveaway to vandals who spray-painted antisemitic graffiti on their garage. Jews in Paris and Berlin who have expressed concern about Jewish stars being painted on their buildings wonder whether it was their mezuzahs that tipped the vandals off.

Some are seeking ways to keep their mezuzahs up while making them inconspicuous. In Europe, some Jews have been buying up Camozuzah, a mezuzah disguised to look like a home alarm, originally developed by a ChabadLubavitch rabbi in Ireland in 2021 for Jewish university students concerned about antisemitism there.

Others may be removing their mezuzahs altogether. Jews in London and Berlin say they’ve taken their mezuzahs down as a safeguard against unrest. Levi Wolff, the rabbi at the Modern Orthodox Central Synagogue in Sydney, Australia, posted on Instagram this week that an anonymous person had left a mezuzah at his house, which he took to mean that “someone in our community has removed his/her mezuzah and is returning it to me, out of fear of their home being recognized as

a Jewish home.”

Wolff, who is affiliated with the ChabadLubavitch Hasidic movement, then implored Jews to keep their mezuzahs up and to not be afraid in the face of antisemitism, such as a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney where participants recently chanted “Gas the Jews.” Other Chabad rabbis have emphasized that now is an ideal time to put up mezuzahs, an act that they counteracts darkness in the world, and many have taken steps to distribute mezuzahs in their communities.

Other spiritual leaders have struck a more cautious tone. Marc Katz, a rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey, posted on Facebook before Halloween that Jews should consider being extra cautious with how many visible signs of Jewish identity they display on their houses.

“It’s OK to take down your outward signs of support for Israel or even your outward signs of Jewish identity (like your mezuzah) if you are truly worried for your safety,” Katz wrote, in a post also shared by his synagogue. “At times that are unsafe, Jews are allowed to do the imperfect to protect themselves and their resources.”

The rabbi cautioned his congregants that they should be prepared to return to normal “when the threat goes away.”

JEWISH NEWS

Elsewhere, other non-Jews looking to stand in solidarity with Jews and Israel also shared plans to put up their own mezuzahs. One non-Jewish woman in Toronto went viral on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, for sharing her own mezuzah affixed to the door of her apartment building. She says she procured it inexpensively from a Judaica shop after consulting with Jewish friends who told her that it wouldn’t be insensitive.

“Some of our Toronto neighbours are facing harassment — just for being Jewish,” wrote the woman, who identified herself as Susie Movat. “As a non Jew, I’m putting a mezuzah on my door to stand in solidarity with my friends who deserve to live without fear. Never again.”

Some Jewish users applauded her.

“While current events have seen so many of our neighbours rip off masks to show us the deep rot of systemic antisemitism, it has also blessed Jews by shining spotlights on those non-Jews in our midst who like Susie passed this “would you have hid Jews during the Holocaust” test,” wrote Yoni Freedhoff, an Ottawa physician who tweets frequently on Canadian Jewish issues. The British Jewish historian Simon Schama, author of “The Story of the Jews,” joined in the appreciation.

But others said they thought the gesture represented cultural appropriation, in the vein of Christian Passover seders, and questioned whether it was the strongest show of allyship. “You can donate to a synagogue’s security fund (yeah, we have those, because we have to) or education fund,” one representative user tweeted.

“Appropriation is NOT the way.”

Silverstein, who comes from a Chabad family, said he didn’t interpret his neighbors’ gesture as appropriative.

Instead, he said, “It was such a beautiful thing to see non-Jews acknowledge the importance of a mezuzah.”

As for whether Jews everywhere should consider taking their own down for protection, Silverstein advised, “Consult your local rabbi.” But he noted Jewish tradition teaches that the mezuzah itself is historically its own form of protection.

“Our mezuzah is the security system.

Our mezuzah has the Shema in it,” he said. “Having that mezuzah up, as scary as it may seem, I truly feel that God will protect you.” JN

JEWISHAZ.COM

SPECIAL SECTION HOME SERVICES

Simple tips for preparing for holiday guests ROSIE ROMERO, JR. AND SUSAN STEIN KREGAR | COLUMNISTS

T

hanksgiving is just days away, and Chanukah is just around the corner.

If you are expecting holiday guests, there is still time to prepare. The following simple suggestions will make your guests feel at home without making you feel stressed out.

But, before you run amuck, fix yourself a cup of hot cocoa (after all, it is finally below 80 degrees), a glass of tea or another favorite beverage, and get comfortable in your favorite chair. Make a list of everything you need to do. Enlist the help of your family and make appointments with any service professionals you’ll need to help you finish the chores on time.

General maintenance If you have not already done so, have the furnace inspected. In December, you may need to click on the heat, at least overnight. You’ll rest easier knowing a heating and air conditioning technician has given your system a once-over and cleaned and repaired it.

Sweep the chimney. Because it is a messy, time-consuming job, hire a professional. Hire a sweeper who can clean, inspect and remedy fire hazards.

Deep clean your house. Start in the guest room and work through common areas like the kitchen, dining room and TV room which your company will visit during their stay. Do more than knock the dust around. Look for areas that need cleaning. Make the toilets sparkle, scrub the countertops, degrease the appliances, scour the grout in the floor and backsplash tiles and clear bathroom drains. Grab the step ladder and dust all the places you usually ignore — ceiling fan blades, plate racks, kitchen cabinets and hanging picture frames. Vacuum the dust from the exhaust fans. Sweep under the guest room bed.

If this is too much for you, hire a professional, licensed cleaning company.

Install carbon monoxide detectors. If you heat your home with a gas furnace or use other gas appliances, install carbon monoxide detectors near every bedroom.

If you already have them, replace the batteries — you need fresh ones twice a year.

Test your home’s fire alarms or install them if you don’t have them and change those batteries, too, if they’re not fresh.

Tackle the small repairs you’ve been postponing. You might be used to the drip-drip-drip of a slow-leaking faucet, or the click-click-click of the ceiling fan but the sound can drive visitors crazy, especially if they can hear it while trying to sleep. Do a sweep of the house and fix leaky faucets, clogged drains, cracked windows, creaky door hinges, loud fans and loose doorknobs. Little problems play a big role in a bad impression.

Prepare the guest room and bathroom Once the deep clean of the guest room and guest bathroom is done, if possible, designate those rooms just for guests. If that is not an option, clear a shelf or two for them to store their toiletries. Provide shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, bath gel, facial tissues, toothpaste and deodorant so no one has to run to the store for forgotten items.

Clean out the closet and a few drawers in the guest bedroom so when the closet door is opened, “stuff” doesn’t come tumbling out. Fix sticky closet doors or windows. Remove one or two pieces of extra furniture and knickknacks to give your guests room to move around.

Launder the linens and bedspread, freshen and fluff the pillows, provide extra blankets and place gelt on each pillow for sweet dreams.

Buy a luggage rack for the bedroom. Buy two racks if you have the space. No one likes

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Clean the room, wash the linens and clear away clutter so guests have room to move.

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keeping luggage on the floor for a week.

If providing an air mattress, check out the equipment before guests arrive. Even the best plastic air mattresses can spring leaks in our dry climate. You won’t want to run out to buy a new one at 10 p.m. after your exhausted guests arrive from a long drive or plane ride.

Free-roaming guests Put night lights in the hallway, bathroom and bedroom so guests won’t have to stumble around in the dark. Make sure the lightbulbs in the bedroom and bathroom work.

Give guests a set of keys and the code for the alarm so they can come and go when you’re not around. Place the streaming, Wi-Fi and other needed passwords on the fridge. Teach them how to use your TV and remote. Provide plenty of places for them to charge their devices.

If you have guests with limited mobility, install grab bars in the bathtub or shower before they arrive. You can also buy a temporary ramp to use at the threshold of your front door for someone with a walker or wheelchair.

Get guests’ food and beverage preferences and shop before they arrive. It will be one less thing to do, plus they can go to the pantry and fridge on their own knowing they can find something to satisfy their dietary needs. Bulk up on snacks if there are teenagers!

Get outside Your guests from other parts of the country, or the world, may find our winter weather quite warm. They will likely want to spend a

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Welcome Before guests enter the house, sweep the walkway and install outdoor lighting so everyone can see where they’re going in the evenings. Turn those lights on early if you’re setting a timer.

Paint your wood front door. The front door makes your home’s first impression, so make it a good one with a fresh coat of paint or stain. If your front door isn’t wood, clean it, along with the sidelights and the porch, from floor to ceiling, before your company rings your doorbell.

Place a festive welcome mat at the front door.

Putting out the proverbial welcome mat and other special touches for your guests is the right thing to do and something your holiday visitors will remember when you head in their direction to escape the summer heat.

Remember, the holidays are for you to enjoy, too! Savor the moments and create long-lasting memories. JN

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lot of time outdoors. Therefore, this is a great excuse to buy new outdoor furniture or at least wash and repair what you have.

Eighty degrees may be too cold for us to swim but not our winter visitors! Get your pool clean and swim ready. Childproof the area so toddlers can’t access the pool unseen. Install a lock on the pool gate, add a pool alarm and close the doggie door, for example.

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JEWISH NEWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

17

SPECIAL SECTION

Charitable Giving Small gifts are still the lifeblood of many nonprofits C

LEN GUTMAN | SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

haritable giving is at its lowest level in three decades, according to Giving USA’s 2023 Annual Report on Philanthropy. The report shows total charitable giving by corporations, foundations, individuals and bequests to support the work of nonprofits Len Gutman dropped 10.5% in COURTESY OF JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICE 2022 compared to record-high giving in 2020 and 2021 and giving by individuals fell by an even steeper rate of 13.4%, after adjusting for inflation.

The same report indicated Americans gave only 1.7% of their personal disposable income to charity in 2022 — the lowest level they had given since 1995. Unfortunately, for nonprofit organizations, individual gifts still account for the majority of U.S. charitable giving.

The timing of this individual giving

18

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

JEWISH NEWS

JEWISHAZ.COM

SPECIAL SECTION CHARITABLE GIVING

decline could not be worse for most effect of the media coverage of mega-gifts nonprofits, especially those that rely is that average people mistakenly believe on the government for support. The nonprofits are doing just fine and that a reason for this concern is twofold: first, small donation is just a drop in the bucket. dysfunction and delays in congress have The truth is small donations are essential led to less spending across the board for for nonprofits, especially for those with many critical programs. On top of this, smaller budgets. Most nonprofits need more Americans are claiming the standard a steady flow of moderately sized gifts deduction on their taxes following to fund their work. A large one-time gift the 2017 tax law that nearly doubled may create a lot of buzz and fund a single the standard deduction. As a result, short-term need, but mega donors tend an estimated 90% of taxpayers choose to be one-and-done donors. Meanwhile, to claim the standard deduction thus smaller donors tend to give repeatedly limiting many tax benefits of charitable over time and build relationships with donations. organizations that do work that appeal But there’s another, more subtle, to them. Small charitable giving is more reason why charitable giving my average personal. These donors volunteer more, Americans is down. Very large gifts by share information about organizations some of the wealthiest Americans have they support on social media more and increased and these gifts have received attend events more. more than their share of publicity. MegaSmall donations add up over time. donors like MacKenzie Scott, Bill Gates Small donations show you care about and Melinda Gates have donated billions an organization. Small donations are in recent years (Scott alone has donated flexible, meaning organizations can use an estimated $14 billion to nonprofits your dollars where they are needed most. since 2020).

Small donations are easy to make — a $50 While gifts like these are fantastic, or $100 per month gift does not make as they directly benefit only a very small big of an impact on your bank account. number of organizations. A mega-gift can The last few years have been particularly 03-10-013 11/20/13 10:08 AM Page 1 transform an organization, but the vast hard on nonprofits. During the pandemic, 3-10-013 11/20/13 10:08 AM Page 1 majority of nonprofits still rely on modest many major funders like foundations and 03-10-013 11/20/13 10:08 AM Page 1 3-10-013 11/20/13 10:08 AM Page 1 gifts from local individuals. One side government grantors shifted their funding

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CHARITABLE GIVING DROPPED 10.5% IN 2022, COMPARED TO RECORD-HIGH GIVING IN 2020 AND 2021.

GIVING USA’S 2023 ANNUAL REPORT ON PHILANTHROPY

toward essential ser vices like food, housing and clothing. Organizations that do not provide basic services are now in the position of having to catch up from that loss of revenue. Unfortunately, nonprofits are facing a new normal with some major funding sources having shifted their focus toward basic services permanently. Combined with the new tax laws, the end of federal pandemic relief programs, stock market fluctuations and other factors, small and local charities need your support more than ever.

Charitable giving makes people feel good, builds community, evokes gratitude and is even good for your health, as it has been shown to decrease stress. However, more than that, nonprofits need money to do work that government and private business have abandoned. Every dollar

counts for your local pet shelter, arts group, children’s charity or social services organization.

If you are not sure where to give, consider checking out a third-party ratings organization like Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) that rates charities and provides details like impact and financial performance. There are nearly 1,000 four-star rated charities in Arizona alone. JN Len Gutman is vice president of philanthropic services at Jewish Family & Children’s Service.

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Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us

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Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Over 250 Kivel Residents Still Rely on Us During these financially difficult times your donation is especially important During these financially difficult times your donation is especially important Over 250 Residents Still on UsUs During these financially financially difficult times your your donation donation is especially important During these difficult times is Rely especially important Over 250 Kivel Kivel Residents Still Rely on

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Card#______________________________ Exp. date ______ Card#______________________________ Exp. date ______ 3040 N.is36th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 • (602) 314-4002 Kivel Campus of Care a non-profit, non-sectarian charitable organization (501(c)(3)) Signature __________________________________________ Card#______________________________ Exp. date ______ 3040 N. 36th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 • (602) 314-4002 Kivel Campus of Care is a non-profit, non-sectarian charitable organization (501(c)(3)) Signature __________________________________________ 36th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 • (602) 314-4002 3040 N. N.3040 36thN.St., Phoenix, AZ • (602) 314-4002 Card#______________________________ Exp Signature __________________________________________ Signature __________________________________________ 3040 36th St., Phoenix, AZ85018 85018 • (602) 314-4002 Signature __________________________________________ 3040 N. 36th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 • (602) 314-4002 3040 N. 36th St., Phoenix, AZ 85018 • (602) 314-4002 Signature __________________________________________

Signature _______________________________

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JEWISH NEWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

19

SPECIAL SECTION CHARITABLE GIVING

With young adults off to war, Israeli teens are stepping up in their communities DANIELA GRIBETZ | JTA

A

fter her husband left abruptly to join his army unit, Meytal Blumenthal Gordon realized she still hadn’t disassembled her sukkah, the temporary structure the family put up during the Sukkot holiday at their home in Jerusalem. She wasn’t physically capable of doing so alone.

“Two sweet boys, teenagers, came and they took down the sukkah and helped me organize it,” Blumenthal Gordon said.

“We actually had a siren in the middle.

We all ran to the shelter, and then they continued helping.”

It wasn’t the only time that neighborhood teens have stopped by to help Blumenthal Gordon in the weeks since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel plunged the country into war. They have also brought her boxes of food and helped her with her two children, a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.

It’s all part of an abrupt and notable shift in a country that uniquely refers to school-aged teens as being in “the stupid age.” In ordinary circumstances, Israeli teens are not assigned many responsibilities before they graduate from high school, in a nod to the fact that most will enter compulsory military service soon after turning 18, cutting short the extended adolescence that many of their peers in other countries enjoy.

But since war began earlier this month, most young Israeli men and some women have been drafted into military service.

With schools closed until recently, teens have been uniquely positioned to step into the gap.

Thousands of teens have been organizing independently and through youth groups to volunteer to babysit, dismantle sukkahs, prepare food for soldiers and

Hundred of volunteers, some of them teenagers, showed up in a cemetery in Jerusalem to help dig graves.

stock refrigerators. Some have even been digging graves.

Youth group buildings have become shelters for those displaced from the south, near Gaza, and groups of teens have been organizing donations of food and other essentials.

“It brings the whole nation together, especially in times like these,” said Hallel Heller, a ninth-grader from Jerusalem who spent the first week of the war packaging meals for soldiers.

Other teens, like Shefer Zimran, 14, who hails from the West Bank city of Efrat, are helping younger children affected by the war. Together with friends from her neighborhood, Zimran handed out bags of candy and art supplies to children who are home from school in her community. Zimran later sent videos of art projects to keep the children busy. Zimran knew that mothers whose husbands had been drafted had trouble keeping their small children occupied.

“It is important, now more than ever, to help people in need,” Zimran said. “And we have free time and the ability to help.”

Odelia Kaye, 16, from Jerusalem, has been offering practical and emotional support for mothers who are now caring for young children on their own. “Sometimes they’re alone and it’s really difficult to take care of kids by yourself,” she said.

In addition to playing with children, washing dishes, cleaning up and folding laundry for mothers on their own, Kaye

SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

has found that what is sometimes most appreciated is the company.

“I feel like the more I’ve done it, the more I’ve learned about how difficult it is for some of these moms who have really small children, including young babies, a couple of months old,” said Kaye. “These moms need emotional support. It’s easy to feel alone and it’s important for me to make sure that these people know that they’re not alone and that I’m there to help.”

Blumenthal Gordon said she is accustomed to being alone because her husband, a physician, is often away for extended periods, so it’s not just the loneliness that local teens help her battle.

“Emotionally, it’s very different,” she said. “I’m so worried about my husband, we’re constantly running to a shelter, and the energy is really low. Having the teenagers over gives good vibes.” JN This story was produced as part of the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship program.

“THESE MOMS NEED EMOTIONAL SUPPORT. IT’S EASY TO FEEL ALONE AND IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY’RE NOT ALONE AND THAT I’M THERE TO HELP.” ODELIA KAYE

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NOVEMBER 17, 2023

JEWISH NEWS

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COMMUNITY

Spanish bat mitzvah Smile for the camera!

On Nov. 1, Smile on Seniors held an “It’s Not Just Lunch.” Pictured from left, facing the camera, are Linda Lober, Zadel Strichartz, Shirley Rose Bloom, Bella Kazen, Berle Clark and Brenda Brooks.

COURTESY OF SMILE ON SENIORS

Beth El Phoenix member Barbara Lewkowitz joined her young cousin, Alba Dominguez de Routman, for her bat mitzvah at Congregation Beit RamBam in Seville, Spain last month. Alba is the great-granddaughter of Beatrice Epstein, who had her confirmation at Congregation Beth Israel in the 1920s when it was located in Phoenix.

COURTESY OF BARBARA LEWKOWITZ

Campaigning for 2024 The Arizona for Abortion Access amendment will need 383,923 valid signatures from Arizona voters by July 3, 2024. Local Jewish activists Jen Kirshner, right, and Melissa Hasson organized two signature collecting events at Hasson’s Paradise Valley home the first week of November.

COURTESY OF JEN KIRSHNER

AJJ outreach to Hopi families Headed by Brandon Nahsonhoya, AJJ’s indigenous leader, Arizona Jews for Justice (AJJ) ramped up its native outreach in the Hopi Nation by delivering aid to Native families living on the reservation. AJJ is grateful to the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix for providing the Shalom Phoenix bags.

COURTESY OF ARIZONA JEWS FOR JUSTICE

This COMMUNITY page features photos of community members around the Valley and the world. Submit photos and details each week to editor@jewishaz.com by 10 a.m. Monday.

Successful food drive The Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation Men’s Club held a food drive for Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank Sept. 24-25. The total amount of food collected weighed 504 pounds.

COURTESY OF ESTHER SPEAR JEWISHAZ.COM

JEWISH NEWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

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CALENDAR

Featured Event TUESDAY, NOV. 28 Light in the Dark: 7-9 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join Rabbi Aviva Funke of Hebrew High at Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix for a parent and teen program to shatter the stigma around mental health and suicide prevention awareness. In partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Service and Kid in the Corner.

Cost: Free. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/jewishmatters-light.

COURTESY OF BUREAU OF JEWISH EDUCATION OF GREATER PHOENIX

For an updated listing of events and resources for supporting Israel, visit JewishPhoenix.com Events FRIDAY, NOV. 17 Documentary Film Series: All day online Nov. 17-19. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society for a free online streaming of the documentary, “The Invisibles.” For more information, visit azjhs.org/documentary-film-series.

Genetic Screening Event in person at ASU Hillel: 1-3 p.m. Hillel Jewish Student Center, 1012 S. Mill Ave, Tempe. Join Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics for an educational event hosted by Hillel. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jewishgeneticsaz.org.

SUNDAY, NOV. 19 JWV Speaker Event: 9:30 a.m. Oakwood Country Club, 24218 S. Oakwood Blvd., Sun Lakes. Join the Jewish War veterans Copper State Post 619 for a presentation by Dana West, Central Arizona outreach coordinator for the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services.

Meet & Greet with refreshments starts at 9:30 a.m., speaker follows at 10 a.m. Cost: Free.

For more information, contact Elliott Reiss at ElliottBarb@q.com or 480-802-3281.

Board Game Sunday: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Beth El Phoenix, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Join Beth El for an afternoon of playing board games with the community. Feel free to bring your own game. For more information, visit bethelphoenix.com.

Adult Education Program: 2 p.m. Cottonwood Country Club, 25630 S. Brentwood Drive, Sun Lakes. Join the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation for “Surf, Sand and Schmaltz: Unusual Jewish Communities in Warm-Weather Locales” presented by Dan Fellner. For more information, contact barbara374@cox.net.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29 Jewish Cooking with Talmudic Insights: 12-1 p.m. Online; Zoom link provided upon RSVP. Join the Arizona Jewish Lawyers Association for a presentation from Kendon Alfond, Jewish chef, author and leadership coach. Cost: Free. For more information, contact azjewishlawyers@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 Cocktails & Connections Happy Hour: 6-7:30 p.m. Chestnut, 2398 E. Camelback Road #101, Phoenix. Join the Business & Professionals group of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix for an evening of networking. Cost: $18. For more information, contact engagement@phoenixcjp.org.

SUNDAYS B.A.G.E.L.S: 9-11 a.m.; last Sunday of the month. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.

Grab a bagel and a cup of coffee at Bagels And Gabbing Every Last Sunday and enjoy some time with your friends and make new ones.

You must register to attend. Bagels and coffee will be provided. Cost: Free for members, $5 for guests. For more information and to register, visit vosjcc.org.

THURSDAYS Storytime at Modern Milk: 9:30 a.m. Modern Milk, 13802 N. Scottsdale Road, #163, Scottsdale. Storytime for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Integrates children’s books and songs while giving parents new ideas for play.

Cost: $5. For more information and to register, visit modernmilk.com/after-baby.

Meetings, Lectures & Classes

Ultimate Happy Hour: 4 p.m. Windgate Ranch, 10095 E. Windgate Ranch Road, Scottsdale.

Join Smile on Seniors to celebrate their 14-year anniversary. Form more information, visit sosaz.org.

SUNDAYS Chassidus Class: 9 a.m. Online. Learn about the Chasidic movement with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Women’s Challah Bake: 6:30-8 p.m. Location provided upon RSVP. Join Chabad of Ahwatukee for an evening of friendship and challah making. Cost: $18. For more information, visit chabadahwatukee.com/challah.

Jewish War Veterans Post 210: 10 a.m. Online.

Any active duty service member or veteran is welcome to join monthly meetings, every third Sunday. Cost: Free. For more information, email Michael Chambers at c365michael@ yahoo.com.

TUESDAY, NOV. 28 Healthy Eating: 10-11:30 a.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Join the EVJCC for a presentation on healthy eating by Melissa Frost, NP, of Oak Street Health. Cost: Free. For more information, visit evjcc.org.

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NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Sundays are for the Family Weekly Feed: 3-5 p.m. Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe. Join Arizona Jews for Justice and AZ HUGS for the Houseless every Sunday to serve food to those in need. For more information and to RSVP, email Arizonajews4justice@gmail.com.

Anxiety in the Modern World: 6 p.m. Online.

Learn the secrets of the Torah for living stressfree in the current environment with Rabbi Boruch of Chabad of Oro Valley. Cost: Free.

Tune in using this link: zoom.us/j/736434666.

For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

WEDNESDAYS History of the Jews: 11 a.m. Online. Learn the Jewish journey from Genesis to Moshiach with Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman. Cost: Free. Tune in here: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

MONDAYS Mahjong: 1:30-3:30 p.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Come play mahjong each week. For all levels. Cost: Free; registration required at evjcc.org/mahjong/.

Torah Study with Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Online. Weekly study group explores that week’s portion and studies different perspectives and debates the merits of various arguments. Intended for adults, Torah study is open to students of all levels. For more information, contact the TBS office at 623-977-3240.

Ethics of Our Fathers: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Zalman Levertov. Tune in at: bit. ly/2Y0wdgv. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Quotable Quotes by our Sages: 7 p.m. Online.

Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/class. Cost: Free.

For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Partners in Torah: 7:30 p.m. Online. Join a growing group of inspired learners with Project Inspire. Cost: Free. Tune in at: us04web. zoom.us/j/3940479736#success, password is 613. For more information, email Robin Meyerson at robin@projectinspireaz.com.

Learning to Trust in God: 7:30 p.m. Online.

Learn with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Tune in at: ChabadAZ.com/LiveClass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Torah & Tea: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossie Shemtov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ChabadTucson.

Single Parent Zoom: 8 p.m. First and third Monday of every month. Join The Bureau of Jewish Education’s Family University single parents’ group for those looking to form friendships and build their support system with like-minded people. For more information or to register, visit bjephoenix.org/ family-university.

TUESDAYS Let’s Knit: 1:30 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Share the pleasure of knitting, crocheting, etc. outside the social hall in the campus. Can’t knit? They will teach you! Every level welcome. Cost: Free. For more information, visit vosjcc.org.

Maintaining an Upbeat Attitude: 7 p.m.

Online. A class exclusively for people in their 20s and 30s, learn how Jewish Mysticism can help with your attitude with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

JEWISH NEWS

Happiness Hour: 11:30 a.m. Online. Class taught

by Rabbi Pinchas Allouche that delves into texts and references culled from our traditions to address a relevant topic. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

Torah Study with Chabad: 12 p.m. Online. Take a weekly journey of Torah with Rabbi Yossi Levertov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Lunch & Learn: 12:15 p.m. Online. Grab some food and learn with Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin.

Cost: Free. Get Zoom link by emailing info@ chabadtucson.com. For more information, visit chabadtucson.com.

The Thirteen Petalled Rose: 1 p.m. Online.

Kabbalah class that studies “The Thirteen Petalled Rose” by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, focusing on the many concepts of Kaballah and Jewish Mysticism and applying them to everyday life. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

JACS: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. In person and via Zoom support group for Jewish alcoholics, addicts and their friends and family on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Cost: Free. For more information, email jacsarizona@gmail.com or call 602-692-1004.

Words & Whiskey: 8:30 p.m. Online. Learning session for men. Cost: Free. To RSVP, email rmollenaz@gmail.com or call/text 310-709-3901.

THURSDAYS Ladies Torah & Tea: 10:30 a.m. Online. Learn about the women of the Torah with Mrs. Leah Levertov. Cost: Free. Tune in at: ourjewishcenter.com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Talmud - Maakos: 11 a.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

JEWISHAZ.COM

CALENDAR Mindfulness Gatherings: 12 p.m. Online.

Hosted by Hospice of the Valley via Zoom.

Cost: Free. To join by phone, dial 1-253-2158782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#, to get the Zoom link or for further questions contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692.

The Science of Everything: 4 p.m. Online.

Explore the most fundamental work of Chassidut: the Tanya, with Rabbi Boruch. Cost: Free.

Tune in at: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Teen Discussions: 7-8:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Tzvi Rimler. Cost: Free. Tune in at cteen.clickmeeting.com/east-valley. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

SATURDAYS Saturday Mindfulness Gatherings: 9:30 a.m.

Online. Hosted by Hospice of the Valley. To join by phone, dial 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#. To get the Zoom link or for more information, contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692.

Book Discussion: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Online. Join Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism on the third Saturday of every month for a book discussion. For more information and to register, contact oradaminfo@gmail.com.

Shabbat FRIDAYS Shabbat in the Park: 10-11 a.m. Cactus Park, 7202 E. Cactus Road, Scottsdale. Join the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix monthly for music, parachute play, crafts and a family Shabbat experience. For more information, visit bjephoenix.org.

Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Celebrate Shabbat with the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Shabbat at Beth El: 11-11:45 a.m. Beth El Phoenix, 1118 W. Glendale. Ave., Phoenix. Celebrate Shabbat with songs, blessings and teachings with Rabbi Stein Kokin the first Friday of every month.

Special guests will be welcoming Shabbat during the remainder of the month. For more information or to join, visit bethelphoenix.com.

Erev Shabbat Service: 5:30 p.m. Online.

Rabbi Alicia Magal will lead a service livestreamed for members of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. Cost: Free. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, visit jcsvv.org/contact.

Shabbat Services with Sun Lakes: 7 p.m.

Sun Lakes Chapel, 9240 E. Sun Lakes Blvd.

North, Sun Lakes. Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation conducts services on the second Friday of the month. For more information, contact 480-612-4413.

WEDNESDAYS Fitness Fun with Zoe: 10-10:45 a.m. Online.

Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features light chair exercises with optional weights. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Shabbat Services: 5:30 p.m. nosh, 6:15 p.m. service; morning varying dates and times.

Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix.

For more information, contact Joan Neer at jneer@templechai.com.

Shabbat Services with Beth Ami Temple: 7 p.m. Gloria Christi Federated Church, 3535 E. Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley. Rabbi Alison Lawton and Cantorial Soloist Michael Robbins lead Shabbat services twice a month. For more information, visit bethamitemple.org.

Chair Yoga with Zoe: 11-11:45 a.m. Online.

Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. 45-minute chair yoga class. No prior yoga experience required. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Pre-Shabbat Kiddush Club: 6 p.m. Online.

Say Kiddush with Rabbi Mendy Levertov.

Cost: Free. Tune in here: ourjewishcenter. com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Shabbat Services: 6 p.m; 9:30 a.m. Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. Services are also live streamed at otaz. org/livestream. For more information about services, events and membership, visit congregationortzion.org or call 480-342-8858.

Shabbat Services: 6:15 p.m; 10 a.m. Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. Services held in the Goldsmith Sanctuary. Participants must pre-register by Thursday at 5 p.m. Priority will be given to members first and then guests. If there are more requests than available seats a lottery system will be used. For more information or to make a reservation, visit cbiaz.org/ shabbat-services.

Kabbalat Shabbat and/or Shabbat morning service: 6:30 p.m.; 10 a.m.; dates vary.

Congregation Kehillah, 5858 E. Dynamite Blvd., Cave Creek. Join Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman and cantorial soloists Erica Erman and Scott Leader either in person or via Zoom.

For safety reasons, please register ahead of time. For dates, visit congregationkehillah. org/event/. Register by emailing info@congregationkehillah.org.

Third Friday Shabbat: 7-9 p.m. Group meets at a North Scottsdale location. The Desert Foothills Jewish Community Association hosts a Shabbat service followed by a program. Contact Andrea at 480-664-8847 for more information.

Seniors MONDAYS Fitness Xpress Series with Zoe: 11-11:30 a.m.

Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features weight and band exercises as well as yoga poses. Exercises will be demonstrated standing, but can also be done sitting in a chair. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Sip & Schmooze: 11 a.m. milk + honey, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Sip on kosher coffee or tea, enjoy a pastry and schmooze every second Monday of the month. RSVP appreciated to chani@sosaz. org or 602-492-7670. For more information, visit sosaz.org.

Featured Presentation: 12:30 p.m. Online.

Join Smile on Seniors Mondays and Wednesdays to learn from a variety of presenters about topical issues, like Q&As with medical professionals, entertainers and lectures. Cost: Free. For more information, visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

TUESDAYS Movie Discussion Group: 11 a.m. Online. Join Smile on Seniors on the third Tuesday of every month hosted by Issy Lifshitz. Cost: Free. For full details and the movie of the month visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

THURSDAYS Memory Cafe: 10-11 a.m. first Thursday; 1-2 p.m. third Thursday. Online. Presented by Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Program for those with changes in their thinking or memory, mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder, along with their care partners. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/our-services/ older-adult-services/memory-cafe/.

In the Kitchen with Benita: 12:30 p.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the fourth Thursday of every month for some delicious cooking or baking fun! Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

FRIDAYS Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Celebrate Shabbat with the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Sit or Stand Ballet Class: 12-12:45 p.m.

Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Jennifer Cafarella Betts and Friends from Ballet Theatre of Phoenix teach this class. Grab a chair or you can stand next to a chair or counter. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Musical Friday: 12:30 p.m. Online. Join Smile on Seniors on the first Friday of every month for a musical presentation. Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org. JN

MILESTONES OBITUARY

SHARE YOUR ENGAGEMENT, WEDDING, BIRTH, BAR/BAT-MITZVAH ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OTHER SIMCHA ON BOTH JEWISHAZ.COM AND THE WEEKLY JEWISH NEWS ... FOR FREE.

MAJORIE B. MILLER Majorie B. Miller of Peoria, passed away on Oct. 30, 2023. She was 87. Marjorie was born in Glascow, Montana.

Marjorie was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert J. Miller; parents, James K. and Bernice C. Best; and sisters Ramona Holderman and Joanne Thompson. She is survived by her son, James K. Miller; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Services provided by Best Funeral Services. JN BAT MITZVAH

JEWISHAZ.COM JEWISHAZ.COM

JEWISH NEWS

ARABELLE SOPHIA CHERNY Arabelle Sophia Cherny will become a bat mitzvah on Dec. 9, 2023, at Temple Solel. She is the daughter of Stephanie and Andrei Cherny of Phoenix.

Arabelle’s grandparents are Pavel Cerny, Helena Cerny, Shelley Heyman and Lawrence Fleischman.

For her mitzvah project, Arabelle is collecting clothes for the Arizona homeless.

A student at Arizona School for the Arts, Arabelle enjoys drama, singing, piano and honing her Taylor Swift expertise. JN NOVEMBER 17, 2023

23

Israel needs you.

Please give generously.

The Israel Emergency Relief Fund has allocated over $175 million* to 120 organizations providing emergency relief and support in Israel.

ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING: • The Jewish Agency for Israel • United Hatzalah • Leket • American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) • Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC) • Barzilai Medical Center • ZAKA • and many more

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NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Donate to the Israel Emergency Relief Fund Every cent of your donation to the Israel Emergency Relief Campaign goes to support the victims of terror providing for basic needs, trauma support, and rebuilding essential infrastructure.

*As of 11/13/23

JEWISH NEWS

phoenixcjp.org/SupportIsrael

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