Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2-1-19 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

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February 1, 2019 | 26 Shevat 5779

Candlelighting 5:20 p.m. | Havdalah 6:22 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 5 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Hillel JUC wins recognition for education effort

Pirates score a hit at JCC and CDS

Community rallies to ease Druze family’s pain during crisis

According to leaders, students want more than just holiday experiences, social events.

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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Charities. The visit to Tree of Life gave those Pirates a chance to pay their respects to the community and to show their support. While at J Café, Kramer and Newman served lunch to the patrons, while pitcher Kingham went table to table to schmooze, pass out knit Pirates hats and sign autographs. From Jan. 23 to 25 the Pirates hosted about 30 events in 11 cities in the greater Pittsburgh area, including stops in Erie, Altoona and Morgantown, W.Va., home of the West Virginia Black Bears, the Pirates Single-A affiliate. Events included a meal delivery to all six Pittsburgh Police Zone stations on Friday and visits to several non-profit community organizations. “This is the part of giving back to the community,” said Kingham. “The least we can do is to support the community that supports us.” He was moved, he said, by the CARE-avan’s stop at Tree of Life. “It’s real when you step inside the

ihab Falah always had a knack for bringing family together. The 25-year-old Druze from Kafr Sumay`A, a village of 2,500 people in northern Israel, loved hanging out with his sisters, brothers, parents and cousins even more than with his friends. By Thursday each week, Eihab, a captain in the Israel Defense Forces, would message his family’s WhatsApp group to arrange weekend plans. His cell phone was filled with photos of his family. What Eihab could not have expected was that his family would grow exponentially, and include dozens of Jewish Pittsburghers, in the span of six weeks. Eihab was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer on May 25, just weeks away from beginning medical school. In October, when efforts at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem could not get the cancer under control, the Falahs learned of a surgery at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital that offered hope. The Falahs had never heard of Pittsburgh until that week, the same week of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. “We kept listening to the news,” said Eihab’s sister Eva, a medical student in Israel. “It was so awful — the shooting. But what happened in Pittsburgh after the shooting, the whole community of Pittsburgh came together, saying they were ‘stronger than hate.’ We fell in love with it then.” “We asked Eihab if he was afraid to go there after the shooting,” said his oldest sister, Batla, a cardiologist in Israel. “He said, ‘to the contrary.’” The family did not know a soul in Pittsburgh, but that was about to change in a big way.

Please see Pirates, page 16

Please see Druze, page 16

LOCAL Temple Emanuel picks rabbi

 Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Nick Kingham chats up patrons at the J Café at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. Photo by Toby Tabachnick

Erie native Rabbi Aaron Meyer to lead South Hills congregation. Page 3 LOCAL Seeing it for themselves

State politicians take bipartisan tour of Israel coordinated by the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition. Page 4

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By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

he Pierogis that showed up at J Café on Jan. 23 were not the usual lunchtime fare at AgeWell Pittsburgh’s kosher meal program for senior citizens. But when Cheese Chester and Jalapeno Hannah, mascots of the Pittsburgh Pirates, came to see what was cooking among the diners at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh — along with Pirates players Nick Kingham, Kevin Kramer and Kevin Newman, and coaches Kimera Bartee and Tom Prince — they were a welcome addition to the noontime meal. The JCC was the second stop of the Pirates CARE-a-van on its trip to Squirrel Hill last Wednesday, following a visit to the Tree of Life synagogue building where the Pirates viewed the memorial to the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 anti-Semitic murders and learned about their lives. “Many of the players were not here during the off-season” when the attack occurred, explained Jackie Hunter, director of Pirates

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Pittsburgh artist finds second act

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Sibling legislators make history

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Jersey group goes after haredim

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Headlines Hillel JUC recognized for educational achievements — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

ollege life offers a virtually unlimited array of extracurricular opportunities for students to unwind, often with a purely social emphasis. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But for local Jewish students looking for something deeper, they may be able to find what they seek at Hillel Jewish University Center, where Jewish learning takes a prominent role. “It makes a difference for me to have Jewish education in the programming,” said Alyssa Berman, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh. “It makes the programming way more meaningful. We can get together with friends for the fun and frivolous things, but when I go to Hillel, I want some meat behind it.” Hillel JUC was recognized for its emphasis on education on Dec. 12, when it received the Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Jewish Educational Vision at the Hillel International Global Assembly in Denver. The award honors a Hillel that enables students to continue to grow in their knowledge of and connection to Jewish life, and “be empowered to make life decisions using Jewish values,” according to hillel.org. For the past several years, Hillel JUC has amped up its emphasis on education, focusing not only on Jewish learning for its students, but also for its staff, according to Daniel Marcus, its executive director and CEO. “I’m particularly proud that the Hillel JUC was recognized with the Jewish Educational Vision award because our staff team and our student leadership are really dedicated to ensuring this runs through all of the DNA

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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Evan Indianer, Chairman Andrew Schaer, Vice Chairman Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Jonathan Bernstein, Treasurer David Ainsman, Immediate Past Chairman Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Richard J. Kitay, Cátia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, David Rush, Charles Saul

noted. Her role, he said, differs from that of most other senior Jewish educators at other Hillels, posts often held by rabbis who are engagement professionals, with a focus on going out onto campus and meeting with students. Participation at Hillel events has increased as a result of infusing Jewish education and values into its programming, Marcus said. The Meyerhoff award specifically recognized Hillel JUC for its Ignite Summit, a weekend of student-led learning and discussion, which in February 2018 was centered on the arrival of a 300-year-old Torah from Temple Hadar Israel in New Castle. The congregation closed in December 2017 and gifted the Torah to Hillel JUC. The Torah was passed down through the Mirow family for more than p Danielle Kranjec is Hillel JUC’s senior Jewish educator. 200 years until the Nazi invasion of Photo courtesy of Danielle Kranjec Poland. It was later rediscovered in the 1970s tucked inside a wall in the of the Hillel JUC,” Marcus said. “We also are former family home. From there, it was mindful to ensure that Jewish meaning and smuggled out of Poland and in 1975, sent to values and content runs through all of our New Castle, where descendants of the Mirow activities. … That can be everything from the family still live. obvious — Shabbat and holiday experiences Kranjec viewed the receiving of the Torah — to our Jewish Greek life activities to our as “a real opportunity to, in a tangible way, social and cultural activities.” connect our students both to the local That content includes Jewish “cultural Western Pennsylvania Jewish community traditions, Israel, Hebrew, core Jewish text, and to their Jewish past,” she said. “I very global Jewish peoplehood and the cycle of carefully crafted a vision for how we could the Jewish year,” he said. maximize this gift in terms of experiential Marcus praised Hillel JUC’s senior Jewish Jewish education: that the actual experience educator, Danielle Kranjec, for her work in of welcoming in the Torah, dancing with providing learning opportunities for the the Torah, touching the Torah, receiving the Hillel community. Torah, and then the following day reading Kranjec has “ensured that all staff and all from the Torah, would give as many students student leaders have the skills and have the as possible access to feeling like the Torah abilities to also be Jewish educators,” Marcus was really for them. It was very special.”

More than 250 students turned out for the Shabbat evening dinner and service, breaking the previous attendance record. Members of Temple Hadar Israel joined with the Hillel community for the summit. “One of the beautiful things about our tradition is how intellectual we are, but sometimes having that physical, experiential, almost visceral connection to something makes it more real,” Kranjec said. “Seeing a group of treasured elders trusting the students with something so sacred and so irreplaceable was incredibly empowering.” This is Kranjec’s sixth year as Hillel JUC’s senior Jewish educator, and she has learned by experience the “power of very deep but also relevant Jewish content,” she said. “We as educators should not be afraid to take risks. And by take risks, I mean teach about things in a very real, deep way that is connected to our texts and our historical past. “I think there is this impulse that we have to make everything fun when we are working with young people, but there is a limit to that, and the students are hungry for meaning,” she added. Jamie Schachter, who graduated from Pitt last year and is now a Springboard Fellow at The Ohio State University Hillel, agrees. College can be a “crazy” time, Schachter said, which makes meaningful Jewish programming essential. “Uncompromisable Jewish values are important and help move us forward.” This year’s Ignite Summit will be held Feb. 8-9, and will feature an appearance by actress Mayim Bialik (“Blossom,” “The Big Bang Theory”). Bialik, who is donating her time, will be talking to the students about being Jewish in Hollywood, and also anti-Semitism and Israel, according to Marcus. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Temple Emanuel selects new rabbi — LOCAL —

“ He has been able to engage

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

emple Emanuel of South Hills has hired Rabbi Aaron Meyer, an Erie native, as its next senior rabbi. Meyer, who was approved by congregational vote on Jan. 27, will begin his tenure at the Reform congregation on July 1. Meyer, who served as an associate rabbi at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle for more than seven years, will succeed Rabbi Mark Joel Mahler, who retired in 2018 after 38 years as the senior spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel. Rabbi Donald Rossoff has been serving as interim rabbi during the transitional period. “We are super excited,” said David Weisberg, president of Temple Emanuel, pointing to Meyer’s experience in connecting with a wide demographic of congregants while serving at Temple De Hirsch Sinai, a 1,700-family congregation operating on two separate campuses. “Rabbi Meyer has been acting as a senior rabbi in many respects,” Weisberg said, noting that Meyer had been leading services on his own at Temple De Hirsch’s suburban campus. “He has been able to engage congregants across a broad range of demographics and age groups, from preschoolers to senior citizens.”

congregants across a broad range of

”

demographics and age groups.

— DAVID WEISBERG Weisberg also pointed to Meyer’s inclusivity work among interfaith families, interfaith communities and the LGBTQ community as positive attributes that will enrich Temple Emanuel. Last spring, the congregation surveyed its membership and conducted focus groups to determine Temple Emanuel’s direction and, in turn, the characteristics of rabbinic leadership it should seek. “We wanted to build on our strength and make sure we keep doing what we do really well,” Weisberg said. “We want to continue to make Temple Emanuel an inclusive, welcoming home for all.” Meyer was selected from 24 applicants for the position, Weisberg said. After the congregation’s search committee conducted video interviews, three rabbis were brought

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to the 500-member unit Mt. Lebanon synagogue to meet congregants in person. “Rabbi Meyer rose to our number one choice, and received overwhelming board approval at the end of December,” Weisberg said. Meyer earned a degree in science from The Ohio State University, and received his rabbinic ordination and earned a Master of Arts in Hebrew letters/literature from Hebrew Union College in Ohio. He also holds a certificate in gerontology from the University of Washington. He is married to Rabbi Emily Meyer, and they have two children, Evelyn, 3, and Eli, 2 months. There are “no immediate plans” for Emily Meyer to take a formal role in spiritual leadership at the congregation, according to Weisberg.

p Rabbi Aaron Meyer

Photo provided by Temple Emanuel of South Hills

“The strength of the Jewish life in the South Hills is eminently clear, demonstrated by Temple’s thoughtful and committed lay leadership, inspiring staff and rabbinic team, and the warmth of the many congregants I have had the pleasure of meeting,” Meyer said in a prepared statement. “Emily, Evelyn, Eli and I are so excited about this opportunity to make our home in Steelers Country, building upon Rabbi Mahler’s impressive legacy and helping Temple Emanuel remain the central address for inclusive, meaningful Jewish community.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Lisa Grushcow Friday, Feb. 15–Sunday, Feb. 17

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow is the author of Writing the Wayward Wife: Rabbinic Interpretations of Sotah, and the editor of The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality. Friday, Feb. 15 7 PM Shabbat Evening Service 8:30 PM Special After Oneg Presentation: The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality

JSS is accepting scholarship applications! Apply today if you are a Jewish high school senior or student enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate or technical school with financial need with residency in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington or Westmoreland county. Apply by February 12, 2019: jfcspgh.org/scholarship

Saturday, Feb. 16 8:30 AM Torah Study: The Strange Case of the Suspected Wife: Text Study of Numbers 5:11–31 11:30 AM Potluck Lunch with Presentation: Inclusion in the Book of Exodus: Two Models for Community 5 PM An LGBTQA+ Conversation: Join us for an engaging evening focusing on Jewish LGBTQA+ experiences. Sunday, Feb. 17 9 AM Brunch with Presentation: Coming Out of Comfort: Hard Questions & the Search for Connection 5505 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (412) 421-9715•www.TempleSinaiPGH.org/Grushcow

JSS is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and administered by JFCS.

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Questions? Contact Nancy Conaway at (412) 421-9715 ext. 115 or Nancy@TempleSinaiPGH.org Temple Sinai is an inclusive community that embraces, supports, and values all people, regardless of ability or needs, to participate in every aspect of our Reform Jewish synagogue life. For more information or to request an accommodation, contact Judy Rulin Mahan at (412) 421-9715 ext. 110 or judy@templesinaipgh.org.

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Headlines Israel visit educates state officials on Mideast realities — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

ennsylvania elected officials and Jewish professionals recently returned from a weeklong trip to Israel. The Jan. 6-12 visit offered exposure to Israel’s culture, diversity and politics, said Hank Butler, Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition executive director. “It was really an opportunity for the Jewish communities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to show Israel to some of the people who represent us in Harrisburg,” echoed fellow traveler Joshua Sayles, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council, which cosponsored the trip with the PJC. Joining the Jewish professionals were Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, a Democrat and chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners; Ken Lawrence, a Democrat and a Montgomery County commissioner; state Reps. Michael Carroll (D-District 118), Aaron Kaufer (R-District 120) and Bryan Cutler (R-District 100), the majority whip in the House of Representatives; Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (R-District 28); and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat. “We did not take any freshmen, because we are not looking to bring anybody and everybody,” said Sayles. “We are looking to

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p State House Speaker Mike Turzai, left, and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale stand near the Jerusalem “seamline.”

Photos courtesy of Hank Butler/ PA Jewish Coalition

bring legislators who have established themselves who either are leadership or have the potential to become leaders in the state.” “The Pennsylvania Jewish communities continually do this trip with our elected officials and every time it shows the importance of Israel,” added Butler. Additionally, participants are able to “go and compare the challenges Pennsylvania faces to what Israel faces.” DePasquale noted that “when you are there you come to grips with the daily challenges of security.” The auditor general has “always wanted to go”

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to Israel, but what drove him to participate this year was an interest in “trying to get a handle on the economic relationship with Israel and Pennsylvania, and also to see firsthand the tech issues,” he said. Actually being there “certainly became much more of a learning experience.” DePasquale pointed to a military simulation he witnessed as demonstrating a disparity between how Americans and Israelis approach security issues. The group was presented with a scenario in which enemy missiles, stored nearby, were going to be moved, but the purpose of the move was unknown. Bombing the missiles could ignite regional tensions, but allowing the move could result in other disaster. The group was asked how to proceed. “I certainly was a hawk on this,” said DePasquale. But to the auditor general’s surprise, “Israeli civilians almost never do that; they wait until they know that those missiles are definitely directed to Israel.” The hypothetical was “something they are used to,” he said. “Could you imagine the U.S. just sitting around? … We would not tolerate those things being 400 miles off the United States.” Watching elected officials extrapolate on “the challenges, the homeland security challenges, the security issues, the human service challenges and successes” is part of the benefit of participating in these trips, said Butler. There is also the benefit of watching people,

the majority of whom are not Jewish and are seeing Israel for the first time, “take it all in and to really grow in their understanding not only of the importance of Israel to the Jewish community, but really the challenges the international Jewish community faces in 2019,” said Sayles. “We talked to a wide range of secular and religious leaders. We talked to members of the Arab community. And I think for each participant on the trip it was different,” added Sayles. “Whether they were learning about the contributions that Israel’s startups make to the international business world or they were standing at the border of Gaza and [realizing] the active threat that Hamas is to the safety and security to the Jewish people in Israel … I think everyone had a different aha moment, and it was special to see it click for different people at different moments.” “It’s always a great learning experience when people can get out of their comfort zones and experience Israel, true Israel: the culture, the politics, the region, Israel,” said Butler. “It truly gives people an understanding of the country and the culture.” Added DePasquale: “I know that it’s a costly trip. I know it’s not like going to the Jersey beach, but if people have the opportunity, take advantage. If you’re pro-Israel or not, and I am, it’s educational and enlightening.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Beth Shalom Speaker Series 5779

bomb casings, is made

Samantha Baskind, The Warsaw Ghetto in American Art and Culture

into wearable symbols of peace

Samantha Baskind

On the eve of Passover, 1943, Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto staged a revolt against their Nazi oppressors. Baskind's work illustrates how the deprivation and despair of life in the ghetto and the dramatic uprising of its inhabitants have captured the American cultural imagination.

Sunday, February 10! at Congregation Beth Shalom At 10:00 AM - Samanatha Baskind will speak about her book, The Warsaw Ghetto in American Art and Culture. This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow. RSVPs or questions to derekhcbs@gmail.com HANDMADE IN CAMBODIA

Congregation Beth Shalom 5915 Beacon Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 412.421.2288 • www.bethshalompgh.org

5820 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh 4 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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Headlines Retired marketer launches new career as sculptor — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

“T

ransformations” is an apt title for Dan Droz’s collection of innovative sculptures, colorful metal sheets that have been folded into new, imaginative shapes while simultaneously retaining their original character. Transformation is also an apt word to describe Droz himself, who at the age of 68 retired from a 38-year career in graphic and furniture design to reinvent himself as a prolific artist. A lifelong Pittsburgher, Droz, former president of Droz Marketing, said he has been a “closet sculptor” for many years, occasionally making a piece for a friend or to fill the walls of his own office. In April 2018, he decided to devote his full-time attention to his art. “A lot of people retire and do art as a hobby,” said Droz, seated in his East End Studio, surrounded by his larger-than-life size creations. “I view this differently, as a new career. I figured I have maybe 10 to 15 good years, and I really wanted to be using art as a way to take all the things I’ve been thinking about and putting it into sculptural form.” “Transformations” is the name of the show, he noted, “but I am also in the process of transforming. Everyone is trying to change,

p Dan Droz poses amidst his sculptures at his Point Breeze studio.

Photo byToby Tabachnick

but it’s really hard to transform yourself from one occupation to another, or one lifestyle to another. These pieces deal with how to change without altering your core values.” A single sheet of aluminum, Droz said, pointing to his pieces, can retain its integrity while still bending into something new. In the past nine months, Droz has created hundreds of sculptures, each one unique. While most are abstract, several are also figurative. In addition to the large, freestanding works, Droz also has made many smaller wall constructions, often with interactive parts allowing the viewer to become part of the creation. Because pieces are

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connected to each other, moving one piece moves others with it without disrupting the integrity of the piece. His work impressed local gallery owner Michael Hertrich, who immediately recognized the quality of the work and quickly offered Droz an exhibition. “I thought it was very good and imaginative, and it was executed very well,” said Hertrich, proprietor of Michael Hertrich Gallery on the South Side. “It is so rare to see the work of a mature artist for the first time — and one whose works have not been seen — simply extraordinary,” said Hertrich. “I usually wait six months to a year

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before doing an exhibition, but I was fairly certain that we’d have a success on our hands.” The exhibition, which ran from Nov. 30 to mid-January, was indeed successful, according to Hertrich. “I had several clients who said that this was the closest they had been to a New York exhibition in Pittsburgh.” Most of the 35 pieces in the show sold, according to Droz, including some largescale outdoor sculptures priced at more than $10,000 each, as well as many of the smaller wall pieces priced in the $800 range. “It was really surprising and really gratifying,” he said. “It gave me some confidence.” Droz was born in Brookline, and was the first person to celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah at the “new” Beth El Congregation of the South Hills building in Scott Township. He moved to the East End after graduating from Harvard College, where he earned degrees in visual and environmental studies and math. For 18 years, he taught design at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2001, Droz left teaching to devote more time to design and product development, specializing in design strategy. Hertrich is now working on arranging exhibitions for Droz in other cities, he said. Art dealers in Paris, where geometric sculptures currently are very popular, have expressed an interest in Droz’s work. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. FEBRUARY 1, 2019 5

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Calendar q ONGOING

q SATURDAY, FEB. 9 Shalom Pittsburgh invites young adults to an evening with Mayim Bialik from 8:30 to 10 p.m. as she talks about her life in Hollywood, her career as a neuroscientist and her commitment to the Jewish community. Submit your questions when you register; if your question is chosen you will be invited to meet Bialik at the BGS VIP pre-reception at 7:30 p.m. The program begins at 8:30 p.m. This event is for young adults 22-45 years old who have made a minimum commitment of $36 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2019 Community Campaign. The BGS VIP pre-reception is by invitation for donors giving $1,000 or more to the 2019 Community Campaign. Contact Meryl Franzos at mfranzos@ jfedpgh.org for more information or visit shalompittsburgh.org/event/ mayim-bialik. >> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

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Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh is accepting applications for its Israel Scholarship Program to assist local students traveling to and studying in Israel. The program is committed to the future of the children of the region and is designed to encourage and assist student participation on approved educational trips to Israel. Up to three ZOA Scholarships, $1,000 each, are available to students who will be visiting Israel on a structured study program this summer and entering their junior or senior year of high school in the fall of 2019. Applicants must be Jewish and permanent residents of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington or Westmoreland counties. Deadline is Feb. 28. Contact ZOA Executive Director Stuart Pavilack at 412-665-4630 or pittsburgh@zoa.org for more information.

May. Act 48 credit is available. The training will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Monroeville Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd. q SATURDAY, FEB. 2 In recognition of Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month, Temple Sinai invites the community to a comedy event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. featuring David Granirer, founder of Stand Up for Mental Health and a comedian and the emcee. Temple Sinai congregants will highlight the humor of their lives with mental health issues. The evening will begin with Havdalah and presentation of the ShoreWhitehill Award to Lisa Lederer. Women of Temple Sinai and Jewish Residential Services are co-sponsors. Donations will be accepted at the door. Reserve tickets with Judy Rulin Mahan at Judy@TempleSinaiPGH.org or 412-421-9715, ext. 110 by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

q THURSDAY, JAN. 31

q SUNDAY, FEB. 3

South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh welcomes JFunds to the South Hills from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center South Hills. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/funds for more information. q FRIDAY, FEB. 1

Temple Emanuel of South Hills invites the community to Bagel Bites: Sunday Brunch Series. Nathan Firestone, professor of history at Point Park University, will speak at 10:30 a.m. The event is free, but RSVPs are requested at templeemanuelpgh.org/event/brunch2. Call 412-279-7600 for more information.

The Holocaust Center, in partnership with Prime Stage Theater, will hold teacher training on Teaching the Holocaust Through Theatrical Arts four times during the year in different locations across the county. The program will culminate in a student matinee of the acclaimed play “The Soap Myth,” starring Ed Asner, in

Beth Shalom Men’s Club, Congregation Beth Shalom, Rodef Shalom Congregation and J-JEP invite the community to the annual World World Wide Wrap 5779. The tefillin workshop begins at 10:30 a.m. and the all school tefillah service at 11:30 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation and around the globe.

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There is no charge. Bring your tefillin; extra sets of tefillin will be available. The Men’s Club is collecting donations of tefillin for its school and minyanim. Consider a donation of any of your extra sets of tefillin. Visit bethshalompgh. org/world-wide-wrap or contact Kate at kate@jjep.org for more information. q MONDAY, FEB. 4 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills will host its First Mondays monthly lunch program with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring guest Hadar Bechor discussing “What the Gaza Strip means in Israeli history and current events.” Visit bethelcong.org for more information. Call 412-561-1168 to make a reservation. There is a $6 charge. Classrooms Without Borders will present Matthias Hass: Exhibit on The Wannsee Conference and Anti-Semitism, an exhibit on the Wannsee Conference, in which the Nazis worked out the logistics of the Final Solution. The exhibition educates about the Holocaust, exposing the motives of the perpetrators and commemorating the victims. The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Levy Hall. There is no charge. Contact melissa@classroomswithoutborders. org or visit classroomswithoutborders.org/ events/show.php?217 for more information. q MONDAY, FEB. 4 Beth El Congregation will host its second evening of the Speaker Series with Rabbi Danny Schiff at 7 p.m. discussing Prager and Steinsaltz, The New Please see Calendar, page 7

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7 LOCAL

Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6 Torah Commentators. This Speaker Series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation. q TUESDAY, FEB. 5 The New York Times bestselling author Georgia Hunter will be in Pittsburgh to discuss the decade-long journey of discovering her family’s story of Holocaust survival to write her award-winning debut novel, “We Were the Lucky Ones,” at 7 p.m. in the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave. A book signing will follow the talk. Tickets are $18 ahead of time and $20 at the door; free for Holocaust survivors and students with valid ID. The program is sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Foundation. Visit hcofpgh.org/georgia-hunter for more information and to register. Shalom Pittsburgh Young Adult Division will host Phoning with Phriends: 2019 Community Campaign Fundraising from 6 to 7:30 p.m. After the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue building, the 2019 Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Community Campaign was put on hold to focus on aiding and supporting community and victim needs. Now more than ever we need to make this our strongest campaign yet. Dinner, beer and wine will be provided at the Federation’s new building. Dietary laws observed. Visit shalompittsburgh.org/event/ young-adult-division for more information. q TUESDAY, FEB. 5

and TUESDAY, FEB. 12

Congregation Beth Shalom will hold a lunch and learn on the topic “Are All Wines Kosher?” on Feb. 5 at noon downtown and Feb. 12 at noon at Beth Shalom. Visit bethshalompgh.org/lunchand-learn for more information and to register. q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6 Hillel Academy’s annual fundraising dinner will honor Pittsburgh’s first responders for their sacrifices and contributions on Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting and for their unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community at 6:30 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, 112 Washington Place. Mayor William Peduto will be speaking and presenting plaques to honorees. Hillel Academy faculty member Rabbi Elisar Admon will be awarded the Chantze and Donald Butler Teacher Recognition Award, not only for the example he sets for his students and the community, but also for his role in the aftermath of the shooting as a member of the local burial society Chevra Kadisha and of Zaka International, an organization that recovers the bodies of victims of terrorist attacks. Contact mmyers@hillelpgh.org for more information. Jewish National Fund will hold a Special in Uniform dessert reception at 6:30 p.m. recognizing Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month, with Lt. Col. (Res.) Tiran Attia, director of Special in Uniform. There’s no charge to attend; dietary laws will be observed. Visit jnf.org/pittsburgh for more information and to RSVP. The reception will be at a private home. q THURSDAY, FEB. 7 Temple Emanuel’s LGBTQ+ Task Force will bring Evan Wolfson to speak at 7 p.m. Wolfson will speak on “Making More Progress for Gay & Transgender People in our Community,

Pennsylvania, the U.S., and the World: What Can We Do?” Wolfson is an internationally recognized civil rights lawyer who founded Freedom to Marry, the campaign that won marriage equality in the U.S. He is the author of “Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry” (Simon & Schuster, July 2004). He is also a Squirrel Hill native. The format will be a conversation followed by audience Q&A. This event is free and open to the community, and is being sponsored by the Rabbi William Sajowitz Endowment Fund. There is no charge. Contact 412-279-7600, templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org or visit templeemanuelpgh.org/event/wolfson for more information. q THURSDAY-SUNDAY, FEB. 7-10 “Etty” will be at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St. in Carnegie. Adapted and performed by Susan Stein, “Etty” is a one-woman play adapted from the diaries and letters of Etty Hillesum, a 28 year-old Jewish student who lived in the German-occupied Netherlands. Using only Etty Hillesum’s words, the play presents one woman’s struggle to sustain humanity in the face of brutality. Visit classroomswithoutborders.org/ events for more information. q SUNDAY, FEB. 10 The Derekh Speaker Series will host Samantha Baskind at 10 a.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom. Baskind is an art history professor, and her book “The Warsaw Ghetto in American Art and Culture” is a study of how life in the ghetto and the uprising of its inhabitants have captured the American cultural imagination. There will be a book sale and author signing at the end.

Life synagogue building shooting beginning at 8:00 p.m. at The Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, 423 Fox Chapel Road. “Spreading Love Conquering Hate” will consist of several exciting dance pieces including the 2018 collaborative dance project “Puzzle” cochoreographed by Joe Cotler (Koresh Dance Company Member) and Diane Sharp-Nachsin (Artist Director of SHARP) and “669” which was inspired by the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a man who saved 669 children from the Holocaust. All proceeds will be donated to the victims’ families. q SUNDAY, FEB. 17 Congregation Dor Hadash will present a lecture on “Anti-Semitic and Other Hate Violence: The Current Context, Perpetrators and the Role of Social Media” presented by Kathleen Blee, distinguished professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, at 3 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Levy Hall. Blee has researched and published widely about the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and other white supremacist groups. In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh massacre, she will discuss how such groups have fomented racist and anti-Semitic violence in the U.S. over the past century. Registration is required by contacting admin@dorhadash.net. q MONDAY, FEB. 18 Beth El Congregation will host the third evening of the Speaker Series with professor Jules Lobel and Rabbi Alex Greenbaum at 7 p.m. for a discussion on the Second Amendment and the Jewish view of bearing arms. The series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation.

Beth Shalom Men’s Club will hold its sports luncheon at noon with local sports celebrities, dedicated this year to honor the memories of David and Cecil Rosenthal. The hamburger and hot dog lunch will be held in the ballroom. The community is invited; there is no charge. Visit bethshalompgh.org/ events-upcoming for more information.

q TUESDAY, FEB. 19

q DEADLINE TUESDAY, FEB. 12

Chabad of Squirrel Hill will host Farbrengen, an evening to say l’chaim together, hear inspirational words by Lou Weiss and Farrel Buchinsky on living a joyous life and sing lively Chasidic niggunim (melodies) led by the Davidson brothers and accompanied by Aaron Berger on the violin and Rabbi Yitzchak Cowen on the piano. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. There is a $10 charge. Visit chabadpgh. com/farbreng for more information.’

Jewish Scholarship Service of Greater Pittsburgh (JSS), formerly known as Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service (CSLRS), is reviewing scholarship applications for Jewish students attending college, secondary technical school or graduate school in the fall of 2019. The deadline for all applications is February 12. Apply at jfcspgh. org/scholarship. Applicants must demonstrate financial need and live in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington or Westmoreland counties. For more information visit the JSS website or contact Alayne Lowenberger, JSS program director, at alowenberger@jfcspgh.org, or 412-422-7200. q THURSDAY, FEB. 14 The Caregiver’s Coffee Club will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Calling all moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nannies. This informal meet up is for anyone who just wants to connect with other caretakers raising Jewish children. There is no need to register, just show up and hang out. Every meet-up will have a different location. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/caretakers-coffee-club or contact Meryl Franzos at 412-992-5204 or mfranzos@jfedpgh.org for more information. q FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 SHARP Dance Company, a Philadelphia-based modern dance company, will be performing a benefit show for the victims of the Tree of

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Chabad of the South Hills will hold a lunch for seniors and a presentation on fall prevention at noon. There is a suggested donation of $5. RSVP to 412-278-2658 or visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/healthy for more information.

q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20 All seniors are invited to come and sing-a-long with the Jewish Community Center Chorus, at the regular monthly meeting of the Squirrel Hill AARP at 1 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Falk Library. The meeting will include information on legislative matters concerning seniors, current health report and business meeting. Crochet chemotherapy hat patterns will be available; if you have a knitted pattern, please bring to share. The chapter would appreciate donations of used eyeglasses, cell phones with chargers and new travel size toiletries to provide to nonprofit organizations. If the Pittsburgh Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the AARP meeting is cancelled. Contact Marcia Kramer at 412-731-3338 for more information. q THURSDAY, FEB. 21

present Fitness Foundations at 7 p.m. There is no charge. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh. org/healthy for more information. Mahj and Martini with NA’AMAT Pittsburgh at Rodef Shalom Congregation will be held every third Thursday of the month from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. All ages, genders and levels are welcome. If you don’t know how to play and want to learn, this is perfect for you. RSVP to provide enough tables and martinis. Donations accepted to cover the costs. Contact Jackie Braslawsce at naamatpgh@gmail.com or 412-303-5769 for more information. q THURSDAYS, FEB. 21-MARCH 28 Chabad of the South Hills will host Kids in the Kitchen Cooking: For Shabbat From A-Z at 5:30 p.m. for ages 3 to 11. Each class includes the cooking segment, fun and hands-on learning on Jewish topics and oneon-one Hebrew Alef-Bet and reading. An adult must accompany the 3-year-olds. There is a charge. Contact mussie@chabadsh.com or 412-344-2424 or visit chabadsh.com/jkc for more information and to register. q SATURDAY, FEB. 23 “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at Fisher Auditorium, 403 S. 11th Street, Indiana, Pa. The concert/ drama commemorates the Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II who performed Verdi's Requiem 16 times, as an act of defiance and resistance to their Nazi captors. Defiant Requiem is a complete live performance of Verdi's Requiem interspersed with historic film, testimony from survivors and narration that tells this tale of bravery. This performance features the full Verdi Requiem with the chorus and soloists accompanied by a single piano, as it was in Terezín. The Defiant Requiem Foundation, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Music and the Penn State Altoona Department of Arts and Humanities, with funding from the Gretchen M. Brooks University Residency Project are presenting this performance. Visit https://www.iup.edu/eventdetail.aspx?id=257771 for more information. Beth Shalom Congregation will hold Clues & Schmooze (with some booze), a fundraising and fun trivia event, including a raffle, open bar and snacks. Trivia will be in teams of 3-6 players. Bring your own team or be matched up at the door. Registration and drinks start at 7:45 p.m. and trivia games start at 8:15 p.m. The charge is $25 per person in advance, $40 per person at the door. Visit tinyurl.com/ clues2019 for more information. q MONDAY, FEB. 25 Beth El Congregation will host the fourth evening of the Speaker Series with Rabbi Danny Schiff at 7 p.m. speaking on “The Countercultural Power of Humility.” This series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Enjoy one evening or all. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation. q MONDAY, MARCH 4 Beth El will host the fifth evening of the Speaker Series with Rabbi Danny Schiff discussing Israel’s Nation State Law, A Loving Critique at 7 p.m. The series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation. PJC

Steve Manns, fitness coordinator at the Jewish Community Center South Hills, will

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FEBRUARY 1, 2019 7

8 WORLD

Headlines A Jewish brother and sister are making political history — NATIONAL — By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

nly days after being sworn into the Illinois House of Representatives last week, Rabbi Yehiel Kalish paid a visit to Israel. The father of six said he needed guidance from rabbis in the Jewish state to serve in his new role. “The immediate reaction of the Chicago political world was ‘Orthodox rabbi chosen for seat in state legislature,’” he said in a phone interview from Jerusalem. “So that immediately put a microscope on me, and I felt pressure taking the position to begin with, and with that added to it, I felt I needed a little bit of help, so I jumped on a plane [to] give a little bit of strength to my prayer by being in Israel.” The 43-year-old rabbi, who was appointed to serve in the position after Rep. Lou Lang announced his resignation earlier this month, also has a source of guidance a bit closer to home. Just a few state lines over he can consult fellow local lawmaker Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who has been serving in the Colorado House of Representatives since 2017. Michaelson Jenet also happens to be Kalish’s older sister, and he says they have been talking every day since he took office. “She can be helpful because she’s two years ahead of me, that’s one thing,” Kalish said. “The other thing is that I have someone that I can talk to about stuff. That’s awesome.” Jeffrey Wice, the executive director of the National Association of Jewish Legislators, said that he believes the pair are the first Jewish siblings to concurrently serve in different state legislatures since his organization’s founding in 1977. The siblings, who grew up in Cincinnati, are Democrats. Jewishly, Kalish is deeply involved in the Orthodox world and Michaelson Jenet attends two Conservative synagogues. They are united by their commitment to serving their communities and the inspiration they draw from Judaism. Kalish wakes up at 4 a.m. each day and spends two hours studying Jewish texts before doing the morning prayers. “It keeps you focused on what’s important,” he said. “To try to keep values important, try to remember that you’re not alone in this world and you have to care for others.” After receiving his rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill., in 1999, Kalish spent three years studying Jewish texts at the Cincinnati Community Kollel and then took a job at Agudath Israel of America, an organization that lobbies on behalf of the haredi Orthodox community. He worked there for 12 years, serving as Midwest Regional director and vice president for development and state relations. In 2014, he left the organization to co-found a consulting firm, but he remains a member of its board of trustees. Kalish also is involved in Achiezer, a group that provides aid to struggling members of the Orthodox

8 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

p Rabbi Yehiel Kalish attended the swearing-in of Dafna Michaelson Jenet, his sister, at the Colorado House of Representatives in Denver in 2017.

Photo courtesy of Dafna Michaelson Jenet

community, and coordinated its hurricane relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy. He also serves as the cantor of Congregation Shaarei Tzedek Mishkan Yair in Chicago. His district is about 30 percent Orthodox Jewish, he said, and includes Skokie and Rogers Park. As a lawmaker, he is passionate about issues that matter to the Orthodox community, including support for private religious schools and community nonprofits. But he’s also eager to learn more about other communities in his district — it has large Asian, Assyrian Christian and Muslim populations — and said he is “starting a listening tour” to hear about their concerns. Kalish said he met recently with representatives from the Chicago Teachers Union and Planned Parenthood. Like her brother, Michaelson Jenet, 46, took an unconventional path to politics. In 2008, she quit her job at a hospital to embark on a yearlong journey in which she visited each of the 50 states to meet with people making a difference in their communities. She kept a blog documenting her experience, which caught the attention of writer Maya Angelou, who interviewed her about the initiative on Oprah Radio. In 2015, while working on a book about her trip, Michaelson Jenet ran into a local politician who suggested she run for office. A year later she defeated the Republican incumbent, JoAnn Windholz, by an 8 percent margin. She was re-elected last year, both times earning the endorsement of President Barack Obama. Michaelson Jenet draws inspiration from Judaism. She recalls that as a 14-year-old, her parents and their friends would have passionate discussions around the Shabbat table about the challenges in Cincinnati. She was troubled, however, that they didn’t take action when the day of rest had come to an end. “I truly believed that they had the answer to the problems that I cared strongly about, that were plaguing our community, and they didn’t fix them,” Michaelson Jenet said in a phone interview last year. She pledged to never complain about

problems unless she was willing to solve them. It’s a promise she called “a driving factor” in her life. Her legislative focus — helping struggling children — stems from the difficulties of her now teenage son, Eytan. He has a severe learning disability, and Michaelson Jenet believes the fact that he could not get an individualized education plan in school

contributed to his attempted suicide at age 9. She has introduced bills to help children obtain mental health services, expand free school lunches and provide sexual abuse prevention training to early childhood providers. Though her family was Orthodox, Michaelson Jenet remembers struggling with her faith since she was young. Another challenge came when she met her now-husband, who is not Jewish. “Why do you put this man in my life who isn’t Jewish and is the best thing that ever happened to me? Clearly he’s my bashert,” she remembers asking God on a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, using the Yiddish word for soulmate. Their marriage led to several family members cutting ties with her. Michaelson Jenet calls her husband, Michael, “the greatest enabler of my faith.” Michaelson Jenet said her younger brother’s run for office came as no surprise. “My run for public office surprised my family, but my brother’s selection was a long time coming,” she said in an email. “I always knew he’d enter public service when the time was right and Illinois is so lucky to have him. I look forward to mentoring him and learning from him as he grows in his legislative work.” PJC

This week in Israeli history adopts a resolution declaring that the education provided at the Alliance Israelite Universelle Schools does not support Jewish national aspirations and calling for a new syllabus.

— WORLD — Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Feb. 1, 1979 — Khomeini returns to Iran

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile. He arrives two weeks after a popular uprising forces the shah to flee the country. Under his spiritual guidance, Iran votes in March to establish an Islamic republic. The revolution ends decades of close if discreet military and economic ties between Iran and Israel.

Feb. 2, 1915 — Abba Eban born

Israeli politician, diplomat and historian Abba Eban is born Aubrey Eban in South Africa. After moving to England as an infant, he develops his trademark accent through an education that includes Queens College, Cambridge. He serves as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and United States, a member of the Knesset, and the foreign minister.

Feb. 3, 1919 — WZO presents post-WWI case

A World Zionist Organization delegation led by Chaim Weizmann makes the case for a Jewish homeland in Palestine to the post-World War I Paris Peace Conference, calling for Jewish immigration and an eventual end to the British Mandate.

Feb. 4, 1921 — New syllabus sought

Meeting in Salonica, the Conference of Greek Zionists

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Feb. 5, 1890 — First Tu B’Shevat planting

Zichron Ya’akov educator Ze’ev Yavetz takes his students to plant trees on Tu B’Shevat, starting an annual tradition in the Land of Israel that the Jewish National Fund and teachers unions adopt in 1908.

Feb. 6, 2001 — Israelis directly elect premier

For the only time in Israeli history, the nation holds a direct election for prime minister instead of electing the Knesset and having the premiership go to the politician able to form a government with a Knesset majority. Likud leader Ariel Sharon wins with 62.4 percent of the vote.

Feb. 7, 1999 — King Hussein dies

Jordan’s King Hussein, who in 1994 became the second Arab leader to sign a peace treaty with Israel, dies of complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 63. Hussein became king at age 18 in 1953 after the assassination of his paternal grandfather, Abdullah. Secret talks with Israel during his reign began in 1963, but he still disastrously led his nation into the Six-Day War in 1967. PJC

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9 WORLD

Headlines In Hungary, a Jewish community political fight taints effort to bury Holocaust victims — WORLD — By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

elations between Hungary’s two Jewish federation groups have deteriorated recently from stony silence to a full-blown row. The fight between the Mazsihisz group, which is critical of the Hungarian government, and the Chabad-affiliated EMIH group, an advocate of the government, is essentially over government cooperation and funding. It’s an understandably divisive issue in a country with a government often accused of encouraging anti-Semitic rhetoric. But late last week, the fight veered away from politics and spilled over into one of the major dilemmas facing Eastern European Jewish populations: how to treat the remains of Holocaust victims. The dispute over giving the remains a proper burial marks a new and worrisome low in the internal fight, extending to include a core issue of the Jewish faith. It raises concerns as to the depths of division among the 100,000 Jews living in Hungary — by far Central Europe’s largest Jewish community. The burial fight began with a sonar sweep Jan. 15 of the floor of the Danube River.

Commissioned by EMIH’s leader, Rabbi Slomo Koves, the sweep ended without meeting its aim of identifying bones of some of the thousands of people that Nazi collaborators shot and dumped into the river during the Holocaust. But what started out as an example of innovative technology being used to bring dignity to unburied victims quickly devolved into a vociferous exchange that included even Israel’s interior minister, Aryeh Deri. The sweep “insults the calm and dignity of Jewish or non-Jewish dead people who may be found during the exploration,” Mazsihisz wrote a day after the scan. “Moreover it breaks halachah,” or Orthodox Jewish law, the federation group said in its statement. Rabbi Zoltan Radnoti, the chairman of the rabbinical council of Mazsihisz, said that any bones found likely would be from one of the thousands of non-Jewish German, Soviet and local troops and civilians who died in fighting along the riverbank. “Come on,” he said, “the Danube is not a grave. It’s a fast-running river.” In 2016, Mazsihisz itself organized a Jewish burial for bones that had been found in the Danube in 2011 amid renovations on the foundations of Budapest’s Margaret Bridge. “We had a multifaith burial ceremony, with two priests and rabbis from various denominations,” Radnoti said of the ceremony. “It’s

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true that these were likely Jews, but the truth is there is no way of knowing for certain.” Koves said that most people killed in the Danube were Jews. He cited DNA testing on the bones found in 2011. Of the 15 people identified from the bones, at least nine had Ashkenazi Jewish DNA, the tests showed. Both groups can cite principles from halachah, which states that bones should be buried when there is a danger to the dignity of the dead but forbids disturbing the remains of Jews in all but the most extreme circumstances. EMIH, for its part, described the retrieval mission as fulfilling the “major mitzvah of bringing the victims to burial.” But the core of EMIH’s dispute with Mazsihisz is not about halachah. Rather it is a fight over attitudes toward Hungary’s controversial government and its funding for Jewish groups, where EMIH clearly seems favored. “This fight over the Danube is part of the bigger fight,” Radnoti acknowledged. The two groups have clashed publicly recently over EMIH’s taking over of a state-funded Holocaust museum. The person tapped to head the museum, Maria Schmidt, is a right-wing historian who has been accused of distorting the Holocaust. In light of this, Mazsihisz criticized EMIH’s decision to head the House of Fates museum, which has not yet opened.

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“There is no way this museum will operate independently,” Radnoti said in explaining his group’s objections. But EMIH said it would have total discretion over the museum’s content. For those seeking unity among Jews, internal fights about the memory of the Holocaust are painful. But in Hungary, politics spilled over to disagreements about one of the fundamentals of being Jewish. Deri, who heads the Sephardic Orthodox Shas party in Israel, decided to wade into the fight and turn it into an interdenominational religious conflict with a statement that inaccurately labeled Mazsihisz as a “Reform” community. (Mazsihisz does have many members of the Neolog stream, an endemic movement that is fairly liberal but far closer to Modern Orthodox streams than to either Reform or Conservative Judaism.) “I was deeply shocked by the [Mazsihisz] statement, in which it used false pretenses to oppose, in violation of the Jewish conscience, bringing to burial the remains of the martyrs,” Deri wrote. “It is shocking and appalling that some are carrying out political score settling on the backs of those murdered in the Holocaust.” Radnoti said that Deri’s characterization of Mazsihisz was “a disgusting form of character assassination.” PJC

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Florida bill would add protections against anti-Semitism to education system A state lawmaker in Florida has introduced a bill that would add a controversial definition of anti-Semitism to laws barring discrimination in the state education system. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Mike Caruso, a freshman Republican from Palm Beach, uses as its template the State Department

definition of anti-Semitism, which includes as anti-Semitic calls for violence against Jews, advancing conspiracy theories about Jewish control and Holocaust denial. More controversially, it also includes “applying double standards” to Israel “by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” Civil libertarians have objected to such language being written into law, saying it could encompass conventional criticism of Israel. The Miami New Times reported that the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union was tracking the bill. A similar bill has become law in South Carolina and was considered in the last Congress.

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The State Department language was never intended as an enforcement tool and was drafted as a means of advising diplomats how to assess whether anti-Semitism is prevalent in countries where they serve. Hamas says no thanks to $15 million in delayed Qatar aid Hamas said it would not accept $15 million in humanitarian aid from Qatar just moments after the Israeli government approved its transfer following a nearly three-week delay. The transfer of the third installment of aid from Qatar was approved by the Cabinet on Jan. 24. It had been held up over continued unrest on the border between Israel and Gaza. The day before, the Security Cabinet met to discuss a possible transfer after recommendations by officials at Israel’s top security agencies, including the military, the Israel Security Agency and the Mossad. The scheduled transfer of the money that day had been canceled after a Gaza sniper shot an Israeli soldier in the head. The soldier was injured; his life was saved by his helmet. But the defense establishment said that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the shooting and not Hamas, which runs Gaza and would distribute the aid money. A senior Hamas official in Gaza, Khalil al-Haya, said after the approval was announced that Hamas would not accept the money, citing Israel’s “hesitation and blackmailing.” Hamas informed Qatari

envoy Mohammed al-Amadi, who was in Israel and called for the money to be transferred by the end of the week, of its decision. Arkansas anti-BDS law survives challenge in federal court A federal judge in Arkansas has dismissed a newspaper’s lawsuit challenging a 2017 state law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. Judge Brian Miller of the U.S. District Court in Little Rock dismissed the suit filed late last year by the Arkansas Times. The newspaper does not boycott Israel. The publisher of the newspaper filed the suit after a regular advertiser, the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College, refused to place advertising in the newspaper unless it signed the pledge. If the college had decided to go ahead with the advertising, the newspaper would have been required to reduce its fee by 20 percent for not signing the pledge. Miller said in his decision that the state’s law does not violate the First Amendment right to free speech, as the lawsuit charged, because the boycott ban would apply to its commercial activities and not to its editorial copy. At least 26 states have passed legislation that prohibits boycotts against Israel. Some of those states, including Texas, Kansas and Arizona, also are facing legal challenges to the laws designed to combat the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. PJC

PHILIP CHOSKY PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM PRESENTS

Richard E. Rauh Senior High Musical 2019 Directed by Jill Machen Thursday, February 14 Saturday, February 16 Sunday, February 17 Wednesday, February 20 Thursday, February 21 Saturday, February 23

7:30 PM 8:00 PM 2:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM

$12/Reserved Seats Available until February 6 by emailing jscott@jccpgh.org or calling 412-697-3520 $8/General ; $6/Students & Seniors Available in advance at the Centerfit Desk, lower level, Kaufmann Building At the door 30 minutes before show starts JCC of Greater Pittsburgh Katz Performing Arts Center 5738 Darlington Road • Call 412-697-3520 for more information.

Call 412-697-3520 for tickets 10 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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! a g o T ! a g o T ! To-ga

JCC Squirrel Hill Campus 5738 Forbes Avenue • Dinner and drinks • Dancing to the music of The Lava Game and DJ Scottro • Late night party with the Bill Henry Band • Silent Auction at the Campus Bookstore • Raffle—Win some bling or a fancy ride Valet Service Provided Forbes Avenue Entrance Attire: Show Your School Spirit Purchase event and raffle tickets at bidpal.net/bignightu Contact Fara Marcus: 412-339-5413

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FEBRUARY 1, 2019 11

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Headlines Holocaust survivor Lily Widner, 97, is alive but not according to Poland — WORLD — By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

ily Widner has cheated death too many times to remember each close call. The 97-year-old Jewish Floridian survived starvation in the ghetto of her native Polish city of Lodz, two Nazi death camps and one of humanity’s worst aerial bombardments. By the end of World War II, she was the sole living member of her nuclear family of six. Widner’s remarkable ability to survive is one reason that her family was outraged to learn recently that Polish authorities in 2010 issued a death certificate for her. She not only is alive but actively fighting in Polish courts for restitution of her family’s assets in Lodz. After issuing the death certificate, authorities also declared that Widner has no heirs, voiding her restitution claims. This despite the fact that she has a son whose existence was made known to Polish authorities, documents indicate. “I think it’s a travesty,” Mark Widner, Lily’s son, said about the curious pronouncement of his mother’s death by Lodz city authorities. “I don’t think it was an honest mistake.”

p Brian Kramer, shown in Warsaw in 2016, is the Florida-based lawyer representing Lily Widner in her restitution case. Photo courtesy of Brian Kramer

He cited an ongoing restitution trial that dates back to decades-long efforts by his mother to retrieve family property. The City of Lodz and Poland’s Interior Ministry have not replied to requests for comment on the case. As with many claims, part of the problem may have been that Widner, nee Miriam Goldring, had changed her name (Polish authorities have been made aware of that).

But to some activists seeking restitution for Jewish property in Poland, Widner’s case is indicative of systemic failures in the Polish restitution process. Its critics say it is Kafkaesque, ineffective and insensitive to survivors. Widner’s case is “not atypical” of others in Poland, Gideon Taylor, the chairman of operations of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, said. “The bigger picture is that the Polish court

system does not act in the interest of justice,” said Brian Kramer, a Florida-based lawyer who is representing Widner and specializes in restitution claims in Poland. Despite pledges to compensate Holocaust survivors for property that was first stolen by the Nazis and then confiscated by Polish authorities, post-communist governments in Poland “have constantly been putting hurdles before claimants, and Mrs. Widner’s case epitomizes this,” he said. Restitution is a painful subject across Europe, but Poland is often singled out for criticism because it is the only major country in the former communist bloc that has “not passed any comprehensive legislation to return private property confiscated by the Nazis or nationalized” by the communists, Taylor said. Hania Rosenberg, an 84-year-old Polandborn survivor from Sweden, has been fighting for years for restitution for her family’s property in Ledziny, near Krakow. She described her fight as a “carousel.” “You go around and around and around and around,” she told The New York Times in 2017. “You have to produce the documents that they need, and then it’s not enough. Please see Poland, page 20

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF SENDING YOUR CHILD TO EMMA KAUFMANN CAMP? In a world where we seem to always be connected to our phones, email, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds, a summer at EKC allows kids to be connected in a whole different way, to the things that are really important. When they put down their devices and their school-year priorities, they can make connections that are deep, rich and healthy. At EKC, we live each day through the lens of Jewish values. These Jewish values are the basic human values we all strive to instill in our children. At camp, we live by these values in order to teach kids how one can live a good and meaningful life. EKC is the ideal setting for kids to take “safe risks” that they will learn from and that will ultimately help them grow. Making choices, such as what activity to sign up for, which friends to hang out with and what to eat, builds self-esteem and independence, lifelong attributes that will help kids achieve their goals and play an active role in their communities. At EKC, kids have the opportunity to break free of the overlyscheduled routines of home and school and just play. Camp is fun all day long, with a wide variety of activities to choose from— tubing, knee boarding, the Blob, the Rave, soccer, tennis, basketball, hockey, ceramics, arts & crafts, horseback riding, zip line, climbing wall, camping, cooking, robotics, dance, gymnastics, jewelry making, drama, Israel Day and Maccabi Color War—as well as free time to just hang out. —Rachael Speck, Associate Director

LEARN MORE: 412-697-3550

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Headlines Denying anti-Semitism, NJ group sees haredi Orthodox as a threat to ‘quality of life’ — NATIONAL — By Ben Sales | JTA

he video, with suspenseful music playing in the background, opens with footage of a crowd of Orthodox Jews. Then it paraphrases a classic poem about the Holocaust. “First they came for my house, but I did not speak up,” the narrator says. “I said I am not willing to sell, and closed my door. … Then they came for my forests, but I did not speak up, because I thought I had no vested interests in the forests.” The script is a riff on the Martin Niemoller work lamenting the perils of inaction in the face of Nazi atrocities. But the video, which was posted this month, isn’t meant to denounce Nazis. Instead its purported villains are Orthodox Jews looking to move to the Central New Jersey suburbs. “The process by which Lakewood was lost was a simple one and has been seen in other parts of the Northeast over the last few years,” the description below the video says, referring to a nearby city with a large haredi Orthodox community and rapid population growth. “Offer generous amounts of money to acquire existing homes through pressure sales, build new homes at the expense of the environment, elect a majority to governing bodies and sieze [sic] control.” The group behind the video is Rise Up Ocean County, which aims to galvanize residents of Central Jersey to stop haredi Orthodox families from buying real estate in the towns surrounding Lakewood. It says it is producing a documentary and mobilizes locals to attend town meetings. Rise Up Ocean County, whose leaders are anonymous, wrote in an October statement that it does not want the quiet, comfortable suburbs to go the way of Lakewood. Lakewood, which is known as a center of haredi Orthodox life in the United States, has seen its population boom in recent decades, from around 60,000 in 2000 to more than 100,000 as of 2017. Local officials have predicted that by 2030, the number would more than double, according to the Asbury Park Press. As the city has grown, Orthodox families seeking more space have moved to neighboring towns like Toms River or Jackson. The expansion has created a backlash from some non-Orthodox neighbors, who often say their objections are about zoning, housing density and local support for public schools. But the Orthodox residents and others see some of the criticism as anti-Semitic. A similar dynamic is being seen by towns near Monsey, a largely haredi Orthodox town in New York state near its border with New Jersey. Those towns repeatedly attempted to stop the construction of an eruv, a symbolic ritual boundary that residents said would invite more Orthodox Jews to move in. Rise Up Ocean County insists its objections are only about “quality of life,” not religion. “We also acknowledge that corruption of

one ethnic group exercises too much power. “Whenever a particular group, whether they are Orthodox Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, black, Hispanic, or white exercises complete control over any one element of government it is a danger,” the group wrote in a post last week. “Human nature is for that group to advance their own agenda, often times at the expense of the populace.” Weisberg and others have said that the way the group singles out p An Orthodox woman pushes a stroller in Lakewood, haredi Jews and generN.J., in 2013. The population in the largely haredi alizes about them is Orthodox town has boomed in the past couple of hateful. Another video, decades, and haredi families are looking to move to neighboring towns. Photo by Dennis Fraevich/Flickr posted to Rise Up Ocean County’s YouTube our political system has allowed develop- channel, shows a photo of an unidentified ment in Lakewood at an unprecedented rate group of Orthodox Jewish men with the and frankly in an unsafe manner,” the group’s subtitle “It’s not about religion.” The video statement said. “What has occurred is tragic, then shows an extended shot of unidentiwe exist to insure that what has happened fied Orthodox children before warning that there cannot happen elsewhere in Ocean population trends could destroy the area’s County. We already see signs in the northern “quality of life.” part of Toms River, southern part of Howell, “That growth will not be in the black or eastern part of Jackson and western part of Hispanic communities, it will be almost Brick … and beyond. IT MUST STOP!” exclusively in the Orthodox Jewish commuLocal Jewish leaders in and around nity,” the narrator says, later adding that Lakewood acknowledge that the population “Lakewood will be at the epicenter of the spike has posed challenges, like clogged streets continued wonderful quality of life that we and scarce parking. In addition, the local school currently enjoy in Ocean County, or it will district runs large deficits because it receives lead to its utter destruction.” funding only for the 6,000 kids who attend Comments on the group’s Facebook page public school, but must provide buses for the are cruder. On one post showing a photo additional 30,000 who attend private schools. of a local Orthodox real estate agent, one Nevertheless, the Jewish leaders call Rise Up Ocean County’s rhetoric anti-Semitic. “It’s a vicious group that’s trying very hard to put a genteel veneer on their deeply anti-Semitic agenda,” said Rabbi Moshe Zev rian Schreiber, president and CEO Weisberg, a spokesman for the Lakewood of the Jewish Community Center Vaad, a local Jewish communal organiof Greater Pittsburgh, announced zation. “Using the most vile anti-Semitic methods reminds us of a very dark period of an update to his scheduled work as special advisor to Doron Krakow, president and Jewish history.” In anonymous emails, Rise Up Ocean CEO of the JCC Association of North County agreed to answer written questions America, in an email to board members, but later reneged, pointing to statements staff and stakeholders. Last summer, Schreiber agreed to join written on its Facebook page. On that page, the group repeatedly the New York-based organization’s senior denies that it is anti-Semitic (“We are NOT staff and take a three-month sabbatical from anti-Semitic,” the October statement reads). Pittsburgh, but in an email last week, he And in a post written following the video said the events of Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life paraphrasing the Holocaust poem, the group synagogue building had altered his perspecwrote, “We certainly did not intend to draw tive on the leave. “With the full support of Board Chair a moral equivalency between the holocaust and current events in Ocean County. What Jimmy Ruttenberg and the endorsement of took place under Nazi rule will forever JCC Association president and CEO, Doron be known as the greatest human tragedy Krakow, I am happy to announce a reframing in the history of mankind.” The video, of my engagement with the JCC Association,” said Schreiber in the email. “I will be spending however, is still up. Instead, the organization claims that it is approximately one week per month for the concerned about what happens when any 2019 calendar year acting as special advisor

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commenter wrote, “They already own so much property over there! I don’t understand where the money comes from if more than half are on welfare?!!! (I do understand, believe me).” Another wrote “build the wall around Lakewood,” which garnered 11 “likes.” A third wrote “Unbelievable. These animals.” Drew Staffenberg, the executive director of the local Jewish federation, said that communal leaders have been in touch with law enforcement regarding the group. The Rise Up Ocean County group has more than 4,000 likes, and Staffenberg says it represents a fringe of the local population, which is generally open and accepting. “I think his rhetoric spews hate,” Staffenberg said, referring to the anonymous administrator of the Facebook group. “It’s anti-Semitic. I don’t think there’s a question about that. The law enforcement are monitoring this. It’s really one guy and a few other people trying to stir up trouble.” The real estate agent criticized in the Facebook group, Abba Deutsch, said the Facebook page does not reflect his day-to-day interactions with residents of Toms River, where he lives and works. He said he never hears anti-Semitic comments while soliciting properties and has good relations with his neighbors regardless of religion. Deutsch said that he, like other haredi residents of the city, was drawn by its quiet streets and relatively spacious homes, compared to Lakewood. “The majority of the people in Toms River are very welcoming and very nice,” he said. “It’s just a couple of clowns who go on Facebook and make noise.” Deutsch said that most people moving to Toms River don’t want to live in Brooklyn, in high-density housing or in Lakewood. “They want nice, proper houses,” he said. “They want to live the American dream like the rest of Americans.” PJC

New plans for JCC CEO

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to Doron and authoring a Talent White Paper for the JCC field, as originally conceived. I will also serve as lead staff on a JResponse Task Force that will be launched” in January. “My primary January and February engagement will be the Association’s winter board retreat, Executives Conference, and multi-disciplinary JCC Professional Conference. From March on, I will be housed at the JCC Association office in New York roughly one week each month, spending most of each month in Pittsburgh. My direct reports will continue to have access to me at all times.” Schreiber thanked those involved in the process, and said, “My commitment to Pittsburgh and our JCC is resolute and there is critical, unprecedented rebuilding work to be done at this pivotal moment in our community’s history. This reframed, ‘executive in residence’ model provides an optimal pragmatic framework to accomplish the work ahead.” PJC — Adam Reinherz FEBRUARY 1, 2019 13

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Opinion Ireland’s BDS shenanigans — EDITORIAL —

hen it comes to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, we tend to focus on the first two parts of the international effort to delegitimize the Jewish state. So, we properly cry foul when college students launch a boycott of Sabra hummus — which happened several years ago here in Pittsburgh — or mount a vote to get their schools to divest from corporations that do business in the West Bank. But aside from a cancelled concert or two, the BDS campaign hasn’t “hurt” Israel through boycott or divestment efforts. With the progress of a new BDS bill through the Irish parliament, however, the movement’s third plank — legal sanctions — appears to be on the brink of exacting real pain. The only question is, who will feel the pain more if the Irish sanctions law is enacted, Israel or Ireland? Last week, legislation sailed through the second of five steps in Ireland’s lower house on its way to becoming law. Although opposed by Ireland’s minority government, the country’s leaders have been unable to stop the momentum of a bill that, if enacted, would criminalize the selling of goods or services that originate in areas that Israel did not control prior to the end of the 1967 Six-Day War. That means importing produce grown in the Golan Heights or the West Bank, or providing legal services in Ireland from an office in East Jerusalem, could subject a person

p A view of a portion of the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim.

Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

In their rush to achieve “justice” for the Palestinians — one legislator even wore a keffiyeh during the debates — Irish lawmakers stand to place their own economy at risk.

to a 250,000 Euro fine or five years in jail. Given the realities of today’s global commercial environment, an entire host of corporations stand to be ensnared by the proposed law. For years, Ireland has convinced businesses to establish headquarters or relocate there, wooing multinational firms with low taxes and a high-tech workforce. Many of those companies — including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook — also have offices in parts of Israel beyond the 1967 borders. They also do business in the United States, which itself forbids cooperating with another nation’s boycott of Israel. Israel, which summoned the Irish ambassador for a formal dressing down, is properly concerned. But several issues raise the specter that not just Israel, but Ireland itself could suffer substantially from the ill-conceived law it is developing. That’s because the European Union, of which Ireland is a member, sets a uniform standard on trade, which the new law violates and which could open Ireland to very costly E.U. monetary sanctions. Even more concerning, however, is the prospect that multinationals doing business in Israel might either abandon the Irish market, flee Israel’s high-tech (and low cost) platforms, or subject their businesses to the whims of Irish prosecution. Neither outcome will be pretty. In their rush to achieve “justice” for the Palestinians — one legislator even wore a keffiyeh during the debates — Irish lawmakers stand to place their own economy at risk. They should take a little time to get their own (lower) house in order. PJC

How should Jews react to the Belgian ban on shechitah? Guest Columnist Richard Schwartz

ecently the Belgian government banned the practice of shechitah (Jewish ritual slaughter). How should Jews react? Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America, of which I am president emeritus, is against all slaughter, but we object when shechitah is signaled out for criticism or is banned. Shechitah was designed to minimize pain, but even if it is carried out perfectly, the many months during which animals are mistreated on factory farms should be considered. People who think that other methods of slaughter are more humane should read the book “Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry” by Gail Eisnitz. It documents the many problems at slaughterhouses where animals are stunned prior to slaughter, with many of the workers becoming sadistic and cruel under the horrible conditions of their daily efforts. There is a familiar admonition that states that when one is given a lemon they should make lemonade, meaning make the best of what

14 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

appears to be a negative situation. I believe this can happen in the case of the Belgian ban on shechitah. While meat-eaters will understandably have a negative reaction to the ban, if it leads some Jews to shift to a vegetarian or vegan diet, there could be many benefits: • There would be a reduction in the widespread heart disease, several types of cancer, and other diseases afflicting many Jews and others. • There would be a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. While the world is increasingly threatened by climate change, a 2006 U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than is emitted by the cars and all other means of transportation worldwide combined. • There would be a reduction in

environmental problems, including deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, loss of biological diversity and desertification. • Resources would be used more efficiently. In an increasingly thirsty and energy-dependent world, a person on an animal-based diet requires up to 14 times as much water (mainly for irrigating feed crops) and 10 times as much energy as a person on a vegan (only plants) diet. • There would be a reduction in the number of animals who suffer greatly from cruel treatment on factory farms. • There would potentially be a reduction in the number of hungry people. At a time when food prices are skyrocketing, an estimated 20 million people are dying annually worldwide from hunger and its effects, and almost a billion of the world’s people are chronically hungry, since 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States and 40 percent produced

There is a familiar admonition that states that when one is given a lemon they should make lemonade.

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worldwide are fed to farmed animal. What makes that even more shameful is that the corn, soy and oats that are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates are converted into animal products that are devoid of these nutrients, but high in cholesterol and saturated fat that are so harmful to health. It should also be considered that plantbased diets are most consistent with Jewish teachings on preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and helping hungry people. Also, such diets are consistent with conditions during the two ideal times pictured in the Jewish tradition: the Garden of Eden (based on Genesis 1:29) and the messianic period, based on Isaiah’s vision of a peaceable kingdom (Isaiah 11:6-9). The shechitah ban must be opposed, but it is hoped that rabbis and other Jewish leaders will help increase awareness of the many benefits of vegetarianism and of Jewish teachings that point to it as the ideal Jewish diet. This would help revitalize Judaism by showing the relevance of its eternal teachings to current realities, bring many idealistic Jews back to Judaism, and help shift our precious, but imperiled, planet onto a sustainable path. PJC Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the president emeritus of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America.

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Opinion Places to visit in Israel in 2019 if you really want to learn Guest Columnist Moshe Phillips

re you or a family member planning to go on Birthright in 2019? Are you looking for something more than the average “Israel experience?” Here are some ideas on what to see if you choose to extend your trip and your mind. Don’t give in to the critics of Israel who want you to leave Birthright and see the Palestinian point of view when you know almost nothing about the Jewish struggle to free Israel from British control in the first place. Birthright may take you to the Kotel, the Sea of Galilee, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and Masada — and those are all worthwhile — but there are other places to visit that will help you understand the amazing history of the pioneers who fought

Irgun and the movement’s impact on the British decision to leave the Land of Israel, as well as the group’s combat role in the War of Independence.

LEHI Museum

The LEHI underground launched a campaign to force the British to leave the Land of Israel. Its founder, Yair (Avraham) Stern, had been a leader in the Irgun and formed the LEHI in order to fight the British at all costs. The LEHI Museum is housed in the building where Stern was assassinated by the British in 1942.

Jabotinsky Institute

the amazing history of

Tel Chai

are other places that

the modern state. the battles that allowed the modern State of Israel to be declared. Here is a list of eight places to visit in Israel that will help you develop a more accurate picture of the struggle to build the Jewish state.

Acre Prison

Acre Prison is where Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky and his comrades were imprisoned by the British in 1920 for defending Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem from Arab rioters. Later, the British imprisoned Irgun and Stern Group (LEHI) members there. Several Zionists were executed there by the British. The prison is perhaps best known for the 1947 escape of dozens during an underground raid that was depicted in Leon Uris’ novel “Exodus” and the 1960 movie.

Museum of the Underground Prisoners

Another prison where the British held Irgun and LEHI soldiers was Jerusalem’s Central Prison in the Russian Compound. The museum there has significant exhibits that relate the stories of the heroes of the underground.

Etzel Museum

The Irgun was also known as the Etzel. This museum in Tel Aviv details the history the

Regarding the controversy over anti-Semitism at the Women’s March (“Allegations of anti-Semitism persist, turnout low at Women’s March,” Jan. 25): This reminds me of a situation my husband and I experienced when we were teachers in the Pittsburgh public school system in the 1970s. There were many Jewish teachers with the credits and experience who were eligible for promotions, and never got them. Morrie and I decided to do something about it. We established a group called SPUR — School Personnel United for Reform — and were successful in getting many promotions for Jewish teachers. Of course, we never received them. Many Jewish teachers were critical of us even after they were promoted. A wealthy Jewish woman in our synagogue was on the board of education and was very angry about our project. She influenced the rabbi, and when my husband was on the bima to celebrate his birthday, he was not allowed to carry the Torah. My husband’s crime was “rocking the boat.” Jewish people should have the courage and determination to stick up for themselves. Shirley T. Shratter Shadyside

To better understand this founding father of Israel and leader of the Irgun there is simply no better place to visit than the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem.

will help you understand

to the Kotel, but there

Don’t be afraid to rock the boat

Menachem Begin Heritage Center

Ze’ev Jabotinsky was the Zionist leader who created a bold, new vision for Zionism after the death of Theodor Herzl. The Jabotinsky Institute in Tel Aviv houses a museum dedicated to teaching about him and an intriguing special exhibit that spotlights the Af Al Pi illegal effort that rescued Jews from Nazi Europe and brought them to Israel.

Birthright may take you

— LETTERS —

Tel Chai was a settlement in the Galilee that was the site of a battle against Arab raiders in 1920. The Zionist hero Joseph Trumpeldor and seven other valiant defenders died in the defense of Tel Chai against a much larger force. Trumpeldor had been instrumental in forming the Jewish Legion during World War I. Jabotinsky named his Betar movement after Trumpledor. A large statue of a lion sits at the sight as does a museum at kibbutz Kfar Giladi.

Rosh Pina

Shlomo Ben Yosef is buried in Rosh Pina. Rosh Pina was an early Zionist settlement. In 1938 in response to attacks on Jews by Arabs, Ben Yosef, a member of Betar and the Irgun, along with two companions organized a reprisal attack. They were subsequently arrested by the British. Ben Yosef was executed by the British at Acre prison. A perfect book to bring along on your Birthright trip is Zev Golan’s “Free Jerusalem Heroes, Heroines and Rogues Who Created the State of Israel” (Geffen Publishing, 2003). Golan’s book will help to make your visits to the historic sights above much more meaningful. The book is well worth reading even if you have no plans to visit Israel anytime soon. PJC Moshe Phillips is the national director of Herut North America’s U.S. section. Herut is an international movement for Zionist pride and education.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2019 15

Headlines Pirates:

hoop and relay race games. The Pirate Parrot also made an appearance. “We are deeply grateful to the Pirates Charities CARE-a-van for making a stop at Community Day School to spread their positive message about the values of kindness and hard work and recognizing that everyone has a special gift to share with the world,” CDS Head of School Avi Baran Munro said in an email. “Thank you also to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for continuing to seed opportunities to uplift and inspire the children in our community.” The Federation had received an initial call from the Pirates about making stops at Jewish institutions in Squirrel Hill and referred the Pirates to CDS, according to Jennifer Bails, director of marketing and communications for CDS. PJC

Continued from page 1

building and hear the stories,” he said. “It breaks your heart.” The J Café diners spiritedly engaged with the Pirates — and the Pierogis — chatting it up and cracking jokes. “I hope they show as much enthusiasm on the field as they are doing here,” quipped David Saul. Another contingent of Pirates, Steven Brault, Jung Ho Kang, Jesus Liranzo, Jason Martin, coaches Heberto Andrade and Euclides Rojas, and announcer Joe Klimchak, headed over to Community Day School, where they helped serve lunch to the intermediate school and middle school students. The early childhood and lower school students participated in a special assembly with the Pirates, and joined them in hula

p J Café patron David Saul poses for a photo with a visiting Pierogi.

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

Druze: Continued from page 1

A staff member at UPMC’s International Relations Department reached out to Zipora Gur, executive director of Classrooms Without Borders, a non-profit educational organization that has conducted programs in Israel. Gur quickly contacted her friends, Michael and Amy Bernstein, to see if they had any thoughts on where the Falahs — mother Fadila, father Zaid, and sisters Batla and Eva — could stay for a couple weeks. The Bernsteins immediately offered a carriage house on their own Squirrel Hill property. Gur then got in touch with Anat Talmy, an Israeli who has lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years and a volunteer with CWB, urging her to rally the Pittsburgh Israeli community to take care of the Falahs. “They landed on Dec. 14,” recalled Talmy. “The next day I got a call from Tsipy telling me that an Israeli family had landed, and that the Israelis need to take care of them, that as Israelis, it’s up to us to care of them.” “The Druze are an integral part of Israel,” Talmy explained. “They are like my brothers and sisters.” The Druze comprise about 2 percent of the population of Israel, according to the Pew Research Center. Their tradition dates back to the 11th century and incorporates elements of Islam, Hinduism, classical Greek philosophy and Judaism. In 1948, many Druze fought for Israel, and today many serve in elite units in the IDF. Upon meeting the Falahs, Talmy said, she immediately felt a connection with them, and knew she would be “very involved” in helping however she could. To rally her friends in the Pittsburgh community, she created a WhatsApp group, and posted on Facebook, seeking volunteers to bring meals to the Falahs and to visit them at the hospital. As fluency in Hebrew was a plus, dozens of Israelis answered the call to help. Nina Butler, who runs Bikur Cholim of Pittsburgh — a non-profit that helps Orthodox Jewish patients and their families 16 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

p The Falah family gathers together before the funeral service for Eihab.

Photo provided by Anat Talmy

who are receiving medical treatment in the Pittsburgh area with Shabbat observance and kashrut — also helped to organize volunteers through a website that tracked meal assignments and visits, and provided updates on Eihab’s condition. Because of kashrut issues, it is generally members of the Orthodox community who participate in helping families through Bikur Cholim, but because the Druze do not keep kosher, the opportunity to help was available to a wider swath of Jewish Pittsburghers. “A lot of the people who came to visit and made meals were Israelis, or American Jews who were connected to the Israeli community,” said Talmy. “The Falahs came from Israel to a strange city and they didn’t know a single person. The Israelis wanted the Falah family to feel like they are not alone and that we would support them.” Everyone who met the Falah family “fell in love with them and wanted to come back,” Talmy said. “The family really inspired everyone who came to visit.” Eihab underwent surgery on Dec. 20, but the doctors were unable to remove the entire tumor. By Dec. 31, he had taken a turn for

the worse and was back in the ICU. His two brothers joined the family in Pittsburgh, as did his brother-in-law and his cousin. The extended Falah clan offered to move to a hotel, as they now numbered eight, but the Bernsteins insisted they remain with them. Every single night, Talmy’s friends and friends of her friends brought the Falahs a hot, home-cooked meal. Often, they brought lunch as well. People slid generous gift cards to Giant Eagle under the door of the carriage house. Marlene Behrmann Cohen, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, became the family’s medical advocate and liaison for help in treatment. Rabbi Seth Adelson, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom, became their de facto pastor. “I told them I didn’t know anything about their traditions, but if it’s appropriate, in my tradition I can say prayers on Eihab’s behalf,” Adelson said. At the hospital, Adelson recited mi sheberach, the prayer for the sick, as well as Psalms. Eihab was a fighter, but tragically lost his battle with cancer and died on Jan. 20. Although the family would be taking his body back to Israel for burial, they decided

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Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

to first have a memorial service in Pittsburgh to thank the community to whom they had grown so close. Adelson officiated, reading from Ecclesiastes and chanting the El Maleh Rahamim prayer at the Jan. 22 service at the Ralph Schugar Funeral Chapel. More than 50 Pittsburghers came to offer condolences to the Falahs and to pay their last respects to Eihab. At the service, the Falah family wore “Stronger than Hate” T-shirts. “We wanted to say thank you,” said Eva. “We felt we found a second home in Pittsburgh. It really felt like family. We all felt connected and we haven’t been alone all this time.” The Falahs inspired all who came to know them, their deep love and devotion to each other pouring out onto their visitors as well, according to Behrmann Cohen. “I’ve never seen a family so concerned about the well-being of the people who came to visit,” she said. “As the news became less good, and Eihab was in terrible pain, they showed each other incredible respect and love, and showed it to everybody else as well. These people touched me very deeply, and I am of the view that I have a lifelong connection with them.” Eihab was never alone, according to Talmy. A sibling was always by his side each night, while the others took turns napping in the hospital waiting room. The entire family spent all day, every day, at the hospital. “We came to give them strength, and we left with strength ourselves,” said Talmy, translating a phrase from Hebrew. “I was there every day with them. I just had to be with them. I love them like my own family.” Although they were here less than two months, “it feels like we’ve known these people for our whole life,” Batla said of Jewish Pittsburgh. “I don’t know if there are deep enough words for thank you. We love you.” Before they left for the airport on Jan. 23, the Falahs left donations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Our Victims of Terror Fund, as well as Bikur Cholim. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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As clear as black and white Avrum Harris and Brittany Cooper are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Richard Wayne Lee Harris. He is named in loving memory of his paternal grandfather Richard N. Harris M.D. Richie is the baby brother of Sullivan, Delaney and Mayva Cooper. Maternal grandparents are Donald Holik, Kim Brown and Dan and Denise Thompson. His paternal grandparents are Ronna Harris Askin and Daniel Askin. PJC

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Rabbi Rabbi Aaron Bisno Parshat Mishpatim Exodus 21:1-24:18

y younger son called from the back seat to his brother upfront. “Do you know why Daddy’s hair is black and white?” Then, without waiting for the answer, “Because he’s from the olden days.” It’s humbling yet true; I am aging quickly. A similar experience happens for the Israelites in this week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim. Having only recently escaped from Egypt, the young, newly-freed Israelites stand about Mount Sinai as Moses reads to them the terms of God’s covenant. Then, without so much as a moment’s hesitation, our people exclaim as one, “Na’aseh v’nishmah, we will do and we will listen.” We will do?! And we will listen?! Seemingly, our ancestors had it backwards. Surely they intended to say the inverse. First we will “listen” and only then, will we “do.” Perhaps the Israelites of that generation were too eager and reversed their words? Perhaps in their excitement and inexperience they got the words jumbled? After all, who first does something and then stops to listen for what is expected of them? Well, truth be told, at times this is exactly what is expected and, indeed, required of us. Consider those times when we need to be available to another person, or those times

when we need another’s attention and time. How else to do it? How else to be present with another human being, if not first to do for him — to be there for her — and then to listen? How else to be fully present with another, if not to be there first and to then be open to listening? “Na’aseh v’nishmah,” the once-young Israelites called out as they stepped forward to enter into their covenant with God. “Na’aseh v’nishmah, we will do and we will listen.” Was it because they were young, or were our ancestors simply wise beyond their years? In their emphatic and empathic response, the Israelites set an example for us. Their willingness to be present, to step forward and to embrace the opportunity to truly be with another, teaches us how to be with one another as well. After all, we too may yet enter into covenants — loving, supportive and sincere relationships — wherein we are present and truly listen to one another, at every opportunity and at every age, if we are willing “to do” and only then “to listen.” Now that’s a message that is, at once, truly from the “olden days” and is no less true in our own age. And that is a message that should be as clear as black and white. Shabbat Shalom. PJC Rabbi Aaron Bisno is the senior rabbi of Rodef Shalom Congregation. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Obituaries COOPER: Mervyn of Santa Monica, CA, a native of Leechburg, and formerly of New Kensington, PA on Thursday, January 10, 2019. Beloved husband of Natalie; loving father of Melanie (Kelvin) Yevilov and Heather (Rick) Grandy; brother of Ruth Cooper Reidbord and grandfather of Evan and Ayden Yevilov and Juliet and Rhys Grandy. Also survived by loving nieces and nephews. Merv was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a BA and MSW. Before moving to California in 1966, he was a community organizer in Homewood. A Memorial Service was held in Los Angeles, California on January 20, 2019. GALPER: Estelle (Gottdiener) Galper, 86, of Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly of McKeesport/ White Oak, Pennsylvania, slipped into eternity on January 24, 2019, after a lengthy illness, surrounded by loved ones. She was born and raised in McKeesport, the daughter of the late Gustav and Olga (Spitz) Gottdiener. After her marriage to the late Milton Galper, her beloved husband of 60 years, she moved to White Oak where she raised her four children (with a brief interlude in Newport News, Virginia) as a stayat-home mother. After her youngest children were old enough, she realized her dream of going to college, and attained bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees in social work at the University of Pittsburgh. After graduation, she worked as a psychiatric social worker initially in the Pittsburgh area, and subsequently for many years at Jewish Family Service Cincinnati, where she and her husband had moved in 1987. Her outgoing and empathetic nature made her a perfect fit for a career assisting others to cope with the traumas and stresses of their lives. Estelle was a longtime member of the old Temple Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Israel synagogue in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. She had a beautiful contralto voice and sang in the Temple choir for many years. Congregants enjoyed her rendition of the Avinu Malkeinu prayer during the annual High Holy Days. Estelle had a lifelong passion for music (especially vocal jazz standards, show tunes, opera and symphonic/ classical music), movies, literature and poetry, which passions she conveyed to her children. Estelle is survived by her children, Mark Galper of Monessen, Pa.; Jill (Joan Brown) Galper of Philadelphia; Scott (Fabiana Perla) Galper of Philadelphia; and Betsy (Kathrin England) Galper of Cincinnati, Ohio, who was her longtime caretaker. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Matthew, Dylan, Nicholas and Lucia; by eight great-grandchildren; by her sister-in-law, Ethel (Leonard) Hellenthal; and her sisters, Judy (David) Lichtenstein and Sandy (Philip) Raskin; five nieces; and four nephews. Friends were received at Strifflers of White Oak Cremation & Mortuary Services, 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (Sue Striffler Galaski, supervisor, 412-6786177). Services were officiated by Rabbi Paul Tuchman. Burial followed in the Temple Cemetery. Remembrances may be made to Jewish Family Service Cincinnati, 8487 Ridge Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45236 or to Hospice of

Cincinnati, c/o Bethesda Foundation, 10500 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45242. To share a memory or online condolence, visit strifflerfuneralhomes.com GUSS: Ursula Guss, of Squirrel Hill, passed away peacefully on January 18, 2019. Beloved wife of the late David Guss, beloved mother of Angela Capurso and her husband John, Ellie Helfrich and her husband Mike Helbling, and her daughter Dr. Sara Helfrich and her husband Dr. Chris Hayes, Steven Guss, Harry Guss and his wife Mary, and their daughter Emma, and Jeff Guss. Private graveside services were held at Westview Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. 421-621-8282. schugar.com KIMELMAN: Gina Ryvka (Nirenberg) Kimelman, a Holocaust survivor, on January 25, 2019, 20 Shâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;vat 5779. Beloved wife of the late Gerson Kimelman and sister of the late Helcia Nirenberg. Gina is survived by her loving son Mikael (Susan) Kimelman of Pittsburgh, grandsons Benjamin Kimelman of Davis, California and David Kimelman, of Washington, D.C., sister Pola Abram of Millbrae, California and nephews Leif Abram of San Francisco, California and Steven Abram of Nashville, Tennessee. Born in 1923 in Lodz, Poland, Gina survived the Lodz Ghetto, multiple concentration camps, and was liberated from Bergen-Belsen. After liberation, Gina lived in Sweden for 14 years before moving to San Mateo, California in 1959. In 2009, Gina moved to Pittsburgh. Internment was at Hills of Eternity cemetery in Colma, California. Contributions may be made to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum (https://www.ushmm.org/) or the Jewish Agency on Aging â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AHAVA Memory Care Residence (https://jaapgh.networkforgood.com/). Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. www.schugar.com LOCKSPEISER: Ruth Joshowitz Lockspeiser, on Sunday, January 20, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Morris Lockspeiser. Beloved mother of Barbara (Daniel) Jaffe, Judith (Henry) Rosenbaum and the late Martin J. Lockspeiser. Sister of the late Isadore Joshowitz, Minnie Tolchin, Mollie Loden and Dr. Herbert Joshowitz. Grandmother of Yonit (Yuval) Amar, Michael (Hadar) Jaffe, Yonatan (Inbar) Jaffe, Avigail (Shoval) Manes, Eytan (Tamar) Rosenbaum, Eli Rosenbaum and Josh Rosenbaum (Elissa Redmiles). Greatgrandmother of Yehuda, Shana, Moshe, Avi and Nava Rosenbaum, Noam, Naveh, Lavi and Guy Amar, Shlomo Roeh-Lev, Raz Yitzhak, Ayala and Roni Jaffe. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Graveside services and interment were held at Kether Torah Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

Name: JAA Width: 5.0415 in Depth: 6.75 in Color: Black Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: Ad Number: A gift from ... In memory of... A gift from ... In memory of... Ad Tracking Number: Anonymous ...............................................................Carl Katz

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Carol Robinson .......................................................Ethel Miller

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Rhoda Rofey..........................................................Celia Rofey

Mary Jatlow .................................................. Jane Margowsky

Rhoda Rofey.............................................. Marvin L. Kaufman

Rhoda Judd ........................................................ Jacob Marks

Myron Rosenberg .......................................... Sam Rosenberg

Joel Kauffman.................................................Rosia Kauffman

Stephan A. Schwartz .................................. Leonard Schwartz

THIS WEEKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YAHRZEITS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sunday February 3: Abraham B. Amper, Philip Anolik, Sophie Auerbach, Gertrude Brody, Leah Canter, Esther Covel, Anne M. Darling, Harry Friedman, Mendel Helfand, Morris Herr, Julius Skigen, Mary Davis Solomon, Esther Spiro, Isadore Zeidenschneider, David Zytnick Monday February 4: Elijah Becker, Meyer Borofsky, David Brown, Morris Goldberg, Betty G. Gordon, Gertrude Grossman, Edward Haims, Leeba Hausman, Lillian Hoffman, Abram Katkisky, Helen Klein, Sam Lavine, Jacob Levine, Max Malkin, Morris Malt, Minnie Rosenberg, Rachel Sheffler Shuklansky, Abe Weiner, Louis Weiss, Gussie Wolf Tuesday February 5: Bessie Taback Americus, Rachel Eisenberg, Dora Feldman, Sarah R. Fineman, Adolph Graff, Joseph R. Kaufman, Isadore Libson, Milton Emanuel Linder, Morris T. Mason, Ben Neiman, Anna Goldie Pearlman, Nathan Routman, Anna H. Wolfe Wednesday February 6: Max H. Barnett, Harry Cohen, Joseph Cohen, Sarah Finkelstein, Norman B. Goldfield, Sadye Goldstein, Minna Hohenstein, David Kaplan, Sarah Kaufman, Rose G. Klein, Isaac Rosenberg, Bertha B. Rosenfeld, Blanche Schultz, Celia Soloman, Samual Spokane, Ruth Steiger, Isaac Zuckerman Thursday February 7: Henrietta Caplan, Ida Danenberg, Morris Finkelstein, Abe I. Friedman, Rose Goldenberg, Carl Gussin, Sadye Judd, Jack Leff, Lena Lefkowitz, Aaron Mallinger, Bella W. Marks, Solomon Neustein, Betty F. Paull, Emanuel Perlow, Alice Shapiro, Miriam Silberman, Julius Silverman, Janina Winkler Friday February 8: Sarah Louise Bernstein, Jack E. Brody, Dorothy Frankel, Elizabeth Green, Ephraim Hurwitz, Gizella Kovacs, Saul Kurtz, Rose S. Levine, Orin J. Levy, Tillie Lipson, Max A. Loevner, Jane Margowsky, Lucille R. Mermelstein, Pearl R. Rosenberg, Ida R. Roth, Edward Schlessinger Saturday February 9: Joel Baum, Helen Buck, David Canter, Leonard Chotiner, Yetta Cohen, Samuel Gescheidt, Saul I. Heller, Gus Kline, Anna Kurtz, Jeannette G. Kurtz, Lynette A. London, Rose Mendlow, Solomon J. Metlin, Yitzchak Aaron Nadler, Milton D. Patz, David C. Pollock, Lena Robin, Pincus P. Rosenthal, Edward Schugar, Jack Steinfeld, Anna Tarshis, Donna Mae Zimring

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

MARCUS: Betty Jane Marcus on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Alan I. Marcus; beloved mother of Caren Lynn (Howard) Sniderman and Craig (Lu) Marcus; loving grandmother of Emily Belle and David Sniderman. The family would like to gratefully acknowledge the loving care provided by Desurai, Latoya, Mildred, Celeste, Tonia, Anna and Linda. Services and interment private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to the Sivitz Hospice, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or the Humane Animal Rescue, 6926 Hamilton Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 412-621-8282. schugar.com ROTH: Ramona Roth, on Friday, January 18, 2019. Beloved wife of Harold “Bud” Roth; loving mother of Heather and Carolyn Roth; sister of Shirley (late Robert) Stahl; sister-in-law

Poland: Continued from page 12

There are always more documents you need to provide.” Even families with the required documents, like that of Yoram Sztykgold in Israel, are waiting indefinitely until Polish authorities agree to accept their claims. It’s a policy with large-scale implications for restitution in a country that had 3.3 million Jews before the Holocaust — by far the largest Jewish population on the continent. The magnitude of property stolen — estimated in the billions of dollars — is among the reasons that the issue of restitution is divisive and frightening to many in Poland, which is one of the European Union’s poorest nations. It also raises considerable resistance in a nation where 3 million non-Jews died in

of Gloria (late Moe) Feld and the late Delores Smooke and Janet Sheer. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ramona was nominated “Cherry Blossom Queen,” and modeled periodically throughout her youth. She met her treasured husband, Bud, in the Catskills, whereby he promptly imported her into Pittsburgh and they began a beautiful life together. Ramona enjoyed extensive worldwide travel adventures together with her family. A devoted and loving wife and mother, Ramona’s children and family always came first. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to a charity of your choice in Ramona’s memory. Services entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com STAHL: Morris Stahl. Born Brooklyn, NY on March 5, 1926 and died January 22, 2019. Son of Sam and Minnie. He joined the Navy at age 16, anxious to serve his country. Honorably discharged after serving in the Philippine Islands during the war. Met the love of his life, Phyliss Joan at Jones Beach. World War II and whose nationalist government defiantly rejects any notion of local culpability for the fate of Jews. And, finally, acknowledging that Jews have a case for restitution risks setting a precedent for other populations and groups whose property was stolen, principally churches and the Polish nobility. Notwithstanding, pressure on Poland is mounting. Last year, President Donald Trump signed the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today Act, which requires the State Department to monitor the activities of European countries on the subject and report their progress to Congress. Last year, 59 U.S. senators signed a letter protesting proposed legislation in Poland that would have made it even more difficult for most survivors to claim property. The bill eventually was withdrawn. In 2014, 50 British lawmakers protested in a letter how “Poland stands out in its failure

They moved and lived in Pittsburgh where Morris was a very well known and respected plumbing contractor for many years until selling his business and moving to Florida approximately in 2000. He dedicated his life to and raised his family in the South Hills. He loved opera, theater and travel but mostly worked nonstop and provided a wonderful life for his family. He is preceded in death by his wife and youngest son whom he loved dearly, David Allen Stahl; and also his older sister, Sarah. He is survived by two brothers, Robert and Stanley; three children, Mollie, Jodi and Howard (wife, Andrea); many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces and a large extended family. His best friend and constant companion, Blackjack, will miss him terribly. He will be reunited with Phyliss and David which he often talked about enthusiastically and live forever in Heaven. He will be missed on Earth. He requests in lieu of flowers, to make any donations to his favorite charity, Hope for Paws Animal Rescue at hopeforpaws.org. A service was held at William Slater Funeral Service. Interment in Beth Shalom Cemetery. WENKERT: Albert Wenkert, on Sunday, to fulfill — or even recognize — its responsibility to victims.”

Only six months to act

In 2016, as part of legislation that was trying to close old moribund claims in Warsaw, the municipality was required to announce that there were still pending claims, many of which dated to the immediate postwar period. This related to 2,613 properties that had been claimed in the past but where the procedure was never completed. Once the city announces a claim’s reopening, claimants have only six months to act. Taylor of the Claims Conference says it’s an unreasonably short period of time for claimants and heirs to meet the requirements for original and notarized documents for assets lost decades ago to people who are often no longer alive. Only about 300 cases have been opened, resulting in no compensation for any claimant. The city recently stopped reopening cases.

January 27, 2019. Al passed away after a lengthy illness. He was the husband of 69 years to Rita (Pearlstein) Wenkert. Beloved father to Harry Wenkert (Barbara Ginsburg) and Terri Sweet (Sy). Brother of the late Ruth Golden and grandfather to Daniel Sweet and Beth Sweet. He was a much loved and admired uncle to several nieces and nephews. Al was a most likable and friendly individual who spent 30 plus years with his Primanti Brothers breakfast club enjoying the company of his friends, Joe, Kenny, Toni and the late Rick. His favorite pastime was watching his beloved Pittsburgh sports teams, especially the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Al lived a long 92 years of life, which the family attributes to his excellent medical team of Dr. Gary Lemoncelli, Dr. Alan Steckel, Dr. Saul Silver and Dr. Jing-Zhou Hou. The family wishes to acknowledge, with much appreciation, the care of Angie and Shelly at Hillman Center and Barb, Bobbie and Emilie of Sivitz Jewish Hospice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel on January 29. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions may be made to Sivitz Jewish Hospice, 300 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. www. schugar.com PJC In Warsaw, some claimants now have hope of following a restitution procedure — however flawed it may be — but outside the capital “there are no means to recover property,” Taylor said, except for a handful of cases where claimants can prove that the original process of confiscation was somehow technically flawed. That’s bad for countless claimants and for Polish-Jewish relations, which last year deteriorated because of government legislation that made it a crime to blame the Polish nation for what happened to its Jews in the Holocaust. Taylor argues it’s also harmful for Poland itself. “For any society, not resolving major property issues and having them remain open for decades into this era, that’s not a positive place to be,” he said. “The problem isn’t going away, and the question that Polish governments need to ask themselves is whether they want to continue having long-term ownership challenges going into the future.” PJC

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• • • • •

MURDOCH FARMS • $1,200,000 5446 AYLESBORO AVE. • OPEN 1-3 SUNDAY, FEB. 3 EXCITING GRAND STONE 7 BEDROOM, 3.5 BATH HOME WITH ALL THE AMENITIES. Formal living spaces with hardwood floors. Leaded and stained glass throughout, gourmet kitchen, glass doors from dining room lead to a fabulous patio and two car garage. Bonus of a great third floor that could be used for teenager or nanny suites. Close to universities, hospitals and Schenley Park. In Colfax and Allderdice School District. POINT BREEZE • $1,050,000 NEW LISTING! Walk to the park from this beautiful, spacious 6-bedroom, 5 full bath and 2 half bath home! 1st floor features an open kitchen/family room, a formal dining room and living room with fireplace, plus a den/office. 2nd floor includes a large master suite with two bathrooms, plus three additional bedrooms, a bath with a heated floor and a laundry. The 3rd floor has a bedroom suite with a full bath. Lower level gameroom, bedroom w/full bath, loads of storage, and a 2-car garage. The magnificent corner lot boasts a sprinkler system, custom lighting, fenced-in yard with a great deck for entertaining. Too many amenities to list! SHADYSIDE • 5000 FIFTH AVE • $710,000 NEW LISTING! One of the most prestigious buildings in the city. Enjoy 2 bedrooms and a den. Large eat-in kitchen. Fabulous open living room and dining area, 2.5 baths, inunit laundry and balcony. There is always staff on site, a guest suite and great exercise area.

412-661-4456

www.kaminrealty.kamin.com

Business & Professional Directory WRITING TUTOR Writing Tutor Tier One very competitive colleges no longer require prospective entrants to take the written portion of either the SAT or the ACT because very bright students are not necessarily good writers. I work with children in the early primary grades up to high school seniors and beyond. It’s never too early or too late to acquire good writing skills. I have degrees in English and Computer Science and therefore can tutor students writing in all types of writing, technical and not. Contact: Patty Karn Phone: 412-414-5157 Email: pbkarn@comcast.net

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JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200 412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

FIND IT IN THE BUSINESS SERVICES

GETGET ORGANIZED IN 2019 ORGANIZED

IN 2019

Are you drowning in paperwork, but don’t have the time or skill to tackle it? Is your home full of clutter and stuff that creates disharmony? I help overwhelmed families, people in transition, and busy professionals. I can make your home more livable and your office more efficient. CALL JODY at 412-759-0778 or send an email to: allegheny organizing@gmail.com. EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY

EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY Blink Ink-photography— B a r / B a t - M i t z v a h - We d ding-Reunion-Event — Jay Podolsky—412-277-2922 — Blinkink@me.com

HOUSEKEEPER LOVELY HOUSEKEEPER PLEASE CALL 412-3541007

CEMETERY PLOTS FOR SALE

CEMETERY PLOTS FOR SALE IT’S amazing WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.

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Selling? Buyers are flocking to the To advertise, call 412.687.1047.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

’s Classifieds.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

For sale: Two burial plots at Homewood Cemetery located in the Squirrel Hill Section of Pittsburgh. Graves 23 and 24 are located in Star of David in Section 31. Cemetery list price is $2,495 for each space. Owner is asking $4,800 for these spaces. Please call Tracey Miles at 215-283-8636.

FEBRUARY 1, 2019 21

COMMUNITY 2222COMMUNITY

Community All smiles at Community Day School’s annual gala

p Stan and Sarah Parker, Ethan Farber, Barbara Parker, Alex Farber, Lester Parker, Lance and Lynn Farber

p Alex and Ethan Farber

p Derek Smith and CDS Head of School Avi Baran Munro

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p Karin Greenberg and Ed Mistler and Eva and Dan Gelman

p Debbie Frankel and State Representative Dan Frankel and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Cathy Fitzgerald

p Judy and Rabbi Seth Adelson Photo by Joe Appel Photography

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Community Women of Temple Sinai and Brotherhood Lunch & Puppet Show at Temple Sinai

t Puppet artist Cheryl Capezzuti performs

p Joe and Phyllis Weinkle and their grandson watch the puppet dance party.

p Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle speaks to a crowd of over 150 at Temple Sinai.

Photos by Tami Prine

Chabad of Squirrel Hill celebrates Tu B’Shevat

p Temple Sinai member Kellee Van Aken performs in a puppet Photos by Tami Prine show with puppet artist Cheryl Capezzuti.

Children enjoyed a fruit juggling show and baked pomegranate cupcakes to take home and to donate at a Tu B’Shevat baking event sponsored by Chabad of Squirrel Hill.

Riverview Towers Gives Back on MLK Jr. Day

p Daniella Babichenko and Indie Pascal

p Rotem and Lior Amram t Rabbi Aaron Herman performs a juggling act with assorted fruit.

Photos courtesy of Chabad of Squirrel Hill

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Riverview Towers put together Blessing Bags for the homeless, containing warm socks, toiletries, water, crackers, granola bars and snacks. The bag was delivered to Jubilee Kitchen for distribution on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Photo courtesy of Riverview Towers

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

FEBRUARY 1, 2019 23

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KOSHER MEATS

• Variety of deli meats and franks • All-natural poultry — whole chickens, breasts, wings and more • All-natural, corn-fed beef — steaks, roasts, ground beef and more Available at select Giant Eagle stores. Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Empire Kosher Chicken or Turkey Franks 16 oz. pkg.

79 ea.

Save with your

Price effective Thursday, January 31 through Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Available at $' B3-&B LQGG

24 FEBRUARY 1, 2019

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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