Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 8-29-25

JAA unveils new senior residences, centered on community and Jewish values

to the campus.

“People are going to move here, not just because there’s a good view of the river, but because they want to be a part of a community of people that they grew up with or remain friends with,” he said. “They will move here and still be able to connect to people that aren’t here, but there will be a unique

The campus will grow, develop and expand based on the wants and needs of the community, explained JAA Board Chair Glen Feinberg. “We’re at the front end of doing surveys and focus groups to get specifics,” he said. “What amenities does the community want? What do we need? What can create a sense of community? What can draw Riverview into

That community involvement will go beyond the physicality of the JAA’s campus, according to Mary Anne Foley, JAA president

“For personal care, which is the first phase of the project, when individuals move in, rather than us developing what the activity schedule needs to look like, we’re going to survey

To put it another way, Plung said, “The idea is an intentional desire to create

That community might begin with JAA’s “wraparound services” that typically occur in a person’s home or off campus, and may continue if a person moves into the organization’s independent living units. The personal care units will be available if a person’s doctor determines there is a need, as will the AHAVA Memory Care Residence.

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Sta Writer

As Rodef Shalom Congregation and Temple Sinai work toward a shared future, their religious schools are following suit. Starting this fall, J-JEP and NextDOR will collectively operate as the “Unified Religious School.”

“It’s pronounced, ‘Yours.’ Get it? Yours,” Rabbi Larry Freedman said. “That’s our working title. It needs some work.”

Like its title, the educational institution is undergoing development.

According to Freedman, URS’ director, the school is creating a model infused with its predecessors’ strengths.

Before Rodef Shalom and Temple Sinai’s unification, each congregation maintained a religious school. Rodef Shalom, along with Congregation Beth Shalom, operated J-JEP, a religious school serving students from both congregations. Temple Sinai operated NextDOR.

“J-JEP had a very strong lower grade program — lots of topics, lots of activities — but no high school program,” Freedman said. NextDOR, he continued, offered a meaningful program for teens.

Meet Sami Weiss

Chabad Young Professionals celebrate

Lynda Heyman gets national Hadassah role

as Passport"

exhibit opens

 Students surround a Torah.

Photo courtesy of J-JEP

 There are plenty of common spaces for residents to gather in JAA’s new personal care residence. Photo courtesy of the Jewish Association on Aging

Headlines

Getting to know: Sami Weiss

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Sami Weiss is used to being in the news; for years she made it. As a college student at University of South Florida, Weiss studied broadcast journalism.

Heading through school, Weiss imag ined life as a sideline reporter. Whether for ESPN or another network, Weiss, 23, envi sioned a career in which she’d offer midgame updates and insights.

One trip, however, forced an audible.

“In May of 2023 I decided to go on Birthright,” she said.

The then-undergraduate wasn’t partic ularly involved with Hillel on campus. Her community, she said, primarily came through her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. “I was just one of those Greek students that was going to use Hillel for Birthright.”

Like several hundred thousand Jewish college students before her, Weiss went on the free 10-day trip to Israel.

“It changed my life,” she said. “I came back wanting to do Shabbat every week, wanting to learn more about my Judaism, my faith — really dig deeper into it — wanting to be involved in the community and share what I had learned,” she said.

Months later, Weiss’ perspective changed again.

Following Oct. 7, 2023, she started seeing news from a new angle. Both from the stories that followed Hamas’ attack on Israel, and comments “some professors” made, Weiss said she began considering a different path.

“I heard about jobs through Hillel,” she said. A new role had opened at Hillel JUC in Pittsburgh.

The position, as described by Dan Marcus, the organization’s executive director and CEO, required someone who could

members at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and who would encourage them to participate in Birthright. Weiss researched the position and deemed it a perfect fit.

“I knew I wanted to be in the Jewish world, in some capacity, post-graduation,” she said. “I’m really happy that I landed at Hillel JUC.”

In late July, the newly-hired Jewish professional arrived in Pittsburgh. Apart from a separate weekend apartment hunting, Weiss had never before visited the city. Born in Montreal, she moved to Orlando at age 3.

Pittsburgh presented an immediate change.

“I remember my first time driving to the Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill and just seeing people walk around with tzitzit or kippot or long skirts. And I’m coming from a community where we had to hide that stuff for a while or else we would have gotten yelled at

and spit on,” she said.

people exhibited Judaism with pride — a sentiment that wasn’t only expressed in Squirrel Hill, she continued. “I heard from students about how they feel being on campus, and just how strong the Jewish community of Pittsburgh is, and it’s really inspiring.”

A quiet summer is now over and Oakland is buzzing again. Classes are back in session. Students are packing public buses, rushing between buildings and ambling across Forbes Avenue.

Weiss is eager to connect with as many Jewish undergraduates as possible. For those students who belong to fraternities and sororities, she sees herself offering a unique perspective.

“If there’s an issue in their chapter, and they don’t know who to go to — or they experience some sort of antisemitism — I

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can be that person that they can rely on and talk to,” she said. “I had a community within my sorority, but there were some girls that didn’t necessarily agree with my point of view, and Hillel was there for me to be a

Allowing students to see “why I found Hillel to be such a phenomenal place,” is one goal. But there’s another charge, she said. She wants students to feel comfortable and supported in expressing their Jewish identity.

"And if something happens and you don’t feel safe around somebody, or if you kind of start to lose that community, I want to be there for them and help them navigate it, help them figure out how to educate and really teach, but also learn themselves.” PJC

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

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Photo courtesy of Sami Weiss

p Sami Weiss is Greek Life & IACT Coordinator at Hillel JUC. Photo courtesy of Sami Weiss

Headlines

Chabad Young Professionals’ Summer Soirée: An annual event to remember

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Chabad Young Professionals’ Summer Soirée has become a mid-season tradition for many young Jewish adults in Pittsburgh.

“In the very early days of CYP, probably six years ago, one of the young adults sitting around our table on Shabbos mentioned that he attended this event in a different city,” recalled Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld, CYP’s co-founder. “It was an end-of-summer event, and everyone came together to celebrate the Jewish community.”

Old friends caught up and new relationships were formed as people came to the community and met one another.

“It was really a celebration of Jewish life for no other reason than being Jewish,” Rosenfeld said.

The concept fit well into CYP’s core mission of connecting young adults who are no longer part of the Jewish university community, but didn’t yet fit into institutional, organized Jewish life, Rosenfeld said. While Jews find various ways to engage with the elements of Jewish life that appeal to them — holiday events, Shabbat dinners or services — an event where Jews are simply together to socialize appeals to everyone.

From that simple idea, CYP’s Summer Soirée was born.

“We had our first Summer Soirée on a rooftop in Lawrenceville in 2021,” Rosenfeld said. That event attracted 60 people.

This year, almost 200 young Jews attended the Summer Soirée.

The location, Over Eden’s rooftop bar in Lawrenceville, was no coincidence. Rosenfeld said it was important to be where young people congregate.

And, he said, it’s meaningful to bring a large Jewish event to a neighborhood not typically associated with Jewish communal life.

“Being in central Lawrenceville was a statement that you can be Jewish, and you can be proud and open to who you are no matter what Pittsburgh neighborhood you’re in,” he said.

The location was just one part of the equation. Food was provided by Creative Kosher; drinks were supervised by Rosenfeld to ensure they met kashrut requirements.

The annual celebration has become an eagerly anticipated event. Several attendees come in from far-flung locations like Maryland and California.

For many local young adults, the soirée has become not only an evening not to miss, but one they want to support.

Stanton Heights resident Eli LaBelle, 35, said a friend first introduced him to Rosenfeld and CYP. Over the years, he’s attended various events and Shabbat dinners. The environment that Rosenfeld and the organization have fostered is very

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania and rabbi of the Lubavitch Center of Pittsburgh, called CYP “one of the most important and exciting developments in Jewish life today.”

engaging, he said.

“It’s very accessible. No one feels judged. It doesn’t feel like a pocketed community within the Jewish community. It’s so open. I keep wanting to go back. I’ve been going to the Summer Soirée since it started.”

LaBelle’s support of CYP and the Summer Soirée is more than simply vocal. He’s become a sponsor of the event.

“I really believe in the mission and what he’s doing and how he pulls new people in,” LaBelle said. “Anything I’m able to do to help, I’m happy to do that. He’s been a good friend to me and my friends and I want to make sure other people have that opportunity.”

Host committee member Leah BermanKress, 26, said that after college a lot of her friends moved away from Pittsburgh.

“I was not alone — I’m from the city, I’m from here, I had people — but I was interested in meeting people my own age, definitely more Jewish people. They [CYP] filled that hole,” she said.

The Summer Soirée is something she looks forward to each year.

“I always meet really nice new people and it’s great to see them again at this big event because it can be intimidating to be at an

event with 150 people and you don’t know anyone,” Berman-Kress said.

She was asked to be a part of the host committee by Rosenfeld’s wife, Sarah Rosenfeld, after attending various CYP programs, including Shabbat dinners the first Friday of each month.

“I was happy to do it,” Berman-Kress said. “They really do the heavy lifting, but I was happy to help where I could and do the fun stuff. They’re really wonderful.”

This year’s Summer Soirée was the first CYP event 24-year-old Molly Goss attended.

“It was a blast,” she said. “I didn’t want the night to end.”

Goss lives outside of Monroeville, where, she said, there “aren’t many people my age.” That fact sometimes left her feeling not quite isolated, but “independent.”

CYP has helped ease that feeling.

“The food was great. The people were great. The drinks were great,” she said. “The vibe was a lot of fun. I was very shy at first and was bouncing back and forth about whether I should go. I’m so glad I went. I feel like a lot of young people might feel the same way, intimidated by the social aspect, but it was a perfect evening.”

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania and rabbi of the Lubavitch Center of Pittsburgh, called CYP “one of the most important and exciting developments in Jewish life today.”

The organization, he said, fills a unique and often overlooked space, reaching young adults “at a formative stage, helping them build Jewish identity, friendships and community from the ground up.”

“The fact that the Summer Soirée draws such a strong and diverse crowd speaks volumes,” he said. “It’s not just about numbers, it’s about what those numbers represent: young Jews choosing to show up, connect, and celebrate their heritage in a meaningful and joyful way. That’s exactly the kind of Jewish future Chabad of Western PA is proud to foster in all of our centers.”

For Henoch Rosenfeld, the reason the Summer Soirée is so successful is simple.

“No matter what world we’re going to live in, there will always be a need for people to connect with each other,” he said. PJC

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

p More than 200 people attended Chabad Young Professionals’ Summer Soirée. Photo courtesy of Chabad Young Professionals

Headlines

Pittsburgh’s Lynda Heyman rises to national Hadassah leadership

By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle

When Lynda Heyman of Monroeville joined Hadassah 43 years ago — with a lifetime membership gifted by her mother-in-law — its mission of empowering women to effect change resonated.

While growing her family and her own tax and accounting firm, Heyman felt increas ingly drawn to the breadth of Hadassah’s work, from funding health care and medical research to combatting antisemitism to providing services to at-risk Israeli youth.

She became active in the Pittsburgh chapter, Rishon, and rose through the ranks to serve on the national board in 2014.

Heyman, 69, reached a milestone in her volunteer career in August when she was elected to be a national vice president.

“I’m so excited about this,” she said. “It has been my goal for a long time and puts me on the executive committee where I can help direct us toward our next hundred years.”

Heyman’s love of numbers first earned her a seat on Hadassah’s national finance committee in 2015 and was pivotal in her new appointment.

“With my financial background,” she said, “I can help get us through some national challenges.”

They include increasing membership — currently about 300,000 — and donor support in a fluctuating economy, she said. “We have to keep an eye on things that might affect donors. We try to raise more every year, and some years we have to pivot.”

Post-COVID, Hadassah launched Hadassah Evolve: The Next Generation, a new program aimed at encouraging women under age 55 to organize small, localized groups that set their own agendas.

“The key to engaging younger people is to meet them where they are most interested,” Heyman said, noting that there are 27 Evolve groups with an additional 25 forming across the country, including in Pittsburgh. “They get to pick the direction they want to take, whether it’s advocacy for reproductive rights, hospitals in Israel, or any of the other parts of our mission.”

Heyman was 26 and a newlywed when she became a third-generation Hadassah member. She started her accounting firm while pregnant with her first child and found that working from home allowed her to integrate Hadassah with the demands of family and business.

“In those days, I was doing tax returns by hand; there was no computer. And I was working just a couple of months a year, during tax season,” she said. “I would take my kids with me to Hadassah summer conferences.”

Today she has clients in 27 states and has volunteered to do tax preparation for low-income individuals through AARP and the IRS-sponsored VITA for almost 30 years. “If I had the level of business back then that I have now I wouldn’t have been able to volunteer as much,” she said. “But it worked out well.”

Heyman sees herself as a “glass is half full kind of person” able to solve problems by “thinking outside the box.” When her congregation, Parkway Jewish Center, was unable to maintain its home, she was instrumental in finding space in a Wilkins Township office building — an unconventional move that actually boosted membership, she said.

Although her new role as a national officer in Hadassah puts her involvement on a new level, she intends to also stay active

She is co-chairing the Pittsburgh chapter’s Rekindle the Flame: Be the Light of Hadassah in partnership with Classrooms without Borders, which expands Holocaust and other learning opportunities for teachers.

More than 50 women came to the inaugural brunch at Rodef Shalom Congregation in June. A series of gatherings are planned through next spring, including some featuring Avi Ben-Hur, an eclectic Israeli educator specializing in Israel studies and Classrooms Without Borders scholar-in-residence. Winter sessions will be remote to accommodate snowbirds.

“We want to engage members who haven’t gathered since COVID, and to give members who meet in person for mahj and book clubs and those sorts of things something different to do,” Heyman said. “Anyone who wants to come is welcome.”

Helping to cultivate the next generation of Hadassah began at home for Heyman, who purchased lifetime memberships or associate memberships for her two daughters and son, their spouses and all six grandchildren, the youngest of whom is nine months. Heyman and her husband Marvin Heyman, a retired Allegheny Foundry Co. executive, are members of Hadassah’s Keepers of the Gate donor society.

“We’re five generations strong,” Heyman said. “I’m paying it forward.” PJC

Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

Ohio man found guilty of littering in case involving distribution of antisemitic propaganda

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Jeremy Brokaw was found guilty of more than 160 charges related to the distribution of antisemitic flyers in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. Fines related to the charges total more than $50,000.

Brokaw, of Zanesville, Ohio, appeared in district court on Aug. 28 to face the charges. According to testimony presented by Zone 4 Pittsburgh Police Detective Fred Wright, the antisemitic literature was thrown May 18 from a Dodge Durango, later determined to be owned by Brokaw. Doorbell cameras caught the action and the vehicle’s license plate.

Brokaw was later charged under two statutes: one prohibiting the authorization of littering from a vehicle, and one prohibiting littering on “any highway, or upon any other public or private property without the consent of the owner thereof.”

The defendant’s attorney, Joshua Smith, argued that the multiple charges should

be combined, and that his client’s alleged actions amounted to one act. He called the voluminous number of charges “inequitable.”

Smith also attempted to raise First Amendment issues, arguing that police would have most likely only charged Brokaw

once, or not at all, if the littered flyers didn’t contain antisemitic messages.

The flyers thrown from Brokaw’s vehicle contained classic antisemitic conspiracy theories including, “Every single word of the Jewish Talmud is satanic” and “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion: The

Jew’s Plan for World Domination.”

District Judge Craig Stephens appeared unmoved by Smith’s arguments, and said the defense attorney could raise those issues if he appeals the verdict.

Asked outside the courtroom if Brokaw was antisemitic, Smith didn’t answer. Instead, he called the term a “very loaded word” and maintained that his client was attempting “political advocacy.”

Asked if that advocacy was the support of antisemitism, Smith refused to answer and

Eric Kroll, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s deputy security director, said Brokaw’s actions were intended to spread hate and intimidate the Jewish community. Federation, Kroll said, appreciated the verdict and the work of law enforcement.

“We appreciate the hard work, not only for this but in keeping our community safe,” he said.

Brokaw faces a Sept. 2 summary trial in Washington County on similar charges. PJC

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

LOCAL —

LOCAL —

p Lynda Heyman

Photo courtesy of Hadassah

p Sample of the antisemitic flyers thrown from Jeremy Brokaw’s car Social media screenshot by David Rullo

Headlines

Pitt accuses anti-Zionist student group of mishandling evidence

By Toby Tabachnick | Editor

The University of Pittsburgh has asked a federal judge to levy sanctions against Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt “for failure to preserve evidence.”

The motion was filed last week in a case SJP brought against Pitt and some of its administrators in April. In its complaint, SJP alleges that Pitt violated its First Amendment rights by imposing a six-month suspension on the group. Pitt argues the suspension was warranted, as SJP

improperly attempted to influence a disciplinary committee while it was deliberating on whether an SJP-sponsored event on Feb. 4 at Hillman Library violated university policies.

The suspension is set to expire on Sept. 18.

SJP, which is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, is seeking a preliminary injunction to lift the suspension immediately so it is able to recruit new students during “Welcome Week.”

In its motion for sanctions, the university alleges that “Acting in bad faith, SJP has intentionally failed to preserve evidence that this Court has concluded

is highly relevant to SJP’s request for a preliminary injunction and which is likewise highly relevant to SJP’s broader claims at issue in this litigation.”

Pitt further alleges that SJP’s failure to preserve evidence has “unfairly prejudiced” the defendants’ ability to defend this case. As a remedy and to “deter future such conduct,” Pitt is asking the court to deny SJP’s request for a preliminary injunction and to dismiss all its claims.

SJP’s response to the university’s motion was to be filed by Aug. 26.

SJP has been a registered student organization at Pitt since at least 2009. It has hosted and participated in numerous anti-Israel and anti-Zionist events since

Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. On Instagram, SJP has reposted several unsubstantiated claims against the Jewish state, including that “Israel beheaded a child and burned displaced Palestinians alive in their tent.” The group has accused Israel of committing “genocide” and has called for both Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University to divest from Israel, while leading anti-Zionist chants at various protests and rallies.

SJP also promoted a protest of the JCC Maccabi Campus Games earlier this month. PJC

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

New kosher and halal dining options coming to CMU

As freshmen and upper classmen descended on Carnegie Mellon University for the new semester, some fresh kosher and halal dining concepts came to campus as well.

Elegant Edge Catering launched several new food offerings on Aug. 25. The expanded portfolio, according to a

news release, includes:

• Fire and Stone — a Grubhub-exclusive dinner concept featuring hand-cut, dry-brined ribeye steak, burgers, wings, grilled salmon and chicken entrées.

• Sweet Plantain — Latin-inspired dining with rotisserie Peruvian chicken, tacos and Cuban-style rice bowls.

• Manna — customizable poke bowls, sushi rolls and Asian-inspired rice bowls.

• Tahini — Mediterranean-inspired bowls,

wraps and hummus plates.

• The Edge — pizza, pastries, bagel bar and “comfort foods.”

• Zebra Lounge — coffee, pastries, bagel sandwiches and light bites.

Fire and Stone, Sweet Plantain, Manna, Tahini and The Edge are located in the Resnick House on Margaret Morrison Street; Zebra Lounge is located in the College of Fine Arts.

“We’re proud to partner with Elegant

Edge Catering to bring these exciting new dining options to Carnegie Mellon,” said Joe Beaman, director of dining services. “With the expansion of Fire and Stone, Sweet Plantain, and Manna — alongside student favorites like Tahini, The Edge, and Zebra Lounge — CMU is offering one of the most inclusive and globally-inspired campus dining programs in the country.” PJC

— Toby Tabachnick

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.

 SUNDAYS, AUG. 31-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.

 MONDAYS, SEPT. 1-29

Join the 10.27 Healing Partnership for Roll for Insight: Community-Building Role-Playing Games Meet every other week to connect and grow with new friends through playing tabletop role-playing games designed to inspire emotional depth. They will use RPGs to explore the intersection of identity, emotional resiliency and games to fight isolation and disconnection, and to meet new people and form friendships. Free. No experience required. 16 and up. 5:30 p.m. Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Ave. 1027healingpartnership.org/rpg-club.

 MONDAYS, SEPT. 1–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.

 TUESDAYS, SEPT. 2-SEPT. 16

Tree of Life Congregation will be o ering a series of four classes to prepare for the upcoming High Holidays. In these sessions led by Rabbi Je rey Myers, attendees will view the film “Bruce Almighty,” followed by discussion questions. Free. 7 p.m. Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. treeoflifepgh.org.



WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3

Join Rodef Shalom Congregation for Biblical Garden Open Door Tour: free, docent-led tour of the congregation’s Biblical Botanical Garden the first Wednesday of the month. 12:15 p.m. 4905 Fifth Avenue. rodefshalom.org/garden.

Join Chabad of the South Hills for a pre-High Holiday seniors lunch. Enjoy A delicious lunch with honey cake, a holiday program and a talk on heart health. Wheelchair accessible. Pre-registration strongly recommended. RSVP at 412-278-2658. $5 suggested donation. 1 p.m. 1701 McFarland Ave. chabadsh.com.



WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3, 8, 15

Join JFCS for Lunch & Learn: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), a three-part series designed to empower parents and guardians with skills, tools and confidence to support children with anxiety. All sessions are open to parents/guardians of school age children aged 7-18 still living in the home with a recognized anxiety disorder. Free. 1 p.m. Virtual through Zoom, link provided with registration. jfcspgh.org/event/ lunch-learn-supportive-parenting-for-anxious-child.

 WEDNESDAYS, SEPT. 3-DEC. 31

Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman presents a weekly Parshat/Torah portion class on site and online. Call 412-421-9715 for more information and the Zoom link.

Advice for the life you lead

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Andrew Oleinick, CFP® Financial Advisor andrew.oleinick@ubs.com

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Financial Advisor

Senior Vice President–Wealth Management christopher.butsko@ubs.com

Brandon Pruss

Financial Advisor Vice President–Wealth Management brandon.pruss@ubs.com

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.

 SUNDAY, SEPT. 7

Join Chabad of the South Hills for Jewish New York

Visit the Rebbe’s resting place, enjoy a Crown Heights tour, shopping, Chabad world headquarters and a delicious kosher restaurant. Flight and dinner purchased individually. $125. chabadsh.com/jny.

 TUESDAY, SEPT. 9

Join StandWithUs for its Pittsburgh Community Reception. Speakers and honorees include keynote speaker Luai Ahmed, student honorees Miriam Levari and Harrison Romero, community honoree the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and a conversation with Rona Kaufman. 5:30 p.m. Location given upon registration. standwithus.com/2025-pittsburgh-event.

 WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10

The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh presents “Inseparable: A Presentation by Holocaust Survivor Marion Lewin.” Born in Holland, Lewin survived the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen with her parents and twin brother. One of a handful of families who survived the Holocaust intact, they arrived in New York City in 1947. Today Marion and her brother, according to available data, are the only surviving twins of the Holocaust. 6:30 p.m. Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. hcofpgh.org/event/save-the-datepresentation-by-marion-lewin.

Bari Weiss, Pittsburgh native and founder of The Free Press, hosts a debate about one of the most pressing moral questions of our time: Is designing babies unethical — or a moral imperative? Free Press debates sell out quickly. Get your tickets today. 7 p.m. $40. Byham Theater, 101 6th Street. trustarts.org/production/103133.

 SUNDAY, SEPT. 14

The University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program and Rauh Jewish Archives present “O erings of Grief, O erings of Rage: Revisiting Tree of Life Synagogue and George Floyd Square.” Laura Levitt will explore how

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Oct. 19 discussion of “Sons and Daughters,” by Chaim Grade.

From Amazon.com: “Originally serialized in the 1960s and 1970s in New York–based Yiddish newspapers, Chaim Grade’s ‘Sons and Daughters’ is a precious glimpse of a way of life that is no longer — the rich Yiddish culture of Poland and Lithuania that the Holocaust would eradicate. We meet the Katzenellenbogens in the tiny village of Morehdalye, in the 1930s, when gangs of Poles are beginning to boycott Jewish merchants and the modern, secular world is pressing in on the shtetl from all sides. It’s this clash, between the freethinking secular life and a life bound by religious duty — and the comforts offered by each — that stands at the center of ‘Sons and Daughters.’”

Your hosts

Toby Tabachnick, Chronicle editor

David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer

How it works

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m.

What to do

Buy: “Sons and Daughters.” It is available at some area Barnes & Noble stores and

people individually and collectively grieve after mass, public tragedies. Her talk will illustrate how the memorial items at the George Floyd and Oct. 27 memorials, when viewed together, can teach us about racism and antisemitism. 5 p.m. JCC Katz Auditorium, 5738 Forbes Ave. 1027healingpartnership.org/event/lauralevitt.

 MONDAY, SEPT. 15

Join Chabad of the South Hills for Ladies Pre-High Holiday Fashion Show, an elegant evening where Torah wisdom meets trending style. Delicious refreshments served. 7 p.m. $10 in advance/$15 at the door. The Grey Parrot, 320 Castle Shannon Blvd. Chabadsh.com/ladies.

 MONDAY, SEPT. 15–WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17

The Eradicate Hate Global Summit brings together the world’s top minds to build relationships and solutions to reduce hate-fueled violence. 9 a.m., David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd. eradicatehatesummit.org.

 THURSDAYS, SEPT. 18, NOV. 6, JAN. 15, MARCH 12, APRIL 30, JUNE 25

In the ever-evolving landscape of legal practice, understanding the interplay between faith and governance is crucial for lawyers. Join Rabbi Schi for an engaging CLE series that explores many intriguing questions. Individual classes: $45 with credit/$40 without credit. 8:30 a.m. Virtual. For a complete list of class dates and subjects visit, Jewishpgh.org/event.

 SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

Join Rabbi Hazzan Je rey Myers for a cemetery service and visitation of your relatives and friends. 10 a.m. Tree of Life Memorial Park Cemetery, 2062 Reis Run Road, Franklin Park. treeoflifepgh.org. Pliskover Association will be having cemetery visitation (Kaver Ovot) at the Pliskover Cemetery. Sara Stock Mayo will be available to assist with prayers at your relatives’ graves. 10 a.m. 27 Green Oak Drive. pliskover.com.

 SUNDAY, OCT. 19

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its discussion of “Sons and Daughters” by Chaim Grade. 1 p.m. Email drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org for registration link. PJC

from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.

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

— Toby Tabachnick

Headlines

Working together separately

By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle

Say you visited Pittsburgh for the High Holidays in 1851. You’d find about two dozen Jewish families. They might seem similar to you: all young, European and Orthodox.

Stay long enough, though, and the differences would become clear.

Some of these families came from southern Germany, while others came from the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They spoke different languages. They used different prayer books. The Polanders were traditional. The Germans were eyeing liberalism.

And that’s before you get to the personalities.

Internal divisions between these groups guided communal decisions for the first 20 years of Jewish life here. By 1848, we had a synagogue called Shaare Shamayim. The Polanders left it in 1852 to form their own congregation, Beth Israel. Pittsburgh couldn’t support two shuls, so the factions reunited in 1853. As consolation, the Polanders kept their president, Leopold Jaroslawsky, and spiritual leader, Rev. Emanuel Marcusson.

In a report for the American Israelite in August 1854, Jaroslawsky noted that the merger had allowed the community to start a school “for instruction in the Hebrew, and English languages, translating the Pentateuch, etc., and for teaching Jewish religion in general.”

This school was short-lived. The Germans left Shaare Shamayim in 1855 to form Rodef Shalom. “Rodef Shalom” means “pursuing peace.” Rabbi Walter Jacob always believed that the name was subversive. They were “pursuing peace” by keeping their distance.

By 1856, Shaare Shamayim and Rodef Shalom were both operating small religious schools, each with about 20 students. But both schools appeared to have closed by the summer of 1857, when the Occident newspaper sent a correspondent to Pittsburgh.

The newspaper reported: “We hope … that the good sense of the Israelites of Pittsburgh will convince them that they are too few in number to afford paying rent for two meeting houses, and to pay the salary of two ministers; but that should they unite with a sincere desire to elevate their religious character, much good could be effected, and proper steps be taken to advance the careful training of the rising generation in Hebrew and religion.”

Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise of Cincinnati visited Pittsburgh in October 1857. In a report in the American Israelite, he described our growing Jewish population as “sober, industrious, and intelligent” and “fairly reckoned among the best class of society.”

Thus ended the compliments.

“As much praise as can be spoken of the social position of our brethren in Pittsburgh, as little can be said of their congregational affairs,” Wise continued. “Of the fifty resident families, thirty odd belong to two congregations. The Germans and the Poles

For the first decades of Jewish communal life here, resolving tensions within congregational affairs came at the expense of educational progress.

can not agree, and, therefore, they must have two congregations, none of which can do anything. No school for religious instruction, not a word of instruction in the Synagogue, not an idea of Judaism is promulgated to either the young or the old. They meet every Sabbath to read a set of prayers, eat kosher meat, and quarrel. That’s all.”

In an anonymous response in January 1858, a local leader — likely Jaroslawsky — revealed that a few people had tried to start a school but had failed. There weren’t enough children to make it work. If the two congregations could just merge, he lamented, the combined revenues would certainly be enough to hire a good teacher. “We have but few contentious persons among us, and even they could be gained over if they see that the disorder they produce by their onesided views, has become subject to notice by our press,” he added.

A few weeks later, a second anonymous letter out of Pittsburgh claimed that the author of the first anonymous letter had stymied efforts to start a Jewish school because he hadn’t been asked to lead it. The proposed merger was just a new means toward the same end.

Wise swung through town in August 1858, surveyed this scene, and concluded

Feldman, a wave of Protestant evangelism infiltrated public education in the late 1850s. Christian prayers and sermons were added to the end of the formal school day. The Jewish community was justifiably concerned.

A similar problem in other major American cities prompted the creation of new Jewish day schools in Philadelphia (1851), Chicago (1853), Boston, Albany, and Cincinnati (1854). A survey in 1854 found 857 students in seven Jewish day schools in New York.

With its merger, the expanded Rodef Shalom could also support a Jewish school. It opened a day school in April 1860 with 32 students. Rev. Armhold provided instruction in German and Hebrew, and Josiah Cohen was hired to provide English instruction.

The Rodef Shalom Day School got a boost in 1862 when the congregation dedicated a beautiful new synagogue on Hancock Street in downtown Pittsburgh, now Eighth Avenue. By 1863, school enrollment had nearly tripled to 90 students with two teachers.

Samuel P. Bates of the Pennsylvania Department of Education visited the Rodef Shalom Day School the following year and published a report in January 1865. He described a co-educational school with 75 students ages 5 to 15, arranged into two classes. The basic curriculum was similar to public school, but Bates was stunned to find classroom instruction gliding naturally between three languages — English, Hebrew, and German.

And yet, problems lurked.

You may have noticed a 16% drop-off in student enrollment over one school year — from 90 students in 1863 down to 75 in early 1865. What happened?

dismissively, “Everything else is in the old track. The school is not established yet.”

A subtle theme runs through these accounts, an acknowledgement that every community wrestles with disputes, but smaller communities bear the weight more heavily than larger communities. Subdivision becomes more sustainable with a critical mass of people. And in fact, our early communal disputes were resolved by immigration, not reconciliation.

As more Germans came to Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom grew. Soon, its Rev. Armhold was operating daily religious schools in Allegheny and Pittsburgh, likely boating between them. Jaroslawsky left town. Without its strongest voice, Shaare Shamayim stalled. The congregations merged in 1860 as Rodef Shalom because Rodef Shalom had a charter.

This merger was well timed. Changes were underway in public education. The School Code of 1854 had empowered local school boards to set educational priorities. The Pittsburgh Board of Education assumed control of local schools in 1855 and soon created Central High School. The Pennsylvania Department of Education began in 1857.

According to community historian Jacob

Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise visited Pittsburgh during Chanukah in December 1863 with the goal of persuading Rodef Shalom to join the Reform movement. The following spring, Rodef Shalom voted to replace its traditional Minhag Ashkenaz prayer book with Wise’s English language Minhag America prayer book. It was an early step toward reformation.

Shortly after the vote, a coalition of Poseners, Lithuanians, Dutch, and traditional Germans left Rodef Shalom. They formed a new congregation called Tree of Life.

The Pittsburgh Board of Education began addressing its sectarian problem, and Jewish families returned to public school. Tree of Life started an afterschool religious school, and its families mostly pulled their children out of Rodef Shalom’s educational program.

Facing declining enrollment, Rodef Shalom closed its day school in 1868, keeping only an afterschool program. This established the educational culture of our community. Until the creation of the Hebrew Institute in 1916 and the day schools of the 1940s, youth education here largely occurred in the synagogue for just a few hours each Sunday morning. PJC

Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. He can be reached at rjarchives@heinzhistorycenter. org or 412-454-6406.

p Rodef Shalom Congregation brought Josiah Cohen to Pittsburgh from England in the 1860s to teach secular studies in its new day school.

Photo by Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives

Headlines

Germany: Palestinian state recognition now is ‘counterproductive’

Berlin has no immediate plans to recognize a Palestinian state, a German government spokesperson declared on Friday, calling such a move at this stage “counterproductive,” JNS reported.

“A negotiated two-state solution remains our goal, even if it seems a long way off today,” the spokesperson told a press briefing. “Recognition of Palestine is more likely to come at the end of such a process. Right now, it would undermine efforts toward peace.”

Berlin’s statement stands in sharp contrast to the positions of capitals such as Paris, London, Canberra and Ottawa, where governments have signaled willingness to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly annual general debate in September.

Reform movement urges against death penalty for alleged Capital Jewish Museum shooter

The Reform movement’s advocacy arm is urging Attorney General Pam Bondi not to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., in May, JTA reported.

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, called on Bondi to forgo the death penalty in the trial of Elias Rodriguez in a letter sent last week.

“Despite the pain of Sarah and Yaron’s murders and despite the hateful motivation behind their deaths, we believe that the

death penalty is a stain upon civilization and our religious conscience,” Pesner said.

Rodriguez stands accused of shooting Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim to death outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21. He is charged with murder of foreign officials, first-degree murder and two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death. The federal charges make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, but prosecutors have not yet said whether they plan to seek it.

Pesner emphasized that he was not calling for a lack of accountability in the case, in which Rodriguez is alleged to have yelled “Free Palestine” after shooting Lischinsky and Milgrim multiple times at point-blank range.

“We pray that as you work to hold the perpetrator accountable for his actions, you ensure he is both punished for his crimes and is never again a threat to Jews or anyone else,” Pesner wrote. “As you do so, do not compound the already deep pain by pursuing the taking of another life.”

Sally Rooney says she’ll donate to Palestine Action despite risking terrorism charges

Bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney pledged to donate the proceeds from BBC productions of her novels to Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist group in the United Kingdom that was designated as a terrorist organization in July, JTA reported.

“I too support Palestine Action,” wrote Rooney in an op-ed published in The Irish Times last week. “If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it.”

Rooney has long been a fierce critic of

Today in Israeli History

Sept. 1, 1915 — Weizmann joins British admiralty

Israel. In October 2021, Rooney decided not to publish her novel “Beautiful World, Where Are You?” with an Israeli publishing house because she supports a boycott of Israel, and three years later, she signed a letter accusing Israel of committing genocide and pledging to boycott all Israeli literary institutions.

Now, Rooney is pledging the residual fees from the BBC film adaptations of her novels “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends” to “supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.” The BBC is Britain’s public broadcaster.

The announcement follows a government decision to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and spray-painted two planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel.

Since its proscription, more than 700 people have been arrested in the U.K. for supporting Palestine Action.

New antisemitic meme has Jews claiming items ‘promised 3,000 years ago’

A trend of antisemitic AI-generated memes is spreading rapidly across social media, portraying Jewish people as greedy, dishonest or delusional, according to CyberWell, a nonprofit that works with social platforms to combat antisemitism online, according to The Times of Israel.

The “Promised 3,000 years ago” trend uses AI-generated caricatures of Orthodox Jewish men, often paired with the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila,” to mock Jewish identity and reinforce harmful stereotypes, CyberWell said. The memes depict Jewish figures

claiming ownership over absurd objects, such as cities, cars, soda cans, babies and even the moon, while exaggerating physical features associated with antisemitic tropes.

Antisemitic messages of different types have overrun social media networks in recent years, particularly since Hamas launched its war against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The new trope is intended to mock and trivialize the religious and historical ties Jews have to the land of Israel, CyberWell said. It implies that Jews manipulate ancient claims to assert dominance, making the phrase shorthand for illegitimacy, greed and delusion.

One widely shared video posted on Instagram by Mohamed Hadid to his 1.5 million followers shows Jews claiming lawn chairs, sandwiches, watches and a baby, and concludes with a Hasidic Jew stating, “I was promised six million followers on TikTok 3,000 years ago,” an oblique reference to the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

CyberWell said that social media platforms do not classify this AI-generated trend as violating bullying or harassment policies, taking the position that fictional characters fall outside existing rules. However, the company said, platform policies explicitly prohibit spreading historically harmful stereotypes and mocking the deaths of specific groups.

“This latest trend highlights a broader challenge for social media platforms: AI tools are making it increasingly difficult to monitor and control harmful content at scale,” said CyberWell Founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. PJC

— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick

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

Aug. 29, 1967 — Fourth Arab League Summit starts

The Fourth Arab League Summit convenes in Khartoum, Sudan, and focuses on regaining land lost in the Six-Day War. The summit ends Sept. 1 by declaring “three nos”: no peace with, no recognition of and no negotiations with Israel.

Aug. 30, 1987 — Cabinet halts Lavi production

The Israeli Cabinet decides to end production of the Lavi fighter jet. The Lavi (“Young Lion”) is doomed by cost overruns and by an agreement with the United States not to sell the aircraft to other countries.

Aug. 31, 2004 — Bus bombings in Beersheba kill 16 Israelis

Bombs explode on two buses 100 yards apart on Beersheba’s main street, Ranger Boulevard, shortly after they leave the central depot. Hamas claims credit for the attack, which kills 16 Israelis and injures 100 others.

Chaim Weizmann, who helps win the Balfour Declaration in 1917, is appointed as an honorary technical adviser to the British Admiralty on supplying acetone, a key to making the military explosive cordite.

Sept. 2, 1935 — 80,000 turn out for Rabbi Kook’s funeral

An estimated 80,000 mourners, roughly a quarter of Mandatory Palestine’s Jewish population, line the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who died the previous day.

Sept. 3, 1905 — Scholar Nechama Leibowitz is born

Scholar and biblical commentator Nechama Leibowitz is born in Riga, Latvia. She teaches at yeshivas, seminaries and Tel Aviv University and is known for her weekly “Pages” dispatches of Torah questions.

Sept. 4, 1985 — New shekel is introduced

The new Israeli shekel becomes the official currency. It is worth 1,000 of the old shekels, which became Israel’s currency five years earlier but are being replaced under an economic stabilization plan. PJC

p Mourners crowd the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.

p Israel Aerospace Industries built five Lavi prototypes before the program was halted. By Bukvoed, own work, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Headlines

JAA:

Continued from page 1

The model allows for couples to stay together in ways they might not be able to otherwise.

“That’s the beauty of what we’re talking about,” Foley said. “People can move through the whole continuum and we’re able to keep couples together. Somebody may move in and their spouse may be in AHAVA. They can go down and eat meals with them. I think there are a lot of nuances that, as this building gets up and running, we’re going to be able to accommodate individuals where they are in life.”

The idea, Plung said, is to reimagine aging.

“The key is the social interaction that we’re fostering,” he said. “That’s the whole concept driving our vision.”

The new personal care residence includes two studio apartments, 18 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units, with the option of converting another 30 units; but like everything on offer from the JAA, that depends on the needs of the community as the organization moves to the second phase of construction and beyond.

Continental Real Estate Cos., a Columbusbased developer, partnered with the JAA on the new residences, assisted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, which

Unification:

Continued from page 1

Along with welcoming students from both J-JEP and NextDOR, URS is “taking the best of both curricula,” Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman said.

Going through changes Fellman, Freedman and other colleagues have partnered on the educational enterprise for months. Some details — like the school’s name — remain uncertain; others are concrete.

For starters, URS will continue J-JEP’s tradition of serving bagels, juice and coffee from 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. Sunday mornings.

Classes, which begin on Sept. 7, are open to students from across the community and will occur on Sundays and Wednesdays through April 26, are listed online. Highlights include a family Hebrew program from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Sundays enabling parents (or other adults) to join students in the learning process.

On Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., teens can enjoy a new experience, Fellman explained.

“It is loosely based on the high school program that Sinai had been operating, but only loosely,” he said.

Students will be served a kosher dinner before breaking into two one-hour classes: The first slot will be determined by grade level, the second by electives.

Educators hope a slate of offerings and opportunities will capture teens’ attention.

“The question is, how can we craft a program that’s meaningful, that’s interesting, that’s tempting, that’s exciting?” Fellman said.

One pathway is through intellectualism, educators told the Chronicle.

During their teenage years, students are at a “time when they finally can handle mature, sophisticated, nuanced learning that they can manipulate for themselves,” Freedman said. This is the stage of life where they start to “figure out the type of adult, the type of Jew,

helped put together a task force dedicated to the project. Financing was through First Eagle.

“Without any one of them,” Plung said, “this wouldn’t have happened.”

The project continues to espouse the JAA’s commitment to Jewish values. Plung called it the organization’s “ethos.”

A walk through the new personal care residence reveals a physical manifestation of that Jewishness, though the new units

to everyone.

There are mezuzahs in the outer doorways of each unit; Rabbi Dovid Small, the JAA’s director of pastoral care, has an office in the building; and a sanctuary, complete with a Torah and ark, is available for Shabbat and holiday services, and includes a kosher kitchenette for onegs and kiddushes. Kosher food is available for those who observe kashrut, supervised by the Vaad

they want to be.”

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman, a former J-JEP teacher who is continuing on to URS, said high school years are “when you start to intellectually understand Judaism at a higher level.”

Whether it’s exploring rabbinic writings or explicating biblical verses, the learning one completes as a teen can prompt “those bigger, kind of moral, questions: Why be Jewish? What does it mean to be Jewish? What does it mean to be a good person?” he said. “Those are really important questions and things that happen developmentally for 16 and 17-yearolds in a big way.”

Tackling complex issues must happen within a short timeframe, as URS’ high school program only runs for a few hours each week.

The schedule is consistent with comparable institutions nationwide.

Within religious schools, contact hours — whether in a classroom, private tutoring or online — range between 0.5 and 6 hours per week, according to a report from George Washington University’s Graduate School

Beyond the Jewish values evidenced in the building are residences with modern amenities.

Natural light is prevalent throughout, both in the individual units as well as the common areas, which include spaces to play games, have meetings or watch TV. A patio overlooks the walking trail that surrounds the entire JAA campus, providing views of the Monongahela River.

The units themselves provide opportunities for sightseeing; exterior units have a view of the river while the interior rooms overlook the campus’ courtyard.

Units feature washers and dryers and kitchenettes, and in the two-bedroom units there are large walk-in closets. JAA staff is stationed throughout the two floors of the 30 units, ensuring that residents have access to the care and medicine they need throughout the day.

After spending so much time planning and envisioning the new personal care residences, Foley is excited to see them finally come to fruition.

“It’s hard to believe the reality is here,” she said.

A ribbon cutting and guided tour of the new units will take place at the JAA’s annual meeting on Sept. 4 at 6:30 p.m. PJC

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

While catering to students from both Reform (Rodef Shalom) and Conservative (Beth Shalom) congregations, J-JEP strove to “engage kids on different levels,” Freedman said. “We brought in some rabbinics — which most Reform religious schools don’t have. We did some stories [involving Rabbi] Akiva, we did a little on how halacha works, we did a little bit of Rashi.”

Moving forward, bolstering students from different congregational or religious backgrounds will remain the goal, he added.

Fellman agreed and pointed to language as a unifier.

“Hebrew is Hebrew,” he said. “There’s no such thing as Reform Hebrew or Conservative Hebrew or Orthodox Hebrew.”

Just as Hebrew can coalesce young students, learning about prayer, the holidays or Jewish practices can demonstrate “something we share,” he said.

of Education and Human Development and the Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education.

Let it grow

With classes beginning next week, URS is expecting to welcome upward of 220 students, with about 140 coming from J-JEP and another 85 from NextDOR.

Freedman, Fellman and colleagues are enthused about the number of enrollees and hope to see the school grow.

Population data suggest the rabbis’ aspirations are within reach.

At the time of the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study, 6,400 of the 8,400 children living in Greater Pittsburgh Jewish households were being raised Jewish. Among Jewish children in grades K-12, 45% were enrolled in Jewish part-time school, day school or a Jewish tutoring program; 28% of preschool-aged Jewish children were enrolled in a Jewish preschool.

Denominational differences or congregational nuances are not an impediment to URS’ success, educators said.

Among both educators and practitioners, the purpose of Jewish education or even Judaism itself is too often lost, Freedman explained.

“The bottom line of Judaism — the point of the Torah — is to make the world a better place and make yourself a better person. That’s it in a nutshell, and we do that through mitzvot. The ideological issues of who gave the mitzvot and why do we have to do them is a conversation that the rabbis like, and that some of the parents like; the kids don’t care,” Freedman said. “Torah is our received tradition. We can talk about how it got there another day, but it’s our received tradition. Every Jewish child owns it, and every Jewish child is going to learn what we are called to do through it. And that doesn’t matter what your movement is.”

Ultimately, URS is a new school with a very old goal, he continued. “What we’re really trying to do is teach the kids the meaning — and uplift the spirituality — and the value of living a Jewish life.” PJC

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

p Young learners congregate on the bimah inside Rodef Shalom Congregation. Photo courtesy of J-JEP

p Jewish spirit permeates the JAA’s new personal care residence.

Photo by David Rullo

Headlines

Report finds drastic increase in antisemitism at European universities since Oct. 7

By Times of Israel Staff

University administrators in Europe must do more to address antisemitism on campuses across the continent, including increasing security, auditing teaching materials, training instructors and pursuing legal action, two Jewish groups and a German watchdog said in a report Tuesday.

The study, which looked at issues affecting Jewish students at schools in eight European countries, along with the United Kingdom, since Oct. 7, 2023, found that antisemitic narratives and attitudes were regularly being normalized, particularly in the context of anti-Israel protest activity, and claimed nearly across-the-board hesitancy by university heads to tackle the problem head on.

“Many university administrations have failed to take strong stances against antisemitic incidents, allowing an environment of intimidation and hostility toward Jewish students to persist under the guise of political activism,” wrote the authors of the report, which was compiled by B’nai B’rith International, the European Union of Jewish Students, and democ, a Berlin-based group of academics and media professionals involved in documenting and analyze anti-democratic movements.

“The impact on Jewish students as a result of the hostile environments captured across the national entries is significant. Jewish students report feelings of fear, isolation, and disenfranchisement within academic spaces that should otherwise serve as environments of mutual respect and open discussion,” they added.

The report looked at schools in Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, documenting attacks on Jewish students, instances of harassment or feelings of unease around anti-Israel demonstrations, along with surveys or anecdotal evidence showing a rise in antisemitic incidents or rhetoric.

Testimonials from students included several at the University of Vienna saying they no longer felt comfortable on campus due to identifiably Jewish students being targeted by anti-Israel protesters.

“It makes you think twice about whether you really have to go there, to the campus, or simply not go and not put yourself in a situation where antisemitic slogans are being shouted and antisemitic ideas are simply being spread,” one student was quoted as saying.

The report also found that various student groups have worked with organizations that have ties to proscribed groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is classified as a terror group by the EU.

In Austria, Germany and Spain, the report said, protests have been supported by organizations with “ties to terrorist activity,” including Sa midoun — the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. Meanwhile, in Austria, students are working with organizations such

p Wheel loader demolishing a barricade at the University of Amsterdam campus occupation, May 8, 2024

as Dar al Janub, which has “direct documented links to Hamas,” the report added.

In some instances, university students have engaged in Holocaust distortion and instrumentalization in order to draw a “false equivalence” with the war in Gaza, the report said, calling this behavior “particularly pernicious.”

These instances included protest chants such as “Zionists are all the same, Nazis by a different name,” which was heard at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and a move by the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht to cancel a lecture series on the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Antisemitic vandalism featured at many of the universities covered in the report.

In particular, it noted 17 instances of antisemitic or hateful “damage and desecration” at U.K. universities in Nottingham, Birmingham, Leeds, Kent, Norwich, London, Sussex, Oxford, Sheffield, Brighton, and Canterbury in the 2023-2024 academic year, up from just four instances a year prior.

The experiences appeared to mirror those reported by Jewish college students in the United States, particularly during the 20232024 academic year, when many campuses saw large-scale protest encampments that critics said veered at times into antisemitic activity. Many schools in the U.S. cracked down on such activity, particularly following the election of President Donald Trump, whose administration has pulled hundreds of millions in funding from schools deemed to have insufficiently dealt with the problem, including Harvard and Columbia universities.

The report acknowledged steps taken by political leaders in France, Germany, the U.K., Sweden and Austria to deal with the activity, including clearing protest encampments in

some cases. However, the authors alleged that the universities had largely “reacted hesitantly to the protests, sometimes with tacit approval or by invoking freedom of expression – in some cases, antisemitic actors were not sanctioned.”

The report called for schools to set out clear guidelines and disciplinary rules for protests; to ramp up security, coordinate more closely with law enforcement and block outside groups from coming to campus to instigate demonstrations; establish reporting mechanisms for victims; and appoint contact people or taskforces with taking the lead on addressing antisemitism.

“Decisive action, and where necessary prosecution, is needed to prevent further poisoning of the public space,” Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, wrote in a foreword to the report.

University leaders were also called on to build bridges with Jewish students and groups, and raise the profile of Jewish history and the Jewish experience via campus activities.

The report urged universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as “a clear and useful tool in identifying antisemitism on campus.”

The IHRA definition of antisemitism has been adopted by groups and governments worldwide, but is contested because it covers some examples of anti-Israel rhetoric, such as denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination.

The report also recommended that schools create “clear reporting procedures” for victims of antisemitism and work to build trust with Jewish students and groups on campus “to be aware of developments and trends in antisemitic incidents, rhetoric and more broadly in

student dynamics that may adversely impact Jewish students.”

As for campus protests, the report suggested that schools “ensure, promote and enforce clear disciplinary rules” for demonstrations, and step up security on campuses.

The report also recommended that schools provide teachers with training opportunities regarding antisemitism and to ensure that university staff and course content “provide students with balanced perspectives.”

To ensure that all the above steps are implemented, the report recommended that schools appoint a “contact point or taskforce” to deal specifically with campus antisemitism as it arises.

Finally, the report said that schools should work to “make Jewish life and history visible,” through marking or encouraging Jewish students to celebrate holidays publicly, to highlight Jewish contributions, and to “mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan, 27), as a foundational shared European legacy.”

“This report makes clear that Europe’s universities are failing their Jewish students,” B’nai B’rith International president Robert Spitzer and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “Just as we have seen on campuses across the United States, antisemitism here is too often excused as ‘activism’—but in reality, it is a threat to safety, inclusion and the very integrity of higher education.”

Antisemitism has skyrocketed around the world since Hamas launched its shock assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. The number of antisemitic incidents peaked right after the attack, and remains at levels significantly higher than before the assault, according to a April study by Tel Aviv University. PJC

Photo by Umbrellafighter, creativecommons.org, via Wikimedia Commons

Israel’s hostage dilemma in the fog of war

The anguished cries of the hostage families to “Bring them home” are understandable. So too are the concerns of those who fear that surrendering to Hamas will release a disproportionate number of terrorists, leading to more Israeli deaths, future October 7ths and future abductions. A hostage’s mother pleaded for ministers to “think with your hearts, and not only with your heads.” The moral dilemma is more complex than a battle between emotion and reason. With passionately held competing views, is there any sound basis for evaluating the ethical choices?

Every option is fraught with risk, ambiguity and tragic trade-offs.

Israeli leaders must weigh the value of saving hostages against the strategic cost of encouraging future kidnappings and fracturing national resolve. They face at least three imperfect choices:

• Continue with military operations in the hope of rescuing hostages.

• Pursue a negotiated exchange involving the release of convicted terrorists.

• Delay action while gathering intelligence, possibly increasing the chance of rescue.

Because none of these options offers reliable outcomes, decision-makers must rely on Bayesian reasoning — subjective probabilities about uncertain futures. How likely is a successful rescue? How many

• Rule consequentialism values principles that yield the best long-term outcome: Refusing to negotiate with terrorists may seem cruel, but incentivizing hostage-taking creates precedents that cause future harm.

Because views often conflict, leaders of a democratic society must weigh not only strategic risks but moral pluralism — the legitimate coexistence of ethical commitments within the body politic.

Jewish ethics and the legacy of Shalit

Jewish moral tradition adds another layer of complexity. The concept of pikuach nefesh — the obligation to save life — overrides nearly all other commandments. This imperative has driven hostage negotiations

painful historical parallel. Again, Israel is asked to weigh its sacred commitment to each life against the potential cost to future lives, national security and moral precedent.

Strained moral landscape

One way to frame this crisis is through the lens of the famed “Trolley Problem”: Would you pull a lever to divert a runaway trolley from killing five people if it meant it would kill only one person? Most people say yes. If the scenario requires you to physically push one man onto the tracks to stop the train and save five others, most say no. The cost-benefit ratio is the same — one life for five — but the moral response differs.

This thought experiment reveals that moral intuitions are not only about outcomes but about how outcomes are achieved — through less direct action mediated by a lever or more personal agency. The Trolley Problem operates in a world of defined risks and outcomes. In the real world, and especially in war, there is no clean track, no reliable lever, no certain outcome. The tracks are obscured by the fog of war, and the lever may or may not work. Israel’s di lemma — how to act on behalf of hostages held by Hamas — is a version of this problem, complicated by national trauma, uncertainty and competing moral frameworks.

Decision-making under uncertainty

–Rescue efforts may save some hostages but harm others.

–Halting operations to pursue negotiations could save lives now but increase long-term casualties.

Each person’s judgment about what is right in this crisis reflects their own moral lens — shaped by psychology, culture, theology and experience.

Israeli lives might be lost if Hamas remains? Will other abductions occur if terrorists learn that hostage-taking is effective?

These are not only strategic calculations — they are moral judgments. The answers depend on which ethical lens we use.

Competing moral lenses

• Utilitarianism weighs overall consequences: Which course of action might save the most lives overall? Military pressure may be justified if more lives are saved than lost, even at the cost of some hostages.

• Deontological ethics focuses on absolutes: It is morally impermissible to risk innocent lives under any circumstances. Sacrificing hostages violates a categorical imperative.

• Virtue ethics asks what kind of nation we wish to be?: Is Israel a country that protects each citizen at all costs? Or one that considers overall long-term survival?

in Israel’s history. Yet the same tradition also values communal protection, avoiding actions that endanger future lives.

This tension was evident in the Gilad Shalit case. His release was celebrated as a national moral triumph, but a strategic error: one soldier for over 1,000 prisoners, including Sinwar, Hamas’ leader of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Note that 13th-century Rabbi Meir of Rottenberg refused to let his students pay an exorbitant ransom to free him from captivity because this would encourage future kidnappings. The Mishnah and Torah commentaries state that although redeeming captives is among the highest virtues, it’s not at any cost. Adopting the rule-consequentialist lens, the Mishnah opines: “One does not ransom captives for more than their value, for the sake of tikkun olam” (the good order of the world).

The current debate is haunted by this

These dilemmas divide Israeli society, reflecting its diverse moral foundations. Utilitarian reasoning appeals to those who focus on analytical thinking more than emotion to achieve practical outcomes. Deontological reasoning resonates with harm-averse traditionalists, who emphasize duty, empathy and the sanctity of life. Virtue ethics, rooted in national identity and honor-based reasoning, is found among Zionist pioneers and religious Zionists. Rule consequentialism aligns with policymakers who prioritize paths that ensure systemic stability and longterm deterrence.

Western democracies often oscillate between utilitarian and deontological thinking. East Asian cultures tend toward virtue ethics. In Israel — a state that is both modern and ancient, democratic and Jewish, secular and religious — all four ethical lenses coexist and clash.

The result is not merely a strategic debate but a moral cacophony, with each camp claiming the ethical high ground. What’s needed is not premature consensus but acknowledging the complexity and validity of competing moral intuitions.

Strategy is not amoral

No nation enjoys the luxury of moral purity. Defending itself sometimes requires morally painful choices. But this does not mean ethics can be ignored. Rather, in trying moments, a nation’s moral compass is tested and revealed.

Israel was founded to protect Jewish life. The perception that hostages are expendable strikes at the core of that mission. At the same time, rewarding terrorism may endanger far more lives and degrade Israel’s strategic position. A nation that must trade between short-term mercy and long-term security is operating in a tragic moral landscape, not an evil one.

From City Hall to Trader Joe’s: How BDS activists are trying to marginalize Pittsburgh Jews

One year ago, an attempt to force a municipal anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) resolution onto the election ballot was defeated through the efforts of a grass-roots coalition of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community members and allies. A second attempt was defeated in March.

Having failed at marginalizing our presence through local government, the BDS movement turned to another front: grocery stores. Initially they targeted the East End Food Co-op, a member-owned business.

EEFC claims it is “open to all.” But many Jews feel unwelcome due to ongoing efforts by union members to enact BDS at the co-op.

The atmosphere became so hostile that some Jewish member-owners — me included — began attending board meetings to raise concerns about the attempted boycott. What we encountered was worse

than we expected: Some co-op employees (and occasionally member-owners) were promulgating lies about Israel and screaming antisemitic slurs, including accusing Israel of apartheid, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and denying Oct. 7 atrocities.

A number of Jewish member-owners have stopped shopping at the co-op.

This has gone on for over a year. During this time, all over our country, Jewish businesses, academics, writers, college students and others have been targeted, doxed, excluded, ostracized, attacked and murdered because they are Jews.

In last week’s Chronicle, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, pointed out that, “In 2024, the United States experienced the worst year for antisemitic incidents in ADL’s recorded history.”

After a year of exploiting every board meeting into a forum for political theater (the East End Co-op carries only a few Israeli-sourced products) with aggressive accusations and belligerent behavior, the BDS group has still not succeeded in

Guest Columnist

Simone Shapiro

Guest Columnist

Robert M. Schwartz

Opinion

Chronicle poll results: Jewish communal priorities

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

“Which issue should be the top priority for Pittsburgh’s Jewish communal organizations?” Of the 245 people who responded, 32% said combatting antisemitism; 16% said enhancing Jewish education and religious involvement; 11% said helping those in need; 11% said engaging young adults; 10% said enhancing security; 8% said supporting Israel; 12% said “other,” including all of the above, community solidarity and promoting Jewish summer camps. Comments were submitted by 52 people. A few follow.

The best way to ensure the survival of Judaism and the support of Israel is to educate every Jewish child in Jewish day schools. We should be looking at allocating as much of the community’s resources as possible to make this happen.

Israel needs all the help it can get because its enemies are worldwide.

Now more than ever, we need to focus on and engage with all the beautiful parts of

Judaism: community, faith, living a meaningful and purposeful life, and helping those less fortunate.

Protecting the physical and emotional well-being of the local Klal Yisrael should be job No. 1.

I think that our Jewish institutions should focus on our local community, in particular, on welcoming and educating young workingclass Jews.

Helping those in need is most important, now that there are so many government cutbacks that will hurt many people, especially older adults.

Enhancing Jewish education and religious involvement is a cornerstone for building a viable community that will be enabled to deal with combatting antisemitism, supporting Israel and doing acts of kindness and community support.

While all of these priorities are important, without Jewish education and religious involvement, there’s nothing to combat, support or enhance.

The rampant antisemitism is out of control and needs to be addressed immediately.

The best way to combat antisemitism is through Jewish education.

Jewish communal organizations should serve all Jews and see to the continuation of the Jewish community. If we don’t teach, model and prioritize Jewish involvement and positive Jewish values, we’re just a special interest club.

Combatting antisemitism cannot be accomplished in a silo. We must engage young adults, enhance Jewish education and hold non-confrontational dialogue with those Jews in our community who are intentionally or unintentionally supporting antisemitism. PJC

— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick

Clarity amidst moral fog

There is no clean solution — only imperfect options. This analysis offers not the “right” choice, but a philosophical model to temper emotion with reflection. The Trolley Problem reminds us that even with identical outcomes, people reach different conclusions depending

on their moral lens and how the outcome is achieved. When outcomes are uncertain, those divergences are exacerbated.

Each person’s judgment about what is right in this crisis reflects their own moral lens — shaped by psychology, culture, theology and experience. Recognizing this may not yield consensus, but it can foster compassion.

Israel will win this war. But victory should not come at the cost of national cohesion

or moral self-respect. Israel must fight with strength and mourn with integrity. Citizens must debate with clarity and remember that no moral stance — however passionate — justifies demonizing those who see through a different lens. If so, the nation will avoid a “Pyrrhic Victory” — where costs outweigh achievements. Israel will not only survive but also preserve the humanity that gives meaning to Jewish survival. PJC

gathering the number of signatures required to put their petition to a member vote.

Now the anti-Israel activists are extending their boycott efforts to another, larger, local grocery: Trader Joe’s — even though Trader Joe’s sells just a handful of Israeli products — in an attempt to exclude Jews and Jewish businesses from the public sphere.

This is not the first time there has been an organized attempt to exclude, vilify and boycott Jews and Jewish businesses. It’s what the Nazis did as a prelude to the attempted extermination of the entire Jewish people.

As Regula Venske, former president of German PEN, wrote:

“German Fascism did not start with Auschwitz and the gas chambers, nor did it start with Kristallnacht. It started, much earlier, with words and poisoning

language, uttered not only by politicians and party propagandists but also by renowned intellectuals and artists, ostracizing and demonizing a group of people … ”

This is not just about what’s happening at local grocery stores. It reflects a broader pattern of antisemitism becoming normalized in spaces that present themselves as

inclusive and progressive.

We have seen this trajectory before. It begins with words, boycotts and exclusion, and when that becomes acceptable — even normalized — it can lead to violence against Jews, as we are seeing today in Washington, Boulder, Los Angeles, Harrisburg — and in Pittsburgh.

Robert M. Schwartz, Ph.D., is a former assistant professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He has conducted pioneering research in positive psychology and written political and social commentary in The American Spectator, Christian Science Monitor, American Thinker, The Jerusalem Post, Arutz Sheva and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Email: robsch77@ gmail.com. This article first appeared on Israelnationalnews.com (Arutz Sheva).

The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks stated it clearly: Anti-Zionism is the new Antisemitism.

This month in the Jewish cycle of reading the Torah, we are reading the book of Devarim. Devarim means “words.” Words can be words of G-d, they can be words that heal. Or they can be slanderous words that incite violence.

Chronicle weekly poll question: Should Western allies like the United Kingdom, France and Canada recognize a Palestinian state if there is no negotiated agreement with Israel? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC We have seen this trajectory before. It begins with words, boycotts and exclusion, and when that becomes acceptable — even normalized — it can lead to violence against Jews, as we are seeing today in Washington, Boulder, Los Angeles, Harrisburg — and in Pittsburgh.

Fortunately, the board of the East End Food Co-op, like the City of Pittsburgh itself, has so far resisted the pressure from a vocal minority to boycott Israeli products. Let’s pray the management of Trader Joe’s does not kowtow to the antisemites. Let’s pray the co-op continues to stand its ground and that the good people of Pittsburgh do not capitulate to the strident voices of the haters.

PJC

Simone Shapiro is a Pittsburgh resident and a member-owner of the East End Food Co-op.

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.

Life & Culture

Orzo with roasted vegetables

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

My recipe for orzo with roasted vegetables makes a tasty hot side dish and also doubles as a fantastic pasta salad.

This is one of my favorite things to make in late summer, when fresh squash and tomatoes are in season. The pasta to vegetable ratio is equal in this family-friendly recipe, and it’s an excellent way to get vegetables onto your table.

This dish is a lovely way to feed your craving for pasta without it being the main part of your meal and it doesn’t take too long to prepare.

Ingredients

Serves 6 as a side dish

½ pound orzo (half a package), cooked al dente

1 large, sweet onion, diced

2 cups zucchini, cubed

2 cups yellow squash, cubed

2 cups cherry, grape or Roma tomatoes

1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

1

½ teaspoons garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

⅛ teaspoon sugar

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

⅓ cup torn basil leaves, optional

Set out a large sheet pan with sides. You can line your sheet with foil if you like, but don’t use parchment for this recipe because the paper will burn and smell waxy at this temperature.

One of the reasons I like this recipe is

use what you have.

Cube the squash and zucchini and cut the peppers into 1 ½-inch square pieces.

Dice the onions into small pieces so they soften more quickly in the oven.

You can have fun using different varieties of tomatoes. I had cherry tomatoes and San Marzanos from my garden and I wanted to use what I had on hand. Roast small tomatoes whole and cut Roma-shaped tomatoes in quarters, lengthwise.

Add all vegetables to a large mixing bowl with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sugar.

Mix well and spread evenly over the sheet pan.

Roast for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are roasted and lightly softened. Lightly browned edges are optimal, but if a fork goes easily into the squash remove it from the oven before it turns to mush.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook a half-pound of orzo according to the instructions on the package.

Drain and rinse with cold water for a

minute. (The only time I rinse pasta is when I’m making pasta salad. It keeps the pieces separated, and also from overcooking and getting gummy.) Set aside until the vegetables are finished.

Put the pasta in a large serving dish and add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pasta before mixing in the vegetables.

Salt and pepper to taste.

These vegetables taste wonderful with fresh basil, so if you have some on hand feel free to add it.

This recipe is vegan, but I like to add a nice amount of grated parmesan cheese to the leftovers. Also, adding a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar can change the flavor profile if you’re looking for a side dish with a zing.

This salad lasts for a few days in the refrigerator and is perfect for a picnic or to make ahead for Shabbat lunch because it tastes very good at room temperature.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh. She can be reached at rubia711 @gmail.com.

Rosh Hashanah art contest

— CONTEST —

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is looking for a creative and colorful holiday illustration to be featured on the cover of its Rosh Hashanah issue!

Entry deadline is 10 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2025.

All ages are welcome to participate. Submit your art, along with your name, the art’s title, your city, email address and phone number. If the entry is from a child, please include the child’s age and parent’s name. All entries must be submitted via email.

Submit entries to newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Rosh Hashanah art” in the subject line. PJC

p Orzo with roasted vegetables

Photo by Jessica Grann

Life & Culture

New American Jewish Museum exhibit chronicles a perilous 1941 voyage

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Anew exhibition asks viewers to see what others saw. On display through Jan. 30 at the American Jewish Museum at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, “Camera as Passport: The Ship of Photographers,” presents 36 images from seven photographers escaping Nazi persecution.

Each image was taken aboard the S.S. Winnipeg, a converted freighter that departed Marseille, France, on May 6, 1941, en route to Martinique, a French Caribbean Island.

Two hours before arriving at its intended destination, the Winnipeg was boarded by armed soldiers and rerouted to Trinidad. Traveling aboard the ship were eight photographers hailing from Belgium, France, Germany and Hungary. Six of the eight photographers (photos from only seven photographers are included in the exhibition) successfully made it to the United States by mid-June 1941. The other two photographers arrived later.

“Camera as Passport,” which is on loan

One key aspect is how the exhibition documents a “particular place during a very particular time in history.” The images, according to Hiller, detail lived experiences surrounding displacement, which is “very relevant to people today.”

from the University of Michigan, forces viewers to “wrestle” with multiple ideas, AJM director Melissa Hiller said.

One key aspect is how the exhibition documents a “particular place during a very particular time in history.” The images, according to Hiller, detail lived experiences surrounding displacement, which is “very relevant to people today.”

Another matter raised by the exhibition is photography’s place in society.

The photos are from a “time when you couldn’t just take snapshots, you didn’t have an Instagram page and you weren’t an influencer,” Hiller said. “These were images that had to get developed, and it was expensive.”

Along with the cost of creating art was the equipment itself, as not only were cameras expensive but they were cumbersome pieces of equipment, she continued. Collectively, the works represent a different relationship to photography than what exists today. Both among photographers and viewers, people back then “were not inundated by a visual culture like they are now.”

With most mobile phones now equipped with cameras, there’s a modern ease to capturing moments. The simplicity of sharing those scenes was noted by the National Institute for Social Media, which reported that 1.3 billion photos are uploaded to Instagram each day.

Technological realities 80 years ago were quite different, and the 36 images in “Camera as Passport” tell a unique story that should captivate a contemporary audience, Hiller said.

The museum director credited the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh Film and Media Studies, University of Pittsburgh Horror Studies, Carnegie Mellon University Jewish Studies, the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan with helping AJM bring the exhibition to Pittsburgh.

An opening reception on Oct. 23 from 5:30–7:30 p.m. with curators Deborah Dash Moore of the University of Michigan and Louis Kaplan of the University of Toronto will offer greater insight into the pictures and those who took them.

These images detail a “particular journey” during a time that was “fraught with so much unknown and terror and fear,” Hiller said. Yet, perhaps even greater, the exhibition raises an ageless question: “What happens in moments of crisis?” PJC

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

F or home delivery, c all 412-687-1000, ext. 2

p Yolla Niclas, "Rescue Drills for Passenger on the Ship ‘Winnipeg,’" 1941

Leo Baeck Institute Archives, LBI Memoir Collection. Courtesy of the Leo Baeck Institute, via American Jewish Museum

p Ilse Bing, "Dog on the Winnipeg," 1941 National Gallery of Ottawa, Library and Archives, 2002.0196.42 © Estate of Ilse Bing, via American Jewish Museum

Life & Culture

‘Anne Frank, Superstar’? A satirical musical reimagines the Holocaust victim as a symbol of wokeness.

By Joseph Strauss | JTA

What exactly is “Slam Frank,” the purported hip-hop musical that reimagines the Holocaust’s most famous victim as a pansexual Latinx girl today?

Is it a real show with real actors and real songs constructing a real story for real audiences? Or is it an elaborate social media prank designed to pillory the left and ragebait the right? Or could it be both?

The show’s Instagram account, its primary engine of promotion, has stoked the confusion.

Co-creator Andrew Fox posts snippets of songs, rapping in character as Anne Frank — or Anita Franco, as she’s named in the play — about being “straight from the barrio” and calling people “gringos.”

“Storytellers like me are trying to make the Holocaust diverse,” Fox said in one Instagram post. “Because you watch movie after movie after movie and everybody looks like this — white, white, white,” he remarked, pointing to a still from “Schindler’s List.”

The posts range from sneak peeks of the show to broader, seemingly tongue-in-cheek

commentary. Fox, who is Jewish, frequently posts on the account about being a Latinx artist (through his father’s Ecuadorian

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third wife) and his efforts to “decolonize Broadway.” Another post satirizing inclusivity issues decries the fatphobia of both Broadway theaters and Nazi concentration camps. (“Neither of these environments were built to accommodate people of size.”)

Fox and the “Slam Frank” team have built a social media campaign that is, like the premise of the show itself, inclusive to a fault. Many don’t know what to make of it, or whether this build-up is leading toward a real production.

“You guys are joking right?” one Instagram user commented. “I genuinely can’t tell in this political landscape.”

“You can’t actually think that making this is a good idea,” another user pleaded in a DM.

Among the at-least dozens, and often hundreds of comments on each “Slam Frank” post, you can be sure to find commenters asking something along the lines of, Is this real??

But lately, as the show has opened workshops to critics and sold out the first eight nights of its upcoming Off-Broadway run, its devoted but somewhat befuddled fan base has started to trust that there might really be a full performance ahead — one that bears out its billing as “The Diary of Anne Frank” meets “Hamilton” meets “South Park.”

“It’s a real musical,” Fox said in a recent phone interview. “I think that once the website went up, and then the tickets went up for sale, and then we actually had the concert [in June], everybody kind of went, ‘Oh, we get it now.’”

Anne Frank’s diary has been adapted for film, television, opera, Broadway and as a graphic novel, but never as a sendup of the discourse around inclusivity. Inspiration for the play came from what Fox and co-creator Joel Sinensky, who is also Jewish, were seeing online a few years ago. An earnest social media discourse in 2022 — which

followed a similar one from the previous year — asked whether Anne Frank, despite having been murdered by the Nazis, benefited from “white privilege.” The debate that followed focused on whether identity politics had gone too far. That discourse also served the argument, discussed in works like David Baddiel’s “Jews Don’t Count,” that today’s progressive identity politics care less about antisemitism than about other forms of discrimination.

Around the same time the Anne Frank debates went viral, Fox said, he was also noticing “all these instances where identity politics issues, and theater representation issues, would twist back on themselves and bend and morph.

“And I just kept going, ‘There’s something interesting here,’” Fox said. “And if I take this logic — ‘Well, you have to make people more marginalized! There’s a marginalization hierarchy!’ — if I take it to its extreme, it starts to break. And I want to see it break so I can understand it better.”

Is Fox an anti-woke conservative? Or a liberal who thinks progressives hurt themselves by going too far? He says he’s keeping his own politics private, and doesn’t like when playwrights and writers “come out of the closet politically, in any direction.”

“Once people know which direction you’re coming from, they can decide whether to dismiss you or not,” Fox said.

Like “South Park,” which before its recent anti-MAGA turn enjoyed skewering liberal pieties, Fox and Sinensky are running with the idea of being so inclusive that it becomes offensive — like, for example, when they posted on Instagram that they “intend to maintain fully segregated mezzanine access to ensure safety of BIPOC,” the popular acronym for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Life & Culture

In world first bid to cure paralysis, Israeli team gears up to implant innovative spinal cord

By Diana Bletter | The Times of Israel

The world’s first-ever spinal cord implant into a paralyzed patient will be performed in Israel in the coming weeks.

Professor Tal Dvir, head of the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology and the Nanotechnology Center at Tel Aviv University, said his research team is now able to engineer a spinal cord that functions exactly like a natural one by implanting 3D-engineered tissue into the damaged area.

Fusion then occurs between the new tissue and the healthy areas above and below the injury that will end the paralysis. The Health Ministry gave its approval to begin compassionate use trials in eight patients six months ago, and the team is now in the process of selecting its first patient.

“The technology was developed here in Israel, and from the very beginning it was clear to us that the first-ever surgery would be performed in Israel, with an Israeli patient,” said Dvir.

“This is undoubtedly a matter of national pride.”

100% of recently paralyzed mice could walk

The upcoming spinal cord implant surgery marks the next stage in a process that began

about three years ago, when Dvir’s lab at Tel Aviv University succeeded in engineering a personalized 3D spinal cord in the laboratory.

The groundbreaking findings, published in the prestigious journal Advanced Science, demonstrated for the first time that mice suffering from chronic paralysis that were treated with these engineered implants started to walk — and even scamper — again.

The success rate with the engineered spinal cord was 80% for mice with chronic paralysis. Among those with recent or shortterm paralysis, 100% of the mice walked.

Dvir founded his biotech company, Matricelf, in 2019 with Dr. Alon Sinai. Dr. Tamar Harel-Adar leads the scientific development team.

Patients remain paralyzed because neurons do not renew

Around the world, there are over 15 million people who have suffered spinal cord injuries. Professionals can help stabilize the injury but not much else.

Dvir said that as a result, the damage only worsens. Over time, the damaged area becomes scar tissue.

“The patient remains paralyzed below the site of injury,” he said. “If the injury is in the neck, all four limbs may be paralyzed. If in the lower back, the legs will not move, and so on.”

Spinal cord injuries are one of the very few injuries in the human body that are not impacted by natural regenerative ability, Dvir explained.

“The neurons do not divide and do not renew themselves,” he said. “These cells are not like skin cells, which can heal after injury, but are more like heart cells: Once damaged, the body cannot repair them.”

“The spinal cord is composed of nerve cells that transmit electrical signals from the brain to all parts of the body,” Dvir said. “The decision is made in the brain, the electrical signal passes through the spinal cord, and from there, neurons activate the muscles throughout the body.”

When the spinal cord is severed due to trauma, such as a car accident, a fall, or a combat injury, this chain is broken.

“Think of an electrical cable that has been cut,” Dvir said. “When the two ends no longer touch, the electrical signal cannot pass. The cable will not transmit electricity, and the person cannot transmit the signal beyond the injury.”

Dvir’s team aims to fix that.

Implanting an engineered human spinal cord

Dvir said that the researchers start the process with a small biopsy from the belly. They then take these blood cells and perform a process known as reprogramming — genetic engineering that transforms the cells into embryonic stem cell-like cells, capable of developing into any cell type in the body.

In the next step, the scientists take fatty tissue from the patient, extract key components such as collagens and sugars, and build a customized hydrogel. The embryonic stem cell-like cells are placed in this gel, and the embryonic development of a spinal cord is mimicked.

This spinal cord will then be transplanted into the human body, restoring the body’s abilities.

“We are highly confident in this process,” Dvir said. “Our goal is to help paralyzed patients rise from their wheelchairs and walk again.” PJC

Bat Mitzvah

From fear to faith: The Torah’s blueprint for facing overwhelming odds Torah Celebrations

Hannah Meira Lubowsky is the daughter of Aviva and Noah Lubowsky, the sister of Gabe Lubowsky, and the granddaughter of Dee and Howard Selekman, and Steven and the late Susan Lubowsky. She will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom on Aug. 30, Parashat Shoftim. Hannah will be entering eight grade at Falk Laboratory School. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, learning to play guitar, baking, singing, crafting, reading and snuggling her cat, Brisket.

Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9

Fcertainly one that is “greater than you,” fear is a natural and seemingly logical response.

Ellen Berkman Amzallag and Eric Sirkin are delighted to announce the marriage of her daughter, Leah Amzallag , to Elimelech Halperin. Leah is the daughter of the late Samy Amzallag, niece of John Berkman, and granddaughter of the late Sybil and Mervin Berkman of Pittsburgh, and the late Estrella and Haim Amzallag of Paris, France. Elimelech is the son of Orit and Dr. Ohad Halperin of Moshav Beit Meir, and grandson of Sara and the late Raphael Tamir, and Rivka and the late Dr. Yechezkiel Halperin of Jerusalem, Israel. Leah received her degrees in neuroscience and psychology from Bar Ilan University. Elimelech is a student at Hebrew University majoring in physics and electrical engineering. The couple was married at the Psagot Winery in the Jerusalem mountains. They are honeymooning in Corfu, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Leah and Elimelech live in Jerusalem. PJC

or nearly two years, the Jewish people have been in a state of war. For our brethren in the Holy Land the battle is one fought with guns, tanks and planes. Those of us who live outside of our homeland are removed from the physical battle, yet have been fighting in a different dimension. We look around and see so many — including those whom we believed to be allies — aligning with the dark forces that seek our destruction. Our weapons in this fight are words, advocacy, education and, most importantly, the light of Torah and mitzvos.

The Torah therefore goes on to tell us how it is possible to overcome that fear. The verse mentioned above continues, “because G-d your L-rd, who brought you up out of Egypt, is with you.” Yes, we are but a small minority, and those who seek our annihilation are many. Those out to destroy us may be larger and more powerful than you. However we do not go to war with our own strength, we go with G-d. And before G-d, the vast hordes — even the most powerful weapons — are as insignificant as a single horse and chariot. As Rashi explains, the Torah used the singular “horse and chariot” to allude to this message.

In fighting this battle, especially for so long, many feel drained, tired and overwhelmed. We sometimes wonder how we will have the strength to go on. Fear and dread may become daily companions.

For many, especially in the younger generations, this experience is new. Yes, we heard stories of the suffering our people faced in the past. Even so, for much of our lives we lived in relative peace and safety. We thought, or perhaps hoped, that “never again” would be our reality.

In this week’s Torah portion, we find G-d’s instructions on going to war. The Torah presents the words of encouragement which the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, would say to those going out to battle against those who sought to harm the Jewish people.

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots (literally: horse and chariot) and an army greater than you, do not fear them … ” The soldiers facing the battle are instructed “do not fear them.” But how is that possible? When standing facing a vast enemy, and

To some, this might seem to be a religious argument, one that is removed from the real world. Yet when it comes to the Jewish people, it is the only approach that fits the reality. As Ben-Gurion once said, “In the land of Israel, a person who does not believe in miracles is unrealistic.”

To put it simply, if we look at the world through our own lens, then fear and perhaps even despair are the natural outcome. Only by lifting ourselves above the mundane, by connecting ourselves to a Higher perspective, can we fight this battle without fear. When we commit ourselves to doing mitzvos and studying Torah, we develop our spiritual sensitivity and become attuned to the Divine reality. When we start our day with a mitzvah, by putting on tefillin, going to shul to daven, or joining a Torah class, we become more able to face our daily struggles in tranquility, and without fear. PJC

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld is the rabbi at the Lubavitch Center and the executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld Parshat Shoftim

Obituaries

RYAVE: Selma Marion Podolsky Ryave (May 7, 1927 – Aug. 25, 2025). Selma was born May 7, 1927, in Pittsburgh to Sol and Esther (Lipsitz) Podolsky. Selma graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School and completed one year of college at Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1945, she married Joseph Dorn; daughter Rosalyn was born in Los Angeles, California. Returning to Pittsburgh, daughter Cheryl was born in 1949; they divorced shortly thereafter. In 1954, Selma married Samuel Ryave, and the new family moved to Stanton Heights. Selma’s husband of 41 years, Sam, daughter Cheryl, sister Leona Green, and brother Irving predeceased her. She is survived by her daughter, Rosalyn Richman (PonJola Coney), brother Malvern Powell (AnnaBelle), three nieces, three nephews, 13 great-nieces and -nephews, 28 great-greatnieces and -nephews, and countless cousins and friends. Selma worked as a bookkeeper, first at Temple Sinai, then at Hunt Botanical Library of Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University). While working full time, she resumed her college education, earning a B.A. at CMU, followed by two master’s degrees from Pitt, which led to a second career as school librarian at Knoxville Middle School until she retired in 1992. A “round-the-world Semester at Sea cruise” with a fellow teacher ignited Selma’s passion for travel. After retiring, dozens of Elderhostel educational travel adventures took her across the U.S. and around the globe, visiting more than 60 countries in all. She served as a volunteer for Israel, working as a laundry aide for the IDF. At home, Selma became a volunteer usher at numerous theaters, seeing plays, musicals, concerts and other performances as she “worked.” She joined friends at the Squirrel Hill JCC for bridge games and exercise classes. She resumed her “studies” with Osher Lifelong Learning classes at CMU. Friday evenings nearly always found her at Temple Sinai. Everywhere, Selma was happy when she had at least three activities a day and even happier when her activities involved family. In 2015, Selma left her beloved Pittsburgh to live with her daughter, first in Richmond, Virginia, then in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and, finally, Greensboro, North Carolina. For the past 10 years, connected by her computer, she kept in touch by email, took Osher classes, and watched Temple Sinai’s services on Zoom. Services were held at Temple Sinai, which Selma considered her second family. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions in Selma’s memory may be made to Temple Sinai (templesinaipgh.org/donation), where two funds have been established by the family (the Selma and Samuel Ryave Children’s Library Fund and the CREATes Fund, named for daughter Cheryl), or a charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com

WEISS: Evelyn “Evie” Weiss, 88, of Delray, Florida, formerly of Pittsburgh, passed away peacefully in August. Evie was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 65 years, Ron Weiss, and her sister, Annette “Sissy” Schwartz. She is survived by her brother, Jay (Barbara) Berkowitz. Evie was a devoted mother to her children Howie (Fran), Mitchel (Christie) and Elyssa. The joy of her life were her grandchildren, Rachael (Jeff) Carlson, Allison (Leeland) Gotlieb and Zoe Weiss. She was also immensely proud of her great-grandchildren, Jake and Maddie, and loved hearing about Jake’s sports and Maddie’s gymnastics. Evie was cherished by all who knew her. She graduated from Taylor Allderdice

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Sunday August 31: Harry Z Davidson, Rabbi Henry Friedman, Helen Handlesman, Samuel E Jacobson, Mimi Lawrence, Pauline Racusin Leventon, Jennie D Miller, Rachel Mintz, Jennie Papernick, Ernst Perlstein, Dora Shaffer, Sarah Snyder, Mildred Tannenbaum, Sophie Tauber, Saul Weis

Monday September 1: Joseph Baker, Belle Berman, Harry Dickter, Jacob Dobkin, Marilyn Elikan, Nathan Fisher, Rose Goodstein, Rita Hertz, David Kravitz, Thomas Lewis, Simon Lieberman, Lillian London, Yehudi Marbach, Sadie Margolis, Leon Pattak, Freda Rubin, Alice D Safier, Rebecca Siegal, Lena Thomashefsky, Sarah Zweig

Tuesday September 2: Leon Alan Berger, Jean Serbin Burckin, Honey Sue Fink, Esther Kochin, Bert Lasnik, Eva Zawitz Mannheimer, Fannie L Morris, Rebecca Rockman, Sadie Simon Sieff, Harry Siegal, Harry Zeff, Margaret Zelman

Wednesday September 3: Harry Barnes, Solomon Cantor, Sarah Libby Caplan, Eva Ruth Emas, Ethel Geduldig, Bertha Knina, Rose Lucille Levison, Minnie Linetsky, Tauba Loffer, Samuel Mermelstein, Morris Morgan, Jack Rattner, Jacob Ellis Rosenberg, Mollie Rutner, Charles Schwelling, Israel Seidenstein, Annabelle L Sharon, Jennie Beck Wintner

Thursday September 4: Nathan Beck, Jack Gusky, Erna Landsberger, Joseph L Lebovitz, Louis Levy, Morris L Lieberman, Anna Belle Nadler, Hannah Lillian Rice, Donald Rosenthal, Pearl Seltzer, Mary Simon, Judith Stein, Rose Uram, Bessie Weiner

Friday September 5: William Phillip Clovsky, Arleen Cohen, Charlotte J Goodman, Samuel M Hepps, Samuel Jacob Miller, Anna Singer, Jewel Steinberg Surloff, Esther Zinman

Saturday September 6: Donald Baker, Belle Borofsky, Norma Davis Brodell, Jacob Broudy, Israel Louis Gordon, Herman Horowitz, Hyman J Jacobs, Morris Kalson, Theodore Kohut, Morris Mandel, Mollie Markowitz, Samuel M Rosenzweig, Frank Rubenstein, Besse Schugar, Jacob Schwartz, Abraham I Silverman, David Sinaiken, Joseph Slinger, Esther Wishnovitz

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Headlines

Australia accuses Iran of directing antisemitic attacks, expels ambassador

By Asaf Elia-Shalev | JTA

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday, accusing Tehran of orchestrating antisemitic arson attacks on Jewish institutions, as police in Melbourne announced a series of arrests tied to synagogue fires and vandalism that have rattled the country’s Jewish community.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Iranian-directed attacks were “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression” designed to destabilize Australia.

The government will also designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and suspend operations at its embassy in Tehran. It has already moved Australian diplomats to a third country.

“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion,” Albanese said at a press conference Tuesday, referring to the Australian Security Intelligence Organization. “The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks.”

He added, “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is

totally unacceptable.”

Iran has a long track record of sowing violence against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad, including over the last two years as its proxies in the Middle East battled Israel on the ground. Police in multiple European countries have accused Iran of orchestrating recent attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites.

The Australian response appears to be the most extensive. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the expulsion of Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other Iranian officials was the first time Australia has taken such a step since World War II.

“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

“We have made this decision because Iran’s actions are completely unacceptable,” she said.

Authorities said Tehran was behind at least two 2024 incidents: the October firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher deli in Sydney, and the December arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue that destroyed much of the historic house of worship.

ASIO chief Mike Burgess said investigators traced the operations to the IRGC, which used proxies to disguise its role. “Iran and its proxies, literally and figuratively, lit the matches and fanned the flames,” he said.

The government’s announcement came alongside breakthroughs in the domestic investigation into the wave of antisemitic violence that has roiled the country and its sizable Jewish community.

In mid-August, police charged a 20-year-old man from the Melbourne suburb of Meadow Heights with arson, conduct endangering life, and theft of a motor vehicle. He is the second suspect charged in the case after police arrested a 21-year-old man in July.

“This investigation has been one of the highest priorities for the [Joint Counter Terrorism Team],” Australian Federal Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Nick Read said in a statement. “We remain laser focused on identifying those responsible and holding them to account.”

The December firebombing was described by Jewish leaders as a turning point in the country’s fight against antisemitism.

In a separate case, police announced Monday that they had arrested a 37-year-old man accused of repeatedly vandalizing Melbourne

Hebrew Congregation in South Yarra. Authorities said the suspect defaced the synagogue on six occasions between March and August, sometimes riding a scooter and wearing a “Ghostface” mask from the Scream horror film franchise. He was charged with multiple counts of criminal damage and graffiti, along with driving-related offenses. He was released on bail and is due in court in November.

The arrest followed another July 8 attack in which the entrance to the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation was set ablaze. Four people were arrested in that case, including a man charged with arson and endangering life, according to the Jewish Community Council of Victoria.

The arrests highlight what Jewish leaders describe as a worsening security crisis. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded 2,062 antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024 — a fourfold increase from the previous year.

Recent incidents include synagogue and school firebombings, and threats against Jewish patients by hospital staff. In January, police discovered a trailer filled with explosives, which investigators later said was part of an elaborate hoax orchestrated by an organized crime boss.

“Our community will perhaps find some solace from this breakthrough in the investigation and in knowing that the skill and devotion of our law enforcement and security agencies is there to protect us,” said Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, following the announcement about Iran’s involvement in recent attacks. “Yet there will be great anxiety that we have been targeted in such a callous and calculated way, by a ruthless and violent foreign force, because of who we are.”

Israel’s embassy in Canberra also praised the move to blacklist the IRGC, saying in a post on X, “Iran’s regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia.”

The announcements come amid strained ties between Israel and Australia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Albanese on Aug. 11 for his plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations next month, calling him a “weak politician who betrayed Israel.” Netanyahu also accused the Australian leader of failing to address antisemitism, giving him a deadline of next month’s Rosh Hashanah holiday to act.

Albanese brushed off the criticism, noting Netanyahu has made similar remarks about other world leaders. PJC

p Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media after visiting the damaged Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 10, 2024.

Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

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Musical:

Continued from page 16

The pair have built out a cast of characters based on the real-life Jews who hid in the Secret Annex in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. That includes the pansexual Latinx Anita Franco, Peter van Daan as a non-binary dancer and Mister van Daan, the play’s only cisgender heterosexual male, who is described as “literally worse than the Nazis.”

The show is framed as an ultra-progressive regional theater company staging an adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. According to YouTube theater critic Matthew Hardy, who caught the concert reading in June, the show starts off with “a hilarious monologue from the straight white producer/director” of the theater group, who is “earnestly explaining” the concept of his show — a diverse, race-swapped version of Anne Frank’s Holocaust story — as if “it’s the most progressive thing ever.”

Then, the play-within-a-play ensues, encapsulating the show’s story that Hardy calls “hilarious,” “aggressive” and “subversive.”

“It’s not trying to give you a warm, clear moral,” Hardy says. “Instead, it really undercuts every resolution — you think you’re about to learn something, or have a cathartic moment, and then bam. The song flips and you’re in a darker place.”

Fox has worked as an orchestrator,

Fox said he’s received death threats, as well as threats of people protesting at the show. But, he pointed out, “There has already been massive political and artistic, and discursive co-opting of Anne Frank, in every direction.”

composer and musical producer for a number of shows and musicians; before “Slam Frank,” he most recently wrote the music for “The Last Magic Negro,” a short satirical musical about the “magic Negro” movie trope (a wise, perhaps mystical character whose only purpose is to help the white protagonist). He’s also published a series of Stephen Sondheim songs adapted to various musical styles, and a viral cover of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” set to the chord progression of jazz standard “Giant Steps.”

Fox, who grew up Jewish in Los Angeles before moving to New York in 2005, calls himself a “pretty secular” Jew. His grandfather was the ritual director for a Conservative synagogue in L.A. for 60 years. Fox said he grew up going to synagogue for the High Holidays and had a bar mitzvah, but his relationship with Judaism has been

“complicated.” (He also shared that he was kicked out of Hebrew school as a kid.)

Sinensky is Jewish, as well — and in Fox’s words, is “the most secular a Jew can get.”

Assuming it is real, “Slam Frank” is set to join a lineage of provocative Jewish-written comedies — headlined by Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” — that tested taboos around the Holocaust, including the 1993 British comedy “Genghis Cohn” and Taika Waititi’s 2019 dramedy, “Jojo Rabbit.”

Avinoam Patt, who co-edited the book “Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust,” said that “Slam Frank,” from the looks of it, differs from works like “The Producers”: While Brooks set out to mock Hitler and his followers, Fox and Sinensky’s play is “using the backdrop of the Holocaust to raise and amplify the satire that they’re trying to make.”

With the backdrop of the Holocaust

comes controversy, especially if “there’s a feeling that it sort of trivializes the memory of the Holocaust,” said Patt, who teaches a Jewish humor class at New York University. “If you situate a joke against the backdrop or the context of the Holocaust, it ups the ante. It raises the level of tension and the stakes.”

That the play comedically deals with the story of Anne Frank, in particular, raises the ante even more, said Patt. Comedic treatments of Anne Frank have been done before, he pointed out — “Family Guy” has cutaway jokes about the young diarist and Jewish comedian Jeff Ross hosted a “roast” of Anne Frank on Netflix, to name two examples.

But at a time of rising antisemitism, and with accusations that Jews are “weaponizing” the Holocaust to defend Israel’s actions in Gaza, are people losing their tolerance for Anne Frank humor?

Fox said he’s received death threats, as well as threats of people protesting at the show. But, he pointed out, “There has already been massive political and artistic, and discursive co-opting of Anne Frank, in every direction.”

“So if you’re the type of person who will post a picture of Anne Frank for your own political cause — ‘Anne Frank would be for the earned income tax credit,’ or whatever — and I start playing with that, then you get bothered?” he said. “That’s a you thing.”

Performances of “Slam Frank” begin Sept. 17 at Asylum NYC (123 E 24th St.). The upcoming dates are part of a developmental run, meaning the script is still being tweaked for later performances. PJC

Community

Macher and Shaker

Providence Point/Baptist Senior Family Wellness Director Fabiana Cheistwer was honored at the Julian Gray Conference at the Pittsburgh Hilton Southpointe. Cheistwer was nominated by Gallagher Home Health Services and received The League of Community Champions Award from Marketing Admissions Supporting Healthcare. Along with receiving a trophy, Cheistwer was awarded $500 to donate to a charity of choice. Cheistwer

Community Day School celebrated the new school year and building modernizations with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Aug. 25 event welcomed community members and supporters

Hillel at Pitt welcomed hundreds of students and families for FreshFest. During the annual two-day pre-orientation program, students met Jewish peers on campus, explored Pittsburgh and participated in student panels. FreshFest culminated in a

Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC

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