Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 1-5-24

January 5, 2024 | 24 Tevet 5784

Candlelighting 4:49 p.m. | Havdalah 5:53 p.m. | Vol. 67, No. 1 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL A decision made with "dignity"

Pittsburgh, Israel, food and After Oct. 7, mental health: top stories of 2023 antisemitism in high schools more subtle, less overt

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

Temple Beth Israel to close next year LOCAL

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A new generation took the pulpit following the retirement of several longstanding rabbis.

Though some of Pittsburgh’s new clergy began their posts slightly before 2023, the past year marked an ascent to communal leadership and broader inclusion.

Rabbi Yitzi Genack, who replaced Rabbi Daniel Wasserman at Shaare Torah Congregation, said his congregation is trying to develop programs to increase people’s engagement through classes and prayer.

“No matter where you are, you can have the opportunity to grow in your Judaism, your Torah study and in your tefillah,” he said.

Cantor Toby Glaser of Rodef Shalom Congregation said his approach to Jewish music aims to “have something for everyone.”

Temple Emanuel of South Hills’ Cantor Kalix Jacobson and Temple Sinai’s Cantor David Reinwald both emphasized including a variety of new composers to enhance spirituality and inclusiveness.

hauna Maenza is used to overt acts of antisemitism.

The North Allegheny High School senior and BBYO regional vice president is accustomed to the occasional antisemitic comment or joke coming from other students trying to score cheap laughs.

What surprised her, though, has been the recent, more subtle forms of antisemitism.

“Before Oct. 7, the displays of antisemitism were very direct,” she said. “It would be a Hitler salute or a word. Now, it’s so indirect and layered. They don’t directly say, ‘I hate Jews.’ They disguise it, saying things like ‘I hate Israel, I hate Zionists,’ but I think we all know what that means.”

The slurs, Maenza said, used to come from “ignorant white boys”; now they come in political conversations and social media posts.

She cited a recent Israel/Palestine debate in her foreign policy class when she pointed out the degree of the atrocities Hamas committed during its attack on Israel.

“Someone responded, ‘Yes, BUT….’ There shouldn’t be a ‘but,’” Maenza said. “There can be an ‘and,’ but it’s always, ‘Yes, but….’ I don’t think people understand that false equivalency.

There’s a group that won’t even talk to any of the Jewish kids in our school.”

Consequently, she feels it’s harder to be seen as a person, she said.

“It’s no longer you’re just Jewish. Now, you’re Jewish and a Zionist,” Maenza continued. “It’s another reason for people to look at you differently. I understand not all Jews are Zionists — although I think a lot of them are — but now the problem is that if you hate Zionists, you hate Jews.”

Some of her peers don’t understand the difference between the broader Jewish community and Israel, she said.

Please see Top Stories, page 10

Please see Antisemitism, page 11

Page 2

Teacher, author, cop  Each Sunday, community members gather in Squirrel Hill in support of the hostages, now held in captivity for more than two months.

Photo courtesy of David Dvir

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

Jewish Officer David Shifren retires Page 3

NATIONAL Campus controversy

M

ild temperatures make us question whether winter is really here. And though we wonder when ice and slush will arrive, we’re fully confident of one thing: 2023 is over.

The year was filled with familiarities and surprises — some pleasant, some horrifying.

Throughout each event, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reported the actions and attitudes of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

As we hope for a new year bursting with good news, we look back on the top stories of 2023.

As Israeli government moves right, Pittsburghers respond Harvard's President Claudine Gay resigns Page 5

LOCAL “Girl From The North Country”

Bob Dylan musical coming to the Benedum Page 16

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The year began with a focus abroad as local leaders critiqued the Israeli government.

Rabbis Doris Dyen and Jamie Gibson, as well as Cantor David Reinwald, were among more than 300 U.S. spiritual leaders who signed an open letter titled “A Call to Action for Clergy in Protest of Israeli Government Extremists.”

The letter responded to a coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party and far-right Religious Zionist and Otzma Yehudit parties.

In Israel, the government’s rightward creep and efforts to overhaul the judiciary were met with weekly protests of hundreds of thousands.

In Pittsburgh, about 70 Israelis gathered on the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues to protest the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms. Holding signs reading “Save

Israel’s Democracy” and “Israel Must Stay a Democracy” the group returned to the Squirrel Hill corner on multiple Sundays to declare its message.

Months later, Pittsburghers again took to Squirrel Hill’s streets to call attention to Hamas’ kidnapping of 240 people after its barbaric invasion of Israel.

New generation of spiritual leaders arrives in Pittsburgh

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle NATIONAL

Meet Dean Phillips

ISRAEL

Israel's judicial overhaul stymied

FOOD

Turkish cuisine

Headlines Temple B’nai Israel to close in May 2025: decision made with ‘dignity’ — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer

A

fter more than a century in operation, Temple B’nai Israel is closing. The White Oak-based congregation will halt operations in May 2025, according to its president, Lou Anstandig.

Finances aren’t the issue.

“We are running out of people,” he said, noting that most of TBI’s members “aren’t young.”

“The people who are in leadership are in their 80s,” Anstandig said. “There just doesn’t appear to be a future without young people to continue making the congregation active.”

TBI traces its roots to 1912 when it was located in McKeesport.

At one time, McKeesport was the “largest small-town Jewish community in western Pennsylvania,” according to Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. During its peak, McKeesport had “more than 6,500 [Jewish residents], four synagogues, numerous auxiliaries and a community religious school with its own board of education.”

Since 2017, the “bulk” of TBI’s records have been at the Rauh. Subsequent donations have arrived since then, Lidji said.

TBI, which was the area’s first liberal congregation, has a humble origin, Anstandig said.

A storeroom on Jenny Lind Street in McKeesport was rented as a sanctuary.

Members lived and worked nearby. Rabbi Louis Brav was hired as the congregation’s first rabbi, and Frank R.S. Kaplan served as president. Family dues, including seats, were $15 per year. By the early 1920s, congregants developed plans to build a sanctuary and social hall at the corner of Shaw Avenue and Huey Street in McKeesport. In 1923, the building was dedicated. It remained TBI’s home for 77 years.

p Temple B’nai Israel synagogue on Shaw Avenue p Photograph of groundbreaking of Temple B’nai Israel’s synagogue on Photo courtesy of Rauh Jewish Archives at Heinz History Center Shaw Avenue, 1922 Photo courtesy of Rauh Jewish Archives at Heinz History Center

In 2000, with Rabbi Danny Schiff as the congregation’s spiritual guide, TBI bought Tree of Life Sfard’s property in White Oak. The move, and combined congregation, enabled TBI to thrive, according to Anstandig.

Following Schiff ’s departure in 2009, Rabbi Paul Tuchman served the congregation until 2020. Rabbi Howie Stein then assumed TBI’s pulpit.

Stein said the recent announcement about closing was met with sadness but not necessarily surprise: “As with many congregations in the old mill towns in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, the congregation has been aging and shrinking and we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t have the people power to keep it running.”

The decision to close was unanimously approved by approximately 60 congregants during a recent meeting, Anstandig said, but during its remaining 18 months, TBI will initiate some “innovative” activities.

Instead of transferring its 50 linear feet of yahrzeit plaques, TBI is creating a website where people can see images of the metal markers.

Many of the members and their families are “scattered all over the U.S.,” Anstandig said.

“We want something they can access from any time and any location.”

The site will contain information about deceased members, names of confirmands, photographs, cemetery information, a history of the congregation, a listing of rabbis and presidents, and other pertinent details.

“The idea is that our temple will live on through that website,” Anstandig said.

Establishing a digital presence avoids having to find another congregation willing to accept 50 linear feet of yahrzeit plaques, or even erecting a new structure at TBI’s cemetery, according to the president.

“I know that Uniontown and Monessen did it, but the difference is that they only had several yahrzeit plaques. The cost of building a building and then the ongoing maintenance was kind of mind-boggling,” Anstandig said.

“We decided to do something 21st-century that everybody, no matter where they are located, could access.”

Volunteers are creating the site. In the coming months, a professional will be hired to help. Sometime next year, TBI will look into selling its building, according to its president.

Schiff called TBI a “truly cohesive and

dynamic community that was unswervingly devoted to serious Judaism.”

“For 112 years, the congregation built robust Jewish identities which countless descendants took with them to many places around the Jewish world. Who could ask for a greater legacy than that?” he said.

Though slated to close next year, TBI has no intention of forgoing upcoming Shabbat services, holidays or other gatherings.

TBI alternates hosting a Friday night or Saturday morning service each week. Between in-person and online attendance, TBI draws about 12-15 people, Stein said.

Given its intention to continue meeting, and the fact that the congregation can pay its bills, why announce it is closing 18 months from now?

Anstandig said the answer is simple: “The idea here was to give ourselves enough time to do this in some orderly fashion and leave with dignity. We didn’t want a situation where it was the last man out, shut the lights.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Jewish police officer David Shifren readies for retirement, leaves behind a host of stories — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer

L

ike a serialized detective story, David Shifren’s life has been written across volumes, each with its own theme and flavor.

Shifren is a Pittsburgh police officer assigned to the city’s community engagement office, but he’ll soon begin penning the next edition of his story. At the end of January, after more than a decade of service, Shifren will retire.

As origin stories go, Shifren’s is more surprising than most.

After teaching grade school English in Hoboken, New Jersey, the Brooklyn native came to Pittsburgh in 1989 to earn a master’s in fine arts from the University of Pittsburgh.

While at Pitt, Shifren befriended someone who was ghostwriting for a popular young adult detective series.

“I decided it would be great to write a few books, including one about working for a circus, which I had done in college,” he said.

Shifren ended up writing a story that included a character going to a police academy. For research, he did the same thing — and became the oldest person to graduate from the academy.

He began by doing “ride-alongs with Pittsburgh police homicide detectives,” he said. “It was just so fascinating that it moved to the direction of policing, and when I finally went to the academy and found it so interesting, I became a cop when I was offered a job.”

Shifren first worked for Baldwin Borough’s police department before moving to the city.

Teaching, writing and policing require similar disciplines, he said.

“You have to be observant. You have to be a good listener. If you’re writing fiction, you have to be thinking about character motivation and they have to act in believable ways, motivated by believable impulses,” Shifren explained.

As a police officer, he said, he spent a lot of time chatting with people, listening to them and reading between the lines.

Over the years, Shifren said he’s had the opportunity to combine his police work and writing. While working in Zone 4, comprised of Hazelwood, Oakland, Regent Square, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, he wrote a weekly snapshot that described the past week’s crimes and included tips to avoid becoming a victim, something to which he brought a little humor. For instance, when writing that guns were often stolen when left behind in cars, he added, “You can’t do that.”

“People wrote and said, ‘This is great.

I look forward to reading it each week,” he said.

In the end, though, it may be the nontraditional police work Shifren did for which he is most remembered.

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p Retiring Pittsburgh Police Officer David Shifren found value, both for himself and the community, in chess.

While working in Baldwin, he started a summer program for youth — a movie night — to keep kids occupied. That made sense to the former schoolteacher who continues to teach, leading a popular film studies class at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

When he moved to Zone 4, Shifren started a chess club in Hazelwood.

“It was interesting to see how well it was received,” he said. “Kids would come.

Parents would send their kids because it was a way to keep them safe in a library with a cop. Business owners liked it because it kept the kids productively engaged.”

The game, he said, has proven in many studies to teach critical thinking and problem-solving — skills that helped the kids improve their grades and make better decisions.

The program was so popular that when former Pittsburgh Steelers Josh Dobbs learned of it, he not only came and played with the members of the club, but he wrote a check to cover end-of-the-year trophies, medals and meals.

Eventually, Shifren replicated the program in other neighborhoods, including Beechview, Brookline, Knoxville and Sheridan.

It ended when COVID forced the libraries to close.

Where some found barriers, though, Shifren saw an opportunity. He moved the game outdoors in Market Square on Tuesdays at lunchtime. Instead of children, who were unable to come downtown in the middle of the day, a new group of players began to form: his fellow officers, people on lunch breaks and tourists.

He remembered one Russian visiting Pittsburgh who remarked on the oddity of the games, saying, “In my country, you never see this — police playing chess with the citizens.”

The games even attracted a few young people who learned how to play chess while in prison, which helped develop trust between the police and former convicts.

While working in the city’s Arlington neighborhood, Shifren started a conversation with a woman reading a book. When she mentioned that reading got her through rehab, the community-minded officer thought a short story discussion group might prove useful.

He was able to convince the University of Pittsburgh, where he was teaching his Osher course, to sponsor the group in both Homewood and the Hill District.

Stories were picked that would be relatable to those attending.

“The stories and conversations were great,” he said. “Often race came up, but not in an antagonistic or touchy way. Talking about stories was a great door-opening to all kinds of conversations.”

Shifren said the way he polices is influenced by the various roles he’s played in his former careers.

“It’s like writing to me, or teaching.

You’re switching hats,” he said. “First, you’re a writer, then a reader, then an editor fixing what the reader didn’t get and then writing again. You’re switching hats all the time.”

The various programs, Shifren said, have an added benefit in the community.

“If you can develop relationships and

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo by Scott Goldsmith

trust — trust is a key word — trusting relationships between the police and community, then things roll better for everyone,” he said. “People may not be panicked when police show up in their neighborhood. They can help prevent crime by being willing to talk with people.”

If Shifren’s policing career seems unique, there’s another aspect that has made him even more unique to the force: He’s Jewish.

In 2015, Shifren told the Chronicle that he appreciated his Jewish background.

“From what I understand about Jewish outlook and ideology, Jewish people — especially scholars and rabbis — understand that not everything is necessarily black and white. If you’re a good cop, it’s important to listen to both sides. You can’t prejudge or go in with expectations. You have to be open-minded.”

Shifren is still planning his next step and said that he’s waiting to see if there will be an opportunity to continue with any of the programs he’s developed. He does plan to continue his writing, picking up on at least one project he’s had in the works for some time.

As he looked back, he said, it’s been the multi-volume story he’s been able to write that has proved most beneficial in his life.

“I think this may be the success secret: If you can bring aspects of what you used to do and enjoyed, to what you want to do in the future, that’s a good thing,” he said. PJC David Rullo can be reached at pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org.

JANUARY 5, 2024

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Headlines What you need to know about Dean Phillips, the Jewish congressman running for president — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

D

ean Phillips is running for president.

And he wants to talk.

Talking runs in the Jewish Minnesota congressman’s family — his grandmother is Dear Abby. And he’s friends with Ilhan Omar, despite their polar opposite views on a range of issues, including Israel, because they like to talk things through.

Now, Phillips, 54, is hoping that penchant for dialogue will fuel his latest endeavor — a long-shot bid to defeat Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary.

“The greatest challenge we face right now isn’t ideology, isn’t issue based, it’s conversation, the lack of conversation,” the Minnesota Democrat said in ads for his first congressional campaign for the House in 2018, which he reupped for his presidential campaign.

“And the great intention of my campaign in my personal mandate is to get people to talk.”

Phillips doesn’t differ much from Biden on policy, and hasn’t garnered any meaningful support from other elected officials or in the polls. But so far, as primary season approaches, he’s refused to back down.

Here are six things to know about Phillips as he vies against odds to be the first Jewish U.S. president.

He has staked his campaign on Biden’s unpopularity.

Phillips’ challenge boils down to one thing: Biden’s unpopularity. He says he likes the president and appreciates his performance, but that polls show Democrats need a different nominee next year.

Biden’s approval rating is 37% and has been lower than 50% for two years, according to Gallup. Election polls show him neck-andneck with former President Donald Trump — with some showing Trump leading in several swing states.

“The numbers are horrifying,” Phillips told CBS in an October interview. “I love Joe Biden, I want to make that clear — a remarkable man. I think he saved our country. … But that’s not what the numbers are saying now. There is an exhausted majority in America that wants neither of these candidates.”

Phillips’ platform more or less mirrors Biden’s: spurring small business growth, favoring police reforms while praising those in uniform who do their jobs well, promoting gun control and action to combat climate change.

He did depart from Biden in December on healthcare, endorsing Medicare for All, a policy championed in recent years by Sen. Bernie Sanders which would provide government-run healthcare to all Americans.

Biden has campaigned in the past on expanding healthcare coverage but has not endorsed Medicare for All. The problem Phillips faces is that hardly anyone wants to listen to him.

When pollsters pay attention to Phillips, he garners less than 5% against Biden and even 4

JANUARY 5, 2024

p U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, attends a news conference on Iran negotiations on Capitol Hill on April 6, 2022.

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

trails Marianne Williamson, the Jewish selfhelp author. The president leads the polls by more than 60 points.

Polls aren’t Phillips’ only problem: His campaign has raised less than $1 million. The Democratic Party is canceling primaries in key states, including North Carolina and Florida.

And colleagues who enjoyed his company are now shunning him, Axios reported last week.

Phillips, who was elected to an influential leadership position in his party just a year ago, is persona non grata among some House Democrats, a few of whom were willing to diss him on the record.

“Dean Phillips is not going to win any primary,” said Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the former majority leader. “I think he’s not helpful to the country.”

But Phillips is not ending his run, telling Axios that his party should have “a democracy of competition and not coronation.”

He was one of the first Jewish members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

On Nov. 17, Phillips posted a statement that at first appeared to echo the Biden administration’s policy on Israel. It called Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel “despicable,” mourned “the resulting human tragedy in Gaza” and said “Israel has every right and expectation to target Hamas terrorists and dismantle their capability of destroying the state of Israel.”

But the statement added, “That response has taken an unacceptable toll on Palestinian civilians.” And it called for an “immediate and mutual ceasefire of large-scale military operations and indiscriminate terror” to be upheld by both sides.

The statement — which had several other provisions, including calling for a release of hostages, new Israeli elections and a multinational force to be stationed in Gaza — made Phillips one of the first Jewish members of Congress to call for a

ceasefire.

On Dec. 11, he called for both Hamas and Netanyahu to lose power — and implicitly tied that call to his own presidential bid.

“Hamas is a clear & present danger to Israel, Palestinians, & peace, & must be destroyed,” he wrote. “Netanyahu is a clear & present danger to Israel, Palestinians, & peace, & must be democratically replaced. Earth needs a new generation of leaders to save itself.”

He has also echoed feelings of isolation felt by many Jews amid reports of rising antisemitism amid the IsraelHamas war.

“Being a Jewish member of Congress in the Democratic caucus is very difficult right now, you can imagine,” he told Bill Maher in November. “And there’s a seemingly a lack of progressive love when it comes to our doorstep. And it’s problematic.”

His grandmother was famous — and declared that he would be a Democrat.

When Phillips was born in 1969 his father, Artie Pfefer, was deployed to Vietnam and was killed six months later, never having met his son. When Phillips was an adult, he learned that his parents kept in touch through audiotapes. In one, Pfefer said, “I really love you so much and little baby Dean. I’m just getting a feeling for you and those pictures and, you know, his voice and everything.

I’d really like to give him a big, big fat kiss.”

When he was 3, his mother DeeDee remarried, and Eddie Phillips, who also was Jewish, adopted Dean. Eddie’s mom was Pauline Phillips, better known as the advice columnist Dear Abby.

Phillips likes to recount that when he was 10 or so and tracking the 1980 presidential race, independent candidate John Anderson visited his school.

“We were having a family dinner, and

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

my grandma asked about my day and said, ‘Before you continue, are you a Democrat or Republican?’ I didn’t know. And she said, ‘You’re a Democrat.’ So she anointed me a Democrat when I was 11 years old,” he told Roll Call last year.

“Nine years later, I was having dinner with her again, and she asked what I was going to do that summer as a junior in college,” he said. “She knew [Democratic Vermont Sen.] Patrick Leahy a bit and said I should apply for an internship on Capitol Hill. So I did, and that became the greatest summer of my life until joining Congress myself in 2019.”

His Jewish identity revolves around philanthropy, and his business career centers on gelato and coffee.

Phillips likes to cite his Minsk-born great-grandfather, Jay Phillips, as a model: He suffered antisemitism and poverty as a child in Minnesota, but would set aside pennies he earned as a newspaper delivery boy to pay for bread for the homeless.

Jay Phillips founded a distillery empire (launching, among other things, the first American-made schnapps) and helped establish Mt. Sinai hospital in Minneapolis, among other philanthropic endeavors.

Dean Phillips for a time ran the distillery, but he said his great-grandfather’s charitable work was his real calling. He has served as co-chairman of the Phillips Family Foundation.

“Our true family business is the foundation, and philanthropy is the thread that is woven through the generations,” he told TC Jewfolk, a local Jewish outlet. “My Jewishness begins with that, and the philanthropy begins with our Jewish heritage and Jay’s story of sharing the pennies.”

He quit the distillery in 2012 to run Please see Phillips, page 5

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Claudine Gay resigns from Harvard, weeks after contentious antisemitism hearing — NATIONAL —

By Andrew Lapin | JTA

H

arvard University President Claudine Gay has resigned in the wake of plagiarism allegations and months-long criticism of her response to allegations of antisemitism at the school.

Gay is the second Ivy League university president to step down following congressional testimony on campus antisemitism last month that drew intense criticism.

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned her post on Dec. 9.

Gay had also faced criticism over the school’s initial statement on Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel. Critics called the statement tepid, particularly in the wake of a letter from a coalition of student groups that blamed the attack on Israel. The Department of Education has also opened a civil rights investigation into one reported instance of a Jewish Harvard student being targeted on campus.

Soon after the congressional testimony, the university’s trustees, known as the Harvard Corporation, voiced its support for Gay’s continued leadership. On Dec. 13, the board issued a statement backing her and appearing to curb speculation that she would resign.

Instead Gay, the first Black president in the school’s history, will also become its shortest-tenured; she has served for just over six months. In addition to her handling of antisemitism, she was also under fire for allegations of plagiarism in her research papers.

A new wave of plagiarism accusations

Phillips: Continued from page 4

Talenti Gelato, selling it in 2014 to Unilever. He then opened two coffee shops in the Minneapolis area named Penny’s.

“We thought combining crepes with coffee was similar to gelato, which was this elevation of a product that people enjoy when they traveled to Europe and had a fondness for, but wasn’t really available widely in the U.S..” he told Forbes. “So it’s not the café; I’d like to position it more as an escape, and it just happens to serve coffee and crepes.”

That venture was not so successful: The coffee shops shuttered in 2022.

His first taste of politics was in a synagogue.

Phillips was on the board of Temple Israel, the oldest synagogue in Minneapolis, which, he told TC Jewfolk, was his “first foray into governance.” He made it sound daunting, but also portrayed it as a useful learning experience.

“It was enlightening because when people with great passion and different perspectives are all looking to the same end and see the means differently, that PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

surfaced this week.

Alan Garber, Harvard’s Jewish provost, will serve as the school’s interim president, the Harvard Corporation, announced. In November, Garber said that he had regrets about his school’s initial response to the Oct. 7 attack.

Gay’s resignation was first reported Tuesday by the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.

“It has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to

resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual,” Gay wrote in a letter to the campus community.

Criticism of Gay mounted following the Dec. 5 congressional hearing, where she, Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth said that calls for the genocide of Jews may not necessarily violate their schools’ codes of conduct. At the hearing, Gay had

is analogous to Congress, and it requires patience and listening and conversation and the willingness to participate,” he said.

together to seek bipartisan compromise.

She is a member of the far-left “Squad.”

He is unapologetically pro-Israel; she is a fierce critic of Israel. He is all about

“The greatest challenge we face right now isn’t ideology, isn’t issue based, it’s conversation, the lack of conversation. And the great intention of my campaign in my personal mandate is to get people to talk.”

–DEAN PHILLIPS He believes in talking before condemning.

Phillips’s neighboring district is represented by Ilhan Omar, the firebrand Somali-American Muslim congresswoman who has drawn criticism for rhetoric some Jewish critics call antisemitic.

They occupy opposite ends of the Democratic spectrum: he has been a leading member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, which brings Republicans and Democrats

spurring business-friendly legislation; she is allied with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Phillips has not held back when he thinks Omar deserves criticism: He was one of four Jewish Democrats who in 2021 accused her and other Squad members of echoing antisemitism for using words like “apartheid” and “terrorist” to describe Israel’s government.

But he also considers Omar a friend,

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testified that on-campus calls for “intifada” are “personally abhorrent to me,” but stopped short of saying they would violate the university’s rules. Instead, she, like the other presidents, said such matters were dependent on “context.”

“When speech crosses into conduct that violates our policies, including policies against bullying, harassment or intimidation, we take action and we have robust disciplinary processes that allow us to hold individuals accountable,” she said at the hearing.

That answer drew bipartisan rebuke, including from several lawmakers who are Harvard alums — such as New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who asked the question. Gay later apologized for her testimony.

Gay’s resignation was welcomed by a vocal contingent of Jewish Harvard students, alumni and donors who had pushed to hold the Ivy League university accountable for her testimony and for what they say is an unsafe campus environment for Jewish students. Bill Ackman, a Jewish alum and billionaire hedge-fund investor, had been among the more prominent voices calling for her to step down; other Jewish donors had pledged to reduce their giving to $1 in protest, or to only donate to Jewish groups on campus.

Calls to oust Gay were also backed by several right-wing figures, including Christopher Rufo, previously an architect of the Republican campaign against “critical race theory.”

Following Gay’s resignation, Ackman posted the message “Et tu Sally?” — an apparent reference to Kornbluth. PJC

according to a lengthy 2019 profile of their unlikely relationship in Politico Magazine. Just after Omar made perhaps her most notorious statement, saying support for Israel in Congress was “all about the Benjamins,” he sought her out for a face-to-face chat before issuing his own statement, despite the talk causing a delay that he said irked fellow Jewish Democrats.

“That’s how I wish more people would conduct themselves — let’s share it face to face,” Phillips told Politico. “You know, a little more talking, a little less tweeting. It’s the tweeting that gets us into trouble.”

In a fiery floor speech in February, he defended his friend when Republicans ousted her from the Foreign Affairs Committee, saying they “share a belief in debate, deliberation and reconciliation.” Then, to whoops and cheers from members of the Squad, who sat behind him as he delivered his speech, he laid into farright Republicans for members of their conference who “encouraged an insurrection.”

The same day, Omar joined Phillips in cosponsoring a pro-Israel resolution “recognizing Israel as America’s legitimate and democratic ally.” PJC JANUARY 5, 2024

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Calendar Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions also will be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q FRIDAY, JAN. 5 Families with young children are invited to join Rodef Shalom Congregation for Shabbat with You, a preShabbat playdate, service and dinner to celebrate Shabbat together. 4:30 p.m. $5 per family. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/shabbatwithyou. q SUNDAYS, JAN. 7 – DEC. 29 Join a lay-led online parshah study group to discuss the week’s 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. q SUNDAYS, JAN. 7 – JAN. 28 Chabad of Pittsburgh presents the Jewish Children’s Discovery Center. Girls and boys grades 3-5 will practice cake-decorating skills while learning about the holy temple and what its beautiful golden vessels can teach us today. Girls and boys grades K-2 will create and decorate a wooden mitzvah house while learning about the holy temple and the values it represents. Girls and boys ages 3 and 4 will touch, taste, hear and feel their way through a journey of Jewish values and traditions. With weekly storytelling, crafts, music and games, this class is sure to get out all the morning wiggles. Grades K-5: $60/4-week session; ages 3-4: $30/4-week session, $10/class.

Noon. chabadpgh.com. q MONDAY, JAN. 8 Women of Temple Sinai present the Make ‘n’ Eat Cooking Class, Georgia on My Mind: A Shabbat meal, with instructor Saul Straussman featuring recipes from the Caucasus, the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and parts of Southern Russia. This is a hands-on learning experience for novice cooks and experts. All are welcome. $15.

6 p.m.templesinaipgh.org/event/make-n-eat-cookingclass-sponsored-by-wots2.html. q MONDAYS, JAN. 8 – DEC. 28 Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q MONDAYS, JAN. 8 – FEB. 5 Join Rabbis Sharyn Henry and Jessica Locketz for Wise Aging Group, a five-session experience designed for Jewish adults 55 and older who are open to conversations about what it means not just to get older, but to age wisely. 7 p.m. $72.

4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/wiseaging. q MONDAYS, JAN. 8 – MAY 13 H. Arnold and Adrien B. Gefsky Community Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff presents Torah 2. Understanding the Torah and what it asks of us is perhaps one of the most important things that a Jew can learn. In Torah 2, Schiff will explore the second half of Leviticus and all of Numbers and Deuteronomy. 9:30 a.m. $225.

Zoom. jewishpgh.org/event/torah-2-2/ 2023-10-09. q WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 10 – MAY 15 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh virtually presents two Melton courses back-to-back: “Ethics” and Crossroads.” In “Ethics,” learn how Jewish teachings shed light on Jewish issues. “Crossroads” will present an emphasis on reclaiming the richness of Jewish history. 7 p.m. $300 for this 25-session series (book included). jewishpgh.org/series/meltonethics-crossroads. q WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 10 – DEC. 18 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.

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JANUARY 5, 2024

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. q THURSDAY, JAN. 11 Temple Sinai presents Seniors Lunch & Movie: “Golda.” “Golda” depicts the life of Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel, particularly during the Yom Kippur War. 11:30 a.m. $10. templesinaipgh.org/ event/seniors-lunch-movie.html. q THURSDAYS, JAN. 11 – FEB. 8 Bring your lunch and join Cantor Toby Glaser for Lunch Time Liturgy to look at the prayers of Kabbalat Shabbat, the opening psalms and prayers of the Shabbat evening service. $54.

1 p.m. Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org/lunch. q SATURDAY JAN. 13 – SUNDAY, JAN. 14 Tree of Life Congregation and Ebenezer Baptist Church invite the community to a Unity Weekend celebrating the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pastor Vincent Campbell will offer a sermon during Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Congregation and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers will chant a modern Haftorah based on the words of Dr. King on Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Saturday services: 9:45 a.m., 4905 Fifth Ave. Sunday services: 11 a.m., 2001 Wylie Ave. treeoflifepgh.org. q SUNDAY, JAN. 14 Join Chabad of the South Hills for Bowl for Israel.

For every 10 points bowled, a dollar will be donated to support Israel. Location given upon registration.

5 p.m. $15, includes pizza dinner. chabadsh. com/cteenjr. q SUNDAYS, JAN. 14 – 28 Join Chabad of the South Hills for Babyccino: A chic meet for moms and tots. Learn about the four holy cities in Israel through music, movement, arts, sensor and heaps of play. 10:30 a.m. $12/class or $30 for all 3 sessions. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh. com/babyccino. q WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17 Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for the Righteous Among the Neighbors Celebration, a joint project with the LIGHT Education Initiative, in partnership with student journalists at Mt. Lebanon High School, to honor non-Jewish Pittsburghers who have supported the Jewish community and stood up against antisemitism. Free. South Hills JCC. 7 p.m. hcofpgh.org/event/righteous-among-theneighbors-celebration.

Join AgeWell for the Intergenerational Family Dynamics Discussion Group at JCC South Hills every third Wednesday of each month. Led by intergenerational specialist/presenter and educator Audree Schall. The group is geared toward anyone who has children, grandchildren, a spouse, siblings or parents. Family dynamics is a fascinating topic and whether you have family harmony or strife, these discussions are going to be thought-provoking, with tools and views to help build strong relationships and family unity. Free. 12:30 p.m. 345 Kane Blvd. q THURSDAY, JAN. 18 Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for a Women’s Farbrengen. Enjoin an evening of Chassidic songs and stories on the topic of “Transforming Our World into a Garden,” and enjoy hot drinks and desserts.

7 p.m. $10. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com. q FRIDAY, JAN. 19 Join Temple Sinai for a Tot Shabbat Service & Dinner. Are you looking for an informal, inviting way to teach your little ones about Shabbat and connect with other families? Join Cantor David Reinwald, Rabbi Daniel Fellman and Danie Oberman for this exciting service. Contact Danie Oberman at Danie@templesinaipgh.org or 412-421-9715, ext.

121. 5 p.m. 5505 Forbes Ave. templesinaipgh.org.

q FRIDAY, JAN. 26 Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh virtually for its annual commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Robbie Aitken, professor at Sheffield Hallam University, will discuss the concept of “forgotten victims,” which looks at the experiences of Germany’s Black resident community. Registration is free and donations are optional. Noon. hcofpgh.org/events. q SATURDAY, JAN. 27 Join Chabad of the South Hills for Bourbon Talk and Tasting with the Bourbon Rabbi. Learn about the history of bourbon and the behindthe-scenes details of the industry while enjoying a guided tasting of select bourbons. $36/person. 8 p.m. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com/bourbon. q WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 31 – MARCH 6 Chabad of the South Hills presents a new six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Advice for Life: The Rebbe’s Advice for Leading a More Purposeful Life. This new multimedia course is a journey through the Rebbe’s practical wisdom on work, family, health and well-being. 7:30 p.m.

Chabad of the South Hills, 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com. q FRIDAY, FEB. 2 NextGEN Shabbat After Hours is back, and this time it’s bookish! Join Temple Sinai after its Mostly Musical Shabbat Evening Service for a cozy oneg just for NextGEN. There will be snacks, warm drinks and a book swap. Bring a book you’ve read and pick up your next read. Share recommendations with friends and enjoy browsing what others have loved. 8:15 p.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/ shabbat-after-hours-.html#. q SUNDAY, FEB. 4 Be a hero in your community at the Jewish Federation’s annual Super Sunday. Help raise funds with the community alongside your peers and

represent your favorite Jewish Pittsburgh agency.

Free T-shirts, prizes kosher food and drink provided. Two sessions available: 9-11 a.m.; noon-2 p.m. 30-minute training sessions take place Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 8:30 a.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 31 at noon. To register, visit jewishpgh.org/event/super-sunday. q SUNDAY, FEB. 11 Temple Sinai Brotherhood invites everyone for brunch followed by a discussion related to Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month. 10 a.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/brotherhood-brunch/ jdaim-event.html. q FRIDAY, FEB. 16 Are you looking for an informal, inviting way to teach your little ones about Shabbat and connect with other families? Join Cantor David Reinwald, Rabbi Daniel Fellman, and Danie Oberman for a Tot Shabbat Service and Dinner at Temple Sinai.

5 p.m. Contact Daniel Oberman at danie@templesinaipgh.org. q TUESDAY, FEB. 20 – MAY 14 Understanding and explaining Israel’s current position requires knowledge of history. In the 10-part course, A History of The Arab-Israel-Iran Conflict: All You Need to Know, Rabbi Danny Schiff will provide a full overview of the regional conflict that Israel has experienced over the last century.

What pivotal moments brought us to where we now are, and what might that mean about where the conflict is headed? The cost of taking a course is never a barrier to participation. If price is an issue, please contact the organizer of this course that we can make the cost comfortable for you. $145. 8 p.m. jewishpgh.org/series/history-of-thearab-israel-iran-conflict. q SUNDAY, FEB. 25 Everyone has their own special recipe that they think is the best. Prove you have the winning recipe at Temple Sinai’s Kugel Cook Off. 10 a.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/kugel-cook-offsponsored-by-wots.html. PJC

Join the Chronicle Book Club!

T

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Jan. 21 discussion of “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth,” by Noa Tishby.

From the Jewish Book Council: “Noa Tishby is on a mission to correct misperceptions of Israel — its history, culture, and people. After watching Israel be criticized by the global community, particularly online, the Israeli actress, writer, and producer began defending the country on Twitter and beyond. What began as a hobby developed into a deep passion, and ultimately, a vocation. The more Tishby sought to explain Israel to others the more she sought to learn herself. From that journey, this book was born.”

Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewish chronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line to register. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting. Registration closes on Jan. 18.

Happy reading! PJC — Toby Tabachnick

Your Hosts: Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer How and When: We will meet on Zoom on Jan. 21 at noon.

What To Do Buy: “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth.” It is available at area bookstores and from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.

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Headlines In unprecedented decision, Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down law limiting its power — ISRAEL —

By Ben Sales | JTA

T

he Israeli Supreme Court has struck down a law that limited its power, an unprecedented decision nixing the one piece of legislation passed under the right-wing government’s effort to weaken the judiciary.

The 8-7 decision published on Monday returns the fight over Israel’s court system to the fore after a months-long pause due to Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, debate over the government’s judicial overhaul had riven the country, leading to massive protests and civil disobedience over what opponents said was a bid to undermine Israeli democracy.

Amid that civil strife, the government passed a law in July removing the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government decisions it deems “unreasonable,” a power used in the past as a check on executive power. The law was an amendment to one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, and it passed without any votes from the opposition. The court heard challenges to it later in the year.

p View of the Supreme Court building, with the Knesset building visible in the background

Photo via flickr.com/photos/visitisrael

Monday’s decision marks the first time for the court ever to strike down a Basic Law. While the specific law was struck down by a narrow majority, 13 of 15 justices wrote that the court does possess the authority to strike down Basic Laws. In the decision, former Chief Justice Esther Hayut wrote that the law was “extreme and irregular” and said it “departs from the foundational authorities of the Knesset, and therefore it must be struck down.”

The decision moves Israel closer to a potential constitutional crisis, a scenario in which a country experiences an unsolvable dispute between two branches of government, at a delicate moment. Ahead of the court decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not said explicitly that his government would obey a court ruling striking down the law.

Ministers in his government immediately criticized the decision, as well as the court’s

decision to publish it during wartime.

Netanyahu’s Likud Party called the decision “unfortunate” and said the court should not have ruled on an issue “at the heart of the societal disagreement in Israel when IDF soldiers from right and left are fighting and endangering their lives,” according to The Times of Israel.

“The decision of the Supreme Court judges to publish the court decision during wartime is the opposite of the spirit of unity needed these days for the success of our soldiers on the front,” wrote Justice Minister Yariv Levin, an architect of the judicial overhaul effort, on Facebook. “In practice, the judges have taken all of the authorities, which in a democratic regime are split in a balanced way between three branches of government.”

Israeli politicians on the center and left celebrated the decision. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, wrote on X, “The source of the state of Israel’s strength, the basis of Israeli power, is the fact that we are a Jewish, democratic, liberal, law-abiding state. The Supreme Court faithfully performed its duty today to protect Israel’s citizens.”

On X, Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist National Unity Party and a member of an emergency war cabinet, wrote that “the court decision must be respected.” PJC

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Headlines In interrogation, ex-Hamas operative says group uses Gaza civilians as human shields — WORLD —

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff | The Times of Israel

T

he Israel Defense Forces on Monday released new interrogation videos of Palestinian terror suspects who were captured by troops in the Gaza Strip, detailing Hamas’ use of civilians as cover for terror operations.

Israel has repeatedly said Hamas was using civilians as human shields, including by locating operations bases under hospitals, launching rockets from schools and shelters, building tunnels shafts under children’s bedrooms, storing weapons in and around schools and mosques, and embedding itself within civilians amid the ongoing war, triggered by the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 240 hostages.

Captured Hamas terrorists have confirmed some of the human shield claims, explaining for example that Hamas knows Israel will not target hospitals, medical centers and facilities.

On Monday, the IDF released a video of Zahdy Ali Zahdy Shahin, identified by the military as a former Hamas operative, who told interrogators of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 that he felt “we were being used as human shields.”

Shahin described an incident in which he says he was heading from northern Gaza to the Strip’s south in the humanitarian corridor set up by Israel when apparent Hamas gunmen pulled him and other civilians aside and brought them to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

He said he and other civilians were on the ground floor of the hospital, and once IDF forces reached the medical center, Hamas operatives came out from tunnels and hid among the sheltering civilians.

Shahin said he even argued with one of the Hamas operatives. “I told him ‘Your place isn’t up here with the civilians, but below.

Why did you come up?’”

p IDF soldiers operate at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in a handout photo distributed on Nov. 15.

Photo courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces

“He started to threaten me, said when the war ends he would settle the score,” he told the interrogator.

Israel says its ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza is aimed at destroying the terror group’s infrastructure amid vows to eliminate the entire terror group, which rules the Strip.

Another detainee, Muhammad Darwish Amara, who is identified by the IDF as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, said Hamas fighters took over his home.

Amara said he was sheltering in a school in northern Gaza, and told his son to check their home every couple of days to ensure nobody was breaking in to steal

p Zahdy Ali Zahdy Shahin, identified by the IDF as a former Hamas operative, is seen in an interrogation video published Jan. 1.

Photo courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces

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JANUARY 5, 2024

their belongings.

“He entered the apartment, opened the door, and there was a mess. He looks and

sees young men sleeping in my apartment,” Amara told the Unit 504 interrogator, claiming that they were Hamas fighters.

Amara said he did not give approval for Hamas to use his home to fight against the IDF. “We left the apartment and they took control of it. On the upper floor where my son lives… a sniper was sitting by the

window, and in the other room, there were several [operatives]. He said there were more than 20 people [in the apartment], their weapons thrown on the floor,” he said.

Recalling a separate incident he was told about, Amara told the interrogator that a Hamas operative tried to place an explosive device a few meters away from the home of an acquaintance.

He said the homeowner saw the operative placing the bomb “and went down and told him, ‘How are you placing an explosive by the door’?”

Amara claimed the Hamas operative responded to the man, saying, “If this doesn’t suit you, leave, this is none of your business.”

“He told [the Hamas operative], ‘How is this not my business? These are my children; this is not OK.’ And the [Hamas operative] responded saying, ‘I’ll place the explosive even if it doesn’t suit you, I’ll even place it between you and your wife,’” Amara claimed, adding that the Hamas operative then shot the homeowner in the leg.

Israel says its ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza is aimed at destroying the terror group’s infrastructure amid vows to eliminate the entire terror group, which rules the Strip. It says it is targeting all areas where Hamas operates, while seeking to minimize civilian casualties.

The use of human shields is part of Hamas’ “core strategy,” say senior Israeli military officials The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims more than 20,000 people have been killed in the Strip during the war, an unverified figure that also does not differentiate between combatants and civilians and does not take into account those killed as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires. Hamas has never said how many of its members have been killed.

It has claimed that some 70% of the Gazan fatalities are women and children.

According to Israeli assessments, troops have killed some 8,500 terror operatives since the war began. Another 1,000 Hamas terrorists were killed in Israel on or in the days after Oct. 7. PJC

p Muhammad Darwish Amara, identified by the IDF as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is seen in an interrogation video published Jan. 1.

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Photo courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces

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Headlines — WORLD — Jewish groups object to GOP’s treatment of Muslim candidate for court of appeals seat

Several national Jewish groups have come to the defense of a Muslim judicial nominee, saying Republican lawmakers inappropriately grilled him about his views on terrorism, Israel and antisemitism, JTA.org reported.

Adeel Mangi, a New Jersey lawyer who would be the first Muslim to serve on a federal appellate court, faced fierce questioning from GOP senators during his Dec. 13 confirmation hearing for his association with the Rutgers University Law School’s Center for Security, Race and Rights.

Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Tom Cotton of Arkansas repeatedly asked Mangi if he endorsed a 2021 statement signed by the center’s director, Sahar Aziz, describing Israel as a settler colonial state and supporting Palestinian resistance, and a 2021 event marking the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that included as a speaker Sami Al-Arian, who was convicted of material support for a terrorist organization unconnected to the attacks.

Mangi, who specializes in corporate law and who has successfully litigated several civil rights cases, answered that he did not know of the statement or the event. He condemned terrorism and, regarding the statement signed

by Aziz, he said Middle East policy was not in his purview as a judicial nominee.

The American Jewish Committee in a Dec. 21 statement called on the Senate to disregard

the “untoward implications” in the GOP senators’ line of questioning. A separate Dec. 18 letter spearheaded by the National Council of Jewish Women endorsed Mangi.

Feds to probe UNC’s response to harsh anti-Israel speech

The Department of Education announced on Dec. 27 that it has opened a new Title VI investigation into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with two others into George Mason University and Newark Public Schools, related to complaints of mistreatment based on “shared ancestry,” JTA.org reported.

Although the department does not publicly reveal the reasons for any of its open Title VI investigations, a staffer confirmed in a letter that its UNC investigation is related to a complaint filed earlier in the month by a lawyer affiliated with a pro-Israel nonprofit in the state. A person with knowledge of the George Mason University investigation also said it was related to allegations of antisemitism.

David E. Weisberg filed the UNC complaint on Dec. 7, alleging that a member of the university faculty and a guest speaker on campus both made anti-Israel comments in the weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Weisberg’s complaint details two incidents of alleged anti-Israel or pro-Hamas rhetoric at UNC to which he believes the administration should have responded more strongly.

In a statement, George Mason University would not say whether its own Title VI investigation involved antisemitism, although a source at the university read from a Department of Education letter confirming that it was.

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

Jan. 5, 1996 — Phone bomb kills terrorist Yahya Ayyash

Yahya Ayyash, who made bombs that killed more than 80 Israelis after he joined Hamas in 1992, dies in Gaza City when the Shin Bet sets off explosives in his cellphone during his weekly call to his father.

Jan. 6, 1942 — Toledano is installed as chief rabbi

Rabbi Jacob Moshe Toledano, a native p Rabbi Jacob of Tiberias who is Toledano (left) the chief rabbi of meets with a Brazilian delegation Alexandria, Egypt, while serving as returns to the Land of Israel’s minister Israel to assume the for religious affairs post of the Sephardi in 1960, near the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv end of his life. and Jaffa.

Jan. 7, 2010 — Early Hebrew inscription is deciphered

The University of Haifa’s Gershon Galil announces that he has deciphered a pottery shard inscription found at Khirbet Qeiyafa from the 10th century B.C.E., the earliest-known Hebrew writing yet discovered.

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The U.S. Department of Justice’s longestserving prosecutor, Eli Rosenbaum, who is also one of the world’s top Nazi hunters, intends to retire after 38 years at the department by the end of the year, JNS.org reported.

Rosenbaum serves as counselor at the War Crimes Accountability Team, which the department launched last year to “centralize and strengthen” its “ongoing work to hold accountable those who have committed war crimes and other atrocities during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“Nicknamed ‘the Nazi hunter,’ Rosenbaum spent much of his career at DOJ pursuing and prosecuting Nazis living in the U.S., racking up 119 court victories, more than the prosecutors in all other countries combined,” per the Harvard Law Bulletin.

Christian Levesque, the team’s lead prosecutor, will serve as its director beginning in January.

Conservative movement suspends its Israel gap-year program

The Conservative movement is suspending its Israel gap-year program for high school graduates, months after narrowly averting a closure for this year with an urgent fundraising appeal, JTA.org reported.

The program, called Nativ, is run by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the movement’s congregational arm. Over more than four decades, Nativ has historically attracted high school graduates who

are affiliated with Conservative synagogues, schools or camps, or who are seeking a program that is gender-egalitarian as well as kosher and Shabbat-observant.

In the past, Nativ has enrolled upward of 80 students. But in recent years, the program has shrunk substantially and this year enrolls fewer than 20 teens, all housed at the movement’s Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism.

Now, “new economic realities, recruitment challenges, and the changing nature of what young adults are looking for in their gap year” have all contributed to ending the program, according to an email sent to Nativ alumni on Dec. 21 by Conservative movement leaders, including USCJ CEO Jacob Blumenthal.

IDF reservists stumble upon 1,500-year-old lamp

Two Israeli reserve soldiers recently discovered a small, well-preserved Byzantine-era oil lamp at a military staging area in southern Israel near the Gaza border, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Dec. 26, JNS.org reported.

The find, by Nathaniel Melchior and Alon Segev, part of the 404th Battalion within the Israel Defense Forces’ 282nd Fire Brigade, sparked a chain of events that led to the 1,500-year-old artifact’s safe handover to the IAA. IAA archaeologist Sarah Tal identified the artifact as a “sandal candle” from the Byzantine period. Tal personally retrieved the lamp and presented the soldiers with a certificate of appreciation. PJC — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb

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Today in Israeli History — ISRAEL —

Top Nazi hunter to retire after 38 years at US Justice Department

1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451

Jan. 8, 1978 — Hadassah leader Rose Halprin dies

Rose Luria Halprin, a two-time national president of Hadassah who played a key role in the construction of the Mount Scopus hospital and held top positions in the Jewish Agency, dies at age 83.

Jan. 9, 1873 — National poet Hayim Bialik is born

Hayim Nahman Bialik, Is r a e l’s p Hayim Nahman national poet, is born Bialik, shown in in Radi in north1923, moved to Tel western Ukraine.

Aviv the next year.

Influenced by Ahad Ha’am’s cultural Zionism, he writes “In the City of Slaughter” after visiting Kishinev after the 1903 pogrom.

Jan. 10, 2000 — Syria peace talks end

Seven days of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, focused on trading the Golan Heights for peace, end without resolution in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Jan. 11, 1961 — Immigrant ship Egoz sinks

The Egoz, a ship leased by the Mossad to secretly transport Moroccan Jews to Israel, sinks a few hours after leaving Al Hoceima on its 12th immigration trip. Forty-four would-be immigrants drown. PJC

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Headlines Top Stories: Continued from page 1

As Judaism moves farther away from 20th-century norms, many denominational boundaries are blurring, leading to new approaches to practice, several of the spiritual leaders said.

“Demographics have shifted pretty quickly,” Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman said. “Where the last generation got to ride a wave of growth, this generation is confronting contraction.”

Fellman, who replaced Rabbi Jamie Gibson, said, “There’s a lot of opportunity for creative thinking and looking at new ways of doing things. We must recognize that the path that got us here isn’t the one we can take forward.”

Transition at Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

After 25 years at its helm, Brian Schreiber stepped down as president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. As part of the transition, Schreiber became chief external affairs officer and special adviser to the new CEO, Jason Kunzman, the JCC’s former chief program officer.

“This is a joyous moment for me to know that the agency is in such amazing professional hands,” Schreiber said during the organization’s annual meeting.

Kunzman likewise praised his predecessor: “I look forward to the challenge of honoring his legacy, not only at the JCC but within the community as well.”

Violins of Hope

In conjunction with an exhibit that ran at Carnegie Mellon University between Oct. 7 and Nov. 21, Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh presented nearly 40 programs, including musical performances and public talks. The events, which drew thousands of attendees, were facilitated by more than 50 community partners.

“Having so many groups come together to develop unique and heartfelt programming around this really speaks to the level of community engagement that’s happening here in Pittsburgh,” Peter Kerwin, CMU’s director of media relations, said.

To mark the end of its seven-week stay, Violins of Hope held a concert featuring violinist Joshua Bell, alongside Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony. The performance, which included Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Ernest Bloch’s “Nigun” from Baal Shem, and Israeli composer Boris Pigovat’s Yizkor, was followed by a public chat between Bell, Honeck and Avshi

p Violins of Hope

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JANUARY 5, 2024

Weinstein, one of the founders of the Violins of Hope project.

Shortly before the Nov. 25 concert, the collection received a violin that belonged to Ole Steffen Dahl, a member of the Danish resistance during World War II. The instrument had sat in a North Hills closet for almost 20 years.

Kosher food and the JAA

The Jewish Association on Aging announced that the kitchen in Weinberg Terrace, a senior living facility in Squirrel Hill, would no longer be kosher. For those residents desiring kosher food, the initial plan was for meals to be prepared at the JAA’s main campus and double-wrapped; a seal from the VAAD Harabonim of Pittsburgh would be placed on the items before delivery.

JAA officials said the plan was created to address financial concerns.

Following the announcement, numerous community members denounced the decision.

Their discontent was articulated through letters to the Chronicle, messages posted online and during public gatherings.

The JAA responded by meeting with residents and community members. JAA President and CEO Mary Anne Foley said she understood the community’s concerns, and then addressed them.

“We’ve worked with the VAAD on a process that food will be able to be plated and served on real plates and use real silverware instead of plasticware or containers,” she said, “because we will have volunteer mashgiach coverage at Weinberg Terrace during serving meals to our residents.”

Whether a resident chooses kosher or not, the experience will be the same, Board Chair Lou Plung said: “A server will come to them and say, ‘These are the kosher options for dinner tonight.’ They will take the order. The residents will eat off plates and have regular silverware.”

Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, a member of Pittsburgh’s VAAD, expressed his disappointment that the JAA will no longer be exclusively kosher, but said he appreciated the “dedication and commitment by JAA leadership to maintain a ‘mentchlech kosher option.’”

Efforts to support mental health continue

The pandemic brought mental health awareness to the forefront. Though social distancing and other pandemic practices are now less common, the community remained committed to addressing mental health needs.

During the past year, the Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh opened The Beacon, a “space for teens to focus on their wellness and feel supported,” Friendship Circle’s director Rivkee Rudolph said. “We will have trained staff

Photo courtesy of Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh

p New Light Congregation co-presidents Barbara Caplan and Stephen Cohen hug at the start of a press conference after the jury found the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter guilty of federal hate crimes, Friday, June 16, 2023, Downtown.

Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress

on-site at all times.”

The site’s opening comes at a critical time.

In recent years, teens and young adults have experienced measurable rises in loneliness, depression and anxiety.

Contributing factors include school shootings, student debt, unemployment, a barrage of negative news, fear of missing out and “shame in falling short of a social mediaworthy standard,” according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

A 2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report found that “suicidal behaviors among high school students increased more than 40% in the decade before 2019,” and that even before the pandemic, mental health challenges were already the “leading cause of death and disability in this age group.”

“Of the 44,000 youths living in the city of Pittsburgh, 20% struggle with their mental health; and suicide is the second-largest cause of death for this same demographic,” JFCS Chief Operating Officer Dana Gold said.

Jewish leaders on Pittsburgh’s college campuses said their students are experiencing higher rates of anxiety post-Oct. 7.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh feel increasingly “alone,” according to Chabad at Pitt’s Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein.

“The mental health needs on campus have skyrocketed,” Chabad of CMU’s Rabbi Shlomo Silverman said. “People are stressed and scared.”

In response to growing mental health needs on campus, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation approved emergency grants totaling $135,000.

The funding will go toward supporting students and staff at Hillel International, Hillel JUC, Chabad of Carnegie Mellon University and Chabad House on Campus at the University of Pittsburgh.

Community prepares for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

Jury selection for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial began in April. As a lead-up to the months-long trial, individuals and organizations readied the community for a physically and emotionally demanding experience.

In February, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh held a public meeting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discuss violent extremism and hate crimes.

The program was “designed to educate the community on current threats we’re seeing, what to be aware of and most importantly how to report, so we can protect one another as a community,” Federation’s community security director Shawn Brokos said. “It’s part

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

of our ongoing efforts to better prepare the community for the upcoming trial so we can be as informed as possible and ready for anything that may happen.”

As the trial date approached, both within the pages of the Chronicle and at public fora, legal scholars Bruce Ledewitz and David Harris explained the case’s complexities.

“For a death penalty trial, there are certain procedures and a whole different way of running a trial than in a regular, non-capital case,” Harris said.

“It turns what would be an ordinary case into celebrity events. Everybody is being extremely careful. If there were no death penalty, the federal government wouldn’t have gone after this guy,” Ledewitz said.

Organizations, including the 10.27 Healing Partnership, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and JFCS, provided additional programming and resources to prepare the community.

On the eve of the trial, Tree of Life Congregation held a public “l’hitraot ceremony.”

“The next chapter opens tomorrow,” Tree of Life’s rabbi Jeffrey Myers said, “so we needed to close that chapter today.”

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

Nearly five years after a gunman entered the Tree of Life building during Shabbat morning services and murdered 11 synagogue-goers in addition to injuring six others, a long-awaited federal trial was held.

Separated by three phases, the three-month trial ended with a federal jury imposing the death penalty. The jurors’ decision represented a unanimous rejection of the defense team’s claim that 115 mitigating factors should result in the gunman receiving life in prison.

Throughout the trial, the Chronicle partnered on daily coverage with the Pittsburgh Union Progress — a team of striking workers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The partnership between the Chronicle and Union Progress enabled both publications to leverage talent, combine resources and meaningfully cover a case and community that had received international interest for years. Together, the partnering publications produced more than 80 articles, which represented nearly every aspect of the case.

Antisemitism

Whether it was a Worthington man who used billboards to share hateful messages Please see Top Stories, page 11

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Headlines Top Stories: Continued from page 10

or offensive graffiti in Summerset, antisemitism was a constant occurrence throughout Pittsburgh in 2023.

During the year, Jewish teens were harassed in Greenfield, antisemitic flyers and stickers were found in Squirrel Hill and Oakland.

A hoax caller threatened to “shoot up” the Tree of Life building in Squirrel Hill. And, as jury selection began in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, online hateful rhetoric increased.

Following the trial’s conclusion, white supremacist Hardy Lloyd was arrested after the FBI filed a complaint against him in the Northern District of West Virginia. Agents arrested Lloyd on charges of obstruction of justice, interstate threats and witness tampering regarding the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s trial.

After pleading guilty to the charges, Lloyd was sentenced to 78 months in prison

followed by three years of supervised release.

As the year neared completion, antisemitic events increased. Between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7 (two months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war), the ADL recorded 2,031 antisemitic incidents nationally. The group maintained the number represented a 337% increase from the 465 incidents that happened during the same span one year earlier.

In Pittsburgh, college students expressed concerns about safety.

Chabad at Pitt’s Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein told the Chronicle: “Thank God nothing physical has happened, but students are worried about antisemitism.”

Pittsburghers show support of Israel, and visit Israel and D.C.

Following the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, Pittsburghers showed immediate support for Israel by attending vigils, tehillim rallies and other public gatherings.

Several community members, including rabbis and physicians, demonstrated their

p Attendees fill the National Mall during a Nov. 14 “March for Israel.”

Photo by Adam Reinherz

commitment to the Jewish state by traveling to Israel with colleagues. Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein and Squirrel Hill resident Michael Milch, among others, traveled to Israel with national leaders. Several members of congregations Poale Zedeck and Shaare Torah headed to Israel on a joint mission just before New Year’s.

While many Pittsburghers demonstrated support by heading to Israel, more than 500

Antisemitism: Continued from page 1

For instance, Maenza recalled that when she discussed the actions of Hamas with another girl, that student’s reaction was to disregard the terrorists’ acts and immediately begin talking about Israel and its actions.

Zionists, Maenza said, tend to center their conversation on Hamas; the other side generalizes all of Israel, not understanding the difference between the Israeli government and the everyday Israeli.

“The difference between Zionists is that they use the word ‘Hamas’ — the government [in Gaza] — whereas the other side tends to generalize all of Israel: ‘All of Israel is doing this’ — it’s not the Israeli government, it’s Israel,” she said.

Antisemitism and ‘politics’

Naomi Davis is a junior at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School (CAPA) who recently completed a class assignment to paint anything about any subject.

Davis’ painting was titled “When Is Never Again” and featured images centering on the Holocaust, the massacre at the Tree of Life building and antisemitism. In the right quarter of the painting, she included a cellphone with the words “Today’s News.” In it, two references were made to the Oct. 7 attack: one listing it as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, and another about a kosher store that was attacked by pro-Hamas protesters.

The painting made no political statements about the war or Hamas’ actions. In her artist’s statement about the work, Davis said the painting was about antisemitism throughout time.

“The intent is to show that antisemitism is still present today and has never gone away,” she said.

“I felt compelled to paint it because of how I was feeling over these past couple of weeks,” Davis explained. “I thought it was really important to show my classmates, especially.”

Typically, Davis explained, her teacher would have spent class periods walking around and offering feedback to the students as they worked. And while he did that for most of the students, Davis said that she was ignored, which made her feel “uncomfortable and weird.”

“That didn’t stop me from painting it PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p “When Is Never Again” by Naomi Davis

Photo provided by Naomi Davis

though,” she said.

On the day the project was due, Davis stayed up until 2 a.m. completing the painting and readying it for the usual critique it would receive, not just from the teacher but from her classmates, as well.

“Before we even started the critique, there was a girl that walked up to my painting, took a picture and said, ‘This is going to be interesting. Is Naomi even here?’” Davis said.

“She’s one of the very pro-Palestinian people.

That got me a little nervous.”

What happened next, though, would leave Davis feeling singled out and ostracized.

“He [the teacher] stood up and made a 2-minute speech about how we’re not going to be talking about politics in this critique, and he went on and on about it,” she said. “Everyone knew he was talking about my painting because other people painted cupcakes and the sky.

After he stopped, I just said out loud, ‘My piece is about antisemitism.’ He said, ‘Antisemitism is political.’”

Throughout the class, no one mentioned Davis’ work, not even those whom she described as “good people” but who felt nervous and intimidated.

The teacher, she said, usually ends the period discussing pieces not spoken about during the critique period.

“Mine was one of the only pieces not talked about,” she said. “I was very disappointed.”

Davis was awarded a 100% for the work and was eventually approached by the teacher privately, who asked if she wanted to discuss the painting. She told him how uncomfortable she

felt during the class and by his statement that antisemitism is political.

“Because that would mean there are two sides to it,” she said. “He tried to justify himself.

He said it was political again.”

Other controversial works have been painted in the class, she said, and have been critiqued and discussed.

That experience left her more nervous and uneasy about expressing her Jewish identity in school.

“I’m scared of what other people are going to say,” she said.

A ‘double standard’

Since Oct. 7, Davis said she has never felt prouder by the Jewish unity that occurred following the Hamas attack and has found outlets away from CAPA, like NCSY. Rabbi Meir Tabak is the Pittsburgh city director of NCSY, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, a Jewish youth group for teens in grades six through 12 under the auspices of the Orthodox Union.

Tabak said that while the majority of the Jewish teens he works with haven’t been bombarded with antisemitism in high school, “the places there have been issues, though, the issues have been significant.”

Echoing Davis’ experience, Tabak said that there appears to be a double standard at high schools about what is, and isn’t, OK to discuss.

“If you’re on one side and you want to say, ‘From the river to the sea,’ OK, but if you’re on the other side, just don’t talk about it,” he said.

Oct. 7 has brought a fresh crop of worries,

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

residents boarded buses and cars to spend a day in Washington, D.C., alongside an estimated 290,000 others. The Nov. 14 event on the National Mall was organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

The program, Finkelstein said, was a chance to “show people that we stand with Israel and we stand against antisemitism, which is spiking like we’ve never seen before.”

As 2023 ended, local interest in the IsraelHamas war remained high. Vigils, fundraisers and weekly demonstrations signaled the community’s ongoing concern.

Heading into 2024, Sunday gatherings on a Squirrel Hill street corner, which often include chants of “Bring them home,” will continue, organizers said, until Hamas releases every hostage. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Tabak explained, but said that antisemitism in high schools is nothing new. He pointed to the experience of one frustrated student whose current events teacher refused to discuss the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting after Oct. 27, 2018.

“They went to the teacher and said, ‘Can you please discuss this, it’s very personal to me,’ and she sent him to the principal,” Tabak said.

The student said the same thing happened after Oct. 7, when his peers chanted, “From the river to the sea.”

“It’s a very subtle double standard,” Tabak said.

Most teachers, the rabbi said, are “good people” who think they are operating in the best interest of the students.

“If they are shutting down conversations, it might be for the purpose of protecting the students,” he said. “The question is, why do they feel they have to shut the Jewish students down to protect them and not the other side?”

Tabak said he isn’t out to villainize the public school system, which he feels is an important institution. Instead, he believes the best course of action is to have more conversations, sometimes initiated in the classroom by teachers, and not shut down one side.

“We want to support our brothers and cousins, as well,” he said. “That’s all we’re asking for. We’re not looking to shut down the other side. I know it’s a tough political topic and everyone has 15 opinions, but — at the least — students should be able to express their opinions.”

Tabak also believes there should be more safe spaces for Jewish teens, like those created by NCSY and BBYO, to bolster Jewish pride.

That might help students like Davis, who feel less comfortable in public schools than they did before Oct. 7.

“I haven’t seen one person post anything pro-Israeli or talk about anything proIsrael,” Davis said. “None of the teachers have mentioned it, or anything, about Oct. 7.

They haven’t educated anybody about it.

“I’ve seen so many pro-Palestine posts and T-shirts. Things like that have made me feel very alone.”

The Chronicle’s calls to CAPA were not returned before publication. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

JANUARY 5, 2024

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Opinion Finding miracles in Israel Guest Columnist Dr. Andrew Griffin

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s someone who converted to Orthodox Judaism after growing up in the Bible Belt in Texas, there was always something about religion and the church that just didn’t sit right with me. Thus, my journey for deeper meaning began.

That journey eventually brought me not only to Judaism but also to medicine, with my years as a combat medic serving in Iraq, Africa and Syria convincing me of my potential to do more.

It was that nexus of science and religion where I have found my purpose and feel God’s light in this world. I know that all I’m really doing when I treat a patient is, as the Rambam said, facilitating whatever God wants to happen.

Whether it be in the hospital or on the battlefield, my experience tells me that humans can only do so much, and sometimes what we really need is a miracle. That feeling was even more pronounced when I came to Israel following Oct. 7 to help train combat medics in the field.

On that tragic day, I was in Kansas City visiting friends for Simchat Torah.

Like many observant Jews in the Diaspora, I wasn’t aware of the extent of carnage until

I opened my phone Sunday night. But in those first few hours where all the information I had was rumors, we still danced with the Torah. Gripping tightly, I prayed for Israel and was overwhelmed by the bittersweet sensation that felt like we were dancing while the world was burning.

of a rabbi I know, who once said, “Mitzvahs done outside of Israel are just practice.” Coming here was not only a natural choice, but also something I felt obligated to do. Before I arrived in Israel, I was restless — not able to sleep and worried about my Israeli fiancée and her sisters who are serving in

As I look back on my service, I think Israel did more for me than I did for her.

Once the holiday was over, I knew I wanted to contribute. Through a Facebook group, I connected with an individual getting a group together to volunteer in Israel. When I called my boss requesting a last-minute leave of absence, I was told I may not have a job waiting for me when I got back. I boarded a plane that weekend.

The first two weeks were spent in the ER at Ichilov Medical Center, but considering my valuable experience as a combat medic, I knew my skills would be better applied elsewhere. As such, the IDF welcomed my volunteer work as a combat medic. In this role, I trained soldiers in patient care amidst chaotic urban landscapes, where the terrain of Gaza was eerily reminiscent of the treacherous battlefields of Baghdad.

I am constantly inspired by the words

the IDF. Ironically, I felt more at peace while in the country.

It helps, of course, that the universe seemed to want me to be in Israel. Finding a flight to Israel in the early days of the war was a challenge for many, yet I found a charter flight with ease. Obtaining a license to practice medicine in Israel — usually a bureaucratic nightmare — was done in a matter of days thanks to the Ministry of Health and Nefesh B’Nefesh.

My fiancée could have objected to me putting myself in harm’s way, and yet she was fully supportive. Everything aligned so perfectly that it’s impossible not to see the hand of God in it.

In Israel, I felt culturally at home.

There were no colleagues questioning the little quirks that make our religion beautiful. I never had to explain myself

to anyone. And I certainly didn’t have to defend why I wanted to fight for the Jewish homeland.

As I look back on my service, I think Israel did more for me than I did for her. Everywhere I went in Israel, I was met with gratitude. From strangers on the street who heard my Texas twang and asked why I came to the country during wartime, to the owners of small businesses who offered to pay for my meal even though they were struggling themselves, I saw the tightly woven fabric of Israeli society that can’t be destroyed.

For now, I’m back at work in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where I’m anxiously waiting to return to Israel later this month and marry my fiancée in the Jewish state. Then, I will be counting down the days to my aliyah, when I will finally be home.

Whether in a war or in a hospital, logic can’t explain who lives and who dies.

Medicine tells me that there are some questions we won’t have a sufficient answer to, but all we can do is be of service to our communities, to have faith and to do our best. PJC Dr. Andrew Griffin is an emergency medicine specialist at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army.

Harvard’s president’s resignation will not end antisemitism Guest Columnist Hen Mazzig

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ith the news Harvard’s President Claudine Gay’s resignation, I’ve been left in an awkward position.

While many of my Jewish friends are celebrating, this “victory” feels hollow to me, if one can even call it a victory.

I first learned about Gay in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. It was one of the darkest days of my life, and learning that student groups at Harvard had released a letter condemning Israel and claiming that the murders and rapes were entirely Israel’s fault was like salt in the wound. Many American Jews reached out to me at that time, terrified that colleges were no longer safe for their children or that they didn’t feel safe on campuses. Gay’s inaction most certainly fed into this fear, and I was far from the only person who had issues with how she handled things.

The backlash to her inaction prompted Congress to hold a hearing where they questioned Gay and other college presidents about how they were handling antisemitism on campus. This hearing resulted in Gay famously saying that calls for the genocide of Jewish people did not automatically violate Harvard’s code of conduct and that “It depends on the context.” She issued an 12

JANUARY 5, 2024

apology for these remarks, but the damage was already done.

Her job was to protect all of her students, and she failed at every turn to stand up for her Jewish ones. One would assume that I, an outspoken voice for Jewish civil rights, would be thrilled that she lost her job. Yet here I am, writing out my complicated feelings in an effort to work through them.

happy with that too. Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility anymore.

At the core of this fiasco, however, there is one fact we cannot overlook— the main motivation behind the resignation has nothing to do with antisemitism, but plagiarism.

Meaning, her statements and lack of real effort to support Jewish students and understand the fears of our community

Our community cannot respond with celebration because there is really nothing to celebrate about this story.

I think that, at my core, I’m simply too much of an idealist to be happy with this result. Gay was more than her opinions on the conflict or the way that she dealt with the incredible tensions that mounted afterward.

She is Harvard’s first Black president and the second female president in the college’s extensive history.

Even though I obviously disagreed with a lot of what Gay did, I didn’t want her to lose her job over her reaction to antisemitism. I wanted her to start a dialogue with the Jewish community and find a way to make Jewish students feel safe without stepping on anyone’s right to free speech.

I wanted her to understand the pain of her students and make changes to ease that pain. I honestly believe she would have been

were not enough for Harvard to take real disciplinary actions. It had to be an academic misconduct. Can you imagine this happening with any other minority in this country?

Yet, the news story is writing itself; a prominent Black leader was forced to leave her job because of the Jewish community.

This plays directly into antisemitic tropes which many neo-Nazis and other Jew haters have tried to spread, which even some progressives fall for.

Our community cannot respond with celebration because there is really nothing to celebrate about this story. Gay will go on with her life and the Jewish community will have another story stigmatizing us as oppressors, for asking for a little bit of justice.

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The only conclusion I can come to is that holding on to anger for mistakes or wrongdoings is ultimately worthless.

I don’t want Gay punished, I want her to learn about antisemitism and the Jewish community, I want her to understand why we responded the way we did and how to avoid it in the future. I don’t want her to continue holding prejudice toward us.

Holding on to hate and prioritizing retribution over anything else does not lead to justice. Would we be in this mess in the first place if it weren’t for those very things? When I see Jews cheering at Gay’s resignation, I get it. I really do. But I also see a missed opportunity. We stand at a crossroads where choosing education and understanding over mere retribution could lead us toward a more inclusive future. The Jewish community should lead by example in advocating for dialogue and education. Our response to this situation can set a precedent for how minority communities address grievances and seek change.

In an ideal world, Gay’s resignation would have been a moment of introspection, an opportunity for Harvard and other institutions to deeply examine their policies and attitudes toward antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. It would have sparked conversations, not just about the rights of Jewish students, but about how we create Please see Mazzig, page 13

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Chronicle poll results: New Year’s Eve plans

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ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?” Most of our readers are homebodies. Of the 231 people who responded, 69% said, “a quiet night at home”; 17% said “attend or host a party”; 10% said “dinner at a restaurant”; and 4% said they weren’t sure yet. Comments were submitted by 58 people. A few follow.

Loud noise, high prices, unmasked crowds, drunk and stoned drivers. Yeah, I’m staying home.

What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? 10% Dinner at a restaurant

17% Attend or host a party

4% Not sure yet

69% A quiet night at home

I’ll Zoom “A Jewish Renewal New Year’s Eve” from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Gathering with a number of our neighbors in our building.

Always dinner and a movie with friends.

Daven for Israel as the new year starts.

This is simply turning a calendar page; it means no more than that to us. Put another way, we have wonderful, glorious holidays all throughout the year. We celebrate those, not this.

Having my daughter, son-in-law and 6-yearold grandson come over to celebrate! Priceless!

We haven’t gone out on NYE in over 30 years. Safer at home.

Still deciding what to wear to my living room tonight. PJC

I will be going to bed at 9:30. I celebrate the new year on Rosh Hashanah.

— Compiled by Toby Tabachnick

Going to watch the Steelers football game.

Crawl under the covers and pray for peace on Earth and goodwill toward all people.

Stay home with my cat and watch TV. Same as every year on New Year’s Eve.

Usually stay home. It’s amateur night, and I don’t want to be in an accident.

How many streaming services do you subscribe to? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle. org to respond. PJC

not only within Harvard but in educational institutions worldwide. It’s a call for us, and indeed all communities, to rise above the fray and be the harbingers of the empathy and understanding we so dearly need. PJC

Hen Mazzig is a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute and the author of “The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto.” This article, published by JNS, appeared first in The Jewish Journal.

Mazzig: Continued from page 12

environments that are truly inclusive and respectful of all.

Thus, while Gay’s departure from Harvard is laden with complexity, it should not be the end of the conversation. Rather, it ought to be a catalyst for us to advocate for constructive change and understanding,

Chronicle weekly poll question:

— LETTERS — Calls for a cease-fire are ‘immoral’

In his Dec. 22 letter to the Chronicle (“Continuation of Israel-Hamas war is ‘immoral’”), Jared Magnani claims that the continuation of Israel’s war efforts against Hamas is immoral.

He laments the loss of civilian lives and the destruction of schools and homes. He calls for a cease-fire. However, Mr. Magnani fails to condemn Hamas’ breach of the cease-fire on Oct. 7, and the accompanying gleeful rapes, torture, murders and kidnapping of innocent Israeli civilians. He ignores the fact that Hamas continues to fire missiles into Israeli communities and vows to commit Oct. 7 “over and over again.” He fails to acknowledge that a cease-fire would leave Hamas in control of Gaza and soon result in Hamas continuing its genocidal war against Israel with ultimately greater and more lethal weapons, resulting in even greater loss of life on both sides.

As to the destruction of homes and schools, these are the very places that Hamas stores its weapons and operates. That’s why such buildings have had to be destroyed — and only after warnings are given to evacuate.

Israel must continue its battle until the risk from Hamas and future wars, deaths and destruction is eliminated. Calls for a cease-fire are misguided and immoral.

Stuart V. Pavilack Executive director, ZOA: Pittsburgh

The response to Oct. 7 will determine Israel’s future

As a Jew whose family suffered greatly from the Holocaust, nearly one-third killed, I wish to reflect on today’s war in Gaza.

There is no question that Oct. 7 is a day that will live in infamy. But the response to this horrific tragedy will determine the future for Israel. At the end of World War I, Germany was ignored and given no sympathy. That made Hitler’s rise to power so much easier: “Blame the Jews; they caused our suffering.”

But after World War II, America assisted both Japan and Germany in their rebuilding efforts and they have developed into two of our most loyal allies.

The mass bombings in Gaza that have resulted in so many deaths, destruction of buildings, and challenges for medical help, food and energy, will only strengthen Hamas’ recruitment for future attacks. There have also been disturbances in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli settlers that are cause for concern.

There are no easy answers to the brutality of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 and the current war.

But it is my feeling that the creation of two states is the best solution if the end goal is to diminish the possibility of another Oct. 7.

Lawrence Ehrlich Pittsburgh

The #MeToo movement says ‘believe all women’ but ignores Israeli survivors

Most of the world was horror-stricken as video and photographic evidence pointed to the use of sexual assault by Hamas in its attack on Israel.

Eyewitnesses report gang rapes, mutilation and the execution of female Jewish victims by these Palestinian terrorists. Victims ranged from children to teenagers to retirees.

While most of us condemned Hamas for turning rape into a weapon of terror, many “pro-women” groups remained silent. This is especially true of the Squad’s progressive leftist women in Congress.

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Squad members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri have yet to offer condemnation for Hamas’ terror campaign against Israeli women.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, an “advocate” for women’s rights, said in a CNN interview that the situation was “very, very complicated.” When specifically asked about the brutality against Israeli women by Hamas, Jayapal claimed that rape is horrific, but “we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s silence is the most shocking as she is a victim of sexual assault. Like me, she knows trauma associated with sexual assault will compound with other trauma that survivors face. It will follow these victims for the rest of their lives. Yet she remains silent.

The values they claim to share seem to be that even though they believe survivors, they won’t support them if they are Jewish or stand in the way of political goals.

It took 57 days for UN Women to speak about Oct. 7. Jewish women looking to the United Nations were met with silence for months until it finally wrote, “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks.”

Where was this “alarm” eight weeks before? Where was the #MeToo movement?

As the founder of a group that helps women fight back against sexual assault, I can testify that most sexual assault nonprofits are liberal. They claim to support the rights of survivors worldwide, but when it comes to condemning the violence against Israeli women ... nothing.

These nonprofits get millions in government funding and are key drivers behind bureaucracy preventing survivors from getting care on their own terms. Now they want to prevent Israeli women from receiving that same justice.

Genuine political support of Palestine should never turn a blind eye to the use of rape as a weapon. No matter how much some Hamas supporters try to delegitimatize the victims of these horrific crimes, their defense of rape only delegitimatizes their values.

Those politicians who claim to support women and survivors must do so without prejudice — Israeli women need our support now more than ever and the silence of proPalestine political leaders is deafening.

Madison Campbell Executive director of SURVIVOR PAC Pittsburgh 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.

Correction

In the story “Local educators honored for their work against antisemitism” (Dec. 22), the photograph of Catlyn DiPasquale was incorrectly credited to Shine A Light. It was taken by Brian Cohen. PJC

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Life & Culture Mediterranean recipes from Ramiz Turkish Grill — FOOD —

By Keri White | Contributing Writer

I

have written before about how connected we are through food — recipes, ingredients and traditions are often shared by different cultures.

Nowhere is this so evident as in the Levant region, which spans the Eastern Mediterranean into West Asia and encompasses Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and much of Turkey. So-called Levantine or Middle Eastern food reflects the climate, the terroir and what grows naturally in the area.

Ramiz Turkish Grill, a recent arrival to the Philadelphia food scene, showcases the cuisine well.

Selcuk “Sal” Kucuk, owner of Ramiz, came to the U.S. at the age of 7.

“It was a typical immigrant story,” he said.

“My parents, seven brothers and a sisterin-law moved from Turkey to Patterson, New Jersey, in 1974.”

Kucuk’s parents opened the Parkway Diner, and he started working there as a dishwasher when he was 9.

“We all became chefs — we grew up in the restaurant business, so it was destiny. It’s a tough, strenuous business; most people get

p Shish kebabs with marinade

p Shepherd salad

out after 18 years, but I’m 45 years in!”

About 15 years ago, Kucuk was living in Florida when his brother called him for a favor. The brother owned the Ridge Diner in Philadelphia and needed a vacation. He asked Kucuk to tend to the diner while he went away.

A good brother, Kucuk agreed, and he ended up staying and becoming a partner.

Over the years, Kucuk expanded, opening and closing several other places in the Philadelphia area, and he recently opened Ramiz Turkish Grill.

The menu is halal and offers many

vegetarian and vegan selections. Kucuk shared two of his favorite dishes from the menu — shepherd salad and his marinade for shish kebab, which can be used on any meat.

Shepherd salad | Pareve Serves 6

This time of year, tomatoes are not at their peak, so choose whatever looks best in the market. I tend to have the best luck with cherry tomatoes in the winter.

The ingredients in shepherd salad are traditionally cut into small pieces — almost like a salsa crudo. This enables all the flavors to blend well and gives the option of using this as a topping for meat or fish.

Kucuk offers this served with crumbled feta to his guests, but he prefers it without: “A salad should be just healthy vegetables!”

1 pound tomatoes, diced 1 large cucumber, peeled and diced 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 small onion, finely diced 1 small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon sumac 1 teaspoon oregano Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons juice)

Photos by Elijah Sanchez

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Allow them to sit for 30 minutes for the best flavor. This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Serve it as a salad, spoon it over grilled meats or shovel it into a pita with falafel or your favorite filling.

Shish kebab marinade

The key to this marinade is to give the meat 24 hours to soak. This delivers maximum tenderness and flavor. Kucuk sources all of his spices and oils from Turkey, but good-quality versions from Israel and other Middle Eastern countries are readily available in many markets and grocers.

Use this marinade on cubes of chicken, turkey, lamb or beef.

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil Juice of 1 lemon 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon each: sumac; oregano; salt; pepper

Mix all of the ingredients well. Coat the meat thoroughly, marinate it in the refrigerator for 24 hours and cook as desired. PJC Keri White is a Philadelphia-based freelance food writer. This article first appeared in the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication.

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Life & Culture ‘Girl From The North Country’ gives a new life to the music of Bob Dylan

p The cast of the ‘Girl From The North Country’ North American tour

— THEATER —

By Toby Tabachnick | Editor

K

elly McCormick has played many roles, but there’s one she couldn’t rehearse: her real-life role as the wife of a rabbi.

The actress, who will come to Pittsburgh next week to perform in “Girl From The North Country,” a musical featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, said her last name sometimes throws people off.

“People will say, ‘Are you Jewish? What kind of a Jewish name is McCormick?’” she said, speaking from Washington, D.C., where the show had just opened at the Kennedy Center. “And I like to say, ‘It’s Sephardic.’”

McCormick, who converted to Judaism before marrying Rabbi Jonathan Blake, senior rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York, has the charisma of a polished stage performer. It’s easy to see how she would naturally relate to congregants as a rebbetzin.

“It’s a great honor,” she said of her role as a rabbi’s wife.

Still, it took her a while to figure out how she could best serve her community.

“I was not raised Jewish,” she said. “I grew up in a church where you have a lot of interaction with the minister but not the minister’s family. So I had to get used to the idea that a rebbetzin was a thing — that I had a role — and then to figure out what that was.”

She found that to best serve her community, she could rely on instincts honed as an actress.

“I think that often I’m called upon to really be present and create space for people’s stories, and to connect to them emotionally,” McCormick said. “For

both roles (rebbetzin and actress), it’s an emotional connection on a very human level.”

And, indeed, the Tony Award-winning “Girl From The North Country” calls upon McCormick to connect with its audiences on a human level. The show, an original story by playwright Conor McPherson, opens at the Benedum Center on Jan. 9 and runs through Jan. 14 as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.

The Depression-era musical, set in Duluth, Minnesota, is not a retelling of Dylan’s life — although Dylan was born in Duluth — but rather reimagines 20 of the Jewish composer’s songs, including “Forever Young,” “Slow Train Coming” and “Like A Rolling Stone,” as it tells the stories of a group of wayward travelers who meet at a rundown guesthouse.

McCormick, part of the show’s ensemble and also an understudy for two featured roles, is moved by the show’s themes of ultimate hope and resilience.

“I think that we have to meander through some places that are not quite hopeful to get us there,” she said, “but at the end, certainly my heart is overflowing with a sense of the resilience of the human spirit. And I think that’s where the hope comes from: When we lean into community, even if we are faced with really dire circumstances, which these people are.”

The show is set in 1934 in November, “so it’s very cold and very bleak,” McCormick said. “And in the Depression, of course, people were dealing with all sorts of challenges, but they get through it and come out stronger. I think our spirits are so tightly knit at the end of the show, and that’s where the hope comes from.”

McCormick was first drawn to Dylan’s music through her husband, who she described as

Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

“the world’s biggest Bob Dylan fan.”

In celebration of Dylan’s 80th birthday in 2021, the rabbi “preached Bob Dylan sermons for a year” and “made the cantors sing Bob Dylan music for their meditations for a year. And then this culminated in a summer concert,” she said, where everyone sang Dylan’s music, as per the rabbi’s instructions.

Convinced his wife would love the music, he made her a Spotify playlist around the time she was auditioning for “Girl From The North Country.”

“I will tell you now, I’m a convert in a second way,” McCormick said. “I’m a convert to the brilliance of Bob Dylan.”

And Judaism, she said, has given her “a special insight into some of the lyrics that some people find most mystifying.”

Some of the songs in the show are replete with Jewish imagery, McCormick said, including “Forever Young,” with its lyrics “ladder to the stars,” a reference to Jacob’s ladder, and its allusion to the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers.

She finds the music to be “so richly layered.”

“I feel like all of us need many, many passes at any of these songs to understand them, and I think they’re meant to be understood personally,” McCormick said.

“So what you bring to it with your background is going to be different than what I do, and I think that’s great. That’s really celebrating the diversity of the human experience.”

The musical is “unusual,” Timothy Splain, the tour’s music director said. “It’s unlike any musical that I’ve seen. It’s this really beautiful play that’s about the lives of these people that come together through sort of chance and circumstance, and the humanity that goes on display when people are in difficult circumstances and forced to grapple with the world as they find it.”

p Kelly McCormick

Photo courtesy of Kelly McCormick

While he sees the show as “hopeful,” it’s a “hard-won hope,” he said. “It’s a play without easy answers. It’s an optimism that’s arrived at through much trial. So, it’s like life in that way, where the people in this show are tested, and their humanity is what emerges and what gets them through. It’s a play that really grapples with difficult questions in very human ways.”

Dylan’s music perfectly complements the story, Splain said.

“There’s an image that the production team uses: If the play is the vinegar, then the music is the honey,” he said. “There’s a central family that’s at the core of this story, and they are experiencing a lot of difficulties. And they’re sort of tough with each other in what they say. But they are bound essentially by this love, and we get that reflected in the music. So, if you were to transcribe what a family says to each other sometimes in the course of a busy day, the things that are actually said is the sort of language of conflict, but what keeps them together is an essential love that sometimes is spoken and sometimes is unspoken. And the music is reflective of that inner love, inner passion in our striving.”

The arrangements by Simon Hale (“Spring Awakening”) “are really beautiful,” Splain stressed. “They won the Tony for best orchestration. … There’s a real authenticity to the arrangements. They don’t sound like the Broadway version of doing a folk musical; they sound like a band.”

In fact, the show’s musicians are all on stage, in costume and “fully integrated into the play.”

“It’s a moving piece,” Splain said. “I have to say I get emotional every time I see it.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Celebrations

Torah

Birth Announcement

Learning Torah with a broken heart

With great joy and happiness, Laura Boyarsky and Daniel Muessig announce the birth of their daughter, Hannah Nasiah Muessig. Hannah was born on Dec. 17, 2023. Proud grandparents are Diane and Jeffrey Boyarsky of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, and Susan Buckley and Geoffrey Muessig of Squirrel Hill. Hannah Nasiah is named in loving memory after her maternal great-grandmother Helen B. Jacobs. PJC

Citing risk to Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night,’ Iowa judge blocks key parts of state book ban law — NATIONAL —

By Andrew Lapin | JTA

A

federal judge in Iowa has blocked much of a state law forbidding school libraries from stocking books depicting “sex acts,” in part because he said it was keeping a classic Holocaust memoir off shelves.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher granted a preliminary injunction against the law, Iowa Senate File 496, on Friday, just before a Jan. 1 deadline for schools to begin enforcing it. The “staggeringly broad” law, he wrote in his opinion, would prevent public schools from stocking “non-fiction history books about the Holocaust.” He pointed specifically to Elie Wiesel’s “Night” as an example of a book that could be caught in the dragnet.

Locher had previously brought up “Night” during oral arguments about the Iowa law. At a Dec. 22 hearing, he grilled a state attorney about which kinds of books the state had the authority to pull from schools. Asked if Wiesel’s memoir could be pulled along with World War II history title “The Rape of Nanking,” the attorney responded that it could, the Des Moines Register reported at the time.

At that hearing, Locher called the law “one of the most bizarre laws I’ve ever read in my life.”

The injunction is temporary while Lochner considers the law and challenges against it more fully. Still, it represents a major blow to efforts by conservative legislators in Iowa to import a national effort to purge school libraries of books they consider inappropriate.

The effort has focused on books about race and sexuality but has also led to books dealing

with Judaism and the Holocaust being challenged or removed.

“Night” previously entered the book-ban debate when a Pennsylvania district forced a librarian to take down a poster featuring a Wiesel quote.

In Iowa, months-old local reports and Locher’s opinion indicated that “Night” was at one time removed from at least one Iowa public school district, although a regularly updated database of pulled books maintained by the Des Moines Register no longer lists the title.

Other Jewish books have also been affected by the law. “Maus,” Art Spiegelman’s graphic Holocaust memoir, was on the chopping block in at least one district along with Judy Blume’s “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” before the school reversed course and put them back on shelves. According to the Des Moines Register, “Maus” remains banned at another Iowa district: Alta-Aurelia, in a rural northwest region of the state.

Iowa’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, signed SF 496 into law last year along with other culture-war legislation targeting transgender athletes and student pronouns in schools.

Locher’s ruling said that most parts of the law, including the provisions requiring schools to ban all books depicting a “sex act” and prohibiting instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through the sixth grade, could not go into effect.

Two separate lawsuits challenging the law’s constitutionality will remain active in the meantime: One of them was brought by Penguin Random House and four bestselling authors, including Jodi Picoult, while the other was brought by LGBTQ students.

Challenges to similar laws are also winding through courts in Texas and Florida. PJC

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Rabbi Kara Tav Parshat Shemot | Exodus 1:1 – 6:1

I

have always been drawn to the ways we experience God through the brokenhearted, the shevurei lev. Psalm 147:3 refers to God as the Healer of the brokenhearted, the One who binds up their wounds.

The past five years have challenged the way I think about God. I find it unbearably hard to maintain my faith through the disappointments, losses and tragedies of these turbulent years — the trauma of three devastating years working as a frontline palliative care chaplain during the pandemic, followed by 12 months of numbness and rebuilding, then the attack of Oct. 7, followed by this relentless, excruciating war.

trauma or actual, current, social and political threat, existential or otherwise.

The horror is real. I fear that by writing about my own pain, I am taking up the space of someone who is suffering more than I. I’m also somewhat afraid of exposing myself to hatred.

This week we read Parshat Shemot, the first of the book of Exodus, the textual birthplace of ethical monotheism. Judaism repeatedly reminds us that because we were slaves in Egypt, we are commanded to show compassion toward the stranger. I chose to write this week’s d’var Torah many months ago because I wanted to write about the midwives and Pharaoh’s daughter and how the collective compassion of these women, from different social classes and nationalities, birthed the ancient ethic of caring for the stranger that Judaism so cherishes.

I value that our tradition demands that we

I had a lot of questions for God throughout the pandemic, but I didn’t stop believing.

I had a lot of questions for God throughout the pandemic, but I didn’t stop believing. I attended more death and tragedy in those three years than anyone should over a lifetime. But my idea of a compassionate God that held us, sheltered us, cried alongside us gave me strength.

Since Oct. 7, I feel lost and fearful.

I question the compassion I used to attribute to God. There is a creative tension in Jewish life between past and future that has kept Judaism alive for millennia. I have held fast to this tension as long as I can remember, referring to it as being aware and respectful of my role as “a link in a chain.” I look to those who came before me and see them look back at me; I understand that the world is mine now and I hear them ask me what I will do with it. My answer has always been to choose to link up, to do my part to maintain connection between my ancestral heritage and my life.

Onenut is the rabbinic expression that defines the liminal and literal space between hearing of a loved one’s death and their funeral. During this time, the bereaved is not expected to perform mitzvot. They are even excused from learning Torah. Since Oct. 7, I have felt like an onen, as if my freshly sutured world was newly ripped open. The tragedies keep coming, lapping like waves on the shore. I see, hear and feel the wailing of the Jewish people around the globe every day — a result of their shock, betrayal, fear, disbelief; whether it’s an eruption of trickle-down generational

love our neighbor and have compassion for the weakest among us.

At the beginning of Chapter 3 of our parsha, we see Moshe in Midian, a grown young man tending his father-in-law’s sheep. The text describes him driving the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness.

This is a literary set up for the next phrase in which he arrives at the mountain of God in Horev.

Next, Moshe will see the burning bush and encounter God for the first time. Some commentators remark that the text goes out of its way to note how far afield Moshe meanders. As an accomplished shepherd who knows the wilderness well, this seems an extemporaneous insertion. S’forno, a 16th-century Italian commentator, sees Moshe as a spiritual seeker in this wandering.

He remarks that Moshe is drawn deeply into the wilderness because he is searching for God. I would add that he was searching for meaning in his circumstances.

I connect to S’forno’s comment, capturing a sense of where we are as a nation right now. Existentially bereft, we strive to understand.

I search for solace in the vast, silent, unbridled wilderness. I hope that like Moshe, in our spiritual wandering to the cusp of this moment, we will find a sign of God’s compassion. PJC Rabbi Kara Tav is a Pittsburgh-based educator, chaplain and counselor. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.

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Obituaries ADELMAN: Herbert Adelman, age 88, passed away on Nov. 27, 2023. He was born on Dec. 20, 1934, to proud parents Alex and Libba Adelman. Herbert’s life was marked by a deep commitment to service, a successful career, and a profound love for his family and friends. Herbert proudly served in the United States Army Reserves, demonstrating his dedication to his country and a sense of duty that defined his character. His service was a testament to his patriotism and willingness to contribute to the greater good. He shared a love of dogs with his family and often spoke of their collies throughout the years. Professionally, Herbert excelled as the advertising manager at Joseph Horne’s, where his creativity and strategic mind left an indelible mark. Colleagues remember him for his innovative ideas and tireless work ethic, making him an integral part of the company. In his personal life, Herbert faced the sorrows of losing loved ones. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alex and Libba Adelman, his brother Irwin, his wife Arlene, and his son Jeremy. Despite these heartaches, Herbert remained resilient, finding solace in the love and companionship of his family and friends.

Herbert Adelman leaves behind a legacy of service, dedication, and love. He will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him. May he rest in peace, surrounded by the love of those who went before him. A graveside service was held at Beth Abraham Cemetery. Please join us in remembering and honoring the life of Herbert Adelman and may his memory be a blessing. Professional services entrusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd. dalessandroltd.com KRESS: Shirley Kress (Smulyan) passed away peacefully on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.

Born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Shirley was the first daughter of the late Sarah and Joseph Smulyan. She attended Penn State University, from which she graduated with a degree in education. As a summer job during her college years, Shirley worked as a camp counselor where she met the love of her life, her husband, the late Mort Kress. After working as an elementary school teacher and raising her two children, Shirley returned to school to become a librarian. She enjoyed traveling, reading, the arts of all kinds and spending time at the beach. She will be remembered by her children Andie (Barbara) and Doug (Sue), grandchildren Jake and Leah, and her sister Sandy Schwartz. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery. Donations can be made to the Jewish Association on Aging (jaapgh.org). schugar.com

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Marlene Alpern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nathan Greenberg Paula Weiss Callis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Meyer Weiss Shelley & Gary Droz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beatrice Perer Robert & Kathleen Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harry B . Harris Cheryl Kalson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Max Kalson Carl Krasik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Henry Goldberg Carl Krasik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edith Fleegler Belle Jeffrey L . Kwall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saul & Clara Kwall Mrs . Rachel Leff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James Leff Rushie Leff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James Leff Michael Levin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gertrude Shakespeare Robert & Judi Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sylvia Cramer Larry & Maxine Myer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dora Zeidenstein Bernice Printz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lilly E . Rosenberg Marc Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose Schwartz Bodek Faye Singer Rosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Becky & Louis Schwartz Faye Singer Rosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edith & Sidney Singer Ross Rosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna Gross Rosen Mark Rubenstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matilda Barnett Karen K . Shapiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ann Tergulitza Jay Silberblatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chaim Silberblatt Freda Spiegel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lena Spiegel Martin L . Supowitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Albert J . Supowitz Marcy A . Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arlene & Milton Apter Contact the Development department at 412.586.3264 or development@jaapgh.org for more information.

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday January 7: Samuel Bernstein, Rose Schwartz Bodek, Pauline Caplan, Renee Cohen, Nathan Dektor, Leroy D . Fienberg, Freda Florman, Arthur W . Fried, Zola S . Heller, Sylvia Kalmick, Max Kalson, Pearl Klein, Jack Lange, Marcia Lieberman, Rita Marks, Byrde Marlin, Nellie E .

Rudolph, Harry Selkovits, Samuel Solow, Sarah Rachel Teplitz, Morris Vinocur, Dora Zeidenstein Monday January 8: Ruth Boimel, Abraham J . Epstein, Max Levenson, Esther Mallinger, Julia Mankin, Rose H . Mirskey, David Newman, Eugene Neil Reuben, Rae Solomon Tuesday January 9: Philip Backer, Bernard Bigg, Aaron H . Braunstein, David Dugan, Louis Fineberg, Abraham J . Friedman, Sam Gerson, Harry Glick, Nathan Greenberg, Frances S .

Winsberg Gusky, Samuel Harris, Sarah Kallus, Betty Lenchner, Jacob Linder, Violet Semins Paris, Minnie Pecarsky, Bea Perer, Charlotte Rubin, Ben Scolnik, Jacob Shapiro, Dr . Bernard J .

Slone, Jennie S . Solomon, Ann Tergulitza, Freda Venetsky Wednesday January 10: Blanche Stein Banov, Matilda Barnett, Irene Bloom, Florence Ravick Fishkin, Goldie Friedman, Herman Friedman, Harry B . Harris, Jennie Hoffman, Albert Lebovitz, James Leff, Mathilda Lindner, Ilene Grossman Mattock, Bernard Peris, Leah Rosenfeld, Beatrice Rita Weil Ruben, Esther Sadowsky, Anna L . Saville, Max Schlessinger, Gertrude Shakespeare, William Solomon, William Spokane, Morton Stein, Rose Wedner, Mary Sulkes Wolk Thursday January 11: Sylvia S . Berger, Frances Levenson Carey, Ruth H . Cohen, Fanny Eisenfeld, Harry T . Feinberg, Nochim Gelman, Henry Goldberg, Philip Goldblum, Samuel E . Klein, Norma Marks Klein, Samuel Levine, Estelle E . Martin, Jacob Alex Miller, Harold J . Pasekoff, Dr . George Raffel, Anna Shapiro, Sophie Shapiro, Anna Sigesmund, Chaim Silberblatt, Yetta Singer, Henry Solomon, Elder H . Stein, Albert J . Supowitz, Rose Tabor, Louis Tenenouser, John D . Whiteman, Goldie H . Zacks Friday January 12: Isabelle Pitler Backer, Mollie Beck, Samuel Darling, Sidney H . Green, Florence Hiedovitz, Paul Ibe, Max M . Jacobson, Fannie Klein, Rose Klein, Regina Kossman, Geraldine Lerner, Blanche L . Schwartz, Bernice Semins, Russell Tanur Saturday January 13: Samuel Baem, Harry N . Bailiss, Sara T . Davidson, George J . Fairman, Joseph Gray, Dr . John J . Horwtiz, Sara R . Jacobson, Sam Kaufman, Max Kweller, Fannie Kwalwasser Lazar, Morris Levy, Harry Meyer, Mary Myers, Lt . Louis Newman, Harry Pretter, Mollie Samuel, Florence Stone, Pauline Strauss, Jennie Walk, Victoria Zimmer

MILLER: Marcia Miller, age 77, of Pittsburgh passed away on Dec. 25, 2023. She was the daughter of the late Hyman and Fay (Seiner) Cohen; mother of Samuel (Jessica) Miller of Stow, Ohio; grandmother of Harper Elizabeth and Kennedy Sloan; sister of Leah Lipman of Boston, Massachusetts, and Joyce Slotnick of Irwin, Pennsylvania; and aunt to many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister Annabelle Peck. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Jewish Residential Services at thebranchpgh.org/donate.

Professional services trusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home and Crematory, Ltd. Lawrenceville. dalessandroltd.com

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SIEGAL: Sally Siegal, on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. Beloved wife of the late Arnold Siegal. Loving mother of Richard (Andrea) Siegal, Mark (Stacy) Siegal and Brian (Misty) Siegal. Sister of the late Betty Layne. Grandma of Jeffrey, Joshua, Jillian, Andrew and Jami Siegal. Great-grandmother of Addison Siegal. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Services and interment were private. Contributions may be made to Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 2000 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com STEIN: Irwin Manuel Stein passed away on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, at the age of 89. Beloved husband to Judith Schulhof Stein. Loving father to Robert Stein (Edie), Paul Stein and Michelle Stein Glick (Michael). Brother to Lila Stein Horowitz, Melvin Stein and the late Murray George Stein. Cherished grandfather of Stephanie Stein Moldovan (Justin), David Stein, (Gwynne), Gabriella Stein, Samuel Glick, Elizabeth Glick and Abigail Glick.

Adored great-grandfather of Lev Stein and Allie Moldovan. Irwin was born and raised in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh to Paul and Libby Stein. He completed both his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and his law degree at the University of Pittsburgh. After beginning his career in New Jersey, he came back home and completed his career of 34 years at PPG Industries in the patent department. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Poale Zedeck Memorial Park. Donations in Irwin’s memory may be made to Congregation Poale Zedeck or to Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. schugar.com Please see Obituaries, page 20

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

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WOLPERT: Diana Wolpert died in Pittsburgh peacefully on Dec. 28, 2023, at the age of 91. She was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on Feb. 23, 1932, to Reuben and Naomi (Wolowitz) Rudolph.

She married Lionel Wolpert and moved to Durban where she raised three children.

After she was widowed at an early age, she moved to Johannesburg where she was a successful realtor for many years. In 1999, at the age of 67, she immigrated to Pittsburgh to be with her granddaughters and children; she obtained her U.S. realtor license and worked until reaching her late 80s. She was warm, generous, sociable, resourceful and a free spirit until the end. She will be sorely missed by her children, Linda (Nicholas Katzen), Howard (Myra Lipes) and Sharon (Alan Berg), and her beloved granddaughters, Ariela Wolpert Berg and Jessica Wolpert Berg. She is also survived by her sisters, Molly Schnitzer of Israel and Sonia Trey of Boston. Graveside Service and interment were held at B’Nai Israel Cemetery, Penn Hills, 15235. Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to: Magen David Adom (afmda.org/donate/). Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com PJC

A Tel Aviv exhibit recreates the Nova massacre site in exacting detail, with healing as an aim

B’nai Abraham Congregation The B’nai Abraham Congregation in Butler, PA is seeking a strong Judaically educated and versatile full- or part- time Rabbi, Cantor or Spiritual Leader.

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CHANGE OF CHANGE ADDRESS OF ADDRESS

p Visitors to an exhibit about the Nova trance music festival massacre have added messages to a board featuring a slogan used by survivors.

Photo by Eliyahu Freedman

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— ISRAEL —

ACCOUNT NUMBER NAME

By Eliyahu Freedman | JTA

CURRENT ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP PHONE

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D

aniel Ozeri found himself returning to the worst moments of his life on a recent Sunday — not inside his own mind, but inside a Tel Aviv convention center.

Ozeri was in Expo Tel Aviv, a sprawling complex in the city’s north where the Nova music festival — which ended when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 — has been recreated in exacting detail.

At least 364 party-goers were murdered and 40 taken hostage at the festival on Kibbutz Re’im, which quickly became a powerful symbol of Israel’s loss. Ozeri, like so many others, spent hours running away with “bullets flying over your head,” losing

his jewelry as he scrambled in a forested area near the festival site.

He said visiting the exhibit — with its incinerated cars, bullet-ridden portable toilets and piles of personal items — was not easy but felt essential.

“It really brings me back there and the horrific pain of that moment, but we have to return there to memorialize what happened and remember our friends who were killed there,” Ozeri said. Leaving the exhibit for some fresh air, Ozeri recalls in detail how he and his best friend escaped the festival grounds and survived, while some of his close friends and countless others with familiar faces from years of trance parties did not.

It’s a somber experience that the organizers of the “6:29” exhibition — named for the moment

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Life & Culture Nova: Continued from page 20

the trance music stopped that morning as the sirens of incoming rockets blared — hope is being repeated often during its limited run.

“The whole idea of the memorial here is to actualize what was at the event and where it stopped,” said Sarel Botavia, 26, one of the Nova festival producers who helped design the exhibit. “The exhibit expresses the distance between the love we are trying to express and the hatred and massacre that occurred there.”

The exhibit, which charges a minimum donation of NIS 50, or roughly $13.75, to enter, is a fundraiser for the Nova community’s continued healing expenses and long-term vision. It aims to ensure that their legacy is not merely one of tragedy, but of rebirth and survival.

It comes amid both a wave of initiatives to support Nova survivors, including a therapeutic retreat in central Israel, as well as mounting concerns about whether they are getting all the help they desperately need.

Families from the festival community, who lack the geographic bonds of the kibbutzes attacked on Oct. 7, recently formed an association to argue that their needs were being neglected. Initially, the government provided some cash and psychological assistance for survivors and victims of the Nova and Psyduck festivals, but much of the healing expenses since have relied on civilian support. Anger has also poured out within the Nova community over reports indicating that army intelligence in the early morning of Oct. 7 regarding an imminent invasion could have been used to evacuate

the festival hours before the onslaught began.

Against that backdrop, the exhibit and other efforts focused on the Nova massacre aim to make true a slogan that has been adopted by what is now being called the “Tribe of Nova”: “We will dance again.”

The message has sounded from the earliest days after Oct. 7, as members of the trance music community vowed not to let the attack

by Hamas dampen their spirits forever. It has recently gotten powerful boosts from survivors, including one who made a dance video from her wheelchair with social media influencer

healing. On the national level, the psychiatrist, who asked to remain anonymous, believes that there is immense power in the Nova community being empowered to take control of their narrative in such a public forum.

Nova festival producer Nimrod Arnin, who lost his sister in the 10/7 attack, said that they are “taking effort to explain to survivors who are coming of the intensity of the experience and that there are some who are choosing not to attend the exhibit.”

And while he explains that the event is “intended for the Israeli public to elevate

In the center of the reconstructed dance floor, shrouded by the colorful festival shade, a somber visual projection shows angels rising on loop, representing the young lives tragically taken.

Montana Tucker. Mia Shem, a 26-year-old who had been abducted from the site and injured, unveiled a tattoo of the slogan after being freed.

Whether walking through a detailed reenactment is helpful to survivors and others is up for debate. For some, being immersed in the sights and sounds of that day could trigger post-traumatic anxiety. But there is also evidence from research that exposure to the scene of trauma can be useful in post-traumatic counseling and recovery.

A psychiatrist who treated Nova survivors in the first few weeks after the tragedy told JTA that each individual response to trauma is different and for some the exhibit can be

consciousness and raise funds… except for the exact reenactment of the site, there are no aggressive noises of explosions or gunfire or displays of blood.” Organizers discourage children from attending.

Visitors enter the darkly lit indoor hall and proceed into the “camping area,” with tents and other gear strewn across the floor and a game of backgammon in progress, as many fled the scene without time to assemble their belongings. Past the rows of tents lies the bathroom and parking area where the most gruesome evidence of the Hamas slaughter on site is found: a yellow portable toilet with 11 bullet holes and destroyed cars that were towed from

the festival site are stacked on top of each other, burnt beyond recognition.

In the center of the reconstructed dance floor, shrouded by the colorful festival shade, a somber visual projection shows angels rising on loop, representing the young lives tragically taken. On the periphery are sections dedicated to artistic tributes where visitors wrote hundreds of handwritten notes such as “Liron: you are in our hearts forever.”

An area with personal belongings is both an exhibit and an actual lost-and-found.

“We brought the gear here for people to see and search for,” explained volunteer Yael Finkelstein, who said there are two kinds of people collecting. “There are those who were at the party and survived and also families whose children were murdered looking through — there are people who want to throw out the gear and others who really hold onto each item.”

Ozeri combed through the items but said he had little hope of finding his own lost things.

Still, he said, he was taking away from the exhibit a small reminder of the “true freedom and happiness” that trance parties bring — one that he vowed would be valuable one day in the future.

“We are not ready to dance again. It is not the appropriate time as we are still mourning all our friends and those who we don’t know where they are,” he said. “There are things much more important than dancing now, but the time will come when all the captives are returned and we will win by dancing. And many people who have no relationship with trance festivals will join to commemorate our friends. If we don’t dance it will be as if we allowed them to defeat us.” PJC

IN-

PE R

SO

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ANNUAL PITTSBURGH

SNOWBIRD EVENTS

EAST COAST:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2024 • 5-8 PM

WEST COAST:

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2024 • 5-8 PM

Woodfield Country Club 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton, FL 33496

Sanctuary Condo Clubhouse 537 Sanctuary Drive, Longboat Key, FL 34228

TO REGISTER

TO REGISTER

Please visit:

Please visit:

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or scan QR code

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Join your fellow snowbirds to hear H. Arnold and Adrien B. Gefsky Community Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff speak about his personal experience living in Israel after the October 7th attack. Rabbi Schiff has two children currently serving in the IDF. Additionally, Director of Community Security Shawn Brokos will discuss the rise in antisemitism and the ripple effect of the war in Israel on security at home in Pittsburgh.

Invited are donors who make a minimum commitment of $1,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2024 Community Campaign.

For questions, please call Patti Dziekan at 412-992-5221 or email pdziekan@jfedpgh.org.

22

JANUARY 5, 2024

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Community Bring them home

More than 100 community members returned to the corner of Darlington Road and Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill to demand the release of an estimated 120 people held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7. The Dec. 31 demonstration marked a weekly gathering of individuals committed to seeing the hostages returned home.

p New Light Congregation’s Rabbi Jonathan Perlman addresses attendees.

p Michal Schachter speaks during the Dec. 31 program.

Golden challahs

A lesson in nourishment

Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh hosted a Teen Scene Challah Bake. Joined by NCSY, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and Repair the World Pittsburgh, Friendship Circle welcomed 80 teens to a metallic-themed event.

p For the love of metal

Photo courtesy of Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh

Sweet genes are made of this

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh students extracted DNA from strawberries while learning about genes.

p From left: Shaina Hoen and Chana King

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Photo courtesy of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh

Photos by Jonathan Dvir

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills Religious School students learned about Israeli cuisine. Cooking teacher Sharon Wallach led a hands-on class with Israeli salad, falafel, tahini and pita.

p Satisfied eaters means satisfied learners.

Photo courtesy of Beth El Congregation of the South Hills

Still spinning

Religious school students at Temple David in Monroeville enjoyed an enthralling game of dreidel.

p Chanukah programming brings out the fun.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Barbara Symons

JANUARY 5, 2024

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