Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 11-21-25

Jewish organizations work to meet increased need

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Inflation, tariffs, supply chain issues and the temporary suspension of SNAP benefits have added downward pressure to Jewish households — some of which were already facing food insecurity and worries over meeting their daily financial obligations. Squirrel Hill Food Pantry Director Jesse Sharrard said that on Nov. 7, only six days after SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — benefits were suspended due to the federal government shutdown, need exceeded the pantry’s expectations.

In those six days, he said, “we had already provided food to as many families as we would typically provide in two weeks.”

The Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, part of Jewish Family and Community Services, isn’t alone in seeing an increased need.

Jewish Assistance Fund has offered no-repay grants to members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community since 1985.

Cindy Goodman-Leib, executive director of JAF, said what happens nationally impacts the Jewish community locally. She cited the government shutdown, the pause in SNAP

benefits, the rising price of essential items and even damage from recent storms as factors affecting the financial well-being of Jewish households.

JAF, she said, has heard from people who felt the immediate impact of not receiving SNAP benefits earlier this month.

The organization also saw what GoodmanLeib called “a significant increase” in the number of people contacting JAF for the first time, finding it challenging to pay their bills due to the financial impact of the government shutdown and pause in SNAP benefits. Those benefits resumed when the federal governent reopened on Nov. 13.

“We are working closely with our partners, and we ramped up our efforts to increase the community’s awareness of JAF’s no-repay grants,” she said.

Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel is the executive director of the Aleph Institute, an organization that provides relief for incarcerated Jews and their families. As part of that support, it runs a kosher food bank on its property that is available to the wider Jewish community needing assistance.

| Senior Staff Writer

ctors portraying Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. treated an audience to moving monologues about persecution, faith and hope.

Each holding a journal and writing utensil in hand, Amelia Dudley, playing Frank, and Marcel Daly, playing King, expressed bewilderment and awe at fellow humans’ responses to legally imposed harms. As the actors sat, stood and paced across the nearly empty stage on Nov. 14 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, they encouraged attendees to envision how “The Diary of a Young Girl” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” came to be.

Hours earlier, the acting duo delivered a similar performance at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School.

Speaking to theatergoers following the performance at the August Wilson Center, Dudley and Daly said it’s inspiring to portray iconic 20th-century figures, but there’s a particular significance in doing so for students.

Dudley credited Allderdice students and educators with using the 40-minute performance as a springboard to ask difficult questions about building a “broader community.”

“I had a little bit of tears in my eyes,” Daly said. “We were in their shoes, and then we’re going to blink, and they’re going to be in our shoes. They are going to be making these decisions.”

The Thursday night talkback, which was joined by community activists, was part of the Anne Frank Center USA and Hear Foundation’s “Voices for Change” program. Moderated by Anne Frank Center CEO

Dan Gilman's new role

Aquatic master Al Rose

p State Reps. Dan Frankel and Abigail Salisbury organized a press conference to address food security at Our Giving Kitchen.

Photo by David Rullo

Viktoriia/Adobe Stock

Headlines

Pittsburgher works to relocate relative’s remains

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Ronna Scoratow is on a mission to relocate her great-uncle’s remains.

After Louis Scoratow died in 1974, his “ex-wife flew him to Ohio to be buried in the cemetery where her family had a plot,” Ronna Scoratow, 74, said.

According to cemetery records, Louis Scoratow was interred at Webster Township Cemetery in Scotch Ridge, Ohio.

“My uncle’s son calls it a cornfield,” Ronna Scoratow told the Chronicle. “He said he’s the only Jew in the cornfield.”

Louis Scoratow’s relatives are buried at Workmen’s Circle #45 Cemetery in Pittsburgh. Though 50 years have passed since his interment, the thought of Louis Scoratow’s separation from family began gnawing at Ronna Scoratow during a cemetery visit around the High Holidays. Unable to shake the feeling, she reached out to the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh and D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory.

Ronna Scoratow explained the situation to Kelly Schwimer, JCBA’s executive director.

Speaking with the Chronicle, Schwimer said the organization is committed to “ensuring that every Jew has a proper and dignified Jewish burial according to Jewish law,” so when Ronna Scoratow phoned JCBA, “we wanted to accommodate the family and their wishes in every possible way to make this happen.”

Dustin D’Alessandro, supervisor of D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory, said that he too spoke with Scoratow and that the process of relocating remains is “fairly simple.”

The only hang-up, Ronna Scoratow told the

Chronicle, is a pending hearing.

the hearing. Once matters regarding the Dec. 17 meeting at the Wood County Court in Ohio are resolved, Louis Scoratow’s remains will be relocated, D’Alessandro said.

Ronna Scoratow said she’s filed the necessary paperwork, and despite continued legal hardships she’s “not giving up.”

“I’m going to fight the good fight, and this is going to be quite costly, but I don’t care,” she said. “I feel like it’s something I have to do.”

Her determination comes with a cost.

Between court fees and expenses to open a grave, close a grave, purchase a plot and pay

SUBSCRIPTIONS

subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

412-687-1000, ext. 2

TO ADVERTISE

advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-687-1000, ext. 1

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Evan H. Stein, Chair

Evan Indianer, Vice Chair

Derek Smith, Treasurer

Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary

Gail Childs, Dan Droz, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Seth Glick, Judith Kanal, Cátia Kossovsky, Charles Saul

GENERAL COUNSEL

Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.

for another burial, Scoratow said she’s looking

In lieu of traveling to Israel, she said, she’s spending her money on the aforementioned expenses.

Some people have told Scoratow that the burial endeavor is a “waste of money.” For those who expressed such views, she said, “it’s always about the money, not about what’s philosophically the right thing to do.”

“I love family,” Scoratow said. “I just feel like it’s important to bring my uncle home.”

Scoratow’s cousin, Florida resident Kim Scoratow, 71, said that when his father (Louis Scoratow) died nearly 50 years ago

Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher 412-228-4690 jbusis@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

EDITORIAL Toby Tabachnick, Editor 412-228-4577 ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Adam Reinherz, Senior Staff Writer 412-687-1000 areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

David Rullo, Senior Staff Writer 412-687-1000 drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

ADVERTISING Amy Weiss, Account Executive (412) 613-0697 aweiss@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PRODUCTION

Jeni Mann Tough Production Manager

Carl Weigel Art/Production Coordinator

the family “did the best we could under the circumstances.”

Having the remains relocated to a Jewish cemetery is a “blessing,” Kim Scoratow added. Ronna Scoratow said she’s looking forward to the process’s completion. Until then, her message remains the same.

“Sometimes we have to act as a matter of conscience,” she said. “We have to step up and do the right thing for family, and that’s it. Yeah, for family, I think that’s the most important thing.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Main phone number: 412-687-1000

Subscriptions: 412-687-1000, ext. 2

Subscriptions subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-687-1000, ext. 2

Published every Friday by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Foundation 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Phone: 412-687-1000

POSTMASTER: Send address change to PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE, 5915 BEACON ST., 5TH FLOOR PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 (PERIODICAL RATE POSTAGE PAID AT PITTSBURGH, PA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES) USPS 582-740

Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle become the property of this publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such items.

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle does not endorse the goods or services advertised or covered in its pages and makes no representation to the kashrut of food products and services in said advertising or articles. The publisher is not liable for damages if, for any reason whatsoever, he fails to publish an advertisement or for any error in an advertisement. Acceptance of advertisers and of ad copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is not responsible if ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser will indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle from all claims made by governmental agencies and consumers for any reason based on ads appearing in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

File photo courtesy of JCBA p Louis Scoratow

Photo courtesy of Jay Scoratow

Headlines

Squirrel Hill resident Dan Gilman is ready to serve as Mayor-elect Cory O’Connor’s chief of staff

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Dan Gilman’s parents taught their son the importance of public service, community and politics from a young age.

Gilman’s father was the president of the synagogue the family attended when they lived in Northern California. His mother was involved with the National Council of Jewish Women.

“My parents were involved with [the Jewish] Federation and Hillel, on boards and university capital fundraising campaigns,” he remembered.

The pair were what Gilman called “super voters,” who never posted a yard sign or knocked on doors, but voted in every election. At home, the family discussed civics, politics and government.

They also impressed on their son what he called a “very traditional Jewish value.”

“You don’t have to do everything, but you can’t sit on the sidelines,” Gilman said. “Raise your hand, volunteer, get involved and do whatever you can to make whatever world you’re in a better place in that moment.”

It’s a lesson he has taken to heart.

Earlier this month, Gilman, 43, was

named incoming Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s chief of staff. It’s a posi tion Gilman previously held for former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. In the interim, and until January when O’Connor is sworn in, Gilman serves as chief of staff and senior adviser to Duquesne University President Ken Gormley.

A SEASON TO INSPIRE

representative. The House had a Republican majority at the time.

“What I discovered being in the minority was that no matter what we came up with, what argument we made or how much it cost, it was going to be voted down on party lines because that’s how Washington operated,” Gilman said. “It’s not a partisan statement. It’s just the reality of Washington, D.C.”

The slightly more worldly Gilman returned to Pittsburgh serving tenures as a vice president and president of CMU’s student government. A meeting with Bill Peduto, then a Pittsburgh City Council member, led to an internship while Gilman was still in college.

The difference between national politics and local government was palpable to Gilman.

still in high school volunteering for Al Gore’s presidential campaign. He next worked for several years as a legal intern with the American Civil Liberties Union before earning a fellowship that sent graduate to Washington, D.C., where he worked for Democrat U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, Squirrel Hill’s former congressional

“We were getting things done, from getting a stop sign up or repainting a crosswalk, getting the Little League field ready for the weekend — whatever the problem was. It was an unknown world to me where you could see, feel and touch things getting done,” he said.

The lesson he learned was that local government might play the most crucial role in addressing many societal challenges, he said.

Please

TITLE SPONSOR

David McCarroll, Concertmaster

p Dan Gilman (right) is excited to serve as the chief of staff for Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor.

Photo courtesy of Dan Gilman

Headlines

Still on deck: At 87, Coach Al Rose finds joy in every stroke

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Coach Al Rose hasn’t taken his last lap, but the pool’s end is in sight. After 67 years with the JCC Sailfish, Rose stepped down from leading the team in September. Since then, he’s continued coaching athletes at the Olympic Swim and Health Club in Penn Hills.

On Saturdays and Sundays he oversees a few swimmers in a single lane. It’s quite the change from administering daily 5 a.m. practices for scores of promising teens, but it “works out,” Rose said. He’s still correcting strokes, helping swimmers come off the wall and, most importantly, prepare for what’s next.

For longer than many people live, Rose’s swimmers have reached the apex of accomplishment. During the past seven decades his athletes have won Olympic gold, qualified for the Olympic trials, won national championships, been recruited by top-ranked college programs, received Division 1 scholarships and routinely bested personal records.

The Forest Hills resident, who grew up swimming at the YMWHA in Oakland (a precursor to the JCC), recognizes the totality of his swimmers’ achievements,

but asking him to parse a lifetime at the pool bring some surprising turns. At points, speaking with the aquatic savant feels like returning to math class. With a cup of tea in hand, he mentioned stroke count, distance, time and tempo. Practices, he continued, required carefully planned workouts, staggering athletes of differing abilities in adjacent lanes and adjustments, or tapers, for upcoming races.

Listening to Rose, one might think his formulas are solely dependent on calendars, calculators and stopwatches. Success, however, is measured with the fewest of tools; he sees it in his swimmers when they “do the best they can,” he said.

Pushing athletes just enough requires a lifetime of learning.

Trips to the Olympic trials and conversations with other coaches helped. Exceptional coaches, like athletes, Rose, 87, said, exhibit a combination of “natural ability” and dedication. Something that separates the best, though, is recognizing a family’s role in the process.

A partnership between parent, child and coach places the latter in a unique position. If parents are lax, a coach can be tough; but if parents are especially demanding and a coach matches that intensity, most kids will fail. Rose explained that the pressure to meet both sides’ expectations often pushes swimmers to go too fast — leaving them anxious and prone to mistakes.

“You can’t have me pushing you and your parents pushing you,” Rose said. “It doesn’t work.”

A healthier approach requires grinding and good times. As an example, during out-of-town meets, Rose incorporated tours or activities, so swimmers didn’t only associate travel with competition.

Likewise, before any meet — be it a small race or a major invitational — he urged his swimmers not only to train hard with demanding repeats, but also to take a moment to pause.

One exercise, Rose recalled, involved “visualized training.” Before practice, athletes would stand on the pool deck, close their eyes and imagine the race. Even with 20 or 30 kids present, it would be quiet and “we’d talk about the stroke, the push off, the start.”

Sometimes, while swimmers were in the water, Rose would ask his athletes to take five seconds, close their eyes and imagine the event.

Visualized training is about “bypassing the brain and making the muscles do what’s automatic,” he said. “Perfect practice helps you not do it wrong in a meet.”

First splash

Rose was born in the Hill District and moved to Oakland at age 6. As a child, he swam at the YMWHA and later with Schenley High School’s team. After swimming for Westminster College, Rose returned to the YMWHA to become its aquatics director.

At the time, Dick Bower was coach. The two overlapped for about a year before Bower (who later went on to lead Tulane University) altered Rose’s life. Recalling one of their final conversations before Bower’s departure, Rose was told, “Al, I’m done. I’m going to Bethel. It’s yours.”

Taking over the program wasn’t necessarily seamless. Bower was a great recruiter.

“He had all these really, really, really good swimmers. And at the end of the summer, I got one or two of them,” Rose said with a laugh. “The rest left and went to Bethel Park.”

A mass exodus of swimmers didn’t negate expectations.

“There was a lot of pressure to keep up the tradition,” he said.

Established in 1928, the swim team was a known entity. With origins dating to the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, the club was just one of several sporting outlets catering to driven athletes.

Rose took the team under his wing. He eventually stepped down as aquatics director but remained coach. Mornings and evenings were spent aiding young swimmers. Remaining working hours were dedicated to running B&R Pools and Swim Shop with members of the Bonavita family.

Coaching and maintaining a small business was an ideal tandem, Rose explained. Travel time for tournaments amounted to almost two to three months per year. With a schedule like that, “what boss would want me to stay around?”

Sign of the times

Given his almost 70 years of coaching, Rose has seen nearly everything. Program sizes have waned and boomed. Championships have been won and lost. Equipment and facilities today are wholly different from what they were, he said. Swimmers used to stand on the deck and “use weights that we made with tin cans filled with concrete.”

The current pool, which was built in 1986, is a welcome reprieve from its predecessors.

In 1966, Sports Illustrated wrote about Brad McKean, a talented Pittsburgh teen. While the national magazine touted Rose, McKean’s coach, as a “soft-voiced young man with a nice eye for the subtleties of stroke and a capacity for combining zeal with patience,” it described the YMWHA pool less graciously. “It is a shallow, narrow 25-yard chlorine pit of the late Weissmuller period. In the winter the heating ducts suspended from the ceiling occasionally gasp and sigh, as if despairing at the impossible task of drying out an atmosphere as constantly dank as a Central American swamp. A year or so ago a weight lifter on the floor above dropped his barbell,

p Coach Al Rose stands near the Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool at the JCC’s Henry Kaufmann Family Park in Monroeville during one of his final practices with the Sailfish. Photo by Adam Reinherz

Headlines

Classrooms Without Borders strengthens roots in Pittsburgh with scholar Avi Ben-Hur

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Alocal public school teacher invited Avi Ben-Hur to speak with students.

The Classrooms Without Borders scholar-in-residence agreed and asked for clarification about the visit’s “educational goals” and the instructor’s specific interests.

“It is such a complex issue, we would really like you to try and give them the basics as best as you can,” the educator wrote in an email. “The origins of the modern state of Israel, a history of how we got to the current situation, what caused the current conflict, what is the present ceasefire, and hopefully, if you can get them to understand why they should care about it, that would be awesome.”

Ben-Hur was allotted 25 minutes to cover those topics and about 20 minutes for Q&A.

The New York City-born educator, who has spent the previous 42 years in Israel, wasn’t bothered by the absurdity of being asked to “unpack the Jewish and Arab connections to the land,” and the roots of the conflict, in the same amount of time as an episode of “Law & Order.” He simply tried to do his best, he said, to “lay out the facts as I have studied, taught and lived them, without weighing in personally.”

Since arriving in Pittsburgh on Aug. 1, Ben-Hur, 60, has sought to create partnerships, wherever possible, with local educators and professionals while strengthening CWB’s efforts to develop teachers. The inroads he’s made have relied on a network of contacts cultivated through a 22-year association with CWB founder and Executive Director Tsipy Gur.

Well before Ben-Hur moved to Pittsburgh to serve as CWB’s on-the-ground scholar, the

organization and its staff have worked with schools and institutions in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Florida. Though CWB routinely utilizes lectures and workshops to develop teachers, its raison d’être is travel-based seminars. Since its 2011 inception, the Pittsburgh-based group has taken more than 2,500 teachers from 215 private, parochial and public schools to locations including, Israel, Poland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and the American South.

“Teachers teach in a box,” Gur said. There’s a profound impact on educators, and students, from leaving the physical classroom, seeing sites, speaking with locals and gaining firsthand appreciation. BenHur’s Pittsburgh presence, she continued, will strengthen the organization by empowering teachers both before and after their travels.

Taking non-Jewish educators to Poland and helping them incorporate Holocaust studies into the classroom is the “central project we do,” Ben-Hur said.

Though new to Pittsburgh as a full-time resident, aiding CWB and its travelers isn’t a novel task. For years, both through triprelated Zoom sessions, and participating in overseas seminars, Ben-Hur enhanced the CWB experience. The benefit of being in Pittsburgh full time, he said, is the ability to comprehensively address the associated lead-ups and returns.

During the next two years, the goal is to “systematize” the several sessions educators enjoy before traveling to Poland. By refining those preparatory meetings and working with teachers upon their return from Poland, Ben-Hur is convinced students will benefit.

The other primary aim, he said, is to continue working with school districts, intermediate units and professionals. Those relationships often lead to multi-hour

see Ben-Hur, page 11

p Since arriving in Pittsburgh on Aug. 1, Avi Ben-Hur has worked to empower local educators and bolster Classrooms Without Borders. Photo by Adam Reinherz

Calendar

Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions also will 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.

q SUNDAY, NOV. 23

Join Chabad Young Professionals for Mommy and Me, a special space for moms and their little ones to connect, play and build Jewish community. Join them to celebrate the beauty and warmth of fall. RSVP required. 10 a.m. $10. CYP Loft. cyppittsburgh.com/MM.

q SUNDAYS, NOV. 23-DEC. 28

Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club. Services and tefillin are followed by a delicious breakfast and engaging discussions on current events. 8:30 a.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.

Join a lay-led online Parashah study group to discuss the weekly Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/online-parashah.

q MONDAY, NOV. 24

The battle doesn’t end when the war does. Most combat stress reactions appear only months after service ends when soldiers return home, alone. That’s where The Nahal Way steps in. Matan Falach, a wounded combat soldier from the Nahal Brigade, will share his story one evening. Intended for teenagers and older. RSVP to pboring@ adatshalompgh.org. 7 p.m. Free. Adat Shalom, 368 Guys Run Road, 15024. adatshalompgh.org.

q MONDAYS, NOV. 24-DEC. 29

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly

Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.

Join Temple Sinai for an evening of mahjong every Monday (except holidays). Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie and good times as you make new friends or cherish moments with long-term pals. All are welcome. Winners will be awarded Giant Eagle gift cards. All players should have their own mahjong cards. Contact Susan Cohen at susan_k_cohen@yahoo.com if you have questions. $5. templesinaipgh.org.

q TUESDAY, NOV. 25

Enter the intricate world of the Talmud, the monumental classic that has defined Jewish learning for centuries. Discover its history, authors and significance — and experience it for yourself. You will learn the key terms, logical principles and historical context required to decode every part of the Talmudic page. Class given by Chabad Young Professional’s Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld. 7:45 p.m. $36. cyppittsburgh.com/Talmud.

q TUESDAYS, NOV. 25-JUNE 30, 2026

Join Beth El’s Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and his Bible/Talmud Adult Education class for a thoughtprovoking weekly session of Bible and Talmudic study. This program is available both in person and virtually. Call the office at 412-561-1168 to receive the Zoom link or to make an in-person reservation. 10:30 a.m. 1900 Cochran Rd. bethelcong.org.

q WEDNESDAYS, NOV. 26-DEC. 10

Join Chabad of the South Hills for a new JLI course, “The Kabbalah of Meaning,” exploring Jewish wisdom for finding the purpose that connects parts of life. No previous Jewish learning required. Online or in person. This course will satisfy the continuing

Markets change. Our relationships endure.

education requirements of physicians, health care professionals, psychologists, social workers, LMFTs and LMHC/LPCs. 7:30 p.m. chabadsh.com.

Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for the JLI Course, “The Kabbalah of Meaning.” Explore Jewish wisdom for finding the purpose that connects all parts of life with the JLI course, “The Kabbalah of Meaning.” This course will satisfy the continuing education requirements of physicians, health care professionals, psychologists, social workers, LMFTs and LMHC/LPCs. 9 p.m. $90. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com/jlicourse.

q WEDNESDAYS, NOV. 26–DEC. 31

Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful with Rabbi Mark Goodman in this weekly Parashah Discussion: Life & Text. 12:15 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/life-text.

Join Chabad of the South Hills for Baby Loves Shabbat, music and movement for ages 0 to 3. Challah making and Shabbat songs. 3:45 p.m. 1701 Bower Hill Road. chabadsh.com.

q TUESDAY, DEC. 2

The Klezmatics return with their beloved Happy Joyous Hanukkah Tour, honoring both Jewish tradition and bold musical reinvention. It’s a Hanukkah concert like no other: a celebration of light in dark times, where ancient stories meet new melodies, and community is built through dance, laughter, and shared song. $30-50. 7 p.m. City Winery, 1627 Smallman St. klezmatics.com/tour-1.

q THURSDAYS, DEC. 4, JAN. 8, FEB. 5

Join Rabbi Amy Greenbaum and the Beth El community for the all-virtual Beth El’s Virtual Hope and Healing Program on the first Thursday of the month. This is a safe space to chant, breathe, pray for healing and seek peace. Feel free to keep your camera off and just listen. Call the office at 412561-1168 to receive the Zoom link. 5:30 p.m. Free. bethelcong.org.

q SATURDAY, DEC. 6

Families with young children are invited to attend Shabbat With You and spend Shabbat morning at Fifth and Morewood (Rodef Shalom) for a fun and engaging Shabbat morning service followed by lox, bagels and play time. 9 a.m. $5 per family. rodefshalom.org/shabbatwithyou.

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Dec. 7 discussion of “Hostage,” by Eli Sharabi.

From Amazon.com:

“On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Be’eri, shattering the peaceful life Eli Sharabi had built with his British wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel. Dragged barefoot out his f ront door while his family watched in horror, Sharabi was plunged deep into the suffocating darkness of Gaza’s tunnels. As war raged above him, he endured a grueling 491 days in captivity, all the while holding onto the hope that he would one day be reunited with his loved ones.

“Eli Sharabi’s story is one of hunger and heartache, of physical pain, longing, loneliness and a helplessness that threatens to destroy

q SUNDAY, DEC. 7

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its discussion of “Hostage” by Eli Sharabi. 1 p.m. Email drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org for registration link.

Chabad of the South Hills invites you to attend the Miracle Makers Olive Press. Enjoy a toddler zone, latkes and treats. Co-sponsored by CKids and PJ Library. 4 p.m. $10 child. Register by Nov. 26. 1700 Bower Hill Road. chabadsh.com/olive.

Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for “An Evening with Eli Sharabi.” Hear his story of survival and learn about his unimaginable strength and unwavering hope. 7 p.m. $18. Location to be provided. chabadpgh. com/sharabi.

q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10

Join Classrooms Without Borders for Exodus 1947 and the Legacy of Survival: Heroism, Agency and Nation-building and hear a story of resilience, resistance and renewal in the shadow of the Holocaust. CWB Scholar-in-Residence Avi Ben-Hur will facilitate a discussion with Professor Aviva Halamish on how the survivors of the Exodus transformed loss into leadership. Halamish will share the untold story of their impact on the making of modern Israel. 7 p.m. Free. 4905 Fifth Ave. cwbpgh. org/event/exodus-1947.

q SATURDAY, DEC. 13

Join in community and enjoy a smorgasbord of dairy delights at the Cheese Ball, a causal and cheesy evening to support Shaare Torah Congregation. A cocktail hour will be followed by a presentation by Brent Delman, “The Cheese Guy.” Participants will indulge in a selection of cheese pairings while learning about the kosher cheese business and what it takes to acquire some of the best kosher cheeses in the world. Heavy appetizers, along with wine, beer and a specialty cocktail are included. All food will be chalav yisrael. Casual attire. 7:45 p.m. Learn more and register online at shaaretorah.net/event/cheese.

q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17

Chabad of the Souths Hills invites you to its Grand Chanukah senior’s lunch. Enjoy a delicious kosher lunch with hot latkes and a presentation by the Jewish Association on Aging and AgeWell Pittsburgh. $5 suggested donation. 1 p.m. Preregistration strongly suggested at 412-278-2658. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com. PJC

the soul. But it is also a story of strength, of resilience, and of the human spirit’s refusal to surrender. It is about the camaraderie forged in captivity, the quiet power of faith, and one man’s unrelenting decision to choose life, time and time again.”

Your hosts

Toby Tabachnick, Chronicle editor

David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer

How it works

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Dec. 7, at 1 p.m.

What to do

Buy: “Hostage.” It is available at area Barnes & Noble stores and from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.

Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting. PJC

Life & Culture

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Squirrel Hill will soon have a new grocery option.

Isaac Glassner is finalizing plans for Murray’s Market on the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues, in the former location of Rite Aid pharmacy which closed earlier this year.

“It’s going to be a one-stop shop that has everything,” Glassner said. “It’s going to be a gourmet kosher grocery store with fresh produce, a butcher, bakery, takeout, sushi created by a sushi master — everything that you can imagine.”

Murray’s also will include a deli featuring hot food, soups — which Glassner plans to change out seasonally — and even coffee.

The idea, he explained, is to eliminate the need to visit several different stores to complete a shopping trip. To that end, Murray’s will include a pharmacy that will not only fill prescriptions but also stock the types of products found in most drug stores.

Murray’s also will feature indoor seating for 12 to 16 people and will have an off-street parking lot with spaces for more than two dozen cars.

Eventually, online ordering and delivery will be available.

While the store won’t be certified kosher, all the prepared food will be certified under the Vaad Harabonim of Pittsburgh. Prepackaged food will have its own certification from the manufacturer.

Glassner said those who keep kosher will be able to fill most of their grocery needs in Murray’s, but he is thinking beyond the Jewish community. An analogue, he said, is Dunkin’ Donuts on Forbes Avenue, which attracts both the kosher and non-kosher communities seeking a sweet treat.

Research Glassner did before deciding to open Murray’s found that people from across the area shopped at the now closed Rite Aid to pick up basics. He believes those people will find their way back to the new grocery store. And he thinks other communities will find a home at the market, as well.

“I believe Muslims will shop here because of the similar dietary needs, so we’ll have the halal community, and we hope that 100% of the broader community will shop here,” he said.

Murray’s is the culmination of a dream for Glassner, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He moved to Pittsburgh when he married Shaina Herman. He spent more than a decade working at a surplus company doing logistics and close-out sales.

When he learned of Rite Aid’s plans to close, he leapt at the opportunity to open the store.

“I was looking for a new venture when

this came up,” he said. “I was selling wholesale to retail. I have a real passion for retail. Customer satisfaction is important to me.”

Community, too, is something he values. He said he’s seen different groups of people organizing trips and deliveries for items they have trouble getting. He’s hoping Murray’s eliminates that need.

“There are some people scheduling deliveries twice a month. There are people going to Cleveland. There are people shopping in four different stores to get their needs met. They’ll be able to do everything here,” he said.

To ensure he’s meeting the needs of the entire community, Glassner is partnering with the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition for a town hall sometime in the next month, where he’ll seek feedback from those living in the neighborhood.

“We want to hear what the community wants and needs,” he said.

The meeting is part of Glassner’s delib erate plan to create a store that will fill more than a niche need.

Plans for the new store were originally announced in August in the Pittsburgh Business Times. Glassner spent the summer finalizing his design for the market — he said he’s working with a local architect and a “world class national designer.”

When word of the new store first broke, Murray Avenue Kosher co-owner Aryeh Markovic told the Chronicle that the opening of any kosher establishment in the neighborhood would affect his store. At the same time, he noted, more kosher options could mean more people visiting Pittsburgh.

“Hopefully it will be good,” he said. “More kosher in town is better for the city.”

“It’s very exciting,” Glassner said. “I really want to create a nice customer experience. I think we’re going to do that at Murray’s.”

An opening date for the store has not been set. PJC

David Rullo can

p Rendering of Murray’s Market Image courtesy of Murray’s Market

WTurn Your Pennsylvania Taxes Into Jewish Education at Virtually No Cost to You

By Roi M. Mezare Associate VP of Development & Foundation Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

hat if you could transform the taxes you already owe to open doors for children to access a quality Jewish education? Through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, you can.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh makes it easy for individuals and businesses to redirect their state tax dollars to support Jewish day schools and early childhood centers across our community. It’s one of the simplest and most powerful ways to make a lasting impact in the Jewish community.

How It Works

Through the Jewish Federation, you can join a Special Purpose Entity (SPE)—a type of LLC created specifically to participate in the EITC

program. Here’s what that looks like:

1. CONTRIBUTE: Minimum of $4,000 per year for two years.

2. RECEIVE: 90% Pennsylvania state tax credit!

3. CELEBRATE: Hundreds of children and families benefit from affordable, high-quality Jewish education.

In other words, you transform money you already owe in state taxes into tuition scholarships for families who need it the most.

Let’s transform your tax dollars into opportunity, belonging and a stronger Jewish Pittsburgh.

Time Is of the Essence

Federation staff will help you complete the application quickly and easily. The deadline to secure your participation is December 19, 2025, so please reach out today to see if you qualify.

Why It Matters

Jewish education builds identity, values and community. It connects children to their heritage and prepares them to lead with purpose and compassion. Yet for many Pittsburgh families, tuition costs are an obstacle. Your participation helps remove that barrier, ensuring that every Jewish child has access to the education and environment they deserve.

Make Your Taxes Work for Good

Joining the EITC program through the Federation is simple. Our team will guide you through every step. Whether you are filing as an individual or representing a business, your participation can make an extraordinary difference at virtually no cost to you.

Find Out if You Qualify

Learn more or get started today at jewishpgh.org/explore/eitc or contact me directly.

Roi M. Mezare: 412-992-5230 or rmezare@jfedpgh.org

Headlines

British university bars academic who repeated antisemitic libels in lecture to pro-Palestinian student group

University College London has barred an academic and suspended the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine after video footage showed the academic repeating antisemitic conspiracy theories in a lecture to the group, JTA reported.

Samar Maqusi was speaking to the SJP chapter last week when she made the comments, according to footage shared by the U.K. branch of StandWithUs, which said one of its members had been filming. The lecture, titled “The Birth of Zionism,” was the first in a planned fivepart series called “Palestine: From Existence to Resistance.”

In one comment, Maqusi says, falsely, that “the Jews pretty much controlled the financialization structure” during Napoleon’s time and that he advocated for Jewish control of Palestine because he was paid by French Jews to do so.

In another, she repeats the allegation that Jews require the blood of gentiles to be used in the making of their “special pancakes.”

The footage spurred a reckoning at University College London, which has more than 50,000 students in the city center. President and Provost Michael Spence said in a statement that a “full investigation into how this happened” was underway and that the incident had been reported to the police.

He said the SJP group would not be allowed

to hold any events on campus until the investigation was complete. He also said the lecturer had been barred from campus, while noting that she was not a current member of the faculty.

Groundbreaking analysis of Hitler’s DNA shows no Jewish ancestry — but finds a genetic disorder

Adolf Hitler had a sexual disorder that made it more likely for him to have a micro-penis, according to the first-ever analysis of his DNA, JTA reported. He also did not have the Jewish ancestors that some have claimed he had.

The analysis was revealed in detail in “Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator,” a documentary that premiered last week in the United Kingdom. The documentary looks at the researchers who decided to tackle the genetic makeup of one of history’s greatest villains, as well as what they learned — and cannot learn — from his DNA.

They found that he had Kallmann syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by incomplete puberty, according to an exclusive report published in the Times of London. They also found that he had genes making him more likely to have autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, though they cautioned that the DNA alone is not sufficient to deliver a diagnosis.

Among those quoted in the documentary is the prominent British Jewish psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen (father of actor Sacha). “Behavior is never 100% genetic,” he said in the Times report. “Associating Hitler’s extreme cruelty with people with these diagnoses risks stigmatizing them, especially when the vast majority of people with these diagnoses are neither violent

Today in Israeli History

Nov. 24, 1938 — British Parliament debates Palestine

nor cruel, and many are the opposite.”

The analysis is more definitive on the subject of Hitler’s possible Jewish ancestry. Rumors about such a background were prevalent during Hitler’s rise: In one notable example, in 1933, a newspaper aligned with Austria’s anti-Nazi chancellor challenged German authorities to disprove his Jewish ties.

But while previous analyses of the DNA of Hitler’s relatives suggested that he may have had some genetic links to groups that he sought to destroy — including Jews — the new analysis, on Hitler’s own DNA, shows only Austrian German ancestry.

The analysis is based on a swatch of fabric stained with blood that a U.S. soldier cut from the couch upon which Hitler shot himself. The researchers were able to confirm without a doubt that the blood came from Hitler by comparing the DNA found in it to DNA previously confirmed to have come from one of his relatives.

Israel foils large Hamas terror network in Bethlehem

Israeli security forces in recent weeks broke up a major Hamas terror network in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, including a cell in the advanced stages of preparing an attack, according to Israel police, JNS reported.

Over 50 operatives were arrested in more than 15 separate operations conducted by reservists from the Israel Defense Forces’ Etzion Brigade, along with forces from the IDF’s Duvdevan Unit and the Israel Border Police’s Counterterrorism Unit (Yamam). The Judea and Samaria District Police and the Israel Security

Agency (Shin Bet) also took part in the joint operation.

In addition to the arrests, weapons were also confiscated, including an M16 rifle.

The network had planned to carry out shootings against Israeli security forces and civilians, with one cell “at an advanced stage of readiness to carry out attacks in the immediate timeframe,” according to police.

Pope Leo names Italian Holocaust film ‘Life Is Beautiful’ as one of his 4 favorites of all time

Pope Leo XIV included the 1997 Holocaust movie “Life Is Beautiful” among his four favorite films of all time, JTA reported.

“Life Is Beautiful,” a melodrama by Italian filmmaker and comedian Robert Benigni, follows an Italian Jewish father and his son as they are sent to a Nazi concentration camp. There the father uses humor and misdirection in an effort to hide the truth of the camps from his son.

The film was a global box-office hit and received seven Oscar nominations, winning three. Another movie set during Nazi rule, the 1965 musical “The Sound of Music,” also made the pope’s list, which was rounded out by the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Robert Redford’s stark family drama, “Ordinary People.”

Pope Leo did not elaborate on his reasons for the selections in the truncated video posted by Variety announcing a convening of filmmakers at the Vatican that began Saturday PJC

— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick

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

Nov. 21, 1880 — Zionist martyr

Joseph Trumpeldor is born

Joseph Trumpeldor is born in Russia. He loses an arm in the Russo-Japanese War. He helps organize the Zion Mule Corps in World War I. He is killed defending a Jewish settlement from Arab attack in 1919.

Nov. 22, 1923 — Actress Hanna Maron is born

Hanna Maron, recognized for the world’s longest stage career, is born in Berlin. She starts acting as a child, gains fame with Tel Aviv’s Cameri Theater and keeps working even after a terrorist attack costs her a leg in 1970.

Nov. 23, 1926 — Spymaster Rafi Eitan is born

Rafi Eitan, whose intelligence career ranges from the high of leading the capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina to the low of handling U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard as a spy, is born on a kibbutz at Ein Harod.

Amid the Arab uprising, the House of Commons debates Palestine’s future. Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald says the region can’t accommodate the Jews who might try to escape the Nazis.

Nov. 25, 1940 — Immigrant ship Patria is sunk

The Haganah bombs the SS Patria in Haifa’s harbor to disable the ship and prevent the British from sending more than 1,700 Jewish refugees to Mauritius. But the ship quickly sinks, killing 267 people.

p The French-built SS Patria is seen in 1918 during its service as a World War I troop transport.

Nov. 26, 2013 — Singer Arik Einstein dies

An aortic aneurysm kills singer/songwriter Arik Einstein at 74 in Tel Aviv. Einstein blended folk and rock music across about 50 albums and was a driving force in the development of Israeli rock.

Nov. 27, 1914 — JDC is founded

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is founded with the merger of the Central Relief Committee and the American Jewish Relief Committee. The goal is to aid Jews worldwide. PJC

p Rafi Eitan is sworn in as a member of the Knesset on May 4, 2006. By Amos Ben Gershom, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0

Headlines

Continued from page 1

He said there was an immediate feeling of anxiety when the delay of SNAP benefits was first announced.

“More families have reached out to us,” he said. “I put three new families on the list in just the last couple of days. There’s a lot of nervousness, a lot of fear.”

Jewish families share the same concerns as the broader Pittsburgh community, Vogel said, but some also have the added burden of the high price of kosher food.

“The cost of food is 30-40% more than non-kosher food,” Vogel said.

While SNAP benefits normally last three weeks for a typical family receiving aid, he said, “in the kosher world, the food stamps last two weeks at the very most.”

And while many believe the Jewish community is more affluent than the non-Jewish world, the numbers reported in the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2017 Jewish Community Study contradict that.

Thirty-seven percent of Jewish households were reported to make $50,000 a year or less and 17% of Jewish households were reported to make just $25,000 annually. Those numbers were only slightly better than the broader community, where 46% of households made less than $50,000 and 23% made less than $25,000.

According to the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania website, a three-person household qualifies for SNAP benefits if its income is $4,304 a month or $51,648 annually.

Our Giving Kitchen founder Rabbi Chezky Rosenfeld said the nonprofit has seen a 50% increase in requests for meals.

“There is no question there is a lot of anxiety around food security,” he said.

Earlier this year, the organization moved to

He said that in addition to SNAP benefits being suspended, during the last year Medicaid was cut and “punitive work requirements” were added to the program and subsidies that “help millions afford health care” were “gutted.”

“Families who were just barely getting by are now forced to choose between the pharmacy and grocery store,” he said, blaming

Jewish families share the same concerns as the broader Pittsburgh community, Vogel said, but some also have the added burden of the high price of kosher food.

a new location on Murray Avenue, doubling its capacity. It can generate more than 300 kosher meals a week, which are available on site or delivered through a dozen partner charities, including homeless shelters and food pantries.

Rosenfeld and The Giving Kitchen hosted a press conference organized by State Reps. Abigail Salisbury and Dan Frankel, which included several different food aid organizations, including the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry and the Aleph Institute.

“What happens when the entire net is torn out from under families already walking the tightrope of poverty? We’re going to find out unfortunately,” Frankel said.

the GOP-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration for the crisis.

Salisbury said it is important to work on the issue of food insecurity, “which spans every type of person, community, religion and location that you can possibly imagine.”

All of the organizations contacted by the Chronicle said they were able to meet the needs of the community but, if food insecurity increases, they may need additional donors and volunteers.

Anticipating the needs in the community, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh awarded a $10,000 emergency grant to Jewish Family and Community Services

Continued from page 1

Lauren Bairnsfather, the discussion welcomed Dudley, Daly, Emmy Award-winning artist Emmai Alaquiva, journalist and political commentator Lenny McAllister, Hear Foundation President and CEO Cynthia Haines, and Hear Foundation co-founder and Director of External Affairs Leon Ford.

Though the event was largely attended by adults, panelists dedicated most comments to the young.

Students may know the “I Have a Dream” speech, but it’s less likely they’re familiar with “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Daly said. The performance and subsequent discussion enabled students to “explore

The beauty of this show, and similar endeavors, is the mirror-like quality of art that allows young people to “look at themselves,” Alaquiva said. That gaze prompts action, he continued. “I just want us to realize that young people are essentially who we need to pass the baton to.”

to help provide kosher food to individuals and families.

“ Thanks to the generosity of our donors who have contributed to the Federation’s Foundation, we are in a position to support JFCS as they step up to meet the urgent needs of our community,” said Jeff Finkelstein, Federation’s president and CEO. “We are proud to help JFCS reach more people who are struggling right now.”

The Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, JAF, Aleph Institute and Our Giving Kitchen each said they rely on donors and volunteers to support their work. Those in need or with the ability to help should reach out to the individual organizations.

While no one can predict what will happen in the coming weeks and months, the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry’s Sharrard is certain of one thing: As the holidays approach the need won’t decrease.

“We started seeing an increase in January and every month has been busier than the last month. Our slowest month this year was busier than our busiest month in 2024,” he said. “Families who ordinarily wouldn’t have visited us in November came and made sure they got a visit before the end of the month. We have been looking at 450 to 460 families per month. In October there were 560 and it’ll far surpass that in November.” PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Empowering youth requires an understanding of them, panelists said. Works can be “meaningful as literary pieces,” but teachers have to remember students won’t always see the connections, McAllister said. “If you don’t have curriculums that allow you to connect to it, you can’t get the lesson out of it — and not just the lesson of how do you conjugate a verb, but also what’s the lesson I’m supposed to be thinking about at four o’clock in the

Performances and discussions that take texts to new places are essential educational tools, Ford said. “During these times of uncertainty — when TV and social media tell us how disconnected and divisive we are — this is the example of our truth,” he said. “Our truth is we’re not disconnected, we’re very much connected, and the more we show up for one another, the more we can feel that truth and its reality.”

Both Frank and King were born in 1929. Seeing them brought to the stage and hearing about additional efforts to impact today’s youth was inspiring, Squirrel Hill resident Avi Baran Munro said.

Fellow Squirrel Hill resident Tom Engel agreed, and commended the Anne

“Youth is our hope and we need them,” he said.

Greenfield resident Audrey Glickman exited the August Wilson Center Thursday night voicing similar praise.

Glickman, a survivor of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, who often speaks alongside survivors and family members of those lost in the 2018 attack, said the panelists’ message is “almost exactly the same thing” she tries to convey every time she speaks.

“It’s on the youth,” she said. “The youth have to understand.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

p Amelia Dudley and Marcel Daly portray Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. Photo by Adam Reinherz

p

Panelists join a "Voices for Change program" at August Wilson African American Cultural Center on Nov. 14.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

Headlines

Gilman:

Continued from page 3

After graduating, Gilman had two job offers: one from Peduto and one from another, slightly more well-known politician — Bill Clinton.

Gilman said he “chose right” and accepted the job with Peduto. He kept that position for nearly a decade before running for his boss’s council seat when Peduto was elected mayor. Gilman served the city’s 8th district until being named Peduto’s chief of staff for his second mayoral term.

Gilman and his wife, Amanda, reside in Squirrel Hill and have two children, Sam and Tessa. He’s a member of Temple Sinai but growing up, his family was affiliated with Congregation Beth Shalom.

O’Connor’s new chief of staff said he wasn’t expecting a role in the new administration.

“I was just thrilled that Corey was going to have the opportunity to be mayor,” Gilman said. “I believe so deeply in him and his vision at this particular moment. I think it’s the right person, right city, right moment for the mayor-elect. I would do anything to help him succeed. This is 100% about a city that I love and believe in, and a mayor

Rose:

Continued from page 4

and 35 square feet of ceiling fell into the pool.”

Yes, the pool changed after the center moved to Squirrel Hill, but so did those who practiced sports, Rose said. Most people entering the JCC now aren’t eager to join a basketball or swim team, let alone to box or play handball. They are interested in “fitness and not the competitive aspect.”

Some changes are good. Others not so much. The role of a coach is to appreciate

Ben-Hur:

“A government that works and delivers on its promises, puts the interests of the people first, will ultimately win over politics and any sort of small dissent. Let your actions speak for themselves and deliver for the people.”

–DAN GILMAN

I love and believe in.”

Gilman is grateful to help build a new administration, he said, noting that it’s a sprint to try to set it up in seven weeks. The goal, he said, is to put together a team “that can implement the mayor’s vision effectively and efficiently — everything from the mayor’s office staff to cabinet-level positions.”

That means a lot of interviews with both lifelong Pittsburghers and those from out of town, including people in both the public and private sectors, excited about the mayor’s vision for the city.

O’Connor has been transparent about his goals for the city, Gilman said, which

include financial stability; both capital and human investments downtown to ensure it’s an inclusive, safe and welcoming place; and, helping the city become more supportive of business development and neighborhood investment.

“We’re committed to Corey’s vision of being every family’s first choice,” he said.

“That starts with looking at our rec centers and parks, and making sure our neighborhoods are places we all want to live.”

And, Gilman said, it’s important to use the bully pulpit of the mayor’s office as a convener, bringing together universities, hospitals, the corporate community,

trends and substance. Fads and tips can be beneficial, “but as a coach you have to look at them and say, ‘Is that really good for my kids?’”

Answering that question helped Rose leave his long-held post. With the bulk of the Sailfish squad far from high school, Rose called it a good time to step away.

“I looked at it — there are a lot of kids, young kids, on the team,” he said. “They have the ability to be better, and I’m not going to be around. I hope I’m alive, but I’m not going to be around coaching at 95

foundations and nonprofits.

“If we can all get in the boat and row in the same direction we can do amazing things in the city. That hasn’t been the case for too long in Pittsburgh,” he said.

Aware that the mayoral Democratic primary was fairly divisive, Gilman still believes both he and O’Connor share an idea of what will unite the city.

“The short answer is you deliver,” he said. “A government that works and delivers on its promises, puts the interests of the people first, will ultimately win over politics and any sort of small dissent. Let your actions speak for themselves and deliver for the people.”

When that happens, Gilman is certain his Pittsburgh passion will be felt by residents and visitors to the city.

“We’re either America’s smallest big city or biggest small town,” he said. “We’re on the global map because of our hospitals, universities, sports teams, and arts and culture. Yet the actual size is 55 square miles and 304,000 people. We are not a big place and anyone who lives here knows we feel even smaller most of the time. But this is a place where you can do great things.” PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburgjewishchronicle.org.

Between correcting strokes and helping swimmers off the wall, he’s sharing a message he put into practice for nearly 70 years.

“There’s a place for everyone in athletics and academics. They teach you so much about life, that sometimes you don’t get,” he said. “There’s always winners, there’s always losers, there’s always those people in between, and doing the best you can — no matter what it is — is important, and family is important to help you.” PJC

Continued from page 5

training sessions in which Ben-Hur is asked to speak about the Holocaust or antisemitism.

He said he happily complies, but there’s a particular concept that also now needs to be addressed.

“This whole narrative of there’s no Jewish connection to Israel has been mainstreamed over the past few years. As somebody who has been teaching Land of Israel studies for 30 years, and swims very deeply in archeology and the history of the country, it strikes me as so preposterous,” he said. “It’s not enough that our non-Jewish teachers have learned about antisemitism and how and why Jews the Jews are.”

For the new Pittsburgh resident, the

On weekends, in a single lane in Penn Hills, Rose still happily offers instruction.

responsibilities are vast. Still, he’s eager to tackle each task and impact educators one-by-one — trusting that every

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

connection and conversation will foster relationships benefitting both students and the wider society.

Encountering today’s realities and ensuring a better tomorrow requires historic appreciation, he said. “We should never have a view of a nation that dwells alone. That’s the wrong way to go, because that’s a very, very lonely place to be in this world, and it doesn’t work,” he said. “We are not in 1933, nor are we in 1938. We’re in a bad time for Jews, but there are plenty of Americans who do not hate us. There are Americans who like us, and there are some Americans who love us. We need to reach across the aisle and search for allies. If we look for them, we will find them.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

p Avi Ben-Hur speaks in Cleveland, Ohio.

Photo courtesy of Avi Ben-Hur

Why won’t

pro-Palestinian protesters turn

their attention to Darfur?

Here’s a stark fact: More people may have been killed in Sudan in just the past week than in Gaza in the past two years.

“They’re killing everyone that moves,” said Nathaniel Raymond, executive director at Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, in a recent interview with Mehdi Hasan. Raymond’s lab has tracked the carnage via satellite imagery, witnessing the slaughter of innocent civilians in real time.

And the main source for the weapons destroying the Black, non-Arab population in Darfur is the United Arab Emirates, one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East.

So where are the American protesters?

A major reason American protesters have relentlessly focused their time and energy on Israel, they say, is that the U.S. is Israel’s most significant ally, as well as an arms supplier to the IDF. There are real actions the U.S. could take to sway the course of events in Israel, so protesters aim to influence the U.S. government to do so.

But the U.S. has ties to conflicts all over the world, especially in Sudan, where a major American ally is helping supply the weapons of slaughter. The idea that its ability to pressure Israel is unique, and therefore worthy of unique focus, is misguided.

“Only American pressure can stop the killing in Sudan,” wrote Alex De Waal,

executive director of the World Peace Foundation, in Foreign Affairs. So why aren’t American activists, well, active?

A genocide to rival Rwanda

The UAE has $29 billion in active defense contracts with the U.S. It is also host to — and protected by — the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing and Jebel Ali Port, the U.S. Navy’s largest port of call in the Middle East.

women and children,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Black women with long hair are systematically separated and raped.”

Humanitarian groups say the ongoing slaughter is likely to rival that of Rwanda genocide, and of the genocide that took place in the same Darfur region 30 years ago. That atrocity, led by a predecessor to the RSF, claimed 200,000 lives.

Why would the UAE supply weapons to

Every crime American protesters accuse Israel of — killing civilians among military targets, rape, starvation as a weapon, destroying hospitals and killing patients in their beds — is happening now, at a far greater scale, in Darfur.

And while UAE officials have denied that they are arming the Arab militia, known as the Rapid Support Forces, responsible for the genocide, diplomats, humanitarian groups and journalists have confirmed the link. Three of the same organizations that proPalestinian activists regularly cite in their brief against Israel — the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International — have established the UAE’s complicity.

Every crime American protesters accuse Israel of — killing civilians among military targets, rape, starvation as a weapon, destroying hospitals and killing patients in their beds — is happening now, at a far greater scale, in Darfur.

“Rebels hurl racial insults at fleeing

Why don’t we all just go?

Why don’t we all just go? Not a few hundred idealists or retirees, not the ones between jobs or on gap year visas, but all of us — American Jews, nearly half the world’s Jewish population. Pack up, say thank you to America for the chapter it gave us, and start anew on the shores of the Mediterranean. I can already hear the chorus of objections: the economy, the housing shortage, Israel needs the Diaspora, Israel doesn’t like non-Orthodox Jews. Maybe. But what if?

Maybe the economy can’t handle it. But what if we’re exactly what the economy needs? What if every doctor, engineer, entrepreneur, teacher and craftsman who ever built something here decided to build there? What if Israel’s GDP became the collective Jewish project — an economy infused with purpose, not just profit? We’ve been exporting Jewish talent for centuries. What

happens if, for once, we bring it home?

Maybe the housing market couldn’t absorb it. But what if we built? Jews have always built — synagogues, schools, settlements, cities. The early chalutzim drained swamps and raised towns from dust with

be used in such a context? Perhaps because it uses Sudan’s mines to supply gold and other resources, and wants to stay on the good side of a group primed to exercise control over ongoing access.

“The war would be over if not for the UAE,” Cameron Hudson, a former chief of staff to successive U.S. presidential special envoys for Sudan, told the Wall Street Journal. “The only thing that is keeping them in this war is the overwhelming amount of military support that they’re receiving from the UAE.”

In the US, silence

So where are the protesters shouting at their representatives in town halls to suspend the recent $2 trillion investment agreement between the U.S. and UAE? Pushing sanctions

against the UAE? Or demanding New York University shutter its Abu Dhabi campus?

Where are the movie stars and directors refusing to engage with the UAE, which according to Variety is the “prime Middle East hub” for Hollywood production? Javier Bardem, who recently said he will no longer work with the Israeli film industry, filmed part of his last movie, F1, in Abu Dhabi last year. What if he said no more?

Imagine the impact if, instead of unveiling her new fragrance, Orebella, at a splashed-out event last week in Abu Dhabi, supermodel Bella Hadid announced that just as she calls relentlessly for the world to boycott Israel, she will no longer visit the Emirates until it ends funding for the genocide in Darfur?

This is not an argument for whataboutism, and none of this is to deflect attention from injustices and suffering happening in the West Bank and Gaza. Everyone has a right to choose their battles. I don’t ask the Save the Whales people, “But what about the rainforest?”

But if someone is actively bombing the rainforest, today, as you read this — and your country is in bed with the bomb suppliers — then claiming to care about the planet and doing nothing is inexcusable.

“This is not only a crisis of violence but also a crisis of indifference,” wrote Reena Ghelani, CEO of Plan International in Al Jazeera. “Each day the world looks away.” And the go-to excuse, that Americans lack leverage and influence over the slaughter, is utter BS. PJC

Rob Eshman is a senior columnist for the Forward, where this first appeared. To get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox, go to forward.com/newsletters.

the Jewish story is actually being written.

Maybe Israel doesn’t like non-Orthodox Jews. But what if that’s only because not enough of them are there? Imagine a million Reform and Conservative Jews making aliyah over a decade — teachers, rabbis,

At some point, even the most rational people must admit that history has been whispering the same advice for 2,000 years: Go home.

less equipment than most of us have in our garages. We complain about real estate while living on the memory of people who literally invented it.

Maybe Israel needs the Diaspora. But what if that need is overstated — or outdated?

Israel doesn’t need absentee advocates; it needs neighbors, colleagues, parents and dreamers who show up. If the Diaspora’s job is to be Israel’s lobby, then let’s send the most passionate advocates to Washington and Brussels — and let the rest of us live where

artists, tech workers, lawyers — voting, serving, building. That’s not a complaint; that’s a constituency. Culture changes when people arrive with conviction. The Knesset would change. The schools would change. The tone of Jewish life itself would change.

Maybe it’s too complicated. But what if complication is the price of meaning? We’ve built lives in a country where Jewish safety and prosperity have been unmatched — but where Jewish purpose has quietly faded.

America made us comfortable. Israel forces us to decide who we really are. Maybe that tension isn’t a burden; maybe it’s the spark that keeps a people alive.

Maybe the timing is bad. But what if it’s never been better? The world is tilting toward nationalism, heritage and civilizational identity. Everyone else is rediscovering their roots — their languages, their songs, their land. Why are we the one people afraid to fully reclaim ours?

Maybe we don’t all belong there. But what if belonging isn’t something that happens to you — what if it’s something you build? What if our place in Israel’s story isn’t pre-written but waiting to be written? Every aliyah since Abraham’s first has been a risk, and every one has redrawn the map of Jewish destiny.

Maybe this is naïve. But what if it’s the most realistic dream we’ve got? We’re living through a century when Jewish safety, even in democracies, is again becoming conditional. The old strategies — lobbying, litigation, coalitions — may keep us tolerated, but not secure. At some point, even

Guest Columnist

Rob Eshman

Guest Columnist

Shlomi Bennett

Opinion

Chronicle poll results: Boycotting celebrities who call for boycott of Israel

Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an online poll the following question:

“Do you boycott celebrities and artists who call for a boycott of Israel?” Of the 260 people who responded, 64% said yes; 19% said no; and 17% said sometimes. Comments were submitted by 66 people. A few follow.

I would if I knew which ones are boycotting Israel.

I’m unclear about how much “boycotting” works unless there is a substantive bloc of people with a specifically stated goal in mind. “Not watching that movie” or “not going to that concert” or “not visiting that exhibit” does quite little in its self-affirming vacuum.

I have made a concerted effort to avoid works by Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone and Roger Waters — even though I used to admire their talents and enjoy their productions.

Do you boycott celebrities and artists who call for a boycott

of Israel?

Freedom of speech. And people are allowed to express their views in whatever way they choose. This is a non-violent protest. A matter of conscience. I support them. And I also refuse to knowingly buy anything coming out of Israel and the occupied territories.

I also refuse to vote for politicians who take a stand against Israel.

While I don’t have much interest in “celebrities” one way or the other, I don’t believe it’s a healthy or reasonable practice to “boycott” art that one finds meaningful or important — be it a novel or an album or a film — based purely on the artist’s personal politics (as opposed to what the artist’s work itself “says”). Art, once made, resides within its own realm and should be treated as such.

Why waste time watching useful idiots?

I also boycott businesses and products that are anti-Israel and unfriendly to Jewish causes.

I try not to judge celebrities and artists based on their political beliefs, but on their talent.

No. It’s ineffective. These celebrities have no impact on my life. It’s the art, not the artist. I have a firm rule of never knowing anything personal about the celebrities I like. Everyone is basically awful and it’s just better not to know.

Turnabout is fair play. PJC

— Compiled by Toby

Tabachnick

I’m not going to sacrifice my own enjoyment because of these people, but at the same time I’m not going to go out of my way to see their work.

Bennett:

Continued from page 12

the most rational people must admit that history has been whispering the same advice for 2,000 years: Go home

Imagine what it would look like if we did. The American Jewish community wouldn’t disappear; it would transform. Those who stay would become ambassadors, advocates, lobbyists and cultural diplomats — an organized Jewish conscience abroad. They’d finally have a mission worthy of their arguments: protecting the home they helped repopulate. And Israel? Overnight, it would

Give Mamdani a chance

become a global Jewish republic, a mosaic of Sephardi, Ashkenazi, Ethiopian, Russian, American and Mizrahi voices — religious and secular, left and right — arguing over the same destiny. The divide between “Israel” and “the Diaspora” would end not with speeches, but with suitcases. And what then — what would America become without us? This isn’t a farewell, just a question worth asking. Strip the Jews from its cities, its universities, its industries, its public debates. Maybe America would adjust. Maybe it would even prosper. But what if it lost something it couldn’t quite name — the conscience that nags, the humor

Criticism of Israel is not the same as antisemitism, and BDS is a non-violent form of protest.

that softens, the restlessness that refuses to let comfort turn to decay?

Maybe the country would move on. But what if our absence revealed how much we held together — not by power or numbers, but by friction, by the way we questioned, challenged and re-imagined? Maybe America would survive. But what if it would never quite feel the same — like music missing its dissonant note, like a mirror without its light?

Maybe this whole vision is impossible. But what if impossibility has always been our specialty? We say “Next year in Jerusalem” as though it were poetry, not prophecy.

Chronicle weekly poll question: Are you interested in the content of the Epstein files? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC

We imagine it as nostalgia — the wish of a people who know they never will. But what if it was meant as a dare?

Maybe the question isn’t logistical at all. Maybe it’s spiritual. Maybe it’s the one we’ve spent 2,000 years avoiding. Why don’t we all just go? PJC

Shlomi Bennett is the founder of Jewish Frontline, a Michigan-based grassroots initiative strengthening Jewish visibility, literacy and pride through community engagement, education and public activism. This article was first published on The Times of Israel.

Election Day 2025 was great for us Democrats, but our community is split over the resounding victory for self-declared Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim to be elected as mayor of New York City.

Although the mayor-elect had significant support from many Jews, others are expressing grave concern about his upcoming four years of governance and are writing him off as an enemy.

Mayor-elect Mamdani was smeared throughout the campaign, most notably by his primary opponent, the ethically-tarred former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. I have been disappointed to see many hateful online posts designed to mock him, one of which has an AI photograph of New York City police riding camels.

I believe that Mr. Mamdani should be given a chance. He has said some disturbing things in the past, but has walked back many of them and he has gone to great lengths to mend fences with those whom he has offended. He reached out to and met with countless rabbis and assures us that his support of Palestinians in no way renders him an antisemite; rather, he proclaims that he values every Jewish life and our Jewish heritage. Time will tell.

New York city residents were faced with three major candidates, each one of which had

baggage. They selected the articulate, charming member of the group, who promises that he will tackle the critical issue of affordability. Let us hope that he can unify and better the city that is home to the largest number of Jews outside of Israel.

Correction

In the Nov. 10 story “Union presents petition for East End Food Co-op to boycott Israeli products,” language from a previous version of UE Local 667’s petition was included in the story. While a link titled “Sign the petition: Make EEFC an Apartheid Free Zone,” is live on the group’s Instagram account, the language of the petition read at the EEFC’s annual meeting was different, accusing Israel of an “ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and war in the Middle East.”

The petition asks: “Should EEFC implement a boycott of all Israeli-sourced products until and unless Israel 1.) Immediately ends all wars and 2.) ends its occupation of any foreign land in adherence with international law?”

The Chronicle regrets the error. PJC

We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Send letters to:letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org or Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15217

We regret that owing to the volume of correspondence, we cannot reply to every letter.

Oren Spiegler Peters Township

Life & Culture

Cranberry orange bundt cake

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

When it comes to Thanksgiving I tend to be a purist. I re-create my mother’s menu year after year, but this season I wanted to add a new dessert that wasn’t pie. I adore cranberry and orange in the fall and winter, so I incorporated those flavors into an easy to make Bundt cake.

I love a good Bundt cake and I’ve shared several recipes over the years. Bundt cakes work for most occasions and they stay fresh for days. This one will add a beautiful flavor to round out your holiday meal, but it’s also perfect for a breakfast slice on the go, for brunch, or to share with friends over a cup of coffee or tea.

This is an easy recipe for beginner bakers, and children can definitely help with this one. You can mix this in one bowl by hand, so there is very little to clean up, which is always a plus. It is best if it rests overnight before serving, so you can make this before Thanksgiving (or Shabbat) and get your dessert out of the way before the main cooking starts.

Ingredients:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

1 ¾ cups sugar

Zest from 1 naval orange, about 1 teaspoon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ½ cups fresh whole cranberries

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Optional glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons orange juice

Orange zest, optional

Rinse the cranberries well in a colander and set them aside to dry for about a half-hour. When you’re ready to bake, put them in a small bowl and mix them with 1 tablespoon of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, to coat.

Preheat your oven to 350 F and place the wire rack in the center. Grease and flour a Bundt pan well, which is the key to releasing the cake out of the pan once baked.

Use one large bowl to do all the mixing.

Whisk the eggs first, then drizzle in the oil, whisking for about a minute or until the oil and eggs are well combined.

Add the sugar, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla and mix again until combined.

Sift together the dry ingredients. You can add them all at once, so you can sift them over the bowl and right into the mixture. If some of the kosher salt won’t sift, just turn over any remaining out of the sifter and into the bowl.

Mix until just combined. The batter is thick, so use a strong rubber spatula for stirring.

Fold in the cranberries and any leftover cinnamon/sugar dust that may be on the bottom of the bowl. Don’t over-mix; just give it 4-5 good turns.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool fully before turning

it out onto a wire rack. It can take 3-4 hours for the cake to fully cool. If the cake does not release easily, take a sharp knife and run it along the edge of the pan and around the center post as well.

Allow the cake to rest, uncovered, on the wire rack overnight before transferring to a serving plate.

If you want to add a little more sweetness and texture you can easily prepare a quick glaze for the top. Mix powdered sugar and orange juice in the amount noted above. You may need a little extra sugar or liquid to get the glaze to a spreadable consistency, and you can add a little extra orange zest, about a pinch or two, into the glaze for aroma and a bit of color.

Spoon it over the top and let it rest for 2 hours before serving, which will allow the glaze to dry and crackle. It isn’t a thick icing like the type on cinnamon rolls; it’s thin, like you would have on a glazed donut.

Cover loosely with foil or a cake dome after you have cut into the cake and it should last well at room temperature for 4-5 days.

This cake is perfect for the winter season, and if you really like cranberry and orange, look for my cranberry sauce recipe that I published previously.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

p Cranberry orange Bundt cake

Life & Culture

p Artist Yehoshua Aryeh Stauber stands before one of his Israel landscape photos at One Oxford Centre

Photo by Ya Momz House, Inc

p Israel landscape photos by Yehoshua Aryeh Stauber at One Oxford Centre

Photo by Ya Momz House, Inc

p Israel landscape photo by Yehoshua Aryeh Stauber at One Oxford Centre

Photo by Dave Hochendoner

Life & Culture

Why ‘Les Misérables’ still matters: A timeless story returns to Pittsburgh

By Toby Tabachnick | Editor

In the preface to his 1862 novel “Les Misérables,” Victor Hugo presciently declared, “So long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use.”

Time has proven him right: His sweeping saga of resilience, redemption and love in 19th-century France continues to resonate with audiences today.

The sprawling novel was adapted into a musical by Jewish composers Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, premiering in France in 1980. An English version opened on the West End in 1985 — where it is still playing — and came to Broadway in 1987. The show has won eight Tony Awards and is the sixth longest-running show on Broadway. It’s been seen by more than 130 million people worldwide in 53 countries, 438 cities and 22 languages.

Its touring production will run at the Benedum Center from Nov. 25-30, part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2025-2026 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series.

“Les Misérables” tells the story of Jean Valjean, imprisoned for 19 years for stealing and inspired by a bishop, breaks parole, changes his identity and adopts an orphan. “The story, the main points that it hits every time, is the endurance of the human spirit, and I think that is extremely necessary to hear in today’s day and age,” said Daniel Gerard Bittner, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh and recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He has been touring with the production since 2022 as a member of the ensemble.

Medicare felt overwhelming—dozens of plans, endless forms, and no clear path. Then we met with Stephanie. She was calm, caring, and incredibly knowledgeable. She guided us to a plan that fits us both—and it’s been fantastic. We’re so grateful we found her.

“On top of that, you have song after song about love, about persevering through difficult times,” he continued. “I mean, this story — there’s a reason that it’s been relevant since it came out, not just the book, but the musical too.”

“Les Misérables” is “one of the best adaptations of a novel onto stage,” said Bittner, who grew up in Shaler and resides in Pittsburgh when he’s not on the road. “And I think that it and the story that it tells is beautiful. I think that it’s so important for everybody to see, just because times can get tough and you’ve got to understand that it’s worth pushing forward.”

People worldwide have found solace and inspiration in the music as well as the story.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, one particular song from the show, “Bring Him Home” — which Jean Valjean sings as a prayer that his prospective son-in-law safely returns from the barricades of the French revolution — was recorded by soloists from the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv as an expression of solidarity with the hostages kidnapped and held in Gaza. It was also performed by the chief cantor of the Israel Defense Forces, Shai Abramson, at the March of the Living in Poland in December 2023.

The Forward reported that while most of the Israeli versions were sung in Hebrew or English, there was also one in Yiddish, performed at the Jerusalem Music Center, sung by tenor Eliezer Henig and

accompanied on piano by Avi Silas, both

The creators of the show could not foresee its music becoming an anthem of redemption for Israeli hostages 40 years later, but it’s not farfetched that it happened. While not overt, there is a Jewish sensibility to the show.

Composer Schönberg told the Jewish News of Great Britain in 2020 that he and lyricist Boublil “both feel special about Jewish people and when I’m writing a show there is always a part that is typically Jewish.”

“Just listen to the introduction of ‘Master of the House,’” he said. “It is completely Jewish.”

Schönberg’s relatives were among the 437,000 Hungarian Jews gassed at a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He and Boublil also wrote “Miss Saigon,” which, he said, was “a statement against war, all wars, which was another way of showing who we are and what we think.”

That hunger for peace, integrity and righteousness is at the core of Hugo’s story, and likewise fundamental to the stage show.

“So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny,” Hugo wrote in his preface, “… so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world … books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use.”

Adding to that, Bittner said, the show is pure entertainment.

“I’d say, if you want to have a wonderful experience, come and see a show with beautiful music, a beautiful story and incredible people telling it. Come see ‘Les Mis.’ It’s a wonderful night.” PJC

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

p “Les Mis” tour, “Master of the House”

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Headlines

Banned Book Bingo shines spotlight on censorship

By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle

Jews

for a Secular Democracy will be calling out literary censorship Sunday, Nov. 23, when it brings Banned Book Bingo to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill.

As part of the Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Project, the event will use a parlor game to make a serious point — that a surge in banned and challenged books at public schools and libraries over political and religious ideologies is an ever-increasing threat to First Amendment rights.

The family-friendly bingo will be free and open to the public, with registration required.

“It will be fun-heavy with a dash of education,” said Jews for Secular Democracy national director Katie Reiter, of Tucson, Arizona. “We want to put the issue of book bans in front of people, especially young families, in an easy, accessible way.”

The game will be played like traditional bingo, with prizes, except that banned book titles instead of numbers will be called. Between rounds of marking their cards, participants will hear brief explanations of why specific titles were targeted, as well as how communities can stand up to book bans by local school boards and other entities, Reiter said.

As a case in point, she noted that a controversial new library policy supported by the board of Pine-Richland School District, which opponents equated to book bans, was overturned after the Nov. 4 election.

In the Upper St. Clair School District, a battle was waged in 2021 over “Just Mercy,” a book about racial bias within the criminal justice system that critics decried as pushing critical race theory.

Banning books can be unconstitutional and cut to the core of the First Amendment, which guarantees fundamental freedoms, including religion, speech and the press, asserted Alliyson Feldmann, who lives in Upper St. Clair, and is an on-the-ground organizer for Jews for Secular Democracy.

“Banning books is the beginning stage of fascism,” she said. “We want people to understand this and fight against it.”

Feldmann helped plan the upcoming bingo and said hundreds of titles will be included in four games. They range from the Holocaustrelated “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale,” and “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation,” to “1984” (banned for anti-government and sexual content), and “The Handmaid’s Tale” (banned for negative depictions of Christianity and profanity).

They represent a fraction of the 2452 unique titles that were challenged in 2024, according to census data from the American Library Association.

That number is an eight-fold increase over the 273 titles annually challenged, on average, from 2001 to 2020.

Targeted books typically relate to sexual identity, race, racism, sexuality, profanity and graphic violence.

Pressure groups and government entities involving elected officials, board members and administrators initiated 72% of demands

to censor books in school and public libraries, while parents accounted for 16% of censorship demands, the American Library Association reported.

Pennsylvania has more banned books than any other state except Florida or Texas, according to a 2022 report by PEN America, a century-old nonprofit that advocates for literary freedom and free speech.

PEN America identified at least 50 groups involved in pushing for book bans at the national, state, or local levels, with some sharing lists of targeted books among themselves and using a variety of tactics to further their agenda.

For Stefanie Maclin-Hurd, a librarian and the mother of a young child, targeting books over politics and faith is deeply concerning.

Maclin-Hurd, of Canonsburg, is on the steering committee of the Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Project and will emcee the bingo.

“If you look at commonly targeted books, they show non-Christian holidays, queer families, biracial families, main characters who aren’t white, or they teach about things like menstruation and sexuality,” she said. “But books are also banned for showing history graphically, as in ‘Maus,’ where the suicide of the main character’s mother is described in detail.”

The expectation is that such books are being taught responsibly in age-appropriate curricula, but if a parent objects, she said, they can explore options, other than bans, with teachers and principals.

“Heavily faith-based groups think that if they need to protect their children from being ‘indoctrinated’ because ‘Oh, this character

SPONSORED CONTENT

uses same-sex pronouns’, then all children should be protected.

“But they don’t get to decide what my child does or doesn’t read,” Maclin-Hurd said. “That’s up to me.”

Her hope is that bingo participants will be made more aware of literary censorship, “and if they encounter it in the wild will say, ‘Maybe this isn’t something we’ll accept.’”

Literary censorship has particular meaning for Jews, who are all too familiar with photographs of books being set afire in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, Reiter said.

“We know what happens when one religion is favored over another in public policy and education. We know the ending of that story.

“If you start banning books, you go down a slippery slope,” she said. “It becomes a slow drift to the destruction of our democracy.”

The bingo is being sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, underwritten, in part, by trustee Nancy Weissman in memory of her mother-in-law, trustee Jackie Wechsler. Co-sponsors are the National Council of Jewish Women – Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Women for Democracy.

“The bingo is a welcoming way to capture a broad audience for a serious topic,” said Judy Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Women’s Foundation. “We want to get more community engagement so people can use their voices to effect change.”

Registration for the event can be found at bit.ly/bannedbingo. PJC

Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

ABERNETHY & HAGERMAN ELDER LAW

NOTE: NEW SQUIRREL HILL OFFICE LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

ESTATE ADMINISTRATION, PROBATE AND INHERITANCE TAX OVERVIEW

You may never have had to handle the affairs of a family member or friend after their passing. When that responsibility does arise, the following is a general overview of what the process entails.

Estate administration means finalizing all the lifetime and postmortem dealings, activities and concerns of someone who has passed away. Often that includes the clerical and legal paperwork process called probate. For every deceased PA resident, it almost always involves Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax.

What is an estate and what is probate? We use the word “estate” in two ways: first, with a broad meaning including all assets, liabilities and activities of any kind that must be done in settling the affairs of someone who has died, AND in a narrow sense of the legal “probate estate,” probate assets and activities. The probate assets and estate are anything left behind that was owned, titled and registered in the name of the decedent only, without any living beneficiary or joint owner with right of survivorship named.

What is probate and when and why is it needed? It’s a process of supervision by local officials, through the paperwork you file, after you are appointed to conduct these activities. You need to undertake probate sometimes in order to get access to the probate assets held by others, e.g. banks, with no beneficiary.

What rules apply to PA estate administration? PA law, always; US tax law and IRS rules; PA tax laws; the terms and provisions of a Will, and Judges’ rulings, if there is litigation. The vast majority of the time,

my estates clients never see a Judge.

Who are the participants? The person who died is often called the decedent, or if they left a written Will, the testator. The person appointed to be in charge is the Executor, when named under a Will, or Administrator. Those inheriting are beneficiaries if named to inherit in a Will or named on a Pay on Death or Transfer on Death endorsement on an account or policy. People who inherit when there is no Will and/or no beneficiary named are usually called heirs or heirs-at-law, under PA’s law of Inheritance.

What goes into an estate? Anything of value. Real estate interests, deposits, investments, retirement accounts, business interests, vehicles, and tangible items such as jewelry.

What comes out? Anything that needs to be paid. Debts owed by the decedent during their lifetime, e.g. mortgages, credit cards, medical bills; expenses of administration e.g. costs of sale of real estate, attorney fees, tax prep; various taxes; Executor or Administrator compensation if they choose to be paid for their work, and more.

PA Inheritance Tax applies when a PA resident has died, no matter where the recipient lives, and applies to everything left behind except not to life insurance on the life of the decedent, and occasionally not to retirement funds. The tax rate on the net estate varies depending on who’s inheriting. Gifts given away too soon prior to death are taxed as if the decedent still owned the property.

What timing and deadlines apply? First, advanced planning happens during one’s own lifetime, If you don’t address your own estate planning needs while you are here, you’ll be letting other people make important decisions for you. Consult with an expert advisor and make a Will, also Powers of Attorney and maybe a Trust, if you haven’t already.

The estate administration, probate and inheritance parts begin after someone has died. PA Inheritance deadlines

begin at three months after the date of death for an early estimated discount payment, nine months for a filing a return and paying tax, and fifteen months on extension. Unpaid PA Inheritance tax accrues interest, even after a late start in working on the estate.

Income tax due dates for the estate itself as a separate taxpayer can vary. A decedent’s own final personal income return is due on the usual calendar basis, i.e. usually on April 15th.

Once probate is opened, various time requirements apply for filing assorted reports, notices, and certifications. under the rules. Perhaps surprisingly, there is no specific overall deadline for completing all the steps in the process. BUT, needless delays can make your own job harder, AND heirs and beneficiaries don’t like to wait unnecessarily either, and may complain.

Where does all this take place? In the state where the person who passed resided at their passing, and usually in the county of their residence.

Other taxes may also apply and cause your estate to shrink. Deferred income tax is always due and payable by the recipient on all inherited tax qualified retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401k’s etc. though when the tax is due may vary. Finally, Federal Gift and Estate Tax only applies to multi-, multi-millionaires who leave behind more than $15 million per person or $30 million per couple in 2026.

mhm@a-h.law

NEW FIRM MAIN OFFICE

3960 William Flinn Highway (Route 8) Allison Park, PA 15101 10 minutes closer to town! (412)486-6624

In turbulent times, the Torah reminds us that struggle can bring creation

ne can hardly read the news today without feeling like the world as we have known it is coming to an end. I do not need to detail in this space all of the ways in which the forces of politics and war and cultural battles are pulling us all in opposite directions, such that we may very well ask if there is any middle ground, any possibility of compromise, that may in fact exist. To me, these last few years have become so emotion-

Throughout

According to Ramban, Rivqah is so desperate for the pain to stop that she is thinking that she would be better off dead, a particularly dark take. And yet, from our perspective, had all of this not unfolded in this way, none of us would be here. There would be no Israel, no Torah, no Jews. So we know then that no matter how much Rivqah wishes never to have been born, her desperation and suffering were essential to bringing Torah to the world.

Throughout Jewish history, there have been periods of cataclysm followed by rebuilding and the creation of new institutions. Hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt turned a family into a people. Destruction

ally challenging that I have cut back on my news consumption. I have even found that the late-night TV funny guys are less funny, because they keep pushing the same buttons over and over, reminding us all how awful everything is, and how seeking common ground might as well be a lost cause. We might very well ask ourselves the same question that our matriarch Rivqah asks herself up front in Parashat Toledot, when she finds herself physically and emotionally torn apart by the twins in her womb, who are locked in permanent struggle (Bereshit 25:22): “Im ken, lamah zeh anokhi?” The text seems to be missing a verb; if one assumes the verb “to be,” which is often implicit in Hebrew, her question might be read literally as, “If so, why am I this?” Defective verses are often fertile ground for commentators: Ramban first disses Rashi’s explanation (“If this was going to be so painful, why did I pray so fervently for it?”), and then offers the following gloss: “If only I did not exist; if only I could die or never have been born!”

of the Second Temple by the Romans two millennia ago led to the formation of what we call Judaism today. Although the wheels of Zionism were turning for a century prior, the devastation of the Shoah hastened the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Perhaps the painful struggles and deep rifts of today’s world are signs that humanity is about to give birth to something big, something that will bring us light and truth and freedom.

It is perhaps too easy, and maybe also playing into the hands of those who profit from impending doom, simply to turn away, throw up our hands and say, “This stinks. Get me outta here.” The greater challenge that we all should rather take up is, in assessing the state of affairs, to reach higher, to hope more grandly, to seek peace and pursue it. PJC

Rabbi Seth Adelson is senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.

Obituaries

COHEN: Melanie Jill Cohen, on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. Loving daughter of Marlene Terkel and the late Howard Cohen. Stepdaughter of Denise Cohen. Cherished sister of Lori Schiller. Aunt of Sophie and Allie Schiller. Niece of Marilyn (Roger) Galbraith of Irwin and Martin (Shelly) Kaufman of New York. Melanie will be loved and remembered by all who knew her. Graveside service and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Animal Friends, 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com

HARRIS: Josephine Michelle Harris (née Agostinelli), Feb. 3, 1957 – Nov. 15, 2025 Known to everyone as Jody Harris, 68, of Pittsburgh, passed away suddenly on Nov. 15, 2025. Born Feb. 3, 1957, in Bridgeport, Ohio to the late Chief John Agostinelli Jr. and Josephine Agostinelli (née Shaheen). The middle of three children, Jody was also preceded in death by her sister, Susan Travis, whom she now joins in eternal rest. Jody lived her life with taste and intention, defined by her warm and selfless nature, whatever she could fit in a schlepper bag and a hot coffee in hand — with extra cream, always. A world traveler with a palate for the finest foods, Jody embraced every opportunity to experience something new. She loved her 40-plus year career in travel, turning clients into lifelong friends. She showed her daughters that the best gifts in life were experiences, memories made by saying “yes” to every adventure, trip and cultural opportunity that presented itself. Her girls will forever carry that spirit and her voice of meticulous etiquette with them. She will be deeply missed on every journey she eagerly anticipated. Jody is survived by her children, Rachel (Ryan) Springer and Rebecca Harris; her brother, John “Buck” Agostinelli III; niece and nephews, cousins and many special friends. In Jody’s own words, and in the spirit with which she lived her life: “Bon Voyage!” Graveside services and interment were held at Weeks Cemetery, Starlight Drive (Township Road 478 / State Rt 250), Bridgeport, Ohio 43912. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to, or you can volunteer at, your local food pantry/soup kitchen or the Jewish Family

D’Alessandro Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd.

“Always A Higher Standard”

Dustin A. D’Alessandro, Supervisor • Daniel T. D’Alessandro, Funeral Director 4522 Butler St. • Pittsburgh, PA 15201 (412) 682-6500 • www.dalessandroltd.com

and Community Services Pittsburgh (jfcspgh.org) or Chabad of the South Hills Pittsburgh (chabadsh.com). schugar.com

LEWIS: Gertrude Lewis, formerly of Westfield, New Jersey, and Estero, Florida, died after a long illness. She was 96 years old and had lived at Stein Assisted Living in Somerset for the last nine years. Gertrude was the youngest child of Theodore C. Jay and Lillian Greenbaum Jay. She was born in South Orange, New Jersey, and was delivered literally on the kitchen table by her grandfather Dr. Solomon Greenbaum, one of the founding doctors of Beth Israel Hospital in Newark. She graduated from Columbia High School, attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated from Rutgers with a degree in business administration. In 1950, Gert married Edward Lewis. They were married until his death in 2010. They enjoyed many years of happy travels all over the world. Gert was a stay-at-home mother for 10 years while raising daughters Ellen, Karen and Nancy. During that time, she did volunteer work as a Brownie leader and in the Sisterhood at Temple Emanu-El. In the early 1960s, she entered a Ford Foundation program for Retraining in Mathematics for College Women. She became a computer programmer and eventually retired as deputy associate director of the Computer Center on the Rutgers main campus. Gert began researching family history back in the 1970s and after retiring, she purchased a computer and enrolled in a genealogy class at Edison Community College in Fort Myers, Florida. Her research resulted in three self-published “Family Saga” books, of which she was quite proud. Gert and Ed were snowbirds for 20 years, spending half the year in Estero, Florida, and the other half down the Jersey shore. They were proud grandparents of Gideon (Carol), Micah (Sydnie), Nathan, Noah (Vina), Rebecca and Zachary (Courtney). Gert was blessed with seven great-grandchildren, Solomon, Theodor, Orley, Evie, Aurelia, Gemma and Charlotte. In addition to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she leaves behind her daughters, (Rabbi) Ellen Lewis, Karen Levin and Nancy Golden (Fred). She was predeceased by her brother Theodore Jay Jr. and her sister Kaki Levin. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made in Gert’s memory to the Levin family memorial fund at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh PA, 15217.

SUCOV: Ellen (Elka) Goldstein Benswanger Sucov passed away quietly of natural causes in the early morning of Oct. 21 in Jerusalem, Israel. She was 93 years old. Ellen is survived by her devoted children, Lynn (Steve) Benswanger, Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and Shimon/Jim (Rochel) Benswanger, Telz-Stone, Israel, several adoring Israeli grandchildren and many treasured Israeli great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her stepchildren, Joshua, Henry and Andrew Sucov. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Eugene. Ellen was born in Buffalo, New York. She attended Lafayette High School in Buffalo and then the School of Music at Carnegie Institute of Technology (“Carnegie Tech,” now CMU) in Pittsburgh. Throughout her life, Ellen was sustained by her passion for music and those

Please see Obituaries, page 20

Sylvia and Norman Elias

Sherwin E. Glasser

Edward M. Goldston Z"L

Gertrude Glasser

Charlie Brown

Edward M. Goldston Z"L Fruma Chaya Leebov

Carol and Richard Margolis

Karen K. Shapiro

Louis David Simon

Sadie Levy

Contact the Development department at 412-586-2690 or development@jaapgh.org for more information. THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —

Sunday November 23: Miriam Abramovitz, Martin Bass, Bernard Israel Bernstein, William Finkel, Samson Finn, Hermina Gropper, Lillian Karp Grossman, Goldie Handelsman, Celia Harris, Anna Miller, Harriet M. Nicholson, Harry Seiavitch, Sarah Silberblatt, Goldie W. Stein, Irving Troffkin, Sylvia S. Vinocur, Molly Weiss

Monday November 24: Irving Broverman, Abraham J. Caplan, Sam A. Caplan, Dr. Samuel Cirota, Louis Daniels, Harry Gomberg, Bernard J. Grinberg, Isadore Kurfeerst, Esther Cohen Lubovsky, Dorothy Miller, Leah Rosen, Rae F. Schwartz, Sara Schwartz, George Stern

Tuesday November 25: Hyman Balis, Bessie Glantz Bauman, Martin A. Berezin, Norman Black, Charles G. Brown, Charlie Brown, Dr. Frederick Carlton, Joseph Chernovitz, Abe M. Cohen, Esther Eisman, Carle Joseph Enelow, Yetta Gerson, Selma Jeremias Kostova, Abe Kotovsky, Susan Lippard, David Isadore Mandelblatt, Seymour H. Miller, Irving Nixon, Anna E. Reubin, Sidney Rosenfeld, Fannie Katzman Rubenstein, Walter Sigel, William Weinberg, Florence Bella Wolf

Wednesday November 26: Hannah R. Adler, Shirley Ankin, Minnie Berkovitz, Wilfred Irwin Berman, Bernard Caplan, Harriet Friedlander, David Glick, Gerald Goldberg, Mildred Levinson, Sadie Levy, Celia Maglin Lupovitz, Samuel Margolis, Louis Rapport, William Rosenbloom, Charles Saltsburg, Thelma Sapir, Freda Schwartz, Samuel F. Shaeffer, Michael Supowitz, Elizabeth Kramer Swartz, Solomon Weinstein, Robert H. Wolf, Leo Arthur Zober

Thursday November 27: Max Cohen, Helen Pearl Cushner, Max Engelberg, Arthur Firestone, Annie Friedman, Gertrude Glasser, Samuel Morris Goodman, Evelyn B. Letwin, Norman H. Marcus, Rosa Rokhkind, Jeannette Samuels, Mildred Schoenberger, Samuel Silverman, Jean Walters

Friday November 28: Joseph Bardin, Ida G. Barniker, Emma Eligator, Nathan Granoff, Abe Herman, David Kaufman, David Klein, Fruma Chaya Leebov, Rachel Levy, Rose Rosenberg, Lucy Sachnoff

Saturday November 29: Benjamin Aberman, Cecelia Edith Greenberger, Milton E. Helfer, Sarah Herring, Bertha Brown Horovitz, Samuel Kaufman, Adolph Lefkowitz, Bessie Jenoff Lincoff, Dorothy Margolis, Lester Marshall, Harry Meyers, William Rakusin, Charles Ruttenberg, Israel J. Saul, Louis David Simon, Judy Smalley, Samuel Westerman

Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: A gift from ... In memory of...

Mrs. Caplan

Bernard Caplan

Dorothy M. Brill

Obituaries

Obituaries:

Continued from page 19

who made it. She began taking piano lessons when she was 3 years old and in her teens she spent her summers at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, where she played with the youth orchestra. In the summer of 1949, she met her future husband, Bill Benswanger, also a musician who had recently graduated from Carnegie Tech. After her marriage, Ellen moved to Pittsburgh and attended Duquesne University, where in 1965 she earned a B.S. in music education and sang with the student chorus. She went on to earn her M.A. and PhD in psychology at Duquesne. She worked as a public school psychologist with the Pittsburgh Board of Education and later with the Head Start program as well as with the Office of Education and Regional Programming at the Western Psychiatric Institute, University of Pittsburgh. Ellen and Bill divorced amicably in 1969 and remained friends throughout her lifetime. Ellen especially cherished her ongoing relationship with her mother-in-law, Eleanor Benswanger. In 1970, a close childhood friend persuaded Ellen to join her on what turned out to be a life-changing 10-day tour of Israel. She returned for brief visits whenever she could and spent the year 1975-1976 serving as a visiting psychologist at the Jerusalem Mental Health Clinic. In 1982, Ellen married Eugene Sucov, a physicist then working at Westinghouse. After retirement, she and Gene divided their lives between Pittsburgh and Jerusalem for several years and then between Providence, Rhode Island, and Jerusalem for four years. In 2013, they moved permanently to Jerusalem and made aliya the following year. In Israel, Ellen remained active in her dedication to helping others. She formed and led therapeutic support groups, including one for those facing the challenges of caring or a spouse with dementia and another for women navigating the complexities of living without a partner. Ellen will be remembered for her abundant kindness, empathy and generosity, her devotion to family, Yiddishkeit and Eretz Yisrael, and her ability to reach out to those in need of comfort and compassion. She was a rare and special woman who brought light to the lives of all who were fortunate enough to know her. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Jewish National Fund, American Friends of Yad Sarah, or a charity of your choice. PJC

In world first, Israeli scientists use RNA-based gene therapy Headlines

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at Tel Aviv University, leading a large-scale international team of scientists, say they have identified — and neutralized — an RNA molecule that can stop the nerve cell damage that causes paralysis in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS.

Now they hope they can use the discovery to help patients with the fatal illness.

“Make your life a mission – not an intermission.”

“When we added a specific RNA molecule to human cells and animal models for ALS, the nerve cells stopped degenerating and even regenerated,” said Prof. Eran Perlson from the Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, speaking to The Times of Israel.

Their study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Neuroscience, opens a new avenue for treating the disease.

“We wanted to get to the root of the matter of what causes ALS to enable the development of effective drugs for this incurable disease,” Perlson said. The team used mice that had been genetically modified to serve as a “biological stand-in” for the disease.

The research was led by Dr. Ariel Ionescu, Dr. Lior Ankol, and lab manager Tal Pery Gradus in collaboration with Dr. Amir Dori, senior neurologist and head of the Neuromuscular Disease Unit at Sheba Medical Center. Additional participants included researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and research institutions in France, Turkey, and Italy.

About ALS

ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative condition that affects motor neurons — the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Over time, the disease causes gradual paralysis of all muscles in the body.

Patients typically lose their ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe, often becoming completely paralyzed while their cognitive skills remain intact.

“Most patients die within three to five years of diagnosis, due to paralysis of the diaphragm muscles and respiratory failure,” said Perlson.

There are currently some 600 ALS patients in Israel, according to Efrat Carmi, CEO for IsrALS, the Israeli Research Association.

In ALS, the neuromuscular junctions, where nerve fibers meet muscle cells and transmit electrical signals from the brain to the muscles, are disrupted.

trouble in ALS patients

The current study continues research from Perlson’s lab about microRNAs, the small molecules that regulate the translation of proteins and play an important role in many other cellular processes.

In an earlier study, Perlson and his team found that a protein called TDP-43 formed toxic clusters at the tip of the nerve, where it meets the muscle.

In healthy bodies, the TDP-43 helps regulate how proteins are made in cells. But in ALS, it becomes unstable. To find out why this happens, the researchers studied tissues from ALS patients, mice that mimic having the disease and human stem cell cultures.

Their experiments revealed that muscle cells produce tiny RNA molecules called microRNA-126.

The muscle cells then send them in tiny bubbles, called vesicles, across the small gap between nerve and muscle cells.

These microRNAs act like messengers that tell the nerve cells when to stop making TDP-43. Without the microRNA, TDP-43 continues to build up and becomes toxic.

“We discovered that in ALS, the muscle produces a smaller amount of microRNA-126,” said Ionescu. The decrease in this microRNA leads to an increase in the dangerous TDP-43. The excessive TDP-43 then forms toxic clusters. These clumps attack the mitochondria, the essential molecules inside cells that turn food and oxygen into energy so the cell can work, move, and stay alive.

The damage is so great that it gradually destroys motor neurons, “leaving patients’ muscles paralyzed,” Ionescu said.

However, when the researchers added extra microRNA-126 to tissues from ALS patients and to mice with the disease, the process reversed.

Zevik Melamed, the principal investigator at the Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Neuroscience at Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Medicine, said the study “suggests that protecting communication between muscles and nerves might be just as important as targeting neurons directly.”

“This is a real shift in how we think about preventing paralysis in ALS,” Melamed, who was not involved in the study, told The Times of Israel in a written comment.

The study can be the basis for gene therapy for ALS, Perlson said.

“The next step is taking it to clinical trials,” he said. PJC

p Professor Eran Perlson of the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, center, with Dr. Ariel Ionescu, left, and PhD student Tal Pery Gradus. Photo courtesy of Tel Aviv University

pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PENDING

First time offered

Magnificent showplace. Large 4+ bedroom home on large lot. With a magnificent covered porch. Home is bright and airy center hall with exciting kitchen and first floor laundry. See the great bathrooms and more.

SHADYSIDE • $495,000

First time offered

Close to shopping and restaurants. Large charming 5 bedroom home with off street parking. Hardwood floors open kitchen and more.

3 bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, balcony, 2 indoor parking spaces, full-time building attendant, guest suite, exercise room, own storage room, great amenities in this luxury building.

OAKLAND - THE MADISON • $768,000 220 N Bellefield, Unit #1003

Light-filled spacious 3 bedroom, in-unit laundry, unbelievable closets. Great terrace, 2 parking spaces. Party room, guest suite, exercise room and great storage room. Luxury living near universities, hospitals and more. SQUIRREL HILL • N OF FORBES • $1,195,000

Life & Culture

By Hannah Feuer | Forward

For Negin Nader Bazrafkan, Yiddish lessons have been an unexpected perk of moving into her Upper West Side apartment.

Her roommate — and unofficial Yiddish teacher — is 96-year-old Rebecca Schull, a retired actress best known for her roles as Fay Cochran on the sitcom “Wings” and as protagonist Mike Ross’ grandmother on “Suits.” From Schull, Bazrafkan has learned words like chutzpah, schmuck, simcha, klutz, schmutz, and faynshmeker. Her favorite is tuches, slang for buttocks, a word that makes them both laugh and their cheeks flush.

The unlikely roommates’ 61-year age gap might raise eyebrows on its own. But for some of Bazrafkan’s friends, it’s the fact that she’s Muslim and Schull is Jewish that stands out most.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Isn’t it hard, after October 7, to live with a Jewish person with Israeli roots?’” she said. “And I tell them, ‘No, it’s really not hard at all.’”

In fact, Bazrafkan had hoped to live with an older Jewish woman. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, her parents fled Shiraz, Iran — a city once home to a significant Jewish community — and resettled in Denmark, where she grew up. Her mother often reminisced about her childhood Jewish friends and encouraged

her daughter to connect with people from different backgrounds.

So when Bazrafkan moved to New York City in January 2023, she made it a priority

to experience Jewish culture firsthand. While pursuing a Master of Laws at Fordham University, she was a fellow at the American Jewish Committee and worked at Fordham’s Center for Jewish Studies; often, she was the only Muslim in the room.

“I could stay in my own lane. I could have Muslim friends, European friends and all of that, but I already have that,” she said.

“She has a joie de vivre [joy for living], an openness, an incredible caring, compassionate nature,” Meeks said. “It’s beyond a blessing.”

Bazrafkan has also brought touches of Persian Jewish culture, teaching Schull about Queen Esther’s Persian roots and cooking gondi — a Persian Jewish chicken soup with chickpea flour dumplings — for a Passover seder they hosted last spring.

“We do it by the book,” Bazrafkan said.

About two years ago, Bazrafkan posted online that she was looking for a room on the Upper West Side, preferably with an older Jewish roommate. The New York Foundation for Senior Citizens matched her with Schull, who had a spare bedroom in her two-bedroom apartment with views of the Hudson River.

It was also an ideal fit for Schull, who didn’t want to live alone after her husband, Gene, died in 2008.

The two women clicked immediately.

“It’s like destiny,” Bazrafkan said. “That’s what I felt.”

Schull and Bazrafkan welcomed me into their apartment where they served baklava, toast, jam and assorted fruit — in the same living room, Schull noted, where her grandson had his bris. “This apartment has a lot of history,” Schull said.

The two quickly outgrew the label of roommates, forming a bond they describe more like that of an adoptive mother and daughter. They walk together in nearby Straus Park and bond over old movies like “Ninotchka,” a 1939 romantic comedy about a Soviet diplomat played by Greta Garbo who is sent to Paris. Bazrafkan cooks for Schull and files her fan mail; in exchange, Schull braids Bazrafkan’s waist-length ombré hair.

“It’s nice to be with somebody who’s not on their phone, watching reels, or worrying about a Tinder date,” Bazrafkan said. “People nowadays — they don’t even read a book anymore!”

Schull’s daughter Elly Meeks also described Bazrafkan as a member of the family.

“Well, sort of,” Schull said and laughed. “We took a stab at the Haggadah.”

Bazrafkan’s curiosity about Jewish heritage extends to Israel. Schull told her about her family’s deep commitment to Zionism: Her mother grew up in what was then Palestine, and her father was the first executive director of what’s now the American Technion Society — a nonprofit that fundraises for an Israeli university and was co-founded by Albert Einstein, whose signed portrait hangs in Schull’s apartment.

A small Israeli flag sits on a cabinet, and the walls are lined with paintings of Jerusalem by Schull’s uncle, Israeli artist Nachum Gutman.

None of that bothers Bazrafkan, who said she believes deeply in coexistence and is holding out hope for a two-state solution. Living with Schull, she said, has helped her process the Israel-Hamas war and tensions surrounding the New York City mayoral election — because it keeps her from growing overly pessimistic.

“In these times of war, there’s something healing about it,” Bazrafkan said. “I think I would feel worse if I didn’t live with Rebecca.”

If a pair of roommates can bridge decades and faiths, she added, perhaps it’s a small sign of hope for the world. PJC

This story was originally published on the Forward. To get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox, go to forward.com/newsletters.

p Negin Nader Bazrafkan and Rebecca Schull

Photo courtesy of Negin Nader Bazrafkan

Community

Raising a topic

Speaking in the south

During this year’s Ruth and Bernard Levaur Contemporary Lecture, Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Gefsky Community Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, discussed the millions of dollars being spent on stopping antisemitism.

Macher and Shaker

received the Helen Fallon Young Communicator Award from the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh at its annual dinner on Nov. 12.

Julie Paris, Mid-Atlantic regional director of StandWithUs, spoke at Temple Beth Israel in Longboat Key, Florida. The Nov. 16 event, planned by Pittsburghers, was titled, “Protect Our Jewish Community: A Call to Action Against Rising Antisemitism.”

Hillel JUC welcomed University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University students to Kol Yisrael Learning Fellowship, a meetup examining the relationship between the Jewish Diaspora and Israel. Students and staff explored concepts of identity, responsibility, home and homeland.

p

Photo courtesy of Rodef Shalom Congregation

p

Home and homeland at Hillel JUC

Emma Riva

p to the Chronicle.

What a ball

Temple David in Monroeville held its first annual Matzah Ball Fundraiser. The Nov. 8 event benefitted Temple David’s Sisterhood.

p Monroeville ballers

Photo courtesy of Temple David

CHAIRS: