Jewish News, Feb. 4, 2022

COMMUNITY

Long-awaited Scottsdale Community Bank receives green light

NFL considers local Jewish man for Fan of the Year award

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

It only took going to one Cardinals game to hook Robert Freedman for life.

“I was 9 years old when I went to my first Cardinals game with my dad,” said Freedman, 37. “It’s a very special memory.”

He loved the energy at the stadium, cheering with fellow fans and seeing the sport play out on the field. He became a season ticket holder in 2007, and has been to every home game except one since.

The NFL announced in November that Freedman was named Cardinals Fan of the Year. Next month, Freedman, who is Jewish, will find out whether he beat out 31 others — one from each NFL team — to also be named 2021 NFL Fan of the Year. The league collected nearly 35,000 submissions from its 32 teams.

It is a “special honor” to represent Arizona’s Jewish community, Freedman said. He’d love to be named NFL Fan of the Year, but he’s trying not to think about it too much.

“I’ve been there before when you think you landed a job or are getting an award. Disappointment is the last thing I want to think about, and I want to think about the positives,” he said.

An NFL spokesman did not return a request for comment about the award or what made Freedman stand out in Arizona. According to the NFL website, the league launched the contest to “celebrate extraordinary fans who inspire others through their love of football and bring an ‘original spice’ to what it means to be a fan.”

Submissions were judged based on a nominee’s

SENIOR LIFESTYLE

Seniors starting new careers, retiring to Israel and researching Elvis’ Jewish roots

mom creates community for Jews with alopecia

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

SEE CARDINALS, PAGE 2

L

iba Yoffe had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that her 2-year-old daughter’s hair wouldn’t grow back.

Her daughter, Tehila, has alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. Liba had never heard about alopecia before Tehila’s diagnosis.

“It was very shocking in the beginning. I went home and Googled it — I had no clue what it was,” Liba said.

She and her husband quickly realized that in order to raise a confident kid, they needed to “transform ourselves as parents,” she said. “The way that you, as parents, relate to your kid who has alopecia is going to very much affect their future.

Liba, who lives in Phoenix, helps run a nonprofit called HAIROES, which provides support and organizes events for Jewish children and adults with alopecia. On Feb. 6, HAIROES is hosting its first in-person event since the COVID pandemic began in early 2020.

According to the National Library of Medicine, alopecia affects 1 in every

The great ‘Maus’ giveaway is on as bookstores, professors and churches counter school board’s ban

Tehila Yoffe, left, and her mom Liba.

passion, enthusiasm and fandom for their favorite team, their inspirational story and their community spirit. The application required two essay questions.

Freedman received multiple nominations — including from himself, his friends and his mom.

In his submission he talked about his passion and energy for the Cardinals and how he treats every game day like it’s a holiday, he said.

“I love football and it’s once a week, so we have a whole week to get excited about one game,” he said.

Freedman created an Arizona Cardinals group on Facebook called AZ BirdGang Nation in February 2015. The group now has more than 11,500 members.

“Cardinals fans treat each other like family,” he said. “And we get each other going. We have our chants, and our fans have a lot of passion and we have a very fun game-day atmosphere

Freedman and others who nominated him shared how he has both overcome great challenges and approaches life with an attitude of gratitude.

Born 11 weeks early, he weighed 1 pound 10 ounces.

“They told me if he lived, he’d never walk or talk,” said Mickey Freedman, Robert’s mom. But he made it. He was in special education until third grade and continued to thrive. In January 1994, just over a year after Robert went to his first Cardinals game with his dad, his dad died in a car accident. Being a Cardinals fan and going to games makes Robert feel closer to his dad, he said.

Robert has spent the last 12 years as a special education instructional assistant at Washington High School in Phoenix.

He is passionate about making kids feel empowered, he said

“I want kids to feel that someone’s there for them, that they got their back, that they care for them — just like they did for me.”

Mickey said she is so proud of her son and how far he’s come.

“Here he is. He graduated from college with honors, he has a happy job, a good job, and now he’s been recognized by the Cardinals for his passion and inspiring and impacting people around him constantly,” she said.

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Robert said his history is a constant reminder that life is fragile. “You got to enjoy every day of life and be grateful for everyone who has made a difference in your life,” he said.

Robert and the 31 other finalists will travel to Los Angeles to attend the NFL Honors event and Super Bowl LVI in mid-February.

“I’ve been dreaming about going to a Super Bowl since I was a little kid,” Robert said. “I get to cross that off my bucket list — I’m excited about doing that.” JN

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Mickey Freedman and her son Robert, named Cardinals Fan of the Year, at a Cardinals game. COURTESY OF ROBERT FREEDMAN

500 to 1,000 people in the United States.

Liba first became involved with HAIROES about six years ago. She learned of the organization through the Jewish community in New York, where she lived until 2019

“We really wanted to have something where she can meet other kids that have alopecia and see that she’s not the only one,” she said. “Also, we realized that there’s so many parents that need support.

The organization was not active, and Liba was happy to take charge. She organized her first event for the nonprofit in May 2016

“It was a big, carnival half-day event, and people actually flew in for it from across the country. For some people, it was their first time meeting others with alopecia,” she said.

Tehila, 12, clearly remembers that first event and the impact it had on her

“Four other girls came with me to the bathroom to take off their wigs and we all ran around together bald and beautiful,” Tehila said. “HAIROES is a place I can make others smile and make friends who just get it. It’s fun looking around at a room full of other bald kids. It makes me feel all happy.

Liba said she hears from fellow parents how these events fill their kids with confidence

She’s seen Tehila’s confidence grow, too.

Liba said alopecia has been something that Tehila has been able to use to build her up instead of tear her down. “She’s totally comfortable with her baldness, or her wig. At this point, if anything, it’s an asset. It’s a tool to be able to help people.”

Liba, too, has grown from helping her daughter be comfortable in her own skin. Raising a confident young woman has forced her to become a confident woman herself.

Liba, who is 4 feet 11 inches tall, always felt insecure about her height.

“I felt emotionally small, like I was unimportant – who’s gonna listen to me, I’m so small,” she said. “I learned that confidence comes from being true to yourself, and celebrating yourself. And confidence is attractive, it doesn’t matter if you’re different.”

Tehila said she is grateful that HAIROES has taught her to “love myself just the way I am.”

Before the pandemic, Liba would organize about two in-person events per year. But over the past two years, she’s been organizing a virtual event every two or three months. The Feb. 6 event will be at a Trampoline Park in New Jersey, and include workshops for parents, childrens and teens with alopecia.

She’s expecting up to 100 people between 12 and 15 Jewish families to attend, she said, and is fundraising for the event on GoFundMe. JN

Four girls with alopecia, including Tehila Yoffe, second from left at the first HAIROES event in 2016.

OF LIBA

Long-awaited Scottsdale Community Bank receives green light

HAYDEE M. RODRIGUEZ

“The Scottsdale Bank Drought is Over” headlines the home page of the new Scottsdale Community Bank. The bank received its certificate of approval from both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the State of Arizona effective this past Jan. 10, making it one of only 10 community banks in Arizona. According to a press release issued recently, the bank plans to hold its grand opening for the public “within the next 60 days.”

The locally owned and managed Scottsdale Community Bank will provide a fast turnaround and service in its operations and decision making. While the bank can provide service anywhere in the state of Arizona, its primary market area stretches from the Scottsdale Airpark to the north, through Paradise Valley, Old Town Scottsdale, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the McDowell Road revitalization area to Arizona State University and its SkySong Innovation Center to the south.

Quoted in the press release was veteran banker Neill LeCorgne, president and CEO of Scottsdale Community Bank, who remarked, “There is a tremendous banking opportunity in Arizona which is one of the fastest-growing financial and business centers in the nation, yet is drastically underserved.” Arizona has only 10 community banks compared with 410 in Texas, 401 in Illinois, 144 in California and even 41 in Utah. LeCorgne added, “Our greatest opportunity is rooted in our local decision making and having our products and services delivered through the most innovative banking platforms available in the industry today.”

“We are changing the face of business

banking in Arizona by combining cutting edge FinTech (financial technology) with true relationship banking,” said George Weisz, Scottsdale Community Bank board chair. “This is a dynamic bank for a dynamic community. Our focus is on providing personalized concierge banking services to growth-minded small and mid-size businesses, nonprofit organizations and family businesses. We have created a high-caliber, innovative financial institution that will be a valuable resource for our community. It has a local commitment with a global vision. This will be a true community bank.”

Weisz added, “This historic new bank is a significant signal, at the very start of the new year, of forward-looking economic growth and a positive financial outlook for Scottsdale, the Valley and the state of Arizona. The new year is bringing an exciting new bank.”

“I am elated that Scottsdale Community Bank has chosen Scottsdale to establish

the first new community bank in Arizona in 14 years,” said Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega. “This is a significant sign of the thriving economic climate that Scottsdale’s business community and government sector have been producing for years. Scottsdale Community Bank will bring local banking and cuttingedge financial services to our businesses, which are the lifeblood of our flourishing economic engine.”

Both Weisz and board member Frank Jacobson praised the bank’s board members and founders who have committed so much to making Scottsdale Community Bank a reality.

“Our bank is looking forward to providing its unique combination of cutting-edge FinTech and personalized service to businesses, nonprofits and congregations in the Jewish community,” said Weisz.

Weisz and Jacobson are actively engaged in Scottsdale’s Jewish community. They

each lauded other board members, including David Lorsch described by Weisz as a “very successful business leader,” and Leslie Dashew, a national consultant on family businesses who, Weisz shared, “has written four books on that subject. We know our community and have served in leadership roles in many Jewish community organizations.”

Critical to the creation of the Scottsdale Community Bank were the many founders who actively raised the capital needed. A number of its founders are also active members of the Jewish community.

“They are successful business owners and nonprofit leaders who bring a breadth of knowledge and experience to our organization and understand the needs of our community,” Weisz said.

Founders with extensive family business backgrounds include Nathan and Susan Goldberg, owners of Specialized Office Systems headquartered in Phoenix; Donna and Rudy Troisi, owners of Reliable Background Screening, headquartered in Scottsdale; Dr. Nathan and Judy Laufer and Dr. Steven and Susan Farber, who are involved in the medical field; and Barbara and Barry Zemel, and Dan Bock, who have extensive experience in development and entrepreneurial startups.

Asked what drives their commitment to give back to the community, Weisz and Jacobson spoke of their understanding of the true meaning of l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation, “thus helping to guide the financial needs of family dynamics involved in such enterprises,” said Weisz. JN

For more information on the Scottsdale Community Bank, visit scottsdalecommunitybank.com.

Haydee M. Rodriguez is a freelance writer for the Baltimore Jewish Times – a Jewish News-affiliated publication.

George Weisz

COURTESY OF FRANK JACOBSON

COURTESY OF FRANK JACOBSON

Arizona Autism United helps parents become direct care providers for children

PAULINA TIFFANY

Established in 2009 by the Jewish Special Education International Consortium, Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is observed each February. JDAIM is a call to action for all of us to act in accordance with our Jewish values, and to raise awareness and foster acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities and mental health conditions and those who love them.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made accessing services and support systems a challenge for many Arizona children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disabilities, but Arizona Autism United (AZA United) is working to take the strain off families by helping the parents and guardians of minor children sign up to become temporary direct care workers for their children.

“For many AZA United parents, the change in the rules actually helped them become more involved in their child’s care,” said Aaron Blocher-Rubin, president and CEO of AZA United. “And the ability to

become a temporary direct care worker eased the financial strain families were facing because of layoffs or having to make the choice between working and being home to meet their child’s needs.”

AZA United is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by Dr. Blocher-Rubin and a group of local families who were experiencing firsthand a shortage of quality care for children with autism. The organization provides a wide variety of direct services and supports for individuals with autism, their families and the community.

In April 2020, the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) introduced the ability for parents, stepparents or other legal guardians to become direct care workers through a qualified vendor agency such as AZA United. This lets parents fill the attendant care position that helps clients attend to personal tasks that they cannot do independently, including feeding, bathing and grooming.

Parents taking on the direct care worker role can also provide their children with habilitation services, working one-on-one with the child to complete a variety of

activities that teach important socialization, behavioral and adaptive skills.

“We’ve seen parents become much more aware of their child’s progress and goals after taking on this role,” Blocher-Rubin shared.

As new variants cause an increase in COVID-19 cases, parents may be hesitant to let care workers back into the home, especially if there are any members of the house who are high risk for catching COVID-19 or having serious symptoms related to the illness.

Parents cannot work another job while providing these services for their children and they cannot provide respite care for their own children. However, siblings and other family members can also be hired as a habilitation and respite provider as long as they meet the qualifications.

AZA United can help determine parent and family member eligibility to provide respite and other services. The organization’s family support team is helping qualifying families find the training resources they need to move forward with the process. Not every child is approved for every service. Families should work with the DDD support coordinator to assess for services to determine

if they will be added to the child’s service plan. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, complete training on Article 9, complete training for CPR and first aid, complete direct care worker training, train on the delivery of habilitation services as needed, submit a request for fingerprint clearance when required and pass background checks including checks for the Department of Child Safety (DCS) Central Registry and the Adult Protective Services (APS) Registry. Parents and family members acting as direct care workers or habilitation and respite providers will also need to be trained to follow any of the qualifying vendor agency specific requirements.

Though the change was originally a temporary measure, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) has submitted a request to the federal government to extend this opportunity through March 2024. JN

Paulina Tiffany is the development director at Arizona Autism United. To learn more about becoming a temporary direct care worker through Arizona Autism United, call 602-773-5773 or visit azaunited.org.

Sheryl Bronkesh ushers in new era for Phoenix Holocaust Association

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

In the last dozen years, Sheryl Bronkesh, president of the Phoenix Holocaust Association, has launched a group for second generation Holocaust survivors, broadened the reach of PHA and helped to ensure the Holocaust is taught in Arizona’s public schools.

“I don’t want to sound conceited — my work’s not done — but I feel pretty darn good,” Bronkesh said with a laugh. “I have honored my parents and my grandparents and my great-grandparents’ legacy. I have honored them by not forgetting them.”

Bronkesh wasn’t always active in the survivor world. She was busy raising her family and running her business, a healthcare market research company.

“I did absolutely nothing with the Holocaust association, except once a year I would go to Yom HaShoah and watch my parents walk down the aisle with their little candle,” she said. But after her father passed away in 1998, Bronkesh began accompanying her mom to the association’s Cafe Europa gatherings,

a social and support program for Holocaust survivors.

At that time, there were about 200 survivors in the Phoenix area, Bronkesh recalled. She slowly became more involved, joining PHA’s board of directors in 2008.

“The survivors were getting older and they needed the next generation to step up,” she said. Her mom, Bronia Cimmerman Bronkesh, was 87 when Sheryl joined, “and she wasn’t one of the oldest.”

One of the first things Sheryl advocated for as a board member was expanding what it means to be a Holocaust survivor.

“When I joined, there were people on the board who still spoke out that you have to be a concentration camp survivor to be a ‘real survivor,’” she said. ‘That became something I became pretty vocal about. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum defines a survivor more broadly, and that’s what I advocated.”

Growing up in Millville, New Jersey on a chicken farm, Sheryl found it hurtful that many people didn’t accept her parents,

both for their survivor status — neither spent the war in a concentration camp — and their socioeconomic standing. “We were dirt poor,” Sheryl said.

Bronia spent the war years escaping the grip of the Nazis. She left city after city ahead of their arrival, and meanwhile, the Soviet Union was changing the borders of nations, too. She went from Sarny, Poland, to Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk in Ukraine, to Kirovakan, Armenia. All the while she successfully cobbled together a high school education and later tried to complete medical school.

Sheryl’s father, Sane “Sam” Bronkesh, worked as conscripted labor at a munitions factory site in Stawy until he escaped. He met up with his three brothers, who also escaped from separate labor camps, and lived in the Gulowska forest in eastern Poland with about 40 other Jews from his hometown. They spent two and a half years as partisans.

“‘Til the day he died, my father had shrapnel in his leg,” Sheryl said. Bronia and Sam both lost many relatives to the Nazis.

In May 1945, Bronia arrived in Lublin, Poland, and stayed in a homeless shelter, where she met Sam. Promising to take care of Bronia, her sister, and mother, Sam married her in October. A week later they left Poland and arrived in New York in June 1947.

“My parents felt like second-class citizens. Especially my father, because his English was not fluent. And no one was interested in their Holocaust story that I recall,” Sheryl said. “I felt so strongly that all survivors need to be recognized and appreciated. Not just those that were in a concentration camp.”

As a PHA board member, Sheryl also helped with the creation of a group for second generation survivors, Generations After. It took three attempts to get it off the ground. It finally found success with guidance from Janice Friebaum, now vice president of the board of directors and a lifelong Holocaust researcher. Friebaum had previously launched a successful second generation (2G) group in a different city.

“Not only was it for those of us who

Holocaust survivor Alex White, left, Sheryl Bronkesh, and survivor Oscar Knoblauch appear at the Arizona state capitol.

COURTESY OF SHERYL BRONKESH

grew up with (survivor) parents, it was the first time we started doing really broad community programming highlighting the Holocaust,” Sheryl said. The group featured internationally-known speakers, drawing audiences large enough to fill auditoriums and synagogues. And the group partnered with Scottsdale Community College for Genocide Awareness Week.

While some 2Gs grew up not knowing what their parents went through, Sheryl knew all the details. “My mother told me everything,” she said.

In 2018, Sheryl became president of the board and led the organization to change its name — dropping “Survivors” from what had been Phoenix Holocaust Survivors Association.

“I did not want the organization to die with our last survivor,” Sheryl said. Survivors are still central to the PHA’s work and mission. “But the lessons of the Holocaust go far beyond

teachers on the Holocaust and several other genocides, including in Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia and the U.S. in regards to Native Americans.

“That’s huge,” Sheryl said. “I am so proud that we were able to involve professors from all three state universities, and from different community colleges, to survivors and other educators who worked together quickly to develop that resource. To me, that’s a major achievement.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheryl and the PHA had just launched an exhibit called “In Broad Daylight: Holocaust by Bullets,” at the Arizona Capitol Museum and at the Burton Barr Library. The exhibit, inspired by books written by Patrick Desbois, focused on a lesser-known history of the Holocaust, in which European Jews were not sent to concentration camps but instead executed and buried in mass graves. The exhibits were

the individual survivors, and I pretty much dedicated the last three years of my life to that.”

Over the past three years, she worked alongside lawmakers to ensure Arizona’s public schools teach about the Holocaust and other genocides at least twice between seventh and 12th grades. She hopes it will help to correct misconceptions that students may have about World War II, such as how it started, who the perpetrators were and how many people were killed.

A 2020 national survey found that “when asked how many Jews were killed during the Holocaust, 63% of Millennials (those ages 25-40) and Gen Z (those ages 18-24) did not know 6 million Jews were murdered.” That figure climbed to 67% in Arizona. The survey, commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also found 11% of national respondents — 15% in Arizona — believe Jews caused the Holocaust.

Sheryl and the PHA spearheaded a task force to develop resources for

supposed to be the first in a three-month series of events and lectures sponsored by the PHA in partnership with Yahad-In Unum, an organization founded by Desbois dedicated to documenting evidence of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. But the pandemic cut them short.

The exhibit is scheduled to resume next year in late February, and Desbois will speak at the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University on April 4.

Sheryl is touched by the impact the exhibit had while it was open. “Many thousands of kids saw it,” she said. Judaism, too, continues to be central to her identity, and she is a member of Congregation Or Tzion.

“I’m a 2G only because I’m Jewish,” Sheryl said. “Judaism to me is my connection to my past, to my community. I keep kosher, and I think I do that because it reminds me and anyone else I’m with that I am Jewish and that Judaism is important to me.” JN

“I HAVE HONORED MY PARENTS AND MY GRANDPARENTS AND MY GREAT-GRANDPARENTS’ LEGACY. I HAVE HONORED THEM BY NOT FORGETTING THEM.”

-SHERYL BRONKESH

Congress must act on nonprofit security funding

We’ve learned from too many tragic experiences that Jewish houses of worship, among other holy gathering places in this country, are increasingly targets for violence. Whether the attacks are driven by antisemitism, racism or other deranged thinking of a domestic terrorist with a gun, the threat is real. Our institutions need protection.

Beginning in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) began funding for eligible nonprofit organizations at risk of such terrorist attacks. Those government dollars add protection through such basic security enhancements as the installation of security cameras, secure doors, barriers and active-shooter training drills. Although funding for NSGP has increased since then, last year’s $180 million was only able to address less than half of the grant applications

received. Congress was reportedly considering raising the amount. Then came Colleyville.

A group of Jewish organizations, including Jewish Federations of North America, the Orthodox Union, Agudath

Israel and others called for Congress to double the budget to $360 million. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed just that.

Congress must act. The hostage taking last month at the Texas synagogue is the

A GROUP OF JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA, THE ORTHODOX UNION, AGUDATH ISRAEL AND OTHERS CALLED FOR CONGRESS TO DOUBLE THE BUDGET TO $360 MILLION. LAST WEEK, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER PROPOSED JUST THAT.

Challenges of financial management

An increasing number of people within our community are struggling to manage their financial affairs. The causes for the problem are numerous. But the daunting combination of an unending pandemic, changing job market, volatile economy, rising inflation, social uncertainty and the challenging cost of Jewish life make it difficult for many to cope. In addition, very few of us receive proper training or guidance in the management of our financial affairs.

For those with good jobs and sufficient incomes, more modest financial mistakes get lost in the shuffle. And when more serious issues arise, those who can afford it turn to professionals for assistance. But what about people with lower paying jobs, no job at all, retirees on fixed incomes or others who can’t afford to pay for the assistance they need to navigate credit problems, debt collection efforts or other financial issues?

We are fortunate to have within our community very generous organizations that offer loans, grants or other direct financial assistance to those in need. There is no underestimating the value of such assistance, and the providers of it are doing impressive work. Oftentimes, the added boost of a cash infusion helps solve the problem. But not always. In fact, sometimes the cash infusion only helps solve an

immediate need, but does nothing to address the more complex financial issues that underlie it.

According to Upsolve, a financial education and civil rights nonprofit, one of the biggest challenges to those struggling financially develops when they are sued by debt collection agencies

and others and don’t know what to do in response. They cannot afford counsel and don’t understand the court process. When they fail to respond to the lawsuit and lose their case by default, their financial problems snowball as their credit is destroyed and they are plunged further into debt. Similar difficulties

WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY VERY GENEROUS ORGANIZATIONS THAT OFFER LOANS, GRANTS OR OTHER DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THOSE IN NEED. THERE IS NO UNDERESTIMATING THE VALUE OF SUCH ASSISTANCE, AND THE PROVIDERS OF IT ARE DOING IMPRESSIVE WORK.

most recent act of terror in a tragic litany that includes the mass murder at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; the mass shooting at a Black church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015; and the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012, and many more. As even this short list reminds, the danger and the threat is not limited to the Jewish community. Enhancing security will save lives. And more lives will be saved the sooner security enhancements are funded and put in place. Quite simply, preventive actions are far more useful than reactive ones.

President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill was set to include a $100 million increase in NSGP funding. Although BBB is now off the table, it remains important for Congress to pursue vital pieces of the program, like increased funding for NSGP. American lives depend on it. JN

develop for those who struggle with banks, credit card companies and “easy money” lenders, and find themselves victims of “terms and conditions” they never read or understood, but signed and agreed to (as we all do) in order to access the opportunity.

Upsolve wants to deputize its non-lawyer volunteers to help debt collection defendant clients navigate the court process and otherwise help them work through their issues. But in many jurisdictions, the provision of guidance for the response to a lawsuit is considered the practice of law and it is forbidden to practice law without a license. So Upsolve recently sued the New York State attorney general, seeking an order allowing non-lawyers to provide such guidance. The issues presented are interesting, and we await the court ruling.

The Upsolve case helps focus on the need for credit guidance, financial management education and a whole host of financial training and instruction that is needed in order to help avoid the lawsuits, the debilitating judgments and years-long damage to credit rating that could result from recurring financial mistakes. Some of that is provided by our existing social service agencies — although mostly focused on financial relief. We encourage a more robust and farther-reaching effort. JN

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SENIOR Lifestyle

The new Florida? Record number of US retirees relocate to Israel in 2021

LARRY LUXNER | JTA

Afew weeks ago, Joel Tenenbaum, 81, and Marilyn Berkowitz, 84, arrived in Tel Aviv on an El Al flight from New York ready to start their new lives in Israel.

They had met through JDate five years earlier. Each was widowed; Tenebaum had been married for 47 years, Berkowitz, known as Lyn, for 49.

A retired New York trial lawyer raised in Brooklyn, Tenenbaum always had felt an affinity for Israel — fueled since childhood by Hebrew school and the movie “Exodus.” Berkowitz, a former university dean’s assistant in New Jersey, had been a frequent visitor to Israel ever since her son moved here in 1991.

Both are longtime volunteers for the Israeli nonprofit organization Sar-El. They now share a rental apartment in Tel Aviv’s trendy Florentin neighborhood, close to the ulpan where they will soon enroll in an intensive Hebrew language program.

“A lot of our contemporaries have gone to Florida,” Berkowitz said. “But

and do their banking online.”

The pandemic, Rosenberg said, has prompted people of all ages to recalibrate what’s important to them.

“The pandemic really shifted how many people connect and stay close to family without being in close physical proximity,” said Rosenberg, whose organization works in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and the Jewish National Fund-USA. “And they know the healthcare system in Israel is excellent. Israel handled the pandemic pretty well, and that’s been a significant factor.”

The pandemic was a big factor in the aliyah decision of New York natives Howard and Mina Millendorf, who moved to Israel last July. The couple in their 70s settled in Jerusalem’s Katamon district, moving into the same building where their daughter, Sharon, lives with her husband, Shlomo, and their three sons.

I think they should become sandbirds, not snowbirds.”

In fact, more and more older American Jews are opting to spend their golden years in the Jewish state.

Of the 4,478 new immigrants who arrived in Israel from North America last year, 762 — just over 17% of the total — were 55 or older. That’s up nearly 23% from the 580 who came in 2020, according to Nefesh B’Nefesh, the nonprofit agency that coordinates the aliyah process for U.S. and Canadian citizens.

“Israel is becoming a more attractive place, specifically for people at the age of retirement,” said Marc Rosenberg, vice president of Diaspora partnerships at Nefesh B’Nefesh. “With increasing technology, cellphones and internet use, Israel is much more international now, especially with apps that allow people to get around, navigate

“I think the pandemic kind of pushed us into making a decision,” said Mina, a retired elementary schoolteacher who had lived in the Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale since she and Howard were married 41 years ago. “Normally, we’d come to Israel several times a year and rent an apartment here. But with COVID, we were missing all the birthdays and anniversaries. It was not easy for us.”

Six months after their arrival, Howard lists his main goals as “finding ways to do good, playing daily with our grandsons, cultivating new friends, restaurants and wines, and enjoying Mina’s special cooking and baking with family.”

But he also aims to give back to Israel through his work with the telecom company IDT and the Howard Jonas Foundation. Projects include the construction of a new cancer center at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center

OF THE 4,478 NEW IMMIGRANTS WHO ARRIVED IN ISRAEL FROM NORTH AMERICA LAST YEAR, 762 — JUST OVER 17% OF THE TOTAL — WERE 55 OR OLDER. (NEFESH B’NEFESH)

as well as initiatives for severely disabled youngsters, autistic and hearing-impaired children, and people with terminal illnesses. In addition, Howard is involved in a long-term networking program, choosing his 27,000 LinkedIn connections to open doors and help secure job opportunities in Israel and elsewhere.

Yossie and Joanie Ziff of Los Angeles arrived in Israel as new immigrants on Dec. 27, 2021. Both retired elementary school teachers, Yossie, 71, and Joanie, 67, had lived in Venice Beach in California for years, and then the heavily Jewish L.A. neighborhood of Pico-Robertson, but they decided recently it was time to make the move to Israel.

“The situation in America really made us feel we wanted to come to Israel and be with the Jewish people,” Joanie said.

Between the two of them, they have five children and 15 grandchildren.

The couple already has bought an apartment in Modiin, which is a 25-minute drive from the beach at Rishon Le’Zion, where Yossie likes to surf.

“We’ll probably go back and forth to America, but this will be our primary home,” Joanie said. “Modiin has such a beautiful Anglo community here. When we got here, there was a sign on our door from our neighbors welcoming us. We’ve been smothered by love wherever we go.” JN

This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with Nefesh B’Nefesh, which in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah, The Jewish Agency, KKL and JNF-USA is minimizing the professional, logistical and social obstacles of aliyah, and has brought over 70,000 olim from North America for two decades. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.

When exploring your retirement options, what matters most to you? Extraordinary amenities? Award-winning design? Daily opportunities for socializing, continued learning and connectivity? Personalized care services to meet your changing needs?

At Maravilla Scottsdale, seniors find all that plus the assurance in the quality of care and services provided with an accreditation from The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). CARF is an international, nonprofit organization that accredits health and human services providers.

To achieve accreditation, a senior living community must demonstrate comprehensive conformance to approximately 1,500 elevated standards that measure the e ectiveness of management and communication, programs and activities, and interaction with outside agencies regarding additional services for residents.

“Most people wouldn’t go to a hospital or send their children to a college that isn’t accredited,” said Sandra Dangelo, executive director at Maravilla Scottsdale. “Moving into a community that is accredited a ords greater peace of mind that care and services have undergone intense scrutiny by an outside, third party.”

Maravilla Scottsdale was one of the first retirement communities in the nation to earn accreditation for its independent, assisted living and memory care programs. CARF evaluators commended the community for its programmatic and recreational aspects, “top-notch” dining services, individualized and person-centered care philosophy and family-like environment among residents and sta .

Neighboring the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort and Tournament Players Club Stadium Course, Maravilla Scottsdale was designed to enhance a resident’s engaging lifestyle. Here, residents enjoy a variety of social, recreational and fitness opportunities as well as exceptional amenities including multiple dining venues, fitness center, indoor swimming pool, spa, movie theater and more.

And, if needs change, Maravilla Scottsdale provides personalized care services within an enriching environment including supportive assisted living services to help with day-to-day activities and SRG’s personalized Enliven dementia care program.

Retired schoolteachers Yossie Ziff, 71, and his wife, Joanie, 67, moved to Israel from Los Angeles in 2021. They live in Modiin and frequently visit the beach at nearby Rishon Le’Zion, where Yossie surfs.

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and caregivers responsible for their well-being. I liaison between the Jewish community programs and organizations which provide services to the Jewish community’s older adult population.

Where did you work before taking this position?

Prior to this position, I worked for the JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment as the office assistant. In that position, I interacted with the participants in our programs, handled all of the administrative tasks of running the programs and assisted the center’s director.

especially fond of the many opportunities for hiking and nature.

What are your hours at the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center and where are you located?

I am at the Martin Pear JCC every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. My table is located in the front lobby between the restaurant and the membership desk. I am also available to meet at the JCC at other times with prior scheduling. JN

To reach Carol, contact 480-721-8619 or email carol.goldstein@jfcsaz.org.

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In his 90s, this Jewish WWII vet embarked on a new career: Writing children’s books

LIOR ZALTZMAN | KVELLER VIA JTA

Sam Baker is just a year shy of his 100th birthday, but he is still young enough to follow new dreams. The 99-year-old Jewish World War II veteran is now working on his third kids’ book — a career that he started at the age of 95, when he published “The Silly Adventures of Petunia and Herman the Worm.”

“My daughter, Sally, along with my friend and author Linda Larson Schlitz, helped me to make my dream and goal of publishing books come true,” Baker, a former GPS salesman, told Kveller over email.

Baker was recently featured in a moving ad for the design software Canva, in which he retells his life story to his grandchildren, using designs from the software and pictures from his life. Baker used the app to make materials to crowdfund his most recent book, “Oscar the Mouse,” released in September 2020 and inspired by a rat that Baker kept as a pet growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Baker dedicated the book to his children, and to those working at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just

“I’ve lived a lot of lives and learned a lot of lessons along the way,” Baker says in the ad, as he creates an album of pictures full of weddings, family vacations and dinners, of Baker and his two kids, Sally and Michael, as well as pictures of Baker in his Marines uniform.

He tells his grandchildren to “be kind, because, at the end of the day, we’re all more similar than you think. We all experience ups and downs.” He then adds, “I always had the feeling that love can solve most of the world’s problem. Yes, she certainly did for me,” as a picture of his late wife, Janet, shows up on the screen. “She’d be so happy that I’m still using my creativity,” he kvells.

“Janet always supported me in all phases of my work and career. She also encouraged me to put my stories on paper, so that they would be family treasures,” Baker says.

Baker met his wife at a progressive party in Sacramento, California, when he was there for work.

“When I asked her for a lunch date, she said we should meet at a certain

street intersection, and I stood there for an hour, no Janet. My phone call to her that night wasn’t without anger. Her reply matched my anger. We were a block apart. We solved that problem and started going steady after a couple of dates.”

Both of Baker’s parents were Jewish, and he and Janet raised their children Jewish, as well. “I like being around Jewish people,” he confesses, “and during my many travels have sought out Jewish temples to meet Jewish people there.”

“There are many avenues of Judaism one can follow. I prefer the joyful, loving routes that it teaches, and tried to impart that feeling in my books,” Baker says.

“Books were not the primary influence for my writing,” Baker explains, when asked for the inspiration behind his new career. “It was stories I told the children when they were young. This led me to write my own stories where I encourage children to use their imagination.”

“I loved being a parent, even though I was away on duty for months at a time,” Baker explains. “That feeling probably was instilled in me by the love and

understanding my parents gave to me and my sisters. My father always said that his grandchildren were interested in his investment in his children.”

His next book will continue the tale of Oscar the mouse — in it, Oscar goes to the vet with a tummy ache, and the doctor diagnoses him with a very bad case of EBS — “eyes bigger than his stomach.”

Baker wants his work to encourage others to chase their dreams: “The first step is always the hardest to take. It’s like pushing a car that is stopped. Sure, it’s hard to get it moving, but once it’s moving, it takes a lot less energy to keep it going.” JN

For more articles like this, visit Kveller.com.

Dan Fellner is tracing Elvis Presley’s Jewish roots

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

Dan Fellner first became aware that Elvis Presley had a connection to Judaism in 2018 when he visited Tupelo, Miss., to write a story for the Arizona Republic about a new self-guided bike tour to see sites related to Elvis’ childhood.

When he went inside the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum, next to the small house where Elvis was born and lived as a small child, he noticed a menorah with Chanukah candles in one of the display cases. “I thought, ‘What was it doing there?’” said Fellner. “I wondered if Elvis had some sort of connection to Judaism.”

That night Fellner went to Shabbat services at Tupelo’s small Reform synagogue, Temple B’nai Israel, located in a quiet residential neighborhood about a 10-minute drive from Elvis’ birthplace. At the synagogue, he was introduced to George Copen, who knew Elvis when they were children. The menorah had belonged to George’s family. George loaned the menorah to a close friend of the Presley family, and it was never returned. George lost track of it until it went on display at the museum. George told Fellner the menorah ultimately ended up with Elvis — he’s seen a photo of Elvis with the hanukkiah. George said he had heard Elvis had Jewish roots, which is why he believed he hung onto it.

“That was the first I had heard of Elvis’ Jewish background,” said Fellner. “I wanted to learn as much about the subject as I could.”

Fellner started to do more research and learned that a book was written about Elvis’ relationship with his mother Gladys. In that book, it was disclosed that Elvis’ great-great-grandmother on his mother’s side was a Lithuanian Jew named Nancy Burdine.

“I spoke to a man named Harold Fruchter. His father was a well-known rabbi in Memphis,” said Fellner. “The Presley family lived in the apartment right below the Fruchters — the two families were close friends —

and the Fruchters even used Elvis as a Shabbos goy.” Fruchter later confided in Fellner that had his father been aware of Elvis’s Jewish roots; they wouldn’t have used him as a Shabbos goy.

In the spring of 2021, Fellner went to Graceland in Memphis. That’s where he saw Gladys’ headstone that had a Star of David on it. The headstone has a long and interesting history (Fellner wrote about its history: "Elvis

headstone redesigned and added the Star of David in 1964. Fellner wondered why Elvis did this and located the only other person with Elvis when he made that decision in 1964 — a man named Larry Geller. “He was a long-time friend of Elvis and has written several books about Elvis,” said Fellner. “He became known as his ‘spiritual adviser.’” Geller is now in his 80s and lives in Sedona. Fellner was able to interview Geller, who shared some more information.

“I began working with Elvis in April 1964, and several weeks later, we went to Memphis for a hiatus until his next movie started,” said Geller. “The first thing he did was take me to his mother’s gravesite. The two of us stood there in silence for a few moments, then he declared that he wanted a Star of David put there — he felt his mother would also want this.” Several weeks later, the Star of David was added to the headstone.

Presley was Jewish? A grave marker locked away for 4 decades confirms it"). He interviewed Angie Marchese, the head of archives at Graceland, who told him the story of the headstone and said it was decided to put the monument on public display as a tribute to Gladys’ Jewish heritage. While at Graceland, Fellner was also allowed to photograph a diamond-studded chai necklace that Elvis often wore during the last years of his life. He also learned that Elvis gave a lot of money over the years to Jewish organizations.

Fellner discovered that when Gladys died in 1958, her original headstone had just a cross on it. Elvis had the

Geller continued, “Elvis’ Jewishness goes quite deep, and of course, we spoke of this many times over the years, and he was extremely proud that on his mother’s side he had Jewish relatives.” Fellner will share more of his research findings on Thursday, Feb. 10, during a presentation, “The King Was a Mensch: Tracing Elvis Presley’s Jewish Roots,” through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Arizona State University for ages 50+. The class will be held over Zoom from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Cost is $14 plus a one-time, per-semester membership fee of $20. To register, visit lifelonglearning.asu.edu.

“I hope to continue speaking on the subject and furthering my research — it’s been such a fascinating journey,” shares Fellner. “I was never a huge Elvis fan growing up, but since I’ve started researching his life and his Jewish connection, I’ve become a big fan. I sense — despite his well-documented problems — Elvis was truly a mensch in so many ways.” JN

The menorah on display at the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum. COURTESY

Gladys Presley’s grave marker, now on display at Graceland. COURTESY OF DAN FELLNER

Hospice of the Valley provides culturally sensitive care for every stage of illness

Since 1977, Hospice of the Valley’s experienced care teams have been tending to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and supporting their family members. As one of the largest not-for-profit hospices in the country, HOV provides a safety net for those with no insurance, turning no one away for lack of financial resources. Its mission has remained steadfast: Bringing comfort, dignity and compassionate care to our community.

As an accredited Jewish Hospice, the agency has been recognized by the National Institute for Jewish Hospice for educating care teams about Jewish culture and values, integrating Jewish medical ethics into care and teaching traditional aspects of Jewish grief.

“Hospice of the Valley takes great pride in tailoring care to best meet individual needs,” said Rachel Behrendt, senior vice president of operations. “It’s reassuring to Jewish families to know that we have rabbis on our staff; provide kosher meals in our inpatient care homes; and partner with Kivel Campus of Care and wonderful volunteers to provide bedside Shabbat blessings in our inpatient care homes.”

the innovative programs unique to Hospice of the Valley:

• Geriatric Solutions: a home-based primary care for home-limited patients who find it hard to get to their doctors.

• Arizona Supportive Care: helps those with advanced illness manage symptoms and access community resources.

• Supportive Care for Dementia: a free, in-home service that helps patients and families meet the challenges of living with dementia.

Like its hospice care, all of these programs offer 24/7 support by phone or nurse visit, even in the middle of the night, giving families peace of mind.

Enhanced Support for Families Living with Dementia

There has never been a more critical time to expand services to care for these patients and support stressed family caregivers. Hospice of the Valley’s new Dementia Care and Education Campus will improve quality of life for patients and families, inspire careers in dementia care, and help build a workforce for the future. This innovative community resource is an extension of HOV’s dementia care programs. Comprehensive support is provided to people with all stages of the condition, well before they need hospice services. They will receive individualized care that engages the senses, eases anxiety and creates moments of joy. Vital education and resources are brought together in one place to help families navigate the dementia journey with comfort and dignity. HOV invites the community to explore the campus and utilize all it has to offer. From specialized care and education about best practices to caregiver support and volunteer opportunities, there is much to learn and experience.

Opening in phases in February, the campus features:

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HOV provides much more than hospice care. It also provides services to help families earlier in the continuum of care, long before hospice is needed. These are some of

It may come as no surprise that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is extremely high in Arizona, one of the top 10 states with large elderly populations. By 2025, more than 200,000 cases will be diagnosed in our state. Whether it’s a family member, friend or colleague, many of us will be touched by this challenging condition.

• An adult day club that provides stimulating programs and spurs meaningful interaction with preschoolers

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in the adjoining child center.

• A small assisted living center that serves residents living with any stage of dementia.

• A hospice inpatient care home for patients with more advanced stages.

• A state-of-the-art community education center that offers workshops and interactive skills labs for both professionals and family caregivers.

the loved one who is present now, along with the person who existed in the past.”

HOV’s community programs include grief support for adults and children; assistance with healthcare decision planning; and a senior placement service that helps locate living arrangements for those who can no longer manage on their own — all

“WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW IT’S POSSIBLE TO LIVE WITH DEMENTIA AND STILL DO MANY OF THE THINGS THEY LOVE. THEY CAN STILL HAVE CONNECTION AND EXPERIENCE JOY. WE WANT TO TEACH FAMILIES TO CELEBRATE THE LOVED ONE WHO IS PRESENT NOW, ALONG WITH THE PERSON WHO EXISTED IN THE PAST.”

- MARIBETH GALLAGHER

• A Memory Café, where people with dementia and their care partners can relax and share experiences.

• A garden courtyard, a dementiafriendly green space in the heart of the campus, allows for safe walks, quiet reflection and exploration.

“We want people to know it’s possible to live with dementia and still do many of the things they love,” explains Hospice of the Valley Dementia Program Director Maribeth Gallagher. “They can still have connection and experience joy. We want to teach families to celebrate

provided at no cost to families. In addition, Hospice of the Valley has more than 2,000 volunteers supporting patients with their kindness and companionship, brightening days and lifting spirits with pet and music therapy visits. Volunteers also visit veterans and first responders to honor them for their service. JN

Lin Sue Flood is Hospice of the Valley’s community engagement director. The Dementia Care and Education Campus is located at 3811 N. 44th St. in Phoenix. For more information, call 602-636-6363, email DementiaCampus@hov.org or visit the Dementia page of hov.org.

Modeling an innovative approach to comprehensive care, the Dementia Care and Education Campus is at 3811. N 44th St., Phoenix. COURTESY OF HOSPICE OF THE VALLEY

your

Because having the confidence and peace of mind of accreditation is important.

That’s why Maravilla Scottsdale senior living community is accredited by CARF International— an independent, non-profit organization that sets exceedingly high standards for care, service and safeguards. It’s a lot like an accreditation for a hospital or college. Or a five-star rating for a hotel.

We think you’ll find that our accreditation is only one of the many reasons to take a good look at Maravilla Scottsdale.

The time is now to document family history

BOB ROTH

The gold charm, fashioned in the likeness of a book, had my mother’s initials engraved on it and the date: 10/21/57. Polishing the tarnish off a charm bracelet with mysterious names and dates stirred something within me that was indescribable. I was longing for my mother, of blessed memory, to ask her about these important events that preceded her life with my father.

Have you experienced the frustration of finding a box of photos with unrecognizable people and places?

There is this belief about family history that it will always be there. There is this non-urgency. The moment that we are in has highlighted the fact that we do not have infinite time. All you need is a smartphone and thought-provoking questions to preserve your family history for posterity.

Think about your photo library that is currently on your smartphone or computer. Personally, I probably have about 5,000 photos of my dogs. My kids live out of town and are featured prominently during our visits. But why don’t I have more videos of my dad?

He is a character, and he is funny. Anyone lucky enough to meet my dad, affectionately known as Noodles, can attest to that. He was also a respected leader in the foodservice industry, and the communities he lived in, in both Baltimore

and now Scottsdale and has important reflections and observations that must be documented.

What about those family recipes? Make a video of your mom, dad, or grandparents making the dish. It is a treasure and a gift beyond compare for future generations. Ask your family to talk about their memories of their family. My father-in-law of blessed memory had so many quirky “Harold-isms” that defined his essence and love of family.

Our family history can profoundly influence the trajectory of future generations. Learning about relatives who were accomplished artists or musicians can spark the desire for connection through the family craft. I know my wife, Susie, was inspired by her grandfather to learn to chant Haftorah for High Holiday services. We have video of Grandpa Lorber reciting the 7th blessing at our wedding that must be added to the official family archive.

Have I sparked your curiosity to research and document what your parents or grandparents were like when they were young? In times of stress, it is especially beneficial to focus less on ourselves and more on others. It is a selfless and noble pursuit to learn as much as we can about our families and preserve these memories to inspire the next generation. Lastly, who doesn’t love telling a good story better than an older adult talking about their past. We just need to take the time to do this, and the time is now.

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Here are some of those thought-provoking questions:

1. What important life lessons did you learn from your parents?

2. What family stories or memories were passed down to you from your parents or grandparents?

3. What about special holiday traditions or recipes passed on to you?

4. Are there any special family heirlooms that were handed down to you?

5. What is your first childhood memory?

6. What were you doing at my age?

7. Do you remember the first day of your first job?

8. What do you remember about the house you grew up in?

9. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

10. Did you have any pets? What were their names?

11. How did you celebrate the holidays?

12. How old were you when you got married?

13. Where did you get married and how did you meet?

Remember, these questions are meant to evoke stories and images of your loved one’s life – you may have more that you want to add. This exercise is limitless, and there is no particular format or order. Remember, you want to figure out how to best preserve these memories so that they can

be passed on to future generations. All you need is your smartphone and I recommend you do this over multiple visits. Start planning today; the time is now. JN

Bob Roth is the managing partner of Cypress HomeCare Solutions.

My cousin may have betrayed Anne Frank. What would I have done in his place?

JASON VAN LEEUWEN | JTA

My entire adult life I have espoused and jettisoned multiple theologies and philosophies after subjecting them to the ultimate test: Would they survive Auschwitz? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, almost always with some kind of caveat. Now Auschwitz presents a new test much closer to home.

This month, the subject of who betrayed Anne Frank and her family has exploded onto the airwaves. A new book, prominently featured on “60 Minutes,” claims that the Franks were betrayed by Arnold van den Bergh, a member of the Joodse Raad, or the Jewish Council of the Netherlands. Van den Bergh was a scion of the Dutch-Jewish family that patented margarine and helped found the conglomerate Unilever.

He was also my cousin.

Anne Frank and her father, including Otto Frank, were Jewish refugees from Germany who went into hiding in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. They were discovered after two years and sent to concentration camps. Anne Frank and her sister died, probably of typhus, in Bergen-Belsen, where my grandfather also was sent and also contracted typhus but survived. Among the Franks, only Otto survived.

My father is the son of Henri (Opa) and Eva (Oma) van Leeuwen. Opa owned a casings factory in Holland, and Oma was the daughter of Nathan and Rosetta van Zwanenberg (née van den Bergh).

Rosetta was the first cousin of Arnold van den Bergh. The allegations against Arnold and the story of my grandfather is a study in contrasts.

Opa is a hero to us, his descendants. After failing to get a visa to join his wife and children on the last boat out of Holland prior to the Nazi invasion, he forced himself into the Heineken Brewery and hid there as Nazis leveled Rotterdam. He was able to gain a fake identity and posed as a Protestant minister in order to pass notes to and from imprisoned members of the Dutch resistance. He was arrested and sent to Westerbork (a transit camp ironically built as a haven for German Jewish refugees prior to the invasion), then to Bergen-Belsen, where he miraculously survived. He died when I was eight.

My grandfather, unlike most others in the world, believed early on that Hitler meant business. Before the war, he published and wrote for a small publication aimed at his fellow Jews. In the 1930s he helped convince scores of German Jews to leave Germany while they could. He established the Dutchbased Jewish Colonization Society (with generous contributions from his in-laws) and went to the infamous Evian Conference in 1938, managing to convince a few delegates to work with him in resettling Jewish refugees. He laid his own life on the line when a guard in Bergen-Belsen discovered a Hebrew Bible

belonging to a child in his barracks. Opa lied and said it belonged to him. For some reason, the officer opened the Bible, recited the first verse in perfect Hebrew, handed it back to him and walked away.

Oma’s cousin Arnold survived in another way. A prominent philanthropist, he was among the original members of the Joodse Raad, convened by the occupying Nazi forces and its puppet government. Its raison d’être was to communicate and implement all laws and decrees impinging on the Jewish community.

Like similar councils set up across Europe, the Joodse Raad determined that things would go better for the Jewish community if they accommodated these decrees and did not resist them. They did manage to get permission to “hire” thousands of people, which initially shielded them from deportation, but they also helped to implement deportation orders and in some cases even determined which Jews would be deported and which would be spared. Their strategy turned out to be a tragic miscalculation of epic proportions. Around 75% of Jews in Holland, including some German refugees, ended up being murdered anyway.

The evidence against van den Bergh

appears to be a letter sent anonymously in 1945 to Otto Frank, Anne’s father, claiming van den Bergh shared the run Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam. Van den Bergh was able to escape deportation, going into hiding

Dutch Jews still seethe when the topic of the Joodse Raad comes up. Hindsight is of course 20-20, but when Eichmann himself is quoted praising the remarkable efficiency with which Dutch Jews were being liquidated, you know you’ve got a serious problem. Many others come to the council’s, and to van den Bergh’s, defense, saying that no one can judge the

SEE VAN LEEUWEN, PAGE 10

Confirming Deborah Lipstadt is a foreign policy priority

BARBARA GOLDBERG GOLDMAN

For the past five months, the nomination of Deborah Lipstadt to be U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism has languished as Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have refused to agree to give her a hearing. This delay is particularly concerning because fighting antisemitism is an American national priority. Yet Senate Republicans have put partisanship ahead of the safety of Jews around the world. This is a grave mistake, and our country is less safe because Republicans have delayed the confirmations of Lipstadt and so many other foreign policy nominees. Lipstadt’s experience combatting global antisemitism is unrivaled. She is best known for tackling the British author David Irving, who in 1996

sued her for libel for characterizing some of his writings and statements as Holocaust denial in her book “Denying the Holocaust.” In a testament to the integrity of Lipstadt’s scholarship, Irving lost his suit and by losing, validated “Denying the Holocaust” as a valuable resource for confronting Holocaust denial.

Lipstadt’s 2019 book, “Antisemitism: Here and Now,” is required reading for understanding antisemitism and has been an education tool and reference point for everyone concerned about identifying and fighting the scourge of antisemitism. In hyper-polarized times, Lipstadt stands out for her uncompromising insistence that antisemitism is wrong and inexcusable no matter its source or alleged

justification. Moreover, she has a keen awareness that while antisemitism’s toxic rot may begin by targeting Jews, it rarely ends there. She brings to U.S. foreign policy a rigorous understanding of antisemitism’s role in global political movements and campaigns and is well poised to help make fighting it a key part of American foreign policy.

During the days of the movement to free Soviet Jews, Republicans and Democrats understood that the fight for Jewish rights was an essential component of America’s fight for freedom. Republicans and Democrats traveled to the then-Soviet

Union together to combat antisemitism by visiting Jewish refuseniks and Jewish political prisoners in the Soviet gulag.

SEE GOLDMAN, PAGE 10

The author’s grandparents, Henri and Eva van Leeuwen, are seen in a photo from around 1915, when they married. Henri van Leeuwen worked to resettle Jewish refugees during the rise of the Nazis in Holland; his cousin Arnold van den Bergh was named as the Jewish official who may have betrayed the family of Anne Frank.

COURTESY OF JASON VAN LEEUWEN

Dr. Deborah Lipstadt COURTESY

Giving is taking

his week, Parshah Terumah talks about the major funding campaign for the Mishkan/ Tabernacles, where G-d says, “Take for me a Terumah.” The Sfas Emes asks, why does it say the word “take” when it should say “give” me a Terumah?

Commentaries explain that when you are giving you are really taking. Why is that? The reason is because when we leave this world or similarly lose our funds all we have is what we gave and that is what we take with us. What we accomplish in this world is really by giving and not keeping our money, which is temporary. Similarly, every time we do a mitzvah,

that mitzvah stays and exists even after the mitzvah is finished. The reason is because we utilized our time and energy to create a reality to G-d’s will and we did not waste our ability. The commentaries say that even if we sin it doesn’t erase what we did and the mitzvahs are still in existence.

If we have this perspective, we can give with joy each time as we are the ones who are truly benefiting. In fact, I try to have this in mind before asking a prospective donor.

I think, I am doing this request for them, because even though there may be a need, ultimately their giving is for them. It’s their mitzvah opportunity that they have that will last.

This is why the verse continues, after we take the gifts for the Mishkan, we take the gift “from any man whose heart wants him to give.” The gift to help and give

is truly only possible if one wants to give because one appreciates and recognizes the opportunity.

Lifting is Being Carried

A similar idea is seen with the Aron Hokodesh, the holy ark. This week’s parshah describes how the Aron was made and the materials which made it very heavy with all the boxes and gold.

Yet our sages say that when the Aron was carried by the four Kohanim who held the poles they were actually not lifting the Aron, the Aron carried them! Those who carried the Aron were lifted by its sanctity.

There is a famous story told about Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) whose in-laws supported him in his studies. After a few years they told the young couple that it was

Find area congregations at jewishaz.com, where you can also find our 2022 Community Directory.

time to support themselves. Within a very short time, the fatherin-law of Rabbi Grodzinski passed away. The mother-in-law said at the funeral, “We thought we were supporting you but perhaps really you were supporting us.”

This powerful story reminds us that the giver is the beneficiary and the opportunity to give actually benefits the giver. JN

choices Jews and non-Jews made under great duress.

This inner conflict used to be abstract for me, but now it’s quite personal.

With respect to my cousin Arnold, the debate on social media and among Holocaust scholars has been quite fierce. Some say the coverage of the book is motivated by a desire  to place more blame for the Holocaust on Jews and less on Nazis and their non-Jewish collaborators. Dutch Jewish scholars have called the report “rubbish” and “slander.” Others say the report is quite credible. The Anne Frank Huis, the museum inhabiting the building Otto Frank once owned and where his family hid, has charted a middle path, praising the investigators for coming up with new evidence and calling for more investigation.

After doing many hours of my own research, and with gratitude to a Jewish genealogy Facebook page for providing ample documentation, I have come to a conclusion: There is no conclusion.

I have much less confidence than the investigators that there is a smoking gun. We have no evidence that van den Bergh was able to trade information in order to stave off deportation; indeed, many in his extended family were murdered by the Nazis, as were most members of the council. He may simply have been able to bribe a few key people and go into hiding without betraying anyone.

However, the Joodse Raad did have information on addresses where Jews were hiding, as they were known to pass along letters to them. Van den Bergh is likely to have knowledge of some or more of them. Also, at least two members of that council were not sent to Auschwitz,

but rather to places like Theresienstadt and Bergen-Belsen, which were not extermination camps (cold comfort). The investigators assert that van den Bergh not only was not deported, but rather he lived “openly” in Amsterdam — though I’ve found nothing corroborating this. And then, of course, there’s that anonymous letter.

I have always tried to model myself after Opa, the fundraiser-diplomat-fighter who embodied Hillel’s dictum: “In a place where there is not a mensch, strive to be a mensch.”

But now I learn that other members of my family chose a different course — one of accommodation, not defiance. Whether or not he betrayed the Franks, van den Bergh belonged to a council that helped the Nazis control the Jews. Did he go along to save as many Jews as he could, or to save himself? Certainly the Nazis knew they were presenting Jewish leaders with an impossible choice.

Although I am in no position to judge them for their behavior, I am left wondering: what would I do? Would I be Opa or Cousin Arnold? The truth is, unless one has personally traversed the crucible of the Holocaust, one cannot possibly know.

I remember something Opa once said: The only ones in the camps he could trust were the criminals and common thieves. I know for a fact that is not true, because everybody in the camps also trusted Opa. And so do I. 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 Faces Media.

Rallying together to fight antisemitism is no less critical today. It is an integral part of advancing American foreign policy interests and its values. It is an imperative for Senate Republicans to recognize this. They are dragging their feet in delaying Lipstadt’s confirmation hearings. In so doing, they are weakening the advancement of American interests.

Scholars of antisemitism have long known that anti-Jewish discrimination is the canary in the coal mine, warning of dangerous decays in these core values. Populist extremist movements often use Jews as their showcase for why the rule of law must be abandoned. Jews are scapegoated as justification for why borders must be closed, books must be burned or discrimination must be tolerated. Jews are demonized for the so-called greater good and to offset supposed nefarious Jewish — “globalist” or “Zionist” — power. Once that door is cracked ajar, anti-democratic forces rarely can be contained. The politics resulting from such movements are inevitably hostile to Jews and other minorities. They are rarely amenable to American interests as leaders of the free world.

As experienced foreign policy hands, Maryland’s two incomparable senators, Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, are aware of this threat to democracy. Indeed, as members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, they have provided great leadership, across the aisle, in the fight against global antisemitism.

One of the most important objectives for the Jewish community today is to

maintain bipartisanship around a rising existential threat against Jews and against all human rights and human dignity. Over 20 Jewish organizations across a spectrum have endorsed Deborah Lipstadt’s nomination, including the organization whose board I serve on, the Jewish Democratic Council of America. As Yair Rosenberg quipped in The Atlantic, “These diverse Jewish groups can barely agree on where to set the thermostat, yet they agree on Lipstadt.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee leadership is committed to the principle of “comity,” which requires that both parties agree to convene confirmation hearings. That same principle should compel Republican members of the committee to prioritize the fight against antisemitism over partisan agita. Lipstadt should have been confirmed last year.

In the words of Rabbi Avi Shafran, public affairs director of the Orthodox association Agudath Israel of America, “Ms. Lipstadt’s confirmation is being held up because of her sharp tweets … by legislators for whom hundreds of decidedly demeaning ones by a former president they lionize seem of no consequence at all.”

The time to confirm Dr. Lipstadt is now. We cannot wait. JN

This piece originally appeared in Washington Jewish Week – a Jewish News-affiliated publication.

Barbara Goldberg Goldman is vice chair of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and founder and co-chair of the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County.

Rabbi Gavriel Goetz is the head of school at Yeshiva High School of Arizona.

PARSHAH TERUMAH EXODUS 25:1-27:19

RABBI GAVRIEL GOETZ

VAN LEEUWEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

GOLDMAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Israeli Pianist Inon Barnatan joins Arizona Musicfest’s lineup

ELLEN BRAUNSTEIN

Inon Barnatan believes his greatest strength as a concert pianist is a pure enjoyment of performing.

The 42-year-old Israeli native, whom the New York Times describes as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation,” joins the Arizona Musicfest Festival Orchestra for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

In a phone interview, Barnatan said, “I really enjoy myself when I perform. I don’t think of it as a source of stress or anxiety. I am able to perform without concentrating too much on my own self or ego.”

Barnatan’s performance is one of 30 events in the festival’s 2021-2022 season. This season also marks a return to live indoor concerts in north Scottsdale.

Barnatan has established a unique and varied career, equally celebrated as a soloist, curator and collaborator. Now based in New York City, Barnatan served

as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic for three seasons beginning in 2014.

The recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, Barnatan is also a soughtafter recitalist and chamber musician. In 2019, he embarked on his first season as music director of La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest in California. In the 2019-2020 season, he played solo recitals at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall and reunited for a European tour with his frequent recital partner, cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

The most important career advice he has received underlies his approach to performing. “That it’s not about you. You’re not that important. The more you try to insert yourself, the more you interfere as a performer. There’s no way that you won’t express yourself, but you shouldn’t try too hard. Let the music speak.”

During the pre-pandemic period of the 2019-2000 season, Barnatan played with the symphony orchestras of Minnesota, Dresden, Barcelona, Stockholm, Ottawa, Innsbruck, Tenerife and Los Angeles. He recreated Beethoven’s legendary 1808 concert with the Cincinnati Symphony and finished recording the complete Beethoven piano concertos with Alan Gilbert and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Barnatan studied at the Royal Academy of Music and he recalls his teachers as his greatest artistic influence. Among several instructors, he studied under Maria Curcio, who was a student of one of the most legendary pianists of the 20th century, Arthur Schnabel. He also remembers the influence of Leon Fleisher, an American pianist and conductor. “Those were kind of by far the most important influence and inspiration.”

He is passionate about delivering the music itself to audiences. “It’s the most expressive way a person can communicate, in some ways more powerful than words. As a performer I think of ourselves as actors — conduits between the music and the audience.

“You want people to love it as much as you do and you want to convince them that what it is that you are playing is the most important thing in that particular moment.”

Barnatan’s career didn’t pause with the pandemic. When public concerts stopped, Barnatan recorded concert

films and streamed performances with numerous orchestras, including the Boston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Detroit, New Jersey and San Diego symphony orchestras. He conducted Mozart and Beethoven concertos from the keyboard with the Seattle Symphony, performed the U.S. premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s piano concerto with the New World Symphony, and played numerous recitals and chamber music performances online. His live performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of January “felt like a real triumph finally being able to play a concert live.”

Barnatan’s favorite performances in his career mark the beginnings of longstanding relationships. He names conductor Adam Gilbert and cellist Alisa Weilerstein among his best collaborators.

Barnatan began playing piano when he was three and a half years old in Tel Aviv. “My mother had a piano in the house and I apparently gravitated towards it very soon and started picking out tunes and telling her she was playing wrong notes.

“I don’t feel like it was ever a choice,” he said of his music career. “From a very young age, it’s just what I did and what I knew. There was never a question of it.” JN

For concert tickets and schedule, visit azmusicfest.org.

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

festival is partially funded by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, the City of Tempe and the City of Scottsdale.

Inon Barnatan will perform with the Arizona Musicfest Orchestra on Feb. 24.

Every ticket is a reserved seat as 26th Annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival takes place virtually again

DEBORAH MULLER

Bringing great Jewish film to moviegoers has been the mission of the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival for more than a quarter of a century. Yet, for the second consecutive year, COVID-19 is the culprit and why the popular film festival will be held virtually in the comfort and safety of one’s homes and not in person at local movie theaters.

Running from Feb. 10 through Feb. 27, 2022, the film festival – regardless of its format – is a mainstay in the arts and cultural community of the Valley, presenting international films that delve into Jewish traditions, culture and history.

“The Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival is an important cultural event for the greater Phoenix area, and, now because the festival is virtual, it can bring awareness of the diversity and richness of the Jewish culture to all of Arizona,” said Sue Adatto, the GPJFF’s co-executive director.

The variety of Jewish films being shown this year is extraordinary: comedies, dramas, documentaries, short films and even a six-part television miniseries. Hundreds of films are evaluated each year by the festival’s screening

committee, starting immediately after completing the preceding year’s festival. Then, three area screening committees view the top 50-60 finalists. From these, the final slate of 30 films best representing the GPJFF’s mission of showcasing Jewish life, culture and history from around the world is selected. In addition to America and Israel, films hail from such farflung locations as Portugal, Norway, Switzerland and Brazil this year.

Safety has been at the forefront of the GPJFF’s every move over the last two years of the pandemic. Board meetings were conducted via Zoom and special screenings successfully took place virtually throughout the year.

The festival board agreed that the risks of lines and close seating that are part of the in-person festival experience were too great regarding audience safety.

“Many members of our audience are older and therefore are at greater risk from COVID.

Now, with the Omicron variant, we are truly glad we made this decision,” said Tricia Beran, the GPJFF’s co-executive director.

“While we miss the vibrant atmosphere of experiencing the festival together, we know we will offer this again when it is safer. And we are hoping that those who missed the social aspect last year will consider enjoying our films in small viewing parties in their homes.”

New this year for the festival is a change in viewing hours, which allows greater flexibility. Films can be viewed for an entire

three calendar days from the date the film is scheduled. So if a film starts on Thursday, Feb. 10, one can start viewing at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday and continue until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12.

In addition to individual tickets and the Festival Pass option, the GPJFF has added a Flex Pass for households to view six films at a discounted rate.

Via just about any device, computer

Featured Event

SUNDAY, FEB. 6

Limmud AZ Online: 9:45 a.m.-2 p.m. Join Limmud AZ for a day of Jewish learning. The day will be divided into individual sessions with a wide variety of subjects. Rabbi Elana Kanter is the opening keynote speaker. Cost: $18 registration through Feb. 5, $36 day of registration. For more information, visit limmudaz.org.

Rabbi Elana Kanter

Events

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, FEB. 4-6

2022 Documentary Film Series: 7:30-9 a.m. Every month, the Arizona Jewish Historical Society invites the public to attend a free in-person documentary film screening and/or an online film screening. This month’s film: “Our Natural Right” is available to stream Feb. 4-6. For more information, visit azjhs.org/ documentary-film-series.

MONDAY, FEB. 7

Annual Card Party: 10 a.m. The Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation Sisterhood will meet at the Cottonwood Ballroom in Sun Lakes, located at 25630 S. Brentwood Dr., Sun Lakes, for a fundraiser benefiting local charities and organizations. Gather your friends who play mahjong, bridge, canasta, Scrabble, Rummikub, pinochle or any other game and come to the event to enjoy a delicious catered lunch, raffles, huge gift baskets and treats from a bake sale. For reservations or questions call Geri at 480-305-0123.

TUESDAY, FEB. 8

Heart Healthy Cooking Class: 6:30 p.m. Gita is back cooking in the J Kitchen! Come and join her for heart healthy month. You will be cooking Greek yogurt chia pudding, Indian Tadka Daal (yellow lentils), veggie and tofu quinoa and quick baked pears at the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. For more information and to register, visit apm. activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1969.

THURSDAY, FEB. 10

Game Night: 6:30 p.m. Join the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for Mahjong and Canasta. You can choose to teach, learn and play mahjong or join a canasta table! Wine and snacks will be served. Bring your 2021 mahjong card if you are playing mahjong. Cost: $10. For more information and to register, visit apm.activecommunities.com/ valleyofthesunjcc/Activity_Search/1971.

THURSDAY, FEB. 10-FEB. 27

Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival: The 26th Annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival will screen films showcasing the best of Jewish life, history and heritage. Due to ongoing health and safety concerns, the film festival will once again be held virtually. Viewers will have 3 days to watch each film, with the ability to pause, rewind and even switch devices within the home. Cost: Starting at $13. For more information and to register, visit gpjff.org.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23

Arizona Educators Symposium on Israel: 5-8 p.m. Join the Israeli-American Council

for a teacher training with top-notchexperts on Israel. Educators will have the opportunity to learn about Israel and its contribution to science, technology and innovation. This program is complimentary to all educators in Arizona. A certificate of participation will be given to participants that can help with obtaining professional development accreditation. The event is in-person and will be following strict health protocols. For more information and to register, visit iac360.org/event/ arizona-educators/.

SUNDAY, FEB. 27

Rachel Cerrotti: We Share the Same Sky: 3 p.m. Join Rachael Cerrotti, awardwinning author, photographer, educator and audio producer for this opening event for the “Holocaust by Bullets” exhibit at Arizona State University’s Hayden Library, 300 E. Orange St., Tempe. Presented by Phoenix Holocaust Association and SHPRS. The “Holocaust by Bullets” exhibit will run from Feb. 27 through April 8 at the library. For more information, visit holocaustbybulletsphoenix.com.

CBI Centennial Concert Celebration: 4:30 p.m. A historic concert of the Psalms by the musical leadership and choral programs of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Mountain View Presbyterian Church and Congregation Beth Israel. The event will be at The Madison Center for the Arts, 5601 N. 16th St., Phoenix. Cost: Starting at $36. To register, visit www.ticketmaster.com/ event/19005B89D2A61EC4. This event will also be livestreamed.

MONDAY, FEB. 28

Holocaust Educator Conference: 4:30-9 p.m. Sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education in cooperation with Phoenix Holocaust Association and Arizona State University, teachers are invited to participate in this free conference. Keynote speakers will be author and award-winning podcast host, Rachael Cerrotti and Grant Gochin, author, diplomat and chair of the Maceva Project in Lithuania. The conference will be at the Hayden Library at ASU in Tempe. For more information, visit phxha.com/events/the-2022holocaust-educator-conference/ or email jewished@bjephoenix.org.

MONDAY, MARCH. 14

J Movie Club: 1-3 p.m. Join the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, to watch “Carl Laemmle,” a documentary about Carl Laemmle, the German-Jewish immigrant who founded Universal Pictures, and saved over 300 Jewish families from Nazi Germany. Cost: $7 for members, $10 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm.activecommunities.com/ valleyofthesunjcc/Activity_Search/1992.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27

Antisemitism Here and Now: 7 p.m. Join Congregation Beth Tefillah, 6529 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, for a presentation by StandWithUS co-founder and CEO Roz Rothstein and the director of SWY’s Center for Combating Antisemitism, Carly Gammill. Cost: Free. RSVP by March 23 at swuandtbt.paperform.co.

THURSDAYS

Storytime at Modern Milk: 9:30 a.m. Bring your babies, toddlers and preschoolers to our weekly all ages in-person storytime at Modern Milk, 3802 N. Scottsdale Rd. STE 163. We will integrate favorite 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.

SUNDAYS

BAGELS: 9-11 a.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for Bagels And Gabbing Every Last Sunday of the month in-person. Grab a bagel and a cup of coffee 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 apm.activecommunities.com/ valleyofthesunjcc/Activity_Search/1787.

MONDAYS

Mahjong: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center in-person on Mondays for mahjong. This program is intended for players with prior experience and for those who have received the COVID19 vaccination. Masks will be required. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/mahjong. For further questions, call the EVJCC at 480-897-0588. The EVJCC is located at 908 N. Alma School Rd., Chandler.

Virtual Meetings, Lectures & Classes

SUNDAY, FEB. 6

Jewish Communities in Warm Locales: 2 p.m. Beth Ami Temple invites you to join Dan Fellner on a visual, virtual adventure of some of the most unique Jewish communities around the world. Cost: $25. RSVP required by sending your name, email address and $25 check made out to Beth Ami Temple: Beth Ami Temple, 3104 E. Camelback Rd. #508, Phoenix, AZ 85016. Contact Bobbi at 602-956-0805, or email BethAmiTemple@hotmail.com with questions.

TUESDAY, FEB. 8

Docent presentation: 10-11 a.m., In this virtual presentation hosted by the East Valley Jewish Community Center, Phoenix Art Museum docent Isabel Ballerna will

present about “Buenos Aires, Tango and Impressionism.” The presentation features the art of Benito Quinquela Martin, whose scenes show the activity, vigor and roughness of daily port life. Free. Register for link: evjcc.org/tuesdays

Shabbat

FRIDAYS

Tot Shabbat in the Park: 9:30 a.m. Free totShabbat every Friday morning at Cactus Park. Shabbat music, toys and a meaningful pre-school Shabbat experience. Is it your child’s birthday? Sponsor a Shabbat for $36.00. For more information and to register, visit playdatesbydesign.com/ upcoming-classes.

In-person services: Congregation Beth Israel is holding services in the Goldsmith Sanctuary limited to 100 people, excluding clergy and staff. Members and guests must be fully vaccinated (two weeks since your last vaccination) and wear a mask. Children may attend and must be able to wear a mask for the duration of the service. 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. To make your reservation, contact Gail Gilmartin at 480-951-0323 or at ggilmartin@cbiaz.org.

In-person services: Congregation Or Tzion is holding in-person Friday evening and Saturday morning Shabbat services indoors. Attendees must pre-register and attendance will be capped at 25. Participants will also have to bring a completed questionnaire with them and everybody’s temperature will be checked as they enter the synagogue. Masks will be required and seating is also socially distanced.

In-person services: Beth El Phoenix is offering in-person Shabbat services indoors, limited to 30 people, not including clergy. Masks and social distancing required as well as pre-registration via bethelphoenix.com/ form/Shabbat-registration or by calling the office at (602) 944-3359.

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

Pre-Shabbat Kiddush Club: 6 p.m. Say kiddush with Rabbi Mendy Levertov online. Cost: Free. Tune in here: ourjewishcenter. com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Shabbat at Beth El: 11-11:45 a.m. Celebrate Shabbat with songs, blessings and inspirational teachings. Rabbi Stein Kokin from Beth El Congregation will lead us 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.

Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:45 a.m. Join the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment each Friday for a soothing and inspiring program to welcome Shabbat. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Third Friday Shabbat: 7- 8 p.m. The Desert Foothills Jewish Community Association hosts a virtual abbreviated Shabbat service followed by a program. Contact Andrea at 480-664-8847 for more information.

COURTESY OF ADL ARIZONA

or Smart TV, audiences can travel from the mountainside cliffs of Majorca to the cobblestone streets of Paris and to the boisterous shuks of Israel. There is something to see and enjoy for everyone at the festival.

Some of this year’s top festival films include:

“TIGER WITHIN” - Ed Asner stars in this tender story about the unlikely friendship between a Holocaust survivor and a homeless teen runaway, sparking larger questions of fear, forgiveness and healing.

“LOVE AND MAZEL TOV“ - A warmhearted love story, “Love and Mazel Tov” follows the romance between Anne, a Jewish bookstore owner and Daniel, who pretends to be Jewish to attract her. But, after becoming a couple, their friends have an inkling that his web of lies will be discovered.

“NEIGHBOURS” - With a keen sense of humor and satire, a six-year-old Kurdish boy, Sero, faces his first year in an Arab school in a tiny village on the Syrian-Turkish border. Sero loves his family, and his Jewish neighbors, but

MILESTONES

BAR MITZVAH

his little world is about to be radically changed by absurd nationalism.

“LANSKY” - When aging gangster Meyer Lansky (played by Harvey Keitel) is investigated one last time by the Feds, who suspect he has stashed away millions of dollars, Lansky spins a dizzying tale, revealing the untold truth about his life as the notorious boss of Murder Inc. and the National Crime Syndicate.

“THE ART DEALER” - A Jewish woman embarks on a journey to recover family paintings stolen by the Nazis, but during her investigation, she discovers that some family secrets are best kept hidden.

Each ticket for the 26th Annual GPJFF is good for one household. Prices are $13/ individual household ticket, $65/household flex pass and $225/household festival pass.

Viewers will have three days to watch each film, with the ability to pause, rewind and even switch devices within the home. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to gpjff.org. JN

Deborah Muller is the public relations consultant for the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival.

Ari Samuel Berner became a bar mitzvah on Jan. 22, 2022 at Temple Kol Ami. He is the son of Randi and Michael Berner of Scottsdale. Grandparents are Susan and Robert Greenberger of Scottsdale, and Leah and Harold Berner of Vancouver, Canada. Ari loves being a madrichim. He loves to volunteer and mentor

A student at Basis Scottsdale, Ari enjoys golf, is a voracious reader and loves spending time with family and friends. In addition, he loves all things Star Wars.

Alan Feldstein, 88, a retired mathematics professor from Arizona State University, died January 29, 2022 in Phoenix from Alzheimer’s disease after complications following a stroke. He was a prolific and highly cited scholar who published dozens of peer-reviewed articles in mathematics journals, conducted national security research for the government, recruited high-caliber professors to the ASU Mathematics Department and mentored doctoral students in the field.

Feldstein was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and moved with his parents Abe and Bess Feldstein to Phoenix in 1945 at age 12. He graduated from North Phoenix High School, then earned a bachelor’s degree from ASU and served in the Army for two years, including in Salzburg, Austria. His marriage there in 1955 to Felice Jacobs made headlines because of what the press called “the first Orthodox Jewish wedding ever celebrated in the [German] town of Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s mountain retreat and to this day a hotbed of Nazism. A traditional chuppah was erected in…Nazi field marshal [Hermann] Goering’s former hunting lodge.” Feldstein deliberately chose the location a decade after the Holocaust to express contempt for Nazism in a triumphal affirmation of Jewish survival.

In the late 1950s, Feldstein worked on classified projects at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, which designed nuclear weapons, and was exposed to radioactive fallout during atomic testing on the Pacific atoll Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. He later worked as a research consultant on classified projects for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

Feldstein earned a PhD in mathematics from UCLA in 1964, then served on the faculties at UCLA, Brown University and the University of Virginia, where he earned the ire of administrators by integrating the city’s barber shops in 1969.

He returned to ASU in 1970 and served as a professor for 31 years, until his 2001 retirement. Feldstein is survived by his wife of 66 years, Felice Feldstein, of Tempe, AZ; four children: Mark Feldstein (Sarah Jackson-Han) of Bethesda, MD; Rachel Feldstein (Mark Schaefer) of Culver City, CA; Suzie Feldstein of San Francisco, CA; and Sarah Feldstein (Ed Korenman) of San Francisco, CA and six grandchildren: Beth Feldstein (Andrew Wang) of Bethesda, MD; Tara Feldstein of Madison WI; Maya Korenman of San Francisco, CA; Sasha Korenman of San Francisco, CA; Ike Feldstein of San Francisco, CA; and Sarper Feldstein of San Francisco, CA. A private family service and burial were held on Monday, Jan. 31. Donations may be sent to Temple Emmanuel of Tempe or Hospice of the Valley.

Ezra Matan Schneider became a bar mitzvah on Jan. 29, 2022 at Temple Kol Ami. He is the son of Rachel and Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Scottsdale.

Grandparents are Mary Jane Tucker of Hackensack, NJ; the late Bruce Tucker of Scottsdale; the late Marsha Schneider of Houston, Texas; and Bernard Schneider of Dallas Texas.

Ezra is the older brother of Micah, Naomi and Sarah and has four fur siblings. A student at Pardes Jewish Day School, Ezra enjoys basketball, attending BBYO events, listening to music, playing video games, going on bike rides and hanging out with his friends. He loves Jewish summer camp and is known for blowing the shofar at the High Holidays at Temple Kol Ami. JN

Don “Donnie” Goldberg, 91, passed away on Dec. 22, 2021. He was preceded in death 11 months earlier by his beloved wife, Ruth. Don was born in Detroit, MI on May 1, 1930, and attended Central High School. At 20, he became “the man of the family” and supported his mother and younger sister after his father, Ben, died suddenly. He dedicated his entire life to being a “mensch,” caring for his family and working hard to make it happen. In 1980, when Don moved to Scottsdale, he and Ruth built up a thriving furniture restoration business from scratch. He was a gentleman, kind, generous, loving, devoted and content with living life. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, never complained and always had a smile on his face. He absolutely loved life and still had places to go and people to see even after battling COVID for 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital. His goal was to live to be 100, in spite of the many maladies that plagued him. He was always positive and optimistic about the future.

He is survived by several loving family members but most importantly his beloved granddaughter, Erynn, who devoted herself, selflessly to her “Papa.” He was a joy and will forever be missed.

UPCOMING SPECIAL SECTIONS

Camp & School Guide

February 18

Showcase your educational and camp offerings to Jewish families looking for the perfect fit for their children during these difficult times.

Wonderful

February

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