Anti-Israel activists renew BDS referendum initiative
| Sta Writer
ctivists wanting Pittsburgh to divest from Israel are determined to force their will on the city, despite losing one battle in court last year.
Not On Our Dime, a “volunteer-led campaign made up of a coalition of Pittsburghers,” according to its website, is attempting to gather more than 12,500 signatures before Feb. 18, hoping to force a referendum onto May’s primary ballot which would mandate changes to Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter. If successful, the referendum would compel the city to cease doing business with what it refers to as “governments engaged in morally reprehensible behavior — such as Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and apartheid policies in Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
The text goes on to claim that Israel’s actions are in “stark misalignment with the values of Pittsburgh residents,” demands the city cease engaging with “corporations and entities developing tools and technologies used in acts of state violence against civilians,” and alleges that these tools could be used by the city against its residents.
The referendum also would require the city to update its investment policies to “reduce arms production” and to promote “human dignity and human rights.”
The question Not On Our Dime seeks to add to the May ballot reads:
“Shall the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be amended to align Pittsburgh’s finances with the City’s moral standards by: (1) establishing a financial policy to divert funds from governments engaged in genocide and apartheid—such as the state of Israel—and corporations doing business with them; (2) implementing investment policies with goals to reduce arms production and promote human dignity; and (3) increasing transparency of City business relationships and investments?”
t may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of doctors and scientists — many based in Pittsburgh — are aiming to make vision-restoring eye transplants a reality. It’s the type of project referred to as a “moonshot,” but Dr. José-Alain Sahel is ready for the challenge.
The organization’s website lists Project for Responsive Democracy as its fiscal sponsor.
Project for Responsive Democracy is a 501(c) (4) organization created in September 2024. It lists Adeline Lord as its founder.
Lord is a Democratic operative who previously served as a part-time aide in the District 5 office of City Councilmember Barb Warwick and as the vice chair of the city’s 15th ward, comprised of Hazelwood, Glen Hazel, Glenwood, Greenfield and a small portion of Squirrel Hill.
As a 501(c)(4) organization, donations made to the Project for Responsive Democracy are not generally tax deductible and, as such, are not required to be disclosed.
Sahel, who relocated to Pittsburgh from France about eight years ago because of rising antisemitism, is chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He has been tapped to co-lead the groundbreaking project with Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, chair of ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University. They are bringing together a team of scientists, doctors and other experts from around the country to find a way to give sight to the blind.
The project, called Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts, will receive an award of up to $56 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Dr. José-Alain Sahel
Photo courtesy of Dr. José-Alain Sahel
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Community Relations Council Director Laura Cherner (left) stand with attorneys Efrem Grail, Carolyn McGee and Ronald Hicks, StandWithUs Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Julie Paris and Federation President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein in August after the defeat of a BDS referendum that would have asked Pittsburgh residents to bar the city from doing business with the state of Israel.
Photo courtesy of Julie Paris
Headlines
Upper St. Clair man indicted for terrorism offense and for lying to FBI
— LOCAL —
By Toby Tabachnick | Editor
Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former resident of Upper St. Clair, was indicted on Jan. 2 by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania for attempting to support the terrorist organization Hezbollah and making false statements involving international terrorism to an agency of the United States.
Molloy previously was charged on Dec. 6 with making false statements to the FBI. He was arrested in Chicago, on Dec. 6, and transported by the U.S. Marshals Service to Pittsburgh on Dec. 30.
The indictment and complaint allege that from August 2024 through December 2024, in Lebanon, Syria, western Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Molloy “attempted to provide material support and resources — namely, personnel (including himself) and services — to Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization and that the organization had engaged in and was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism.”
Hizballah, also commonly spelled Hezbollah, was formed in 1982 and has conducted numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli and Western targets.
Molloy is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, according to the complaint and indictment, and previously served on activeduty status in the U.S. Army. He traveled to Lebanon in August 2024 and attempted to join Hezbollah.
“While in Lebanon, Molloy was told by multiple individuals that the time was not right, and that he needed to take other steps
p Federal courthouse, downtown Pittsburgh Photo by Toby Tabachnick
before he could join the terrorist organization,” according to the Justice Department.
“Molloy then traveled from Lebanon to Syria in October 2024 in an effort to fight for Hizballah in Syria. After returning to the United States, Molloy resided in Upper St. Clair, where he continued his attempts to join Hizballah, including through communication with individuals online and in Lebanon.”
While in the United States and also abroad, Molloy allegedly expressed hatred toward and promoted violence against Jews, according to the complaint and indictment.
“Molloy’s alleged animus toward Jews was also evidenced by multiple images and videos on his electronic devices and the usernames he chose for his social media and email accounts, including the username “KIKEKILLER313” on the social media platform X. In one alleged WhatsApp exchange with a family member, Molloy agreed that his ‘master plan was to join Hezbollah and kill Jews.’”
While living in Upper St. Clair, Molloy allegedly visited a website detailing the possible incarceration location of the man
who murdered 11 Jewish worshipers in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018.
Molloy converted to Islam in February 2024.
He is incarcerated pending his detention hearing, which is set for Jan. 8.
The judge will consider two factors in determining whether Molloy will be detained during the litigation process: flight risk and danger to the community, according to Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
In weighing flight risk, a judge considers the defendant’s ties to the community, including friends, family and employment, Brokos said.
“He has none of those things, so he’s not tied to this community,” she said.
Brokos also thinks that the allegations in the complaint are serious enough for a judge to find that he poses a potential danger to the community.
That Molloy searched online for the place of incarceration of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, at first glance, seems incongruous, as the two men hold different ideologies. Molloy’s animosity toward Jews apparently is fueled by Islamic extremism, and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s antisemitism stemmed from white supremacy.
But since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there has been a “conflation of ideology,” Brokos said.
“There is a unified hatred of the Jews among these separate groups for whatever reason, and we are seeing it on all spectrums, whether it’s far-left, far-right, whether it’s through the foreign terrorist organizations or their proxies, and that’s what is making our job more complicated,” she said.
Before Oct. 7, 2023, “our main focus
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was really on the white supremacists, especially after what we saw at the synagogue shooting,” Brokos continued. “We were really focused on white supremacists and their activities and their ideology, largely driven by the ‘great replacement theory.’ And then after Oct. 7, that really shifted for us, and instead of just a focus on domestic terrorism, we now had to focus more intently on international terrorism — that being the foreign terrorist organizations, whether it’s coming from overseas, or it’s coming from a domestic threat but based on somebody who has become radicalized by these foreign terrorist organizations. So the spectrum has become a lot broader.”
The arrest of Molloy, Brokos said, is an “excellent example of proactive work by law enforcement and the ability to intervene with an individual who has become radicalized or is on that pathway to violence. This is exactly what law enforcement should be doing. And I’m just very grateful to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Pittsburgh for focusing on this case and turning it around so quickly…. This is a great example of being proactive and intervening before an individual does something in furtherance of his beliefs and poses a true threat to our community.”
Brokos stressed that at no time did Molloy directly threaten any specific Jewish organization or individual in Pittsburgh. If convicted, Molloy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the material support charge. For the false statement charges, he faces a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. PJC
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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Headlines
Getting to know: Jeff Brodsky
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
When leaving home in the morning, Jeffrey Brodsky is careful about his words.
“I don’t usually say ‘I’m going to work,’” the researcher told the Chronicle. Instead, Brodsky says, “I’m going to the lab. I’m going to this place that is just part of who I am.”
That place — an Oakland hub — is where Brodsky, 61, has spent decades focusing on a natural phenomenon.
There’s a “fundamental problem in biology,” he said, “which is that various molecules that make up your cells have specific shapes.”
The shapes are determined by genetic information. When genes mutate, however, cells may produce altered proteins and give rise to disease.
After years of research, Brodsky, the Avinoff professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, and those in his lab realized that, “Our cells can see misshapen proteins and are able to detect there’s something wrong about them,” he said. “The cell then tries to fix the error, and if it can’t fix the error, it destroys the product, or protein.”
The significance of Brodsky’s discovery is “underscored by the fact that more than 70 human diseases, including several cancers,” are associated with this course of action, according to UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center. Studying the destruction process in genes has led to improved outcomes.
By partnering with chemists, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies, he also has attempted to “fix some of these problems, or at least understand ways that the problems might be fixed,” Brodsky said. “The success story so far is cystic fibrosis.”
Decades ago, cystic fibrosis was “pretty much a death sentence for most kids,” he continued. “Now, the life expectancy for most patients is beyond 60, thanks to drugs that have been developed to detect the misshapen protein.”
In April, Brodsky was recognized for his scientific contributions with election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Established in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other founding fathers, the society boasts more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners.
Brodsky called inclusion in the academy a “wonderful surprise” and said the “real honor” was “knowing that people of a certain stature view your work to be in the category of what might be considered worthy for membership.”
Shalom Congregation said that his success builds on predecessors’ advancements.
science in my field and other fields has been driven by discoveries by people who are Jewish,” Brodsky said. “My dad, who was a physicist, was very proud of that. He was the child of immigrants, and no one in his family had ever even gone to college. He faced some doors that were shut, growing up, with regards to where he could go to school. So I take nothing for granted.”
“I got to see his laboratory as a kid,” Brodsky continued. “I didn’t really understand what he did, but I knew that when he
ating his own sentiments toward science.
“I realized that science makes me think deeply and creatively about ideas, and I guess I have a skill for that,” he said.
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Brodsky received his PhD from Harvard University before completing post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, as an American Cancer Society Research Fellow.
Brodsky joined Pitt’s faculty in 1994 and has called Pittsburgh home ever since.
The cell biologist and member of Rodef
“Our kids feel very connected to the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, and that’s something that’s meaningful to me.”
JEFFREY BRODSKY
“I was fortunate that we moved to a place in which Judaism is an important part of the community,” he said. “There’s a strong Jewish presence here. Our kids feel very connected to the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, and that’s something that’s meaningful to me.”
As time passes, and scientific understandings evolve, the researcher recognizes his place in the process.
“I’m still writing papers, and mentoring people, and graduating PhDs from the lab, and teaching and getting grant money,” he said. “Will it go on forever? I doubt it. But we don’t do this for the fame. We do this because it’s part of our fabric. I think it really is a lifestyle.”
As for any advice for neophytes or established minds, “the most important thing in any profession, but especially in this one, is you really have to be passionate,” he said. “There’s always going to be so many hurdles and struggles and long days and rejection.”
Whether one is a scientist, a writer or any other professional, achievements don’t always happen “in a week or a year, necessarily,” he continued. “Every time I accept a new graduate student into the lab, I’m making a five-to-six-year commitment that I think this person can become a working scientist.”
Investing in others and remaining curious are key, he said: “Pay it forward and be passionate about what you do. That’s how we make the world a better place.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Brodsky
p Jeffrey Brodsky is the Avinoff professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Brodsky
Headlines
With new Maccabi Campus Games coming to Pittsburgh, JCC issues ‘call to action’
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Inside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh excitement is brewing because, in less than seven months, the organization will host the Maccabi Campus Games, a new project by the JCC Association of North America.
Similar to other Maccabi Games, which are Olympic-style sporting events, the Campus Games will enable 1,800 teenage athletes to compete, coalesce and experience Jewish engagement while living at the University of Pittsburgh.
Jason Kunzman, president and CEO of Pittsburgh’s JCC, said a dedicated team of staff and volunteers is ensuring that everything is “coming to fruition.”
Weeks ago, a kickoff event at the JCC in Squirrel Hill welcomed nearly 150 Maccabi supporters. The event, which featured a Pittsburgh Steelers watch party, recognition of longtime Maccabi partners and a meetup of former athletes, was the first of several local get-togethers aimed at boosting interest in the upcoming games, according to Rachael Speck, chief program and innovation officer at the Pittsburgh JCC.
Throughout January and February, Speck and other JCC staffers are slated to visit Fox Chapel, the South Hills, the North Side and Squirrel Hill — as well as host virtual programming — to recruit athletes and volunteers for the Aug. 3-8 competition.
“We officially kicked off on Dec. 15 and already have 34 athletes registered,” she said. “We have a goal of 100.”
Competing in the games requires meeting several criteria. Athletes must be between the ages of 13 and 17, and they must be Jewish, which organizers define as “having a Jewish parent and being raised Jewish, or being a Jew by choice and being raised Jewish.” They also must be part of a delegation and complete necessary forms.
Hello helpers
The games are expected to bring 1,800 Jewish athletes, 400 coaches and thousands of fans.
In order to meet the demands, Kunzman said, the JCC needs about 1,000 volunteers.
“This is a very volunteer-driven program,” Speck said. “It doesn’t matter if you have an hour in the morning, two hours in the middle of the afternoon or the entire week available. We’ve got something for everybody who’s interested.”
In recent weeks, the JCC has recruited more than 100 volunteers.
Dayna Greenfield, a former Pittsburgh Allderdice High School phenom and 2017 inductee into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania, has signed up as a basketball coach.
“It’s nice to give back to a community who helped me become who I am,” she said. Greenfield participated in the Maccabi Games for four years as an athlete and another five as a coach.
“Volunteering for this is a great way for the community to support a totally Jewish competition,” she said. “Especially this year, where everyone will be together in Oakland. Jewish athletes don’t always get these chances.”
Speck and members of the steering committee are pounding the pavement in search of more helpers.
“We’ve got opportunities for everybody, 18 years old and older,” she said. “This is a really special, unique, impactful experience.”
Data supports Speck’s assertion.
According to JCCA, 69% of athletes reported no other engagement in Jewish teen organizations prior to Maccabi.
The figure, Speck said, is a reminder of the games’ importance, as the majority of these young people don’t attend Jewish day schools, Jewish camps or religious schools. And though participation in the games only lasts “a few days,” Speck continued, “it is an immersive experience, and research shows that immersive experiences are the ones that are the most impactful.”
Former athletes described the games with overwhelming positivity and noted a willingness to continue participating in Jewish life.
Following the games, 92% of athletes reported enjoyment at being a part of a program “just for Jewish teens”; 87% of athletes felt connected to the Jewish community; and 65% expressed an interest in visiting Israel, according to JCCA.
Before, during and following the Campus Games, Dean Aseef will manage much of the Israel education. The 23-year-old Haifa resident is slated to arrive in Pittsburgh later this month and spend a year promoting the Jewish state.
Kunzman and Speck credited the Jewish Agency and Maccabi World Union with providing Pittsburgh a shaliach (emissary) to help increase interest in the games and offer Israel engagement.
Get into it
Competing and volunteering are one mechanism. Donating is another.
The games are slated to cost about $3.2 million. Rental fees in Oakland, transportation, food and security each represent significant line items, according to Kunzman.
Opening and closing ceremonies, activities between competitions — including social and cultural programming — and entertainment also contribute to the event’s cost, as do scholarships.
“We want to offer this experience to as many teens as possible, regardless of need,” Speck said.
Athletics, and in particular the Campus Games, can bring together Jewish teens from various walks of life. More than 50 delegations of athletes — representing communities from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Israel — are expected to participate.
“We have an opportunity, given our recent history, to make a very powerful statement,” Kunzman said. “This is a town, this is a region, that embraces all people. We are inclusive. We are neighbors, and the Maccabi Games are the most explicit demonstration of Jewish peoplehood that there is. Working in partnership with folks like the University of Pittsburgh clearly demonstrates what is in the DNA of this town.”
“The University of Pittsburgh looks forward to welcoming the athletes and their families in support of the Games’ mission to transform lives through competition, friendship, community service and social and cultural engagement,” Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel said in a prepared statement.
With merely seven months remaining until the Games begin, this is a “call to action,” Speck said. “Get involved. If you are a teen or a parent of a teen, inquire about participating. Or if not, volunteer or donate.”
“We are well on our way of meeting our goal,” Kunzman said, but added there are still many ways to contribute to this historic experience.
For both teens and adults, there are
Pittsburgh has long prided itself on being a leader in medicine, technology and education. And, in the 28 years since this city last hosted the Maccabi Games, the region has made advancements in each of those fronts, Kunzman noted. Now that another innovation is coming and the games are transitioning to a campus-based experience, “We have the opportunity to be innovative in this very unique opportunity to build community and help teens connect with their own people.”
“Teens are literally coming from all over the world,” Speck said. What they’ll see is a Pittsburgh Jewish community that’s not only sports-centric but predicated on “unity, resilience and healing.”
Ultimately, both for teens and adults alike, being part of these games means contributing to the “very foundation of identity,” Kunzman said. It’s about helping people create more meaningful connections with their Judaism “in whatever form that takes.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p A Campus Games kickoff event featured dedicated local residents and a familiar color scheme. Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
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.
SUNDAY, JAN. 12
Congregation Dor Hadash welcomes Rabbi Je rey Schein. Schein, senior consultant for Jewish education of the Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood, will present “Fractured Dialogues –Understanding Polarization in Our Jewish and American Thought Worlds.” Light refreshments served. 1 p.m. Presented at Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Ave. Registration required. congregationdorhadash. shulcloud.com/event/presentation-by-rabbi-schein.h.
SUNDAYS, JAN. 12–JULY 20
Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club. Services and tefillin are followed by a delicious breakfast and engaging discussions on current events. 8:30 a.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.
MONDAYS, JAN. 13–JULY 27
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.
Join Temple Sinai for an evening of mahjong every Monday (except holidays). Whether you are just
starting out or have years of experience, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie and good times as you make new friends or cherish moments with longtime pals. All are welcome. Winners will be awarded Giant Eagle gift cards. All players should have their own mahjong cards. Contact Susan Cohen at susan_k_cohen@yahoo.com if you have questions. $5. templesinaipgh.org.
WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 15–JULY 29
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.
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.
THURSDAY, JAN. 16–FRIDAY, FEB. 28
Pittsburgh-area Jewish students are invited to apply for ZOA: Pittsburgh’s scholarship to Israel program, taking place in summer 2025. The scholarship is open to junior and senior high school students in the fall of 2025 who are traveling to Israel on a structured study trip. Applications are due by Feb. 2 and can be requested by emailing pittsburgh@zoa.org. A ZOA committee judges applications and three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded.
Join the Chronicle Book Club!
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Jan. 26 discussion of “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin. Overview: “It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children — four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness — sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ‘80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, ‘The Immortalists’ probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.”
Your hosts
Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle
David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer
How it works
We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 18; SUNDAY, JAN. 19
Join Tree of Life Congregation as it hosts Ebenezer Baptist Church for a special joint Martin Luther King Jr. Shabbat Service. The following day, Ebenezer Baptist Church will host Tree of Life Congregation for its own Martin Luther King Jr. service. Tree of Life: 4905 Fifth Ave.; Ebenezer Baptist Church: 2001 Wylie Ave. treeoflifepgh.org.
SUNDAY, JAN. 19
Celebrate the Israeli-Jewish community with Winter Fair: A Warm Hug from Israel featuring local artists, crafters and small business owners showcasing their unique creations. Children can take part in Israelthemed activities such as decorating hamsas and creating a community canvas designed to help connect children and families to Israel. 10 a.m. Shaare Torah, 2319 Murray Ave. For more information or to join as a vendor, visit facebook.com/events/1305830417094965.
TUESDAY, JAN. 21
Join the students of Tzohar Seminary for Chassidus for Art and Identity, an end-of-the-semester presentation for women of individual and collaborative artwork including music, dance, film, theater, creative writing and visual arts. 8 p.m. $10-15 suggested donation. 6404 Forbes Ave. tzoharseminary.com.
FRIDAY, JAN. 24
Join Rodef Shalom’s Cantor Toby Glaser for a 20s-40s Kabbalat Shabbat. Get to know other
What to do
Buy: “The Immortalists.” It is available at area Barnes & Noble stores and from online retailers, including Amazon. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.
Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting.
Happy reading! PJC
young Jewish professionals and close out the week with apps, wine and great company. Registration required. Free. 7 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave.rodefshalom.org.
TUESDAY, FEB. 4
Join Chabad of the South Hills for a Day in the Heights for Women. Pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel, visit Chabad’s headquarters, explore Crown Heights, visit a Chassidic art gallery and Judaica shops, enjoy delicious lunch, dinner and more. $125 plus airfare and dinner. For more information, email batya@chabadsh.com. chabadsh.com/heights.
FRIDAY, FEB. 7–SATURDAY, FEB. 8
The Rotunda Collaborative invites you to attend Savor: A Sephardic Music and Food Experience with chef Susan Barocas and musician/author Sarah Aroeste of Savor. Engage in a weekend of food, music, history, learning and community, including a communitywide Sephardic-style service at Rodef Shalom. Friday night services are free; Saturday events are $18/each. rotundapgh.com.
SATURDAY, FEB. 8
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for Clues and Schmooze, including a fun trivia event, including a ra e, open bar, and snacks. Trivia will be played with teams of three to six. Bring your own team or be matched up at the door. Must be 21 years of age or older to participate. Doors open at 7 p.m. Trivia starts at 8 p.m. To register visit, bethshalompgh.org/ 2025-clues-and-schmooze. PJC
— Toby Tabachnick
All About Pets
Dog grooming advice to keep pets clean and
healthy
By Family Features
Regular grooming can keep your dog looking and smelling his or her best, but it’s also important for maintaining health. If you choose to groom at home rather than opting for (often expensive) professional care, it’s also an opportunity to examine your pet for potential concerns.
A proper grooming routine starts with the right tools. Consider these suggestions from The Humane Society of the United States:
• Dog-friendly nail clippers
• Rubber-bristled brush
• Dog-friendly toothbrush and toothpaste
• Dog-friendly shampoo and conditioner
• Cotton balls
• Blunt-ended shears or small clippers with guides
• Microfiber towel
Trimming nails
When your dog’s nails nearly touch the ground, it’s time for a trim, typically every three to four - weeks. Trimming the part of the nail that turns down helps prevent pain and damage to paws.
If your dog has white nails, avoid cutting the “quick,” the pink part that’s visible on
white nails, which bleeds when cut. For dark nails, simply trim a bit at a time until evidence of the quick is visible.
Bathing and brushing
Frequency for baths and brushing depends on your dog’s coat type — be sure to research optimal grooming schedules based on his or her breed. In general, The Humane Society of the United States recommends these guidelines:
• Short, smooth or wiry coat: Brush once a week with a rubberbristled brush.
• Long, silky or curly coat: Brush once a day with a rubber-bristled brush or wire slicker brush. Use a steel comb to prevent tangles or mats, if necessary.
• Double coat: Use an undercoat rake or de-shedding tool to gently de-shed once a week in addition to regular brushing routines.
When it’s bath time, use a shampoo formulated for dogs and a damp cloth or cotton ball to clean around the eyes and ears without pushing anything into the eyes or ears. Dry with a microfiber towel or hair dryer on a low setting.
Cutting fur
Be careful and work slowly to avoid
mistakes and keep your dog calm and comfortable. Brush, bathe and completely dry prior to cutting fur with blunt-ended shears or small clippers with guide combs. Specifically trim hair covering the eyes and private areas and between your pup’s paw pads. It may be helpful to watch a tutorial online to ensure success.
Brushing teeth
You can prevent gum disease and plaque
buildup by brushing your dog’s teeth with a soft toothbrush and dog-friendly toothpaste. Make sure your pet is comfortable and start slow, staying on the outside surfaces of teeth and gently rubbing back and forth. Focus on the area where the tooth surface meets the gum.
to find more pet health advice. PJC
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Cat & Background: TimeaPeter/Adobe Stock; Dalmation: Iulia/Adobe Stock; Basset:
All About Pets
Understanding winter pet health risks
By Family Features
While some dogs prefer to be outdoors regardless of the weather, the cold and often snowy and icy conditions winter brings can pose serious threats to their health.
Much like the well-publicized challenges of keeping your four-legged family members healthy during the warmer weather, it’s important for pet owners to be aware of the unique threats that can arise during colder conditions.
Recognizing cold weather hazards
Winter weather can pose various hazards to pets, including frostbite and hypothermia. Dogs left outside for extended periods, particularly those with short coats or preexisting health conditions, are at greater risk. It’s essential to limit exposure to extreme cold, provide adequate shelter and recognize the symptoms of winter-related illnesses. Signs of hypothermia include shivering, lethargy and pale gums. Frostbite may present as discolored, cold skin, particularly on extremities like ears, paws and tails.
Protecting your pet’s skin and paws in winter
Cold, dry air can cause pets’ skin to become dry and flaky. Regular grooming and moisturizing can help maintain their skin’s health. Consider using pet-safe moisturizers and avoid bathing them too frequently, as it can strip natural oils.
Additionally, be cautious of salt and de-icing chemicals, which can irritate dogs’
Fun
paws and skin. Protect their paws by using booties or applying a pet-safe balm to help prevent cracks and irritation caused by ice, salt and cold surfaces. If not covering paws, always clean them after walks to check for any signs of injury or discomfort and consider using pet-safe ice melters.
Adjusting diets for winter
During the winter months, dogs may require a different diet to maintain their energy levels and body heat. Consult with your veterinarian about adjusting your fourlegged friend’s food intake, especially if his
shaped ice molds (like paws or bones) to give Fido the attention he deserves. The best part: These treats keep well in the freezer, meaning you can make a bigger batch to stay stocked up on your furry friends’ new favorite treat. Find more ways to take care of your pets at Culinary.net or eLivingtoday.com.
Peanut butter banana paw-sicles
1⁄2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons organic peanut butter (no salt added, no xylitol)
1 medium ripe banana
By Family Features/Culinary.net
After a long day at work or an eventful weekend, don’t just treat yourself to a delicious dessert — make sure you’re treating your pets, too. These homemade dog treats are easy to make with organic ingredients so you can show your pets some love while feeling confident that you aren’t putting their health in jeopardy.
Gather just a few ingredients and cute dog-
In blender, blend Greek yogurt, peanut butter and banana until smooth. Place silicone molds on baking tray to prevent spills. Fill molds with blended mixture and freeze 3 hours, or until firm. Store in freezer-safe container or ziptop bags.
Berry good dog bones
10 fresh strawberries
1⁄2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons raw honey
or her activity level changes. Monitor your pet’s weight and adjust feeding portions as needed to prevent obesity or malnutrition. Also ensure your pet has access to fresh water, as dehydration can still occur in cold weather. In fact, warm water may encourage pets to drink more.
Keeping pets safe indoors
If your winter pet safety plan includes keeping your dog indoors more often, ensure you provide him or her a warm and comfortable place to rest. Avoid placing your pet’s bed near drafty windows or doors, cold
Remove stems from strawberries and slice in half. In blender, blend strawberries, Greek yogurt and honey until smooth. Place silicone molds on baking tray to
tile floors or uninsulated areas. Also be mindful of potential hazards such as space heaters, fireplaces, holiday decorations and chemicals such as antifreeze, which is toxic to dogs. Keep them out of reach to prevent burns or accidental ingestion. If you notice any unusual behavior or symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately. Early intervention can prevent severe complications and ensure your furry friend remains healthy throughout the winter months. Find more tips to help keep your pets happy and healthy all year long at eLivingtoday.com. PJC
prevent spills. Fill molds with blended mixture and freeze 3 hours, or until firm. Store in freezer-safe container or ziptop bags. PJC
CEO Howard Swimmer, Medical Director Dr. Caroline Simard Swimmer, DVM, Dixie Ray and Mabel Z
With Federation Gefsky Community Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff
Sundays • 10:00 AM, Feb. Jewish Priorities Now
Tuesdays • 9:30 AM, Feb. Elijah: Exploring The Life of the Man Who Never Died
Wednesdays • 7:00 PM, Mar.-May Melton: Jewish Medical Ethics— A 21st Century Discussion
Wednesday • 7:00 PM, Apr. 16 A Conversation With Andres Spokoiny
Tuesdays • 9:30 AM, Apr.-Jun. Israel in Depth
Thursdays • 7:00 PM, May-Jun. The 13 Principles of Faith
QUESTIONS? Contact Ilana Schwarcz at learning@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5233.
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION 2025 SERIES • 8:30-10:45 AM on ZOOM
Underwritten by the Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund.
Thursday • 8:30 AM, April 3 Understanding the Structure of Jewish Legal Texts
Thursday • 8:30 AM, May 1 Jewish Law in the Legal System of Israel
Classes are generously supported by the Elaine Belle Krasik Fund for Adult Education.
Full inclusion is a core value of Jewish Pittsburgh. The Jewish Federation welcomes invitees of all abilities, backgrounds, races, religious affiliations, sexual orientations and gender identities. Please discuss accessibility accommodations with Ilana Schwarcz at learning@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5233.
Thursday • 8:30 AM, Jun. 26 War Ethics in the Jewish Legal Tradition
QUESTIONS? Contact Patti Dziekan at pdziekan@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5221.
jewishpgh.org/explore/learning
Headlines
German woman who lives in home looted from Jews must give it up, judge rules
A German court has ruled that an 85-year-old woman and her son who live in a property sold under duress by its Jewish owners in 1939 must give up their home, JTA reported.
The ruling in December capped a decade of legal wrangling over the home, located in Wandlitz, outside Berlin. For many paying attention to the twists and turns, the fight over the lakeside property came to symbolize the pain and turmoil of nearly a century of history — as well as the ways in which German families tell themselves complicated stories about their role during the Holocaust. It has also surfaced lingering resentments, some of them clearly antisemitic, about Germany’s efforts to repay Jews for its crimes against them.
The Wandlitz estate is likely one of the last property restitution cases to be adjudicated in Germany, as virtually all looted or “aryanized” property has already gone through the restitution process or been lost to history, with no one left to claim it. The deadline to file property claims passed decades ago.
The case centers on an estate, located in a bucolic area about 20 miles from central Berlin, that functioned in the 1930s as a summer retreat for an orphanage operated by two Jewish women, Alice Donat and Helene Lindenbaum. To comply with Nazi laws meant to expropriate Jewish wealth, they sold the land, complete with a structure in poor condition, to Felix Moegelin in 1939 for
21,100 Reichsmarks, a relative pittance.
Moegelin had to sign the statement “I am Aryan,” while the two women had to sign that they were Jewish according to the Nuremberg Laws of 1935.
The original house was torn down and eventually replaced, and Moegelin and his family settled in on Wegener Street. Donat and Lindenbaum were deported from Berlin by the Nazis in 1943 and murdered.
Today, Moegelin’s granddaughter, Gabriele Lieske, 85, still lives in the house with her son, Thomas Lieske, 61. They dug in their heels after a lower court ruled last year that they must give up the property or pay for it. Located in the suburbs of Berlin, where real estate is hot, the property is worth about $1.6 million today.
Now, the property will be seized by the state and transferred to the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the legal successor to unclaimed Jewish property in the former East Germany. No living heirs to the murdered owners were ever identified.
Gainesville man charged with planning to attack AIPAC office in Florida
In a New Year’s Eve statement, U.S. President Joe Biden proclaimed January to be National Stalking Awareness Month. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Justice Department charged Forrest Kendall Pemberton with a count of stalking on Dec. 30 for allegedly planning to attack an AIPAC office in Florida, JNS reported.
Family members told the FBI that Pemberton, who went missing from his Gainesville, Florida, home apparently with multiple firearms,
Today in Israeli History
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Jan. 10, 2000 — Syria peace talks end
Seven days of U.S.-mediated talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, focusing on trading the Golan Heights for peace, end without resolution.
Jan. 11, 1929 — Gen. Rafael Eitan is born Rafael Eitan, the 11th IDF chief of staff, is born in Tel Adashim. He joins the elite Palmach at 16. As a paratrooper and pilot, he is wounded four times. He reaches the top of the Israeli military in 1978.
Jan. 12, 1989 — Maccabi Tel Aviv wins in Moscow
In the first competition for Israeli athletes in the Soviet Union since the Six-Day War, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team beats CSKA Red Army in Moscow, 97-92. Soviet Jews make up much of the crowd.
appeared to have left a note stating that he would “close the loop,” “stoke the flames” and say “ goodbye” to his relatives, per an affidavit filed on Dec. 30 in support of a criminal complaint.
Pemberton’s family also told law enforcement that he had recently searched on his computer for the address of an organization with a Plantation, Florida, location which the affidavit states “according to its website, advocates and lobbies for ‘pro-Israel policies that strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship.’” (That exact language appears on AIPAC’s website.)
Relatives told the FBI that Pemberton had withdrawn money from four ATMs in Plantation on Dec. 23 and that he had searched for an address on Pine Island Road in Plantation. The FBI’s investigation revealed that the address “is the former office address” for the pro-Israel organization. It also found that Pemberton was logged into a computer at a hotel less than two miles from that site.
On Dec. 25, law enforcement arrested Pemberton after observing him get into a rideshare vehicle “with an apparent soft rifle case,” per the affidavit. He gave the law enforcement officials three guns — an AR-15 rifle, a Luger pistol and a Galil rifle — and ammunition for the latter two, the affidavit added. (The third weapon is Israeli-made.)
Per the affidavit, Pemberton told law enforcement in a recorded interview that he visited the site, which he thought to be the pro-Israel group’s office, to “scout” it, so he could later return with concealed weapons.
“When asked if Pemberton would commit a mass casualty event and then take his own life, Pemberton stated, ‘Um, I really don’t know if
I was gonna end it with my life or not. I hadn’t gotten that far yet,’” per the affidavit.
Ford Motor Company apologizes after X account posts ‘Israel is a terrorist state’
For a period of time on Dec. 30, anyone tuning into the X account of Ford Motor Company could see three pro-Palestinian tweets that had nothing to do with the car company’s business, JTA reported.
“Free Palestine,” said the first message. Another followed a minute later: “Israel is a terrorist state.” Moments later, a third: “ALL EYES ON GAZA.”
The messages were soon deleted and Ford said in a statement that they had not been permitted.
“Our X account was briefly compromised and the previous three posts were not authorized or posted by Ford,” the company said. “We are investigating the issue, and apologize for any confusion caused.”
The incident comes nearly 15 months into the Israel-Hamas war, which has ignited fierce criticism of Israel’s operations in Gaza. It carried particular resonance because of Ford’s headquarters in Detroit, an area with a large ArabAmerican population where pro-Palestinian advocacy has been strong, and because of the company’s history of antisemitism emanating from its founder, Henry Ford. Ford’s record of antisemitism included using a newspaper he owned to spread antisemitism, including the notorious forgery “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” PJC
Compiled by Jarrad Saffren
Jan. 13, 1922 — Zionist leader meets with President Harding Nahum Sokolow, the president of the World Zionist Congress’ Executive Committee, meets with U.S. President Warren Harding for nearly an hour during a U.S. tour to raise money for Jewish settlement.
Jan. 14, 2018 — Netanyahu visits India
Aiming to expand trade, Benjamin Netanyahu pays the first state visit to India by an Israeli prime minister in more than 15 years, reciprocating a trip to Israel by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017.
Jan. 15, 1958 — Kastner is cleared of Nazi collaboration
Israel (Rudolf) Kastner is cleared by the Israeli Supreme Court of any wrongdoing in his activities during World War II as the head of the Judenrat (Jewish Council) in Hungary under the Nazi occupation.
Jan. 16, 2003
— Space shuttle launches with Israeli astronaut
The space shuttle Columbia launches with Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. A piece of foam damages a wing on liftoff. As a result, Columbia disintegrates on re-entry Feb. 1, killing the crew. PJC
p Defense Minister Ezer Weizman (left) and Prime Minister Menachem Begin pin the appropriate insignia on the new IDF chief of staff, Rafael Eitan, on April 16, 1978. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office,
Headlines
Continued from page 1
Warwick, who called Lord a “good friend” and “incredibly kind and caring person,” said she understands people have “grave concerns about the city’s ability to execute the referendum’s directive, should it get on the ballot and pass” but said “everyone I know wants this horrific war to end” and “wants the hostages returned.”
At its heart, Warwick said, the referendum is about trying to take action in a world where “our leaders seem unable or unwilling to put a stop to all this terrible suffering.”
Still, she said, out of deference to her Jewish constituents, she won’t be signing the petition.
The referendum is being promoted online by the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America.
The referendum initiative also is endorsed and promoted by Pitt Divest from Apartheid, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Pittsburgh and Jewish Voice for Peace Pittsburgh, organizations that support the BDS movement, have expressed support for last year’s encampments at Pitt and called for an unconditional cease-fire by Israel following Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Not On Our Dime’s attempts to have a similar referendum added to the November 2023 ballot were thwarted after its petition signatures were challenged in court by the city controller’s office and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The organization withdrew the initiative rather than face a judge’s decision over the matter.
Now the group is focused on training petitioners on the requirements of valid signatures and how to counter questions and challenges by citizens.
Julie Paris, StandWithUs’ Mid-Atlantic regional director, said she is concerned about the spread of misinformation by Not On Our Dime, including its claim that Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide and participating in ethnic cleansing.
“I am troubled by the potential impact this flood of dangerous lies will have on both the physical and emotional safety of our Jewish community as well as on the sense of unity that has long defined Pittsburgh as the ‘City of Bridges,’” Paris said.
The referendum, she said, would potentially deprive Pittsburgh of global technology and innovation developed by Israel, including medical and scientific research. Divesting from Israel, Paris said, is nearly impossible and would inflict irreparable damage; she noted that Pennsylvania exported more than $263 million of manufacturing goods to Israel in the last year. Since 1996, the total has been $5.4 billion, making Israel Pennsylvania’s 31st leading trading partner.
StandWithUs, Paris said, is committed to working with partners like the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to challenge the referendum.
Jeremy Kazzaz, executive director of the Beacon Coalition — a Pittsburgh-based advocacy and education group focused on combatting antisemitism in the American political landscape — said that the new divestment initiative goes beyond responding to Israel’s war with Hamas.
It’s “really leaning into the tropes of the
boycott, divest and sanctions movement,” he said, “making it clear that it has nothing to do with the current conflict.”
The referendum, he said, would create additional duties for the city controller and other city offices.
“It’s unclear where the funding for that comes from,” he said. “How much is this ultimately going to cost taxpayers and the city government if it were to be implemented and how far back will it set the city?”
The attempts to change the city’s Home Rule Charter, Kazzaz noted, are part of the same anti-Israel activism that has been occurring since Oct. 7, 2023.
“I think some of these groups feel like they have the wind at their back because people show up at their events,” he said. “I don’t think they really look electorally to understand the vast majority of people in this country want a functioning local government focused on local issues, a growing economy and safe communities.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who did not contest the first referendum’s petition, said in a prepared statement that he received the text of the new referendum on Monday and is in the initial stages of reviewing it.
“Here in Pittsburgh,” Gainey said, “and across the world, there will continue to be conversation and efforts to end the war in Gaza and Israel and to bring the hostages home.”
The mayor said he knows there are concerns in the Jewish community and he will continue to hear those concerns.
Gainey said his office could not comment on whether he would challenge the petition until he had a chance to review it, but said if its language is similar to the previous proposal’s, he would have concerns “about the restrictions it would impose on the city’s ability to perform even the most basic functions, since many of the companies we do business with are global companies that conduct business in Israel. Without question, we would have to take steps to protect
against massive disruptions to core city services.”
Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, who is challenging Gainey for mayor in the May primary, said in an email that he opposes the proposed referendum because it would “severely limit Pittsburgh from providing the best and most cost effective services for your city.”
“For example, last year, in response to a similar proposed referendum, the Pittsburgh Firefighters noted that the primary vendor for our fire safety equipment is a local company which would have been barred from doing business with the City. This referendum goes even further and, if passed, will cost Pittsburgh taxpayers, both in having to pay higher costs and limiting the available source of products,” he said.
O’Connor criticized Gainey’s response to last year’s attempt to get the referendum on the ballot, accusing the mayor of failing “to take a strong stance.”
City Controller Rachael Heisler, whose office successfully challenged the first referendum in court, said in an email that her office is committed to safeguarding the city’s financial health and “is continuing to assess the potential fiscal impact of this referendum.”
“We welcome collaboration with City leaders to carefully evaluate the broad language used in the proposal and to ensure we collectively understand its scope and potential effects on Pittsburgh’s residents and operations. While we remain focused on assessing its implications, we acknowledge the complexity of the issue and are committed to transparency in addressing any concerns or unintended consequences it may present.”
District 8 City Councilmember Erika Strassburger also is concerned about the referendum’s effect on the city’s ability to operate.
“It would eliminate the city’s ability to do business with a number of huge companies,” she said, “particularly in the tech sector.”
Strassburger is also concerned that the referendum might violate state or federal law. Since 2016, Pennsylvania has had a law on its books preventing the state from contracting with businesses or entities that participate in the BDS campaign against Israel. If the referendum succeeds, that law might prevent the state from doing business with Pittsburgh.
Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said his organization will once again defeat the attempts to add a referendum to the ballot.
“Pittsburgh citizens don’t want their city entangled in unproductive efforts to discriminate against the citizens of Israel and their supporters,” he said.
The referendum, Finkelstein continued, makes “outrageous and false claims of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.” He urged city residents to reject the initiative and to continue to foster a community built on mutual respect, collaboration and shared prosperity.
The Chronicle reached out to Not On Our Dime for an interview. The organization replied that no one was available to speak with the Chronicle, but said in an email that Jewish Americans, including Jewish organizers and supporters of the campaign, “hold the Netanyahu regime’s endless war in contempt.”
“We want our city to live up to basic moral standards, and that means not sending our tax dollars to fund war crimes,” the email said. It did not mention the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists or explain whose moral standard the group wants the city to live up to.
The Chronicle reached out to city councilmembers Bobby Wilson, Theresa Kail-Smith, Bob Charland, Anthony Coghill, R. Daniel Lavelle and Deb Gross, but did not receive a response before going to press. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Not On Our Dime volunteers stand outside the Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle on Jan. 5, attempting to gather signatures for a referendum that would force Pittsburgh to divest from Israel.
Photo by David Rullo
Headlines
First 50 ultra-Orthodox soldiers drafted to IDF’s new Haredi brigade
By Emanual Fabian | The Times of Israel
The first 50 ultra-Orthodox soldiers were drafted for regular service in the Israel Defense Forces’ new Haredi brigade, known as the Hasmonean Brigade, the military said on Sunday.
The establishment of the brigade comes as part of the efforts in the IDF to expand the draft of ultra-Orthodox men, as it faces personnel shortages caused by the ongoing war.
The IDF has been opening new units, as well as considering building a separate induction center, for Haredi troops, to meet the army’s needs of at least 10,000 additional troops per year.
The dispute about the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue, having failed to achieve a resolution.
The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists any effort to draft young men, who have in the past been granted exemptions from serving. The issue has come to a head, in light of recent High Court rulings demanding an end to blanket exemptions, and public pressure has risen,
Sahel:
Continued from page 1
Services, and include team members from three Pittsburgh universities: Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne.
The roots of the endeavor, Sahel said, go back to the late 19th century, when the founder of the French Society of Ophthalmology attempted the first eye transplantation in France.
“It failed miserably,” Sahel said. After that, efforts for eye transplantation were largely put aside for many decades. They were not revived until about 15 years ago, following successful face and hand transplantations.
“People started to consider that maybe transplanting an eye would be also a possibility,” Sahel said.
But he told Science magazine in 2015 that he had his doubts.
“All of this is no longer deemed impossible, it is just a huge, huge crazy effort,” Sahel said then.
Around that time, Vijay Gorantla, a plastic surgeon in Pittsburgh who helped pioneer Pitt’s hand and arm transplants, began an eye transplantation project along with one of his trainees, Kia Washington. Partnering with Pitt’s ophthalmology department and Sahel’s predecessor, Dr. Joel Schuman, the team began their experiments with rats and pigs. The most daunting challenge they faced, Science reported, was “coaxing nerves to regenerate and connect the donor eye to the recipient’s brain.” The team knew then that they were years away from human eye transplants.
It was also around that time that the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, a multidisciplinary research and clinical program
p Ultra-Orthodox soldiers drafted to the IDF’s new Haredi brigade, known as the Hasmonean Brigade, Jan. 5, 2025.
courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces
due to the manpower shortages caused by the long ongoing war.
The 50 soldiers drafted on Sunday were set to be part of the Hasmonean Brigade’s first regular company. Meanwhile, another 100 older Haredi men were being drafted into the brigade’s first reserve company.
The reserve company was set to be made up of people who have already completed the so-called Shlav Bet (Stage B) track, in which older people are put through two weeks of basic training before being sent to serve in noncombat roles. The reservists will undergo an additional six-month combat training period before being sent to
dedicated to ocular regenerative medicine, was established at the University of Pittsburgh. The center was funded by Connecticut residents Louis and Dorothy Fox. Louis Fox was almost totally blind due to a blockage in the vein leading away from the eye and was motivated to support Pittsburgh in its efforts toward vision restoration. When Sahel moved to Pittsburgh from France, he met with Fox.
“We had discussions and I told him that the main challenge [to reverse blindness] was with the optic nerve regeneration,” Sahel said. “How do we reconnect the brain and the eye? And that we should, instead of trying to do everything, we should focus on this very question, because this is the core question. This was the next frontier, and it’s still the next frontier.”
Sahel and his team then began recruiting people outside of Pittsburgh who also were working on optic nerve regeneration for collaboration. Each year, experts from around the world gather for a symposium to share information about their projects and discuss ways to work together to restore vision.
Two events occurring last fall “had a strong impact” in moving the eye transplantation project ahead, Sahel said.
The first was that a team at New York University, which performed a face transplantation on a patient, performed an eye transplantation at the same time. But while the cosmetic aspect of the eye transplant was successful, there was no vision in the eye.
“The surgery was done very well, which is good news,” Sahel said he told the press at the time, “but the surgery is probably the smallest part of a problem. We have many more problems, especially the optic nerve and
the Hasmonean Brigade’s reserve company, according to the IDF.
Additional soldiers are expected to be drafted in the coming month, and will join those who began their training on Sunday.
The IDF said the recruitment of the 150 soldiers was a “significant milestone” in establishing the Hasmonean Brigade and “the process of expanding [the number of] members of the ultra-Orthodox community in IDF service, especially in light of the operational needs arising from the needs of the war.”
Ahead of the draft, the IDF said it carried out a “wide-ranging preparation process,” including recruiting staff for the brigade, renovating an old training base — the Tebetz Camp in the Jordan Valley — and “adapting it to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle.”
According to a report by the Israel Hayom daily, soldiers serving in the new brigade will be permitted to wear “Sabbath clothes” on Saturdays, when not on duty, instead of military uniforms, and will be required to attend prayers and a mandatory hour of Torah study daily.
The troops will also be required to have phones that are “kosher” — devices on which social media and most other apps are blocked.
The existing IDF units for Haredi soldiers include the Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the Kfir Brigade, the Tomer Company in the
other things.”
The other event that impacted the momentum of the project was the Biden administration’s creation of a new agency called ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health), a research funding agency supporting transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs.
“They created this agency for ‘moonshot’ projects — this is how they define that,” Sahel said. “These projects are things that you would never do. But if you are told this is the challenge, then you assemble the team.”
Dr. Calvin Roberts, a renowned ophthalmic surgeon, who is the program manager for the Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts project, contacted several experts in the field, including Sahel, asking if they thought they could “contribute to the idea of an eye transplantation,” Sahel said.
Sahel explained the many challenges to Roberts. He also discussed the proposal with his colleagues Dr. Larry Benowitz, a professor of ophthalmology at Pitt (formerly of Harvard) and “a world leader in optic nerve regeneration,” and Goldberg at Stanford.
“We had all been approached by Calvin Roberts about this idea of eye transplantation, and we thought, well, if this is going to happen, we have to do it right,” Sahel said. “We should not hide any question, because this is a big endeavor. It’s going to raise a lot of hopes and it’s also going to get significant support. So we started to work on the plan.”
They initially thought they would form two consortia, “one around optic nerve regeneration, that would be mostly led by Jeff Goldberg, but involving several people in Pittsburgh, and the other one on how
Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion, the Hetz Company in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, and the Nevatim Airbase’s ground defense unit, as well as numerous other non-combat roles.
Last month, the IDF established a firstever Israeli Air Force technicians unit for young men of the ultra-Orthodox community, allowing them to maintain their religious lifestyle while serving in the army.
A landmark High Court ruling in June said there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service.
In November, the IDF said it was sending out 7,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community after the first phase of a plan to draft Haredi soldiers was largely unsuccessful. The IDF had sent out 3,000 draft orders in the first stage over the summer, but just 230 showed up at induction centers.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life, and fear that those who enlist will be secularized.
Israelis who do serve, however, say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them, a sentiment that has intensified since the Oct. 7 onslaught and the ensuing war, in which more than 825 soldiers have been killed and some 300,000 citizens called up to reserve duty. PJC
to protect the eye between the donor and the recipient.”
But the ARPA-H agency suggested the two proposed consortia be merged into a single project.
“So this is what’s happening," Sahel said. “Jeff [Goldberg] is leading the project, and I’m co-leading the project, and we brought into that around 27 teams from across the country. And so it’s a massive project.”
Of the 27 teams, about 10 are in Pittsburgh.
“Pittsburgh has very strong expertise in transplantation, as you know, from the Thomas Starzl era, and are still very, very good,” Sahel said.
The project is bringing together many types of experts, “which is something I like to do,” he added. “It’s very exciting.”
Goldberg noted that “this group of people have been working for decades now on figuring out how to promote optic nerve regeneration and retinal neuron survival in glaucoma and other blinding diseases. That positions this group of collaborators to be the best situated to take on optic nerve regeneration and neuronal cell survival in the context of eye transplant.”
The project has a six-year timeline.
While the scientists do not yet know whether their efforts will be successful, Sahel said, “we will do everything we can to make it work.”
Sahel was awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine last summer for his work in vision restoration using optogenetics. The Wolf Prize, conferred in Israel by the Wolf Foundation, is considered one of the world’s most prestigious recognitions for scientific and artistic achievements, according to Forbes. PJC
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
— ISRAEL —
Photo
Opinion
Disconnected politicians
Guest Columnist Marc A. Simon
Audrey Glickman’s Jan. 3 opinion piece titled “The difference between a sentence of death and life in prison,” about President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences of 37 of 40 federal prisoners on death row, was spot-on. I can only speak with facts and knowledge regarding one of those 40 individuals: the shooter who brutally murdered my dear parents and nine other loving individuals in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018, in a meticulously detailed and pre-planned attack. While it is not my intent to play judge, jury or hangman, I know what I observed and heard in the courtroom during almost two-and-a-half months of testimony and evidence presented at the murderer’s trial in the spring and summer of 2023. This convicted mass-murderer was given a fair trial replete with a voluminous amount of indisputable evidence and testimony. The sole responsibility for this heinous crime planned and perpetrated by the defendant was not challenged by the defense and was never in dispute. A jury of his peers found him guilty of all charges, and after very thorough and detailed deliberation based on existing law as instructed by the presiding judge, they unanimously imposed the death penalty.
Now come some disconnected Democrat politicians, individuals and liberal
organizations calling on outgoing Joe Biden to commute the death sentence of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter along with that of 39 others on death row. Presidential commutation of a federally-imposed sentence is an “act of mercy” which can be granted to a convict by a serving president, having been constitutionally mandated by Article 2. The individual having the power to grant this particular commuta-
being Jewish and for freely practicing their religious beliefs and tenets. In assuming this unwanted role in place of my parents, and in consideration of possibly “granting mercy” in this particular situation, I refer back to my victim impact statement, read to the judge at the end of the trial, wherein I asked the judge to “give the shooter exactly what he deserves – no mercy. The same no-mercy that he gave to my dear mother,
Maybe it is time to revisit Article 2 of the Constitution, which gives a president unchecked power to pardon or commute a federal death sentence.
tion, the president, was and is not directly affected nor impacted by the murderer’s evil actions. In my opinion, only the victims of such heinous crimes, as in the murderous rampage committed at Tree of Life, should be empowered with this unique and authoritative opportunity of deciding whether to provide “mercy” to the convicted perpetrator for actions done to them. In absence of their ability to consider this option due to their victimization by death or impairment at the hands of the perpetrator, then the surviving family members should be empowered to speak for them.
To that end, it is my duty to honor and respect what I believe would have been my parents’ wishes regarding disposition of the perpetrator who brutally and senselessly murdered them and nine others simply for
father, and nine other innocent and helpless loving souls when he purposely, willfully, and knowingly researched and planned six months in advance, single-handedly, and then personally executed his horrific plan by deliberately hunting down and slaughtering them all — everyone he saw, in cold blood in the most brutal fashion imaginable with his high-powered assault rifle while they were simply praying to God in a house of worship. Again, give that defendant exactly what he deserves, no mercy. That is what my entire family wants, and I can unequivocally assure you that is exactly what my parents would want.”
Joe Biden granting a commutation to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter would have been an extreme miscarriage of justice and circumvention of the justice system. More
importantly, it would have amounted to disrespecting and discounting the lives and horrific deaths of the 11 victims. Most of the survivors and immediate victim family members are in favor of the death sentence and remain strongly united against commutation. I am sure that many of the victim families of the other 37 death-row convicts who were commuted feel betrayed by Joe Biden and his politically-motivated decision. Presidential commutation and pardon is a powerful tool that can be easily abused for political gain at the expense of forevergrieving family members and survivors who would only be victimized once again by such actions of a president with no skin in the game and acting only for the sake of political pandering. I believe that Biden utilized poor judgment due to his diminished mental faculties and pressure from those actually running the country. Maybe it is time to revisit Article 2 of the Constitution, which gives a president unchecked power to pardon or commute a federal death sentence.
Finally, the “ultimate punishment” for the most heinous crimes is a sentence of death. Its imposition has nothing to do with retribution. Its chief purpose is to provide proper, fair and effective justice for the victims and their families, as well as to serve as a deterrent to others from committing similar heinous criminal actions. Thus, in the bigger picture, the whole of society benefits from the imposition of death sentences. PJC
Marc A. Simon’s parents, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, were murdered in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018.
Biden’s commutation message: Some lives are worth more than others
resume executions that I halted.”
I was ecstatic. I have been actively working against capital punishment for 40 years. As a college junior, I decided to go to law school to become a capital defender after attending a vigil for the first scheduled execution in Georgia in nearly 20 years, and found it impossible to reconcile the death penalty with our obligation as human beings created b’tselem Elokim, to partner with Hashem in completing the Creation.
Many of us across the country have sought these commutations for a long time. It was
glorious news. And then it dawned on me that the president did not do what his statement said he was doing. The president’s commutation order did not include three people: the man convicted of the Boston Marathon bombing; the man convicted
I was in synagogue at Adat Shalom congregation that Shabbat morning, Oct. 27, 2018, and I, too, was traumatized by the assault on our community. I have clear memories of that awful morning. As soon as services were concluded, I went to a blood bank to
In Mishnah Sanhedrin 4.5, which discusses capital punishment, the rabbis note that all of us come from a single progenitor, Adam, so that no one can say that his or her lineage is greater than anyone else’s.
of the murders at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; and the man convicted of the massacre of 11 Jewish worshipers in the Tree of Life building in Pittsburgh, my home town.
I came to Pittsburgh in 2007 and have been active in our community since then.
donate blood, but was turned away with about two dozen others, told that there had been so many donations in the Pittsburgh area that morning that they had more blood than could be used or stored. By 2:30 that Shabbat afternoon, I’d received a phone call asking whether I attended any of the
three congregations that were assaulted in the Tree of Life building, because I was an assistant federal defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the office that represented the Tree of Life shooter, and he was asking to speak to a lawyer. My office was seeking to determine whether there was a conflict of interest in the office. I saw and see the case as a “Hineni” moment for our community — an opportunity to stand against more death in the wake of the horrific attack on the holy souls who were taken from us and on the others who faced the threat of death on that Shabbat Vayera.
I was not and am not alone. There are some people in each of the three congregations that were attacked who oppose capital prosecution. In fact, Congregation Dor Hadash, as well as the rabbi of New Light — two of the three congregations that were attacked — wrote letters to then-Attorney General William Barr in 2019 asking him not to prosecute the case capitally, but to accept the shooter’s offer to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for sentences of life without possibility of parole.
Please see Dayan, page 13
Chronicle poll results: Will 2025 be better or worse than 2024?
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Overall do you think 2025 will be better or worse than 2024?” Of the 236 people who responded, 52% said worse; 33% said better; 12% said about the same; and 3% said they had no opinion. Comments were submitted by 78 people. A few follow.
Trump’s leadership and his appointees will lead to chaos and aggravation for many people.
Hopefully the divisiveness of election rhetoric will be over and people can calm down to focus on the years ahead.
That’s like asking: “Which do you prefer, a root canal or a kick to the groin?” Hmmm, a year of non-stop election ads versus the start of a megalomaniac’s four years of self-aggrandizement at the expense of most U.S. citizens. ... May I choose “none of the above?”
I’m very concerned about growing antisemitism.
Better for some, worse for others (those who are poor or not in good health).
I think world affairs will straighten out because of Trump’s and Elon Musk’s influence.
If Donald Trump’s absurd picks for cabinet, etc. are confirmed, it’s going to be a really bad year.
Now we will have a better president.
Everything is going to hell in a handbasket: the environment, the government, the world — you name it. I’m trying to figure out what there is to be optimistic about.
Trump will be a much stronger president than Biden. The wars in Israel and Ukraine will end.
2025 can only be better than 2024.
A hostage deal alone would make it a much better year.
I do not trust the Project 2025 gang.
Our new president has already caused considerable chaos and he hasn’t even been
installed yet! He’s emotionally unstable and a loose cannon, and I fear for the future of democracy.
For sure better. Criminals will be held to account, migrants who commit crimes will be kept in jail (and when their sentences are up, deported). The extreme Jew-hatred will be dealt with. Jewish-American citizens have a right to attend classes without being attacked on campuses run by radical administrators.
We should be prepared for four agonizing and painful years of government disarray and mismanagement.
Things seem not to be heading in a positive direction so far.
Can’t be worse! PJC
Chronicle weekly poll question: How many social media accounts do you have? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC
After a change in presidential administrations, other letters were sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland with the same request. There is virtually no one in our community who does not have neighbors, friends, and perhaps even family
members who oppose capital punishment, who did not want the outcome of the trial to result in death sentences and who view President’s Biden’s exemptions from his commutation order as bittersweet.
This should not be surprising. While there are members of our community who continue to seek execution of the shooter,
and who communicated their desire to the White House, our community is not monolithic on this issue. As with many issues, we are a diverse community.
In Mishnah Sanhedrin 4.5, which discusses capital punishment, the rabbis note that all of us come from a single progenitor, Adam, so that no one can say that his or her lineage is greater than anyone
else’s. Every life has inestimable value. By exempting three people from his commutation order, I believe that President Biden sent an unintentional message that some lives have more value than others. PJC
Marshall Dayan is a retired attorney and president of Adat Shalom congregation.
Israel must highlight the shared fight against terror
Philanthropy and generosity are deeply ingrained in our culture, reflecting centuries of communal compassion. Yet in times of crisis, how charities frame their appeals can sometimes be troubling. For instance, while raising funds for soldiers during a war is undeniably critical, tying unrelated domestic causes to the emotional weight of a conflict raises ethical questions. This tendency to capitalize on current events leads to a broader conversation about how nations, too, leverage global crises to advance their narratives.
The recent car-ramming attack in New Orleans has shaken the United States. No further explanation is needed for those following the news. But these incidents present an opportunity — not to raise money but to generate understanding. They
offer Israel a chance to highlight a shared experience: terror.
Terror, at its core, is fear. The thought that if a terror attack could happen on Bourbon Street on New Year’s, then it could happen in Times Square today or tomorrow instills a deep sense of vulnerability. This is the same fear that Israelis have endured for decades. Remember those years when Israelis avoided buses due to a rash of bombings? That is terror in its most personal and pervasive form.
Israel should seize this moment to broadcast a clear message: The terror the United States is experiencing is similar to that which Israel has faced repeatedly. The war Israel is fighting is not just its own; it is the world’s war, a fight against a shared ideology of hate. The West must understand that Israel’s battle against terrorism is also a defense of the values and safety of all free nations.
The concept of mutually assured destruction kept global adversaries in check during the Cold War. Both sides understood that escalation would lead to mutual annihilation,
and neither was willing to pay that price. Today’s terrorists, however, operate under an entirely different mindset. For many, death is not a deterrent but a goal — a path to honor, glory, and, in their faith, eternal reward.
This cultural difference is profound. Consider the Palestinian mothers who publicly celebrate the deaths of their sons as martyrs or the Hamas fighter who called his parents after killing 10 Israelis, eliciting tears of joy from his family. These are not isolated instances but reflections of an ideology that values death as much as life.
The lack of fear among such individuals nullifies traditional deterrence strategies. It underscores the unique and harrowing challenge that Israel faces: combating a mindset that glorifies violence and martyrdom. The West, particularly Americans, must grasp this fundamental difference to understand why Israel’s struggle resonates globally.
Israel needs to make its case to the world, particularly in moments when terrorism strikes other nations. The message is straightforward: Israel is fighting not
just to protect itself but to safeguard the broader Western world. The same forces that threaten Israelis on buses, in cafés or at home are the ones inspiring fear in New Orleans and beyond.
The fight against terror is a shared endeavor. By addressing these connections during times of global tragedy, Israel can foster a deeper understanding of its plight and its role as a critical ally in the global war on terror.
The recent events in the United States are a grim reminder that terrorism knows no borders. Israel has the opportunity — and perhaps the obligation — to draw parallels between its own experiences and those of other nations now grappling with the same fears. By doing so, Israel can strengthen its ties with the West and reinforce the urgency of a united front against extremism. PJC
Gerald Platt is a New York-based investor and president of American Friends of Likud. This article first appeaed on JNS.
Guest Columnist
Gerald Platt
Life & Culture
Croissant French toast bake
By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle
When I host guests for brunch, or simply want a luxurious but lazy Sunday morning with my family, I whip up my make-ahead croissant French toast recipe. It only takes about 10 minutes to mix the ingredients. Store the mixture overnight in the refrigerator, then bake it in the morning at your convenience.
The cream, milk and eggs create a soft and creamy texture that reminds me of custard. This takes much less time than pan-frying a big batch of French toast and will also keep your kitchen tidy.
8 large croissants
9 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup gently packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter to grease the baking dish
Cut or tear the croissants into about 2-inch square pieces and set aside.
Add all of the eggs to a large bowl and
salt and vanilla, and whisk until combined.
Pour the milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, then repeat with the heavy cream.
Add the pieces of croissant to the bowl, folding them into the liquid until all of the pieces are saturated.
Cover the bowl well with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. It will seem like a lot of liquid is in the bowl but almost all of it will soak into the croissants overnight.
Many recipes suggest putting the mixture into a baking dish to rest overnight, which is a good idea if your baking dish can go from a cold refrigerator right into a hot oven without cracking. To be safe, I put this into a lightly buttered 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish in the morning immediately before baking it.
Preheat your oven to 350 F and place the wire rack in the middle of the oven.
Cover the casserole dish well with foil and
Remove the foil and continue baking uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the edges start to pull away from the side.
Allow the casserole to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
This is lovely when served with fresh berries and can be garnished with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. The flavor is sweet enough as is, so there is no need to serve maple syrup unless you’re craving it.
If your family likes pecans you can top this with 1 cup of chopped pecans right before putting the casserole into the oven. Both versions are delicious!
This recipe reheats nicely and keeps for days in the fridge.
The servings are not huge at about 3 inches square, but they are very rich and filling. Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC
Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.
p Croissant French toast bake
Photo by Jessica Grann
surround yourself with better choices
Life & Culture
Righteous Among the Neighbors: Josh Andy
By Scarlet Sweeney | Mt. Lebanon High School
Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and stand up against antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write profiles about their efforts. To learn more, visit hcofpgh.org/ righteous-among-the-neighbors.
Based on Josh Andy’s work with Holocaust education and genocide awareness, he is a member of the 2024 class of Righteous Among the Neighbors honorees. Righteous Among the Neighbors was founded by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to recognize allies for their work in defeating antisemitism.
Andy’s journey to Holocaust educa tion started when he was studying for his doctorate in Russian and Eastern European history at the University of Birmingham in England. During his studies, he felt some thing “clicked” for him religiously.
“Growing up as a Christian, it didn’t necessarily fit me,” Andy said. “When I started exploring history, I was teaching and studying Russian history and sort of looking at Russian Jews throughout history, and started to learn more about Judaism itself and Jewish culture and life. Something clicked that I had been looking for in terms of the values and spirituality.”
in the classroom, whether that’s through a speaker that I bring in, or a reading, or something that we cover, some children’s story, or something that they somehow see themselves in it,” Andy said.
Without Borders, a nonprofit affiliated with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Every March, CWB leads a service trip to Israel and each summer it leads a trip throughout Poland.
and you’re learning side by side, and you’re learning a really emotional history,” Andy said. “I think it’s important and powerful to show that and let your students see you as being vulnerable.”
Sure enough, as Andy deepened his connection to Judaism, a DNA test revealed that he had Jewish ancestry from Eastern Europe. This discovery further enriched his journey.
After graduating with a doctorate in 2011, Andy began teaching at Winchester Thurston School. He teaches a unique class about genocide with an emphasis on the Holocaust.
“One of the reasons and ways I like to teach about the Holocaust is to talk about Jewish life, because before the Holocaust, there was this vibrant Jewish experience in Europe, and there are those trying to bring those types of things back to Europe today — that feeling, that sort of individual, personal connection to Judaism, Jewish culture and Jewish life,” Andy said.
Andy adapts his curriculum each year depending on his students’ passions.
“I want to make sure that each one of my students, at some point, sees themselves
One year, for example, he had a student whose sister was adopted from Guatemala and she wanted to investigate whether the Guatemalan Civil War was considered a genocide. Andy brought in local scholars and had a discussion with journalists from the 1960s through the 1990s who covered major trials in Guatemala.
Andy is often surprised by the personal connections his students have with the Holocaust.
“One of the things that really sticks with me each year is the Jewish students in my class [who] have a connection with grandparents or great-grandparents, whether they came out of Europe before the Holocaust or after,” he said. “Or some of my students’ parents are Russian Jews who fled the Soviet Union in the 1980s. So, those personal family stories really connect as well. That’s what I try to teach through.”
To Andy, personal experience is the most important way to learn about the Holocaust, not only in the classroom but in outside environments as well. For the last 13 years, he has been an adviser to Classrooms
Andy believes that these trips take learning to a new level.
“When you learn about the Warsaw Ghetto, you are standing in the places where it was, looking at the wall, looking at Adam Cherniakov’s house, who was the head of the Jewish Council,” Andy said. “As you learn and investigate how they made decisions themselves, you are standing in the places where that happened.”
Andy tries to bring these experiences back to his classroom, but it doesn’t compare to being in these places in person.
“I try to bring as much as I can back into my classroom, through pictures, through testimony, through news stories that I know, through friends,” Andy said. “You can learn about Auschwitz from the textbook or from me telling you about it in class, but nothing really can prepare you or recreate how you learn as you walk into Auschwitz. There is nothing like those experiences.”
Andy believes these are critical educational moments between students and teachers.
“It’s a powerful moment when borders between teacher and student break down,
Andy said he will never be done learning.
“I want to investigate more,” Andy said. “I want to learn more about the past. I want to write this. I want to disseminate that knowledge so we can look to the past to understand our future — our future and where we’re heading.”
Andy credits the Pittsburgh community for the opportunities he’s been given, from teaching young kids about the Holocaust Center to helping young Jewish teens embrace their identity and to uphold it.
“I see that as, you know, the importance of giving that back,” Andy said. “I’ve had these wonderful experiences, and education is a really big part of that. I think it’s very hard to use education sometimes to change people’s minds. I think you have to be able to reach them where they are, and try to tell those human stories and make those connections in order to get them to the facts.” PJC
Scarlett Sweeney is a junior at Mt. Lebanon High School.
p Josh Andy
Photo by Brian Cohen
For questions: Jenna Baker • jbaker@jccpgh.org maccabipittsburgh.org
Elaine and Todd Miller of Squirrel Hill joyfully announce the engage Isaac, to Elizabeth daughter of Drs. Yuriy and Elvira Yakubov of Queens, New York. Isaac is the grandson of Newell Miller of Sarasota, Florida, and Lexington, Massachusetts, and the late Myrna Miller, and the late Isadore and Shirley Krouse of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth is the granddaughter of Yakub Yakubov and Yelizaveta Damatova, and Yuriy and Zoya Mullokandov, all of Queens. Isaac is a management consultant with Applied Value Group in Manhattan. He holds a BSE in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and is enrolled in the Executive MBA Program at Columbia University. Elizabeth is a second-year medical resident in anesthesiology at Mount Sinai West & Morningside Hospital in Manhattan. She earned her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and BA in neuroscience from Queens College. The couple
A lesson from Jacob: Tradition!
on’t follow tradition. Okay, you should follow tradition but don’t just follow it to follow it. Unless you want to.
But why would you want to? Tradition can add joy to our lives, meaning to our lives, fun to our lives, satisfaction to our lives, connection to history and heritage. There are many reasons to follow traditions. I’m just not a fan of blindly following them,
Speaking of blind, we arrive in Torah toward the end of Jacob’s life. Jacob has been renamed “Israel,” of course, and he, with dim vision, is moved and delighted to reunite with Joseph. Not only that, but he meets his grandsons as well, Ephraim and Menashe. Israel declares that these two boys will be to him like sons and he proceeds to bless them. Menashe is in place to receive the prime blessing with Ephraim seated in such a way as to receive a secondary, lesser, blessing.
Joseph watches as his father crosses his hands preparing to give Ephraim the prime blessing. Genesis 48: 17-19 takes it from there:
When Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it wrong; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
“Not so, Father,” Joseph said to his father, “for the other is the first-born; place your right hand on his head.”
But his father objected, saying, “I know, my son, I know. He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great. Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.”
Israel knew the tradition but he also had a sense of what was to come, so he dropped the tradition of blessing the first-born but kept the meaning and purpose of the blessing. In a way, Israel taught us to think deeply about the purpose of what we do, the “why” of it all, and then allow the action, the tradition itself, to serve as a way to live out that meaning.
There comes a time when you work with children that just doing the tradition, just doing the action isn’t enough. Why are we giving presents? Why are we visiting grandparents for this holiday? Why do we want to make Shabbat different? Why do we have to just eat matzah? Children are going to ask, sometimes demand, an answer to why they are doing this or that. And the answer, “Because it’s what we do,” isn’t going to be very satisfying for long.
Judaism has always struggled with doing tradition because “it’s what we do.” Oceans of ink have been spilt to teach the deeper, more satisfying meaning. When done well, we take a moment to explain as we do. The Pesach seder does this very well. But other holidays need a little more effort. Parents and grandparents might have to do a little research to help children tap into the deeper meaning. When you share the “why” of a tradition along with the meaning, that will be a tradition that uplifts and endures.
Now, of course, later in the Torah the Israelites will say, upon receiving the Torah, “We will do and we will understand.” This has always meant that sometimes you just have to do the tradition because meaning comes with repetition. You have to give it a try. Why do we eat a braided egg bread every Shabbat? Who knows? But have a challah every Friday night and you’ve got a tradition that carries a powerful heritage-connecting sense memory.
All I’m saying is that there are traditions that stand on their own, there are traditions that deserve some explanation and there are some traditions that just don’t work anymore. Israel knew that when he modified how one blesses the children. He kept the blessing but dropped the old first-born primacy thing. We should do that, too. Don’t ditch traditions just because you don’t understand them. Go ask! But don’t blindly follow things just because somebody told you to. Engage traditions. Use them for all the wonderful things they can bring to your family. PJC
Rabbi Larry Freedman is the director of the Joint Jewish Education Program. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.
Obituaries
LINDNER: Ruth Lindner, on Dec. 27, 2024. Beloved wife of the late Allen “Elly” Lindner. Loving mother of Martin (Kim) Lindner and Jay (Pam) Lindner. Cherished sister of the late Leonard (late Vida) Hirschfield. Grandmother of Elly and Anna. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to Family House, 5308 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com
MILLS: Toby B. Mills, of Upper St. Clair, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, at the age of 73. She was born on Dec. 21, 1951, in Newark, New Jersey, to caring parents, Leonard and Dorothy Berliss, both of whom preceded her in death. Toby was the loving wife to her late husband, William, and devoted mother to her sons, John and Len. She was also the proud and adoring grandmother to five grandchildren: William, Leo and Sadie, children of John and his wife, Kylie; and Jack and Charlie, sons of Len and his wife, Abbie. She is also survived by her siblings, brother Herman Berliss (Michelle) and sisters Jeanne Josephson (Richard) and Cary Goodman (David), and many nieces and nephews. Toby earned a BA in mathematics from Douglass College in 1973 and an MBA from Lehigh University in 1975. After a short career in the controller’s office at Westinghouse Hanford in Richland, Washington, Toby used her education and wisdom for raising her sons and supporting her husband who was an engineer at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin. She enjoyed traveling to watch her sons play college sports, see relatives, explore cities and visit many national parks, especially Acadia National Park. For a significant portion of her life, starting with her first diagnosis three decades ago, Toby fought breast cancer. Her family admired her resilience and quiet determination in the face of cancer until the very end. The burial service was private. Memorial contributions directed online or by mail to Magee-Womens Hospital in Toby’s name will support Breast Cancer Research and Clinical Innovation mageewomens.org/support, Magee Women’s Research Institute & Foundation, 3240 Craft Place, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Freyvogel-Slater Funeral Directors, Bethel Park.
grandson of Rose and Samuel Levinson, and Miriam and Harry Siegel. He attended Falk School, Taylor Allderdice High School, and the University of Cincinnati. One of the highlights of his high school years was performing the lead role in “The Music Man” at Taylor Allderdice. After college he studied and pursued acting roles in New York City and later in Los Angeles, where he also worked as a realtor. Danny was a natural entertainer and performer who loved to make people laugh. He made friends easily and kept many of them for decades. He was known for his generosity and warmth and in creating win-win situations in his friendships and his business dealings. Donations in Danny’s memory may be made online to a charity in Costa Rica, Choose Again. The link for donations is: choose-again.com/dan.html PJC
SALTZMAN: David Saltzman, 90, passed away on Dec. 25, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 70 years, Lorraine Saltzman; children Alan Saltzman (Sandy), Robert Saltzman (Joyce) and Julie Weiss; and grandchildren Jason Saltzman (Raquel), Sarah Neeland (Marc), Eric Saltzman (Ally), Jacob Saltzman, Jordan Saltzman, the late Joshua Weiss, Sean Weiss (Gina), Sarah Weiss and Madison Weiss. David was also Grandpop to his many loving great-grandchildren and uncle to his nieces and nephews. David loved and adored Lorraine, whom he met when she was 13 years old. She was everything to him. He loved all people, especially children. He played ball with a generation of kids in Squirrel Hill and had nicknames for every single one of them. He lit up every room with his warmth and was always kind and generous. David possessed a special sense of humor that endeared him to those around him. He was an avid reader and a living encyclopedia of facts, many of which were quite unusual. He loved movies so much he could identify not only major stars, but bit players in supporting roles. He enjoyed observing nature and wildlife, feeding many animals on his long walks. Most of all he loved his family, and they fiercely loved him back. He was the last of his generation in his family and will be immensely missed. Services and interment were private. Contributions may be made to the Jewish National Fund, 6425 Living Pl Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Arrangements entrusted to schugar.com
SHEINBERG: Sorley Sheinberg, on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. Beloved wife of the late Herbert Sheinberg. Loving mother of Barbara Sheinberg (Norman Cohen), Richard Sheinberg (Sally Buell Sheinberg) and James Sheinberg (Kelley Hartman Sheinberg). Cherished sister of Alan Snyder (Judy) and Edgar Snyder (Adele Sales). Devoted grandmother to Sara Cohen, Aaron Cohen, Amy Sheinberg, Jim Sheinberg, Haddie Sheinberg and Zeldi Sheinberg, and great-grandmother to Robbie Richards-Cohen. Also survived by nieces and nephews, Alison Snyder, Susan Kardos, Andy Snyder, Jennifer Friedman, Sara Snyder, Laura Ellman, Walter Ellman and J.D. Ellman. Sorley Snyder Sheinberg loved her family, was smart, direct and funny. She went to Penn State and was a school teacher, and later, after getting her master’s in international studies at the University of Pittsburgh, was a technical writer and did marketing for Westinghouse. She met the love of her life, Herbie, at a party at Pitt. Sorley was also an accomplished artist, loved classical music, reading and following politics. She and Herb spent 40 happy years in Marco Island, Florida, in the winter. She will be missed forever by her family. Services and interment were held at B’nai Israel Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Congregation of Marco Island, 991 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island, FL 34145 or the Hebrew Free Loan, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Suite 211, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. schugar.com
SIEGEL: George Daniel “Danny” Siegel, May 29, 1950 – Dec. 29, 2024. After suffering from Parkinson’s disease for over eight years, Danny died in his home in Costa Rica, the Villa Decary Hotel, which he and his wife owned and managed for 18 years. He is survived by his wife, Suzy Brown, his sister, Jeannie (Holmes) Miller, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Harvey (Susan Hogan) Siegel. Danny was the son of June and Louis Siegel, and
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Ross Rosen
Deanna Love Rutman
Deanna Love Rutman
Deanna Love Rutman
Deanna Love Rutman
Herbert Shapiro
Eileen Snider & Family
Sharon S Snider
Contact the Development department at 412-586-2690 or development@jaapgh.org for more information. THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — The Original
Sunday January 12: Trudi Danenberg, Mary Dine, Alfred Engel, Edith Fleegler Belle, Saul Franklin, Diane Friedman, Eleanor Glasser, Lena Goldstein, Saul M Gordon, Tillie Green, Rena R Labbie, Herbert Lenchner, Lillian M Levick,
Samuel Moses, Jeannette Pearlstein, Leonard Rofey, Lilly E Rosenberg, Zelda Sadowsky, Hyman Schwartz, Marion Segal, Rachel Seidenstein, Kenneth Zapler
Monday January 13: Darlene D Beck, Harold E Caplan, Abraham Cohen, Molly Crea, Jacob Harry Feingold, David S Finkel, Samuel Goldblatt, Phillip Jacobson, Louis C Klein, Leonard L Launer, Sidney Linzer, Hyman Mallinger, Marvin L Olender, Nathaniel Pinsker, Seymour N Seltman, Belle Skirboll, Dorothy Stein, Lena Steinfeld, Arthur J Stern, Ralph Morris Swartz, Sam Warmstein, Edith Wolinsky
Tuesday January 14: Dora S Birnbaum, Hyman Bleckman, Violetmae Caplan, Sarah Gerson, Anna Lebovitz Glick, Jack Green, Benjamin Hushan, Helen Karnold, Sonia B Lewinter, Henry Mustin, Carrie W Nevins, Rose Rosenberg, Irvin Skirboll, Leo B Stoller, M D , Yetta Weiss, Jacob Wolk
Wednesday January 15: Dorothy Augenblick, Mayer Berenfield, Harry Coffee, Harry Coffey, Isadore L Cohen, Ronald E Fishman, Ernie M Friedman, Saul Garber, Sara Barbara Goldberg, Pauline Goldenson, Israel Heyman, Pearl C Lazar, Samuel Levenson, Jerome Zachery Lieber, Morris K Manela, Morris Nathan, Benjamin Raphael, Irwin Shapiro, Melvin Silberblatt, Joseph A Simon, Esther Rose Singer, Dan Snider
Thursday January 16: Simon Alpern, Nathan G Bagran, Howard Jay Dunhoff, Joseph Elias, George Goldberg, Louis Gordon, Sera Herskovitz, Morton J Ives, Albert Lenchner, George A Levenson, Beatrice Loeb, Morris Martin, Myna Shub, Rose Berkowitz Simensky, Esther Teplitz, Joan Wolfson
Friday January 17: Herman Godfrey Bigg, Jacob Bloom, Esther Broad, Israel Buck, Samuel Davis, Albert Epstein, Sam Faigen, Mortimer M Frankston, Maurice A Golomb, Lillian Granoff, Elizabeth Kopelman, Samuel E Latterman, Dr Fred Laufe, Faye Lester, Sam Liebman, Katherine Greenberg Lincoff, Sam Melnick, Milton Moses, Bessie Silverstein Perman, Harry Rom, Ethel Sachs, Louis Seder, Anne Deutch Shapiro, Meyer S Sikov, Seymour Solomon, Herman Spiegelman, Helyn R Spokane, Ike Tepper, Mollie B Weiss
Saturday January 18: Albert Ackerman, Mollie Barnett, Julius Caplan, Jacob L Cohen, Jacob Diznoff, Rose Friedberg, Morris Gross, Minnie Gusky, Gertrude P Katz, Margaret Kopelson, Charles Lipsitz, Sylvia R Litman, Irwin Luick, Maurice H Margolis, Rose Steinman Morris, Philip H Nevins, Dr William Ratowsky, Kenneth E Rosenberg, Bernard Roth, Belle Somach, Jennie Spokane, Rev Alex Spokane, Nathan Stalinsky, Samuel Sidney Zelmanovitz
Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following:
gift from ...
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By Philissa Cramer | JTA
As a teenager, Agnes Keleti’s athletic pursuits were interrupted by the Nazis, who murdered her father along with more than 500,000 other Hungarian Jews.
As a centenarian, she became a global sensation for not only surviving the Holocaust but returning to sports, resuming her gymnastics career to become one of Hungary’s most decorated athletes.
Keleti died Thursday at 103 in Budapest, to which she returned after decades in Israel — where she is credited with creating the country’s gymnastics program — to live near her son. She was one week shy of her 104th birthday.
“I was strong and I worked hard,” Keleti told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2019, when she was 98. “Nobody asked questions.”
She was referring to her surviving the Holocaust by working as a maid under false papers. (Her mother and sister were saved by Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews before being abducted by the Russians.) But she
could have been summarizing her athletic career, which remains unparalleled in an era of ultra-young gymnastics champions.
After World War II, Keleti resumed her training as a gymnast in 1946. She was prevented from competing at the London Olympics in 1948 because she broke her collarbone in training.
But four years later she won her first
But for most of her life, she did not live in the country she represented. She moved to Israel in 1957, recalling despite dementia at 98 that she had wanted to leave communist Hungary because of antisemitism there.
“It wasn’t a good atmosphere to be Jewish, even for a star athlete,” she said at the time. She ended up in Israel at the urging of a former teacher from Budapest, who persuaded her to attend the 1957 Maccabi Games after she sought asylum in Australia when she was stranded there because of political violence in Hungary. The country was so poor and Keleti’s sport so undeveloped that she had to bring her own bar and rings — but she quickly became a national hero who trained generations of gymnasts.
Olympic gold medal, in the floor exercise, at the 1952 Helsinki Games. Keleti was 31, competing against athletes 10 years younger. She also won a silver medal and two bronze medals in other events, including uneven bars.
This would have been a pinnacle for the career of any professional athlete. But for Keleti, it was merely the warm-up to her spectacular performance at the ’56 Olympics in Melbourne. At 35, competing against gymnasts half her age, she collected four gold medals and two silvers.
Her 10 total medals remains tied for most in Hungary’s history; fewer than 30 athletes from any country have ever won more.
Under Hungarian policy, which awards a monthly stipend to Olympians based on the number of medals they won, Keleti lived comfortably in her old age.
In 1972, Keleti joined Israel’s Olympic team in Munich but was away from the country’s quarters when Palestinian terrorists attacked and killed 11 members of the delegation.
Keleti’s star resurged in the social media era, when clips of her performing as a young adult and continuing to stretch on an Israeli beach circulated annually around her birthday as a symbol of Jewish perseverance despite the Holocaust. A video produced by Kveller, JTA’s sister site, has been viewed 33 million times on Facebook alone.
In Israel, Keleti also married and had two sons.
“I grew up knowing my mother was Wonder Woman,” son Raphael told JTA in 2019. “She ran the household, she taught us music, helped with our homework, cooked meals so tasty that all the neighbors’ kids wanted to stay for dinner. Oh, and in her spare time she was an international and local celebrity who traveled to coach athletes at the Olympic Games. No biggie.” PJC
p Agnes Keleti performs a split in front of Hungarian young gymnasts Budapest on January 16, 2016.
Photo by Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images
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Community
Shabbat Shalom and smiles
Consecration now in session
Students and staff welcomed Shabbat at the Early Childhood Development Center at the Jewish
The Joint Jewish Education Program celebrated its newest students with the gift of a mini-Torah. Students also led the Shema and sang celebratory songs.
Turn the page
Members of
completion
Macher and Shaker
Yafa Negrete’s “Liora, My Sunshine” received an Honorable Mention in the Visual Art category of the 2nd annual Envisioning A Just Pittsburgh call for diverse art. Negrete will be honored at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center on Feb. 20.
p
Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
Students traveled through Squirrel Hill encouraging residents to light Shabbat candles. Photo courtesy of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh
a Pittsburgh Daf Yomi (Page of the Day) group marked
of Bava Batra,
p
p “Liora, My Sunshine,” by Yafa Negrete
Something sweet in Cranberry Cranberry Jewish community members joined Cranberry’s tenth annual public menorah lighting. p
p All in a flash Photo courtesy of the Joint Jewish Education Program
Terrina & Dan LaVallee • Lisa & Jonathan Marcus • Natalie & Brian Valen