SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL Los Angeles, CA October 2020 • Tishrei 5781 Vol. 21 • Issue 1 shalhevetboilingpoint.com
Covid 2.0
BP Photo by Ellie Orlanski OUTSIDE: Students and some parents gathered with rabbis for Shacharit September 21. Officials have set up permanent tents on the rooftop turf to provide shade during prayer and “Camp Shalhevet” optional after-school activities.
Online classes, after-school “camp”and rooftop davening welcome new school year By Benjamin Gamson, News Editor With endless trips, Shabbatons, pep rallies and spontaneous kumzitzes in the hallways, Shalhevet always feels a little like camp. This year, for parts of the day, it actually is. A week after regularly scheduled academic classes started on Zoom Aug. 26, Shalhevet started an after-school program on campus called “Camp Firehawks.” It’s
optional, socially distanced, and fully masked. “We want to have an opportunity to engage with our students,” said Associate Head of School Rabbi David Block. “And right now school learning is only online, and we wanted to create an opportunity that was obviously within the [Covid] guidelines.” But the building “campers” are returning to looks quite different from the one they left when Covid first hit in
March. Under the guidance of Shalhevet’s Medical Task Force, desks have been placed six feet apart, and most are fitted with plexiglass semi-enclosures to shield students’ breath from one another. Hand sanitizers and wipes are on desks. Distanced davening is held some mornings on the outdoor third-floor turf, which is canopied by room-sized white tents. Chairs are spaced six feet apart, and there is very little singing. In-person attendance is strongly encouraged but not continued on page 3
For COVID-19 nurses on opposite sides of the world, keeping families away is the hardest part By Juliet Wiener, Staff Writer Shalhevet alumna Sydney Miller ‘13 is a nurse at the NYU Langone Hospital in New York. Typically, she finds enjoyment in sitting next to an anxious patient and comforting him or her through conversation. However, due to COVID-19, she now mainly communicates with patients on the screen of an iPad, or through the glass doors of the ICU. Halfway around the world, Chava Gardner, 44, is a nurse at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. She stands and watches as
one more elderly COVID-19 patient passes away without family by the bedside. Her N95 mask once again becomes stained with tears. Sydney Miller and Chava Gardner are on opposite sides of the planet — and yet, in the very same place. Both women’s professional lives as frontline healthcare workers were upended this spring by the novel coronavirus and the disease that it causes, COVID-19. Chava, with 17 years of experience as a surgical nurse, normally heads a Hadassah pre-op unit but now has been working in the corona ward. Sydney is barely continued on page 9
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When school started on Aug. 26, Shalhevet’s art students grabbed brand-new plastic mesh packages they’d picked up from school, opened their sketchbooks, and set themselves up for art class online. Zoom screen and blank page in front of them, they would soon touch pen to paper and bring some beauty to the seemingly dark, Covid-infested world of 2020.
This year, Shalhevet’s art students were given basic supplies to use at home to create art together over Zoom. It’s a big improvement from last spring, teachers say, when the Visual Arts department was faced with a paper-and-paintbrush curriculum that suddenly had to migrate online. “No one had art supplies [last year],” said art teacher Ms. Samantha Garelick in
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By Elliot Serure, 10th grade
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This year, art kits for every student taking Art
continued on page 8
Israeli consul says Gulf treaties may signal new era By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief New treaties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain -- only the third and fourth Arab countries to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel in its 72-year history -- will be economically beneficial and shift mindsets in the Middle East towards Israel, according to Dr. Hillel Newman, Israel’s consul general in Los Angeles. Called the Abraham Accords -- in honor of Abraham, held as the ancestor of both Jews and Muslims -- documents formalizing the treaties were signed at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15. The countries agreed to establish normal relations, including direct airline flights, economic and scientific cooperation, and tourism. “The first thing is that it’s going to be a warm peace,” Consul-General Hillel Newman said in an interview with the Boiling Point. As part of the treaties, Israel agreed to temporarily retract their plans to annex parts of the West Bank. According to Dr. Newman, Israel and the UAE have already drafted 170 agreements, some involving science and Covid-19. Equally important, he said, is that the peace was agreed to for the sake of friendship, not in exchange for land or other concessions -- although the agreements were only enacted once Israel agreed to suspend annexation of the West Bank, which was supposed to begin on July 1 of this year. “It’s the first time it’s a peace for peace, legitimacy given to the state of Israel without any price paid,” said Consul General Newman. “Now we’re coming to a reality where they understand that Israel is an ally and not an enemy, and they understand that they can benefit from Israel.” The consul general said the new peace agreements changed the nature of Israeli-Arab negotiations by removing the resolution of Palestinian claims as a precondition. “The third aspect” of progress shown by these agreements, he said, “is that they’re turning the tables on the peace process. There was this acceptance that we have to resolve the Palestinian issue first before we normalize relations with the Arab countries. At last this has been broken.” The agreement between Israel and the UAE was initially continued on page 5
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The Boiling Point • October 2020 • Community
Orange skies, smoke as epic fires fill air throughout the West ple who the fire was less than a mile from their house,” said Rebbetzin Hanoka. “We reach out to them, we kept in touch with Fires raging throughout the West them on a regular basis,” she said. “We’re just grew so large earlier this month that reaching out and keeping communication with davening was cancelled and Camp Fireeverybody.” hawks activities were moved indoors, as At Shalhevet, the fires were less of a threat, a orange-yellow haze replaced the seathough still frightening. son’s typical blue skies and made the air “We usually practice in the gym and work out unhealthy for people throughout Los on the roof, but when the air quality got bad we Angeles. just practiced in the gym,” said freshman Yalee General Studies Principal Mr. DanSchwartz, who practices with the girls basketball iel Weslow cancelled outdoor sports, team. including soccer, baseball, cross country “But when I had an outside session with my and biking, for the entire week begincoach, it really affected me because I started to get ning Sept. 13 as the local Air Quality headachey and it was hard to breathe. I got very Index (AQI) reached above 600, actired and felt like there was a loss of oxygen.” cording to media reports. An AQI above Senior Rena Harkham’s Model Congress prac100 is considered unhealthy for sensitive tice was moved from the turf indoors, and said groups, and above 150 is unhealthy for that the bad air quality outside felt unsafe. everyone. BP Photo by Ellie Orlanski “The sky was orange, which was very alarmMr. Weslow announced via email ing,” said Rena. “I didn’t have trouble breathing, I Sept. 13 that the sports would expose just didn’t want to be outside for too long.” AIR: Smoke filled the skies Sept. 13, shrouding the sun at Will Rogers State Beach. students to unhealthy air. This polluWhile the cause of the Bobcat fire is still tion resulted from hundreds of wildfires unclear, dry conditions in the Angeles Nationtearing across the West. About 4,000 residents of Pasadena-area suburbs includal Forest and a massive heatwave that oppressed “As long as the Air Quality Index reing Sierra Madre and Monrovia received evacuation warnSouthern California the week of Sept. 6 made it spread effecmains below 150,” Mr. Weslow wrote, “we will move parts of Camp Firehawks inside where feasible, but ings on Sept. 8. All had been lifted by Sept. 19, and no tively, according to media reports. CalFire says it is over 60% contained, but the fires and many parts of the program will likely remain primarily structures there were destroyed. Noah Kronsburg, a sophomore at Pasadena High School bad air quality still poses threat to local communities. outdoors.” Climate change is also attributed as a major factor in the He said officials had consulted Shalhevet’s Medical who lives in Pasadena, was three miles from the flames. “I can’t go outside because the levels of smoke has made wildfires, with extreme shifts in weather patterns creating a Task Force, which was formed last spring to help the the air nonbreathe-able,” said Noah, who is the cousin of cycle of ever-worsening fire seasons. Plentiful precipitation school manage the spread of Covid-19. Shalhevet students Benjamin and Joshua Gamson. causes plants, shrubs, and grasses to grow in abundance, then “For particularly strenuous outdoor activities such as “I will open my window and immediately close it be- the heat scorches the vegetation, creating combustible brush athletics, the Medical Task Force has recommended that the Air Quality Index must be below 100,” wrote Mr. cause I remember that the amount of smoke outside is so for fires that ignite rapidly and spread uncontrollably, resultdangerous to my lungs.” He said his house was surrounded ing in a cycle of fires of increasing intensity. Weslow in an email on September 13. As clouds of ash and smoke cover the region, dangerous In-person davening on the third-floor turf was can- by fire on all sides, except for the front which faces toward downtown L.A. air quality becomes a health concern, especially for those celled due to the poor air quality of Sept.16. “The way I would geographically explain it to you is that who suffer from preexisting conditions and those who alThings were much worse north of Los Angeles, as the blaze tore through small towns throughout the West on all sides I think of it as a sukkah,” said Noah in an inter- ready have the effects of Covid-19 to contend with. “I have a friend who has asthma, and he can’t open the and threatened many more. Fires in California alone view. “Essentially on all sides, besides from [the front], I’m window or turn the air conditioning on because he won’t have burned more than 3.9 million acres -- more than surrounded by the Angeles National Forest.” Located near the Sierra Pelona and San be able to breathe,” said Noah 6,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of ConKronsburg. necticut -- and destroyed over 7,200 structures, accord- Gabriel Mountains, the Bobcat Fire started on Sept. 6. As of Sept. 29, it was 62% The air quality index had rising to Cal Fire. I can’t go outside because the levels of contained and had burned 114,202 acres, en to over 600 in parts of CaliCommunities in Oregon, Washington state and smoke has made the air nonbreathable. fornia and Oregon by Sept. 14, Northern California suffered widespread forest loss and or about 180 square miles, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. I will open my window and immediately making the air quality on the property damage and multiple deaths. It was still blazing when Rosh Hashanah West Coast of the United States close it because I remember that the As of Sept. 30, 29 people had lost their lives in Calthe worst in the world. ifornia and another 10 in Oregon,where 22 people are began on Friday night, Sept. 18. That night amount of smoke outside is so Over Yom Kippur, two new still missing. According to media reports, among those there was also an earthquake, measuring dangerous to my lungs.” 4.6 on the Richter scale, at 11:40 p.m. The fires erupted in Northern Calikilled were a small child and two teenagers. fornia, where five dozen winerTeens also were helping to save lives. Josh Cher- earthquake, which was felt by most Shalhe— Noah Kronsberg, 10th-grader ies are located. Three counties tok, a senior at Tamalpais High School in Marin vet students, was centered just south of El County, north of San Francisco, was involved Monte -- 30 miles from school but only 18 at Pasadena High School declared a state of emergency as miles away from Pasadena. thousands of California residents in evacuating people from the Woodward Fire Rebbetzin Chani Hanoka, wife of Rabbi fled the area and three more peoin Marin County, at the north end of the Chaim Hanoka of Chabad of Pasadena, said ple were killed. Golden Gate Bridge. the holiday had helped people cope with both the fire and According to Cal Fire, the Zogg fire has rapidly burned Josh volunteers with the Marin County through 40,317 acres in Northern California near Redding. sheriff’s office Search and Rescue Team. Early the earthquake. “Between the fires, Covid-19, and the recent earthquake, The Glass fire north of San Francisco in Napa burned over in the fire season, he was part of a crew workthings are starting to pile up on people,” Rebbetzin Hanoka 36,236 acres. ing to get people out of their homes. said in an interview with the Boiling Point. “We are really They both started on Sept. 27 and are 0% contained as “We’re evacuating people,” Josh told the Boilclose to the fault line, so we got a good jolt. of Sept. 29. ing Point Aug. 20. “Going door to door.” She said the air improved enough that outdoor services The deadly El Dorado wildfire in Northern California “It smells like there’s a giant campfire under my were held on both the first and second days of the chag. was started when a family used a smoke-generating pyronose when I go outside,” said Josh, who lives in Mill “I think people were comforted because we had daven- technic device to reveal the gender of their unborn baby over Valley, 10 miles away from the blaze. “Outside my house looks like heavy fog but it’s smoke. There’s ash ing on Rosh Hashanah,” she said “Even if they didn’t come, the Labor Day weekend. Four-foot tall blades of dry grass they were comforted that we were here for the community. were ignited by the device, with the family desperately trying in the air.” In Southern California, the fires came later, and We made Rosh Hashanah packages and kept in touch with to douse the flames with water bottles. Overall, the West Coast of the United States, from Washloss of forests and buildings was painful but less se- everybody, but it’s been hard.” She said the Chabad was staying in touch with the mem- ington State to San Diego County, has been ravaged by vere. Air quality in Los Angeles began to decline on Sept. 7 and worsened with the spread of the Bobcat bers of the shul making sure they were ok. She said none had 8,100 fires since the beginning of this year, leaving scars on Fire, located in the Angeles National Forest in moun- been ordered to evacuate, although some left of their own the map more than twice the size of some East Coast states. volition and fear of the bad air quality. Editor-in-Chief Molly Litvak contributed to this story. tains north of Pasadena. “No one had mandatory evacuations but there were peo-
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By Gabriella Gomperts, 11th Grade
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The Boiling Point • October 2020• Community
Yoetzet Segal moves to Israel, will keep some roles at Shalhevet By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-chief
Talmud, 10th-grade Talmud, 11th-grade Talmud, Segal studied at Nishmat, the seminary in Israel 12th-grade Tanakh and numerous minimester that created this role. She said there were more than 120 yoetzot halacha in the world, including Yoetzet Halacha Atara Segal may have moved seminars, along with AP Statistics. Yoetzet Segal took a sabbatical for the 2016-17 28 in America and three in Los Angeles. Now that to Israel this summer, but she is still continuing school year, when she studied fulltime to become Yoetzet Segal is in Israel, the latter number has her work with the Shalhevet community. Yoetzet Segal and her family moved on Aug. 5, Yoetzet Halacha, a title designated to women who gone down to two. There are also yoetzot halacha although her husband, Head of School Rabbi Ari have been rabbinically certified to make halachic in Israel and London. decisions on matters Yoetzet Segal said students who she taught at Segal, will continue to commute pertaining to women’s Shalhevet years ago ask her halachic questions, to Los Angeles. Ms. Segal will be bodies and marriage. some when they are getting married. She also teaching in Jerusalem at Midresh- Having a woman with a serious While these laws serves as yoetzet halacha of the Baron Hirsch Synet Torah V’Avodah, an institute background in halacha definitely do not pertain directly agogue in Memphis, Tenn., and said she would of Torah study for women where to high schoolers, stu- continue her work there over Zoom. some Shalhevet alumni have stud- benefited the school. It made dents said Ms. Seied after high school. it easier for me to ask halachic gal made an impact Although she will still lead gapquestions in her yoetzet role, year advising for seniors and work too. Alumna Nata-Natalia Shabtay ‘20 individually with certain other lia Shabtay ‘20 said students, Ms. Segal will no longer she approached have an on-campus presence. She Yoetzet Segal multiple times with halachic said those roles could be handled from Israel. “I think corona has taught us all that many questions on various issues. “Ms. Segal always did her best to approach things can be done distanced that we didn’t realmy questions from every angle that she could ize,” Yoetzet Segal said in a telephone interview think of so that I could get the most comprefrom her new home in Modi’in. “The coronavirus did highlight how that’s the kind of the thing that hensive answer,” said Natalia. “Having a woman with a serious backcan be done over Zoom pretty effectively.” ground in halacha definitely benefited the She also plans to host Shalhevet alumni studying in Israel for Shabbat, and will continue her school. It made it easier for me to ask halachic work as Israel gap-year advisor for the class of questions and having her as a Judaic Studies teacher was amazing because she always knew 2021. Yoetzet Segal said she and Rabbi Segal always the perfect way to answer my questions.” Breaking boundaries at Shalhevet, in 2018 wanted to make aliyah. Ms. Segal became the first female Judaics “It’s where we’re supposed to be,” Yoetzet Segal teacher to be given a title other than Ms. or said. “People for thousands of years have literally died wanting to visit [Israel], and we’re so lucky Morah. She also became the first woman to teach Gemara at an Orthodox high school in UOSH.ORG that we have the ability to go there.” Ms. Segal started working part-time at Shal- Los Angeles when she started teaching 10th- YOETZET: Ms. Segal moved to Israel with her hevet in the 2011-12 school year, and became full grade Talmud in fall of 2013. To achieve the title of Yoetzet Halacha, Ms. family Aug. 5. time in 2013. She taught ninth-grade Tanakh and
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She also organized Shalhevet’s women’s Purim Megillah readings. “We’d have between 30 and 60 women come to the megillah reading,” Yoetzet Segal said to the Boiling Point. “People sometimes feel it’s a risk to put themselves out on a very public stage, and probably my favorite thing about it is that it’s a very safe and supportive environment for people to try something new.” Senior Rebecca Cohen read Megillah on Purim in 10th grade and has been attending the readings since freshman year. “They give girls an opportunity to take part in their traditions in a way that is meaningful,” said Rebecca. “They allow girls to participate in celebrating a holiday in a way that many of us have only seen men do, but now we’re able to do the reading ourselves and it gives us the power to take control over our own Judaism.” Alumna Rachel Metzger ‘20 said Yoetzet Segal was influential in her decision to attend Hevruta, a gap-year program in Israel. “Ms. Segal was able to tell me about programs that she thought would be a good fit for me,” Rachel said, “and I applied and started thinking more about it… I wasn’t thinking about it as much before.” Yoetzet Segal said her favorite memories were of hanging out with students on the turf, and that what she’d miss most would be the Shalhevet community. “People are just willing to try things -- people want to make things work and they’re willing to support you when they work or when things don’t work,” she said. “That feeling of collaboration and support is something I’ll miss. It’s really this sense of community of people just wanting to make the best we can.”
Online classes, after-school ‘camp’ and rooftop davening in new school year continued from page 1 required; most days 40-50 students are there, compared to 100-plus at the larger minyans during regular schools. Other additions include walls moved to combine smaller rooms into larger ones; electrical “Owls” -- 60-degree cameras to help students at home feel like they’re in the room when class is in session; and a constantly shifting schedule, as administrators work to combine Jewish holiday requirements with feedback about how things are going. Freshman Zion Schlussel who is a part of drama and model congress said that even when he does not have a co-curricular he would go to campus to hang out. “I think they’re doing a great job,” said Zion, whose sister Vivienne also attends Camp Firehawks. “I really enjoy going to the school because I miss being in school…,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll go and I don’t have a club -- Viv has a club but I’ll go and then I’ll just hang out there, and maybe make a video for my drama group, and it’s really fun.”
tier for two weeks. As of Sept. 30, it is still in the Purple tier. How then is Camp Firehawks open now? State Covid guidelines allowed day camps to be open throughout the summer, and health departments have not acted to close them, even in counties in the Purple tier. Los Angeles County was one more than a dozen counties still in Purple as of Sept. 30. Rabbi Block announced Camp Firehawks in an email Aug. 14, saying it would be a safe way for students to come to school if they wanted to. “We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Camp Firehawks - an after-school in-person program meant to nourish our students spiritually, intellectually, and physically,” the email stated. Formal co-curriculars like debate, choir and drama have been assigned Camp Firehawks time slots, six or more at a time. For example, Mondays are assigned to robotics, girls basketball, Model UN, Mock Trial, choir, drama, and BP Photo by Benjamin Gamson Camp Firehawks opened Aug. 31 and is strictly voluntary. The self defense and fitness. Tuesdays have Boiling Point, girls Boiling Point estimates attendance is approximately 60 students per volleyball, boys soccer, Model Congress, drama and Online CAMP: Model UN held an info session on Sept. 10. Rooms 204 and 205 were combined into a single room for distancing. night. PE class -- all in exactly the same time slot. It starts with Mincha and sometimes ends with Ma’ariv. During What Rabbi Block called “student-run clubs” have been that we can provide a proper minyan experience for our students its first three weeks, it ran from 4:30 to 7:35 p.m. Monday through given a period at the end of the online school day, from 3:15 Thursday and included davening, grade-wide Judaic programs to 3:50 p.m. These include the Business Club, Young Americans for while classes continue to be virtual.” called “Souls On Fire,” enrichment and carefully scheduled co-cur- Freedom and Firehawks for Israel. Once in-person school does open, school officials plan what riculars. The enrichment classes ended or were cancelled after three “Those are things that are student-run, usually run during the they call a “hybrid” learning system, when half the students at most weeks. school hours,” Rabbi Block said. Since remote-only class ends most days at 3:10 p.m., participatMr. Weslow said there would be some Sunday offerings as well, will be on campus at a time -- freshman and sophomores on campus one week while juniors and seniors learn on Zoom, and the next ing students have more than an hour including drama, basketball, and Online PE. to get from home to school. “Souls Meanwhile, the daily school schedule has been week the reverse. Eight “Owl” units -- tripod-mounted devices with 360-degree On Fire” is first, from 4:30 to 5:30, almost daily due to in-person davening, Sometimes I’ll go and I don’t changing cameras and microphones that pick up sound and images from all followed by co-curriculars from 5:45 chagim, and some uncertainty. that end at various times. For example, the week of Sept. 28, there was no around the classroom -- will make it possible for students to keep have a club..., but I’ll go and School began Aug. 26 with classes school on Monday due to Yom Kippur. On Tues- learning from home for those who cannot come in person. I’ll just hang out there, and day, classes began at 9:15 a.m. and ended at 2:50. Student desks now have two-sided plexi-glass dividers shielding themselves entirely online, as mandatfront and sides. They were built over the summer by school ed by the state of California in counmaybe make a video for my On Wednesday classes began at 8:30 and ended at the ties like Los Angeles that are catego3. Some classes start earlier such as AGS (Advanced maintenance chief Mr. Jose Flores. drama group, and it’s really Gemarah Shiur), which is between 8:00 and 8:30. Classrooms 205 and 206 were merged into one classroom by rized as “Purple” -- meaning Covid-19 is “widespread” there. The master schedule for online learning, post- removing the wall in between. Also, the third-floor teachers lounge fun.” ed at the beginning of the year by Mr. Weslow, has has been converted into a classroom. Air filters were upgraded to Being in the Purple tier indicates remove smaller particles that could carry the Covid virus. Stairwells that in that county has more than classes starting at 8:40 and ending at 3:10. seven new cases per day per 100,000 Changes were still being added last week. On have been designated either up (the foyer) or down (the outside and — Zion Schlussel, ninth grade Sept. 21 Mr. Weslow announced in an email the cre- gym stairways). people, or greater than an eight-perRabbi Block said that when in-person school is allowed again, a cent test positivity rate -- that is, more ation of a once-a-month “Tech-Free Friday,” when than eight percent of those being tested all classes will be canceled so students can get away lot of the activities at Camp Firehawks might be replaced by regular for Covid turn out to have the disease. from technology and spend time with their families or outside. The learning -- but he wasn’t sure. “Honestly, it’s hard to know the answer,” Rabbi Block wrote in The Red tier, meaning coronavirus cases are “substantial,” would first one was Sept. 25. be next if conditions improve. It means that there are four to seven And Dean of Students Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg announced this an email to the Boiling Point. “This situation and health guidelines new cases per day per 100,000 people, or a five- to eight-percent week that following Sukkot, Tuesday morning on-campus davening are ever-changing, and our educational decisions will continue to evolve along with them.” case positivity rate. will take place regularly, each week, at 7:30. Next are the Orange and Yellow tiers, “moderate” and “mini“Obviously, we understand if it’s simply not possible for your mal,” when additional restrictions are lifted. family,” Rabbi Schwarzberg wrote in an email to the community School can open when Los Angeles County has been in the Red Oct. 1, “but we kindly ask for you to do your very best to ensure
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The Boiling Point • October 2020 • Community
Just Community approves Constitution overhaul By Benjamin Gamson, News editor and Jacob Lefkowitz Brooks ‘20 After a year of discussion, deliberation, meetings and last-minute revisions, members of the Just Community voted overwhelmingly May 14 to approve a major overhaul of the Just Community constitution, the most significant change in school governance since the document was first approved in 2002. The final vote was 149 to 20 — an 87-to-13percent margin — and every grade approved it, although the vote was much closer among this year’s junior class, where the margin was 13 votes to 11. The goal of revising the constitution has been a priority for many past Agenda Chairs, but it never progressed beyond one or two meetings. This year, a committee of three of last year’s seniors — then-Agenda Chair David Edwards, Fairness Co-Chair Evan Rubel and constitution activist Sabrina Jahan — was able to actualize it. “The Just Community is honestly something that’s beautiful and it’s unique, and no one really understood that, and I think honestly I can say with confidence that after this whole process … people understand that a lot more,” said Sabrina after the victory was announced. She said the group also hoped to improve on the original document. Several sections had fallen into disuse, and Town Hall’s original definition which described Town Hall as a place for proposals was no longer in practice. “We wanted to make the processes more fluid and more up-to-date, and work better,” Sabrina said. “And we wanted to take the values and turn them into something that was more pragmatic instead of something too idealistic. “But at the heart of it what we were doing is ensuring that people actually understand what the Just Community is, because everybody should.” With 169 votes in all, more than half of the
A majority of the public information on the constitution was either neutral or pro-constitution and there was not a lot of anti-constitution material public for everyone to see. — Kate Orlanski, Agenda Chair, who opposed the amendments
BP Photo by Ellie Orlanski
REVIVAL: A new Just Community Constitution was approved following a year of meetings and debates. entire community voted in the distance-voting procedure. The school has 257 students this year and about 65 staff. On May 14 at 5:12 p.m., then-senior Gilad Spitzer -- co-chair of the Fairness Committee, which ran the election -- sent the Boiling Point what he called “the output of the computer program.” It showed the grade-wide breakdowns, which showed the revision had passed all four grades and even the faculty, which favored the new revisions 21 – 2. The ninth-grade tally was 34 – 3, the 10th-grade passed it unanimously 37 – 0, and the 12th grade 44 – 4. Those numbers were way beyond the twothirds overall majority and half of each grade that would have been required by the existing constitution to pass such a measure. “It was an incredible margin and we were very pleased to see that, and honestly kind of shocked, very shocked, when we saw the results,” said David, whose term as Agenda Chair ended with a Constitution-focused Town Hall. He said that he, Sabrina and Evan had spent election day thinking about math. “We were kinda stressing out all day,” David said. “We calculated possible voter turnouts for each grade and what we would actually need for each grade. We were like, okay we would need 13 freshman if 12 of them vote no, and there’s a 40% turnout — things like that.”
But the constitution’s most vocal opponent, then-junior Kate Orlanski, who had just been elected Agenda Chair for 2020-21, said she had expected the result. “I wasn’t surprised that it passed, but then again only half of the school voted for it,” said Kate. “It’s not that surprising that the people that actually went out of their way to vote were people who like wanted it to pass, especially considering a majority of the public information on the constitution was either neutral or pro-constitution and there was not a lot of anti-constitution material public for everyone to see. “It makes sense that the people who had heard about it and who did care about it voted in favor of it. Who knows what that other half of the school, almost, who didn’t vote for it would have voted?” The document approved Thursday was characterized as an “amendment,” not a new constitution. Although it contained many revisions, it kept much of the original constitution intact, including statements of community members’ rights to fairness and respect for both students and staff. It tweaks the definition of Town Hall, adding “While Town Hall is formally a space to facilitate the proposal process as detailed in Article I, Section 3, it also incorporates what the Agenda Committee sees as best for the Just Community.”
A new Judicial Review Subcommittee — which turned out to be the most contentious part of the proposal during Town Halls — is added, along with a provision for issue-specific “councils” to be formed as needed. Whenever a proposal is suggested, Judicial Review members — leaders of the Agenda, Fairness and Student Activities committees, along with an elected faculty representative and the Head of School — will now decide whether or not it is constitutional before it can be brought to Town Hall. Judicial Review approvals must be unanimous, giving what some have called a “preemptive veto” — that is, the ability of any one member of Judicial Review, including the head of school, to prevent its advancement. However, proposals that then go on to be passed by the community at Town Hall could no longer be vetoed and would automatically become school law. The amendment also defines the “values of the Just Community” and the school’s Jewish values, and states that if proposal violated any of those or if it would “seriously detract from the public image of Shalhevet High School if it were passed, with respect to the hashkafa of Shalhevet High School,” Judicial Review would prevent it from being voted on in Town Hall. In addition, the long-standing Student Activities Committee (SAC), never in the constitution before, is now added as a formal branch of the Just Community. And the Constructive Consequences Committee (CCC), which has not existed at school for many years, is eliminated. Evan Rubel said he hoped the document’s overwhelming approval would make it easier for members of the Just Community to know what their rights and responsibilities are. “I think that it means that there will be a lot more clarity — hopefully there will be less confusion,” said Evan. “I also think there will be a little more accountability from all ends, from the administration, for the student body. “We hope that with this new draft we are reinvigorating and revitalizing the current Just Community, but also bringing a little bit of the ideals of the original Just Community back to into our modern Shalhevet,” he said. “We hope that we are trying to bridge the gap to that original feeling of the Just Community at its founding.” Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal shared Evan’s hope. “I’m hopeful that it will enhance the feeling that students have of involvement in the Just Community,” Rabbi Segal told the Boiling Point in an interview.
For now, Zoom Town Hall will be every other week By Noah Elad, Staff Writer This fall, for the first time in school history, Town Hall has been scheduled to take place every other week instead of weekly. Until now, since the school’s founding in 1993, Town Hall had been a weekly event. But over the summer, Agenda Committee officials and Just Community advisor Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg decided the pressures of Zoom learning called for a change — at least for now. Rabbi Schwarzberg said that for now, having Town Hall every other week is only certain until Sukkot, and the Agenda Committee will discuss further actions after the holiday. He said the reasoning was that it can be difficult for many students to work on their screens for an extended period of time, and he thought having extra break time was more important than staying consistent with Town Hall. “Sitting in front of a computer all day long is exhausting and tiring, and the ability to give students the break from Town Hall allows students to get a real break on Tuesdays from their work,” said Rabbi Schwarzberg. He also said that having Town Hall every other week gives the Agenda Committee extra time to plan and make sure that Town Hall is being run properly. “It also gives some time for the Agenda Committee and the school to figure out different options,” he said, “and to see how Town Hall will work or be effective in kind of a mandatory way given the new environment of online school.” Agenda Vice Chair Jack Sanders said the change was also made to give students an extra Flex period to work on assignments. “Normally it wouldn’t be a problem, but under these circumstances with online school, I think it was best to give kids a little more free time to finish their work instead of having it every week,” said Jack. “Very few people had any online experience prior to this which is why many struggle. To put it differently, Town Hall is not meant to add additional stress, or interfere with people’s schedules, especially now when students are adjusting to unique circumstances.”
Agenda Chair Kate Orlanski also supported the change. “I think it will have a positive impact on Town Hall, because since we only have to come up with a Town Hall every other week, it will ensure that the Town Hall’s we do put out are of higher quality,” said Kate in an interview. Kate also said she thought there were pros to the Zoom format, saying there had been strong participation of ninth-grade Sept. 1. “Town Hall online is very different than regular Town Hall…,” said Kate. “The freshmen seem very eager to speak and are excellent participants, which is something I haven’t seen before. I wonder if it’s because there’s not that same aspect of intimidation [that happens] when you’re standing in front of a huge room of people.” Students who thought that online Town Hall gave them more confidence to speak wished it were still being held weekly. Junior Anya Mendelson is against the new biweekly Town Hall schedule and believes students are missing an important value of Shalhevet when only having Town Hall every other week. “In the time of corona, so much is being taken from us that it kind of becomes our job to preserve as much as we can and that includes really little things like Town Hall, which is why I think we should be having it at least once a week,” said Anya. “It’s also a really big part of Shalhevet identity... it encompasses everything that the Just Community stands for, and now that it’s limited to once every other week, it feels like it’s barely there.” Sophomore Avi Litvak agreed. “I would prefer to have Town Hall every week because I definitely think it’s a really good opportunity for the students to voice their opinions and for people to talk in front of the school, said Avi. The topic Sept. 1 was whether or not political activism on Instagram was effective. Among those who spoke was freshman Zion Schlussel. “Being online definitely gave me more confidence,” said Zion. “I know for sure if I had been at school, I would not have spoken. I would’ve wanted to speak but I definitely wouldn’t have.” More than 200 people were present that day, according to the Zoom count. “Being online is different, it’s not everyone staring, looking at
BP Photo by Ellie Orlanski ENGAGE: Agenda Chair Kate Orlaski led Town Hall on Sept. 15. you,” Zion said. “It’s like you could see like five people at a time, so it’s just easier that way.” In contrast, Avi Litvak was discouraged by not being able to see everyone at once. “I feel less comfortable speaking in online Town Hall then normal because I feel like you can’t really see how people are reacting to what you’re saying, even if you look at the screens, you can’t see everyone at the same time,” said Avi. Rabbi Schwarzberg agreed that Town Hall online is different from Town Hall in-person. “There is one clear negative to me, and that is there’s no way when you’re online that you get a sense of what it is for the entire school community to be together.” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. Having it less often, he said, might cause people to miss it during the off-weeks. “They might appreciate it more,” he said.
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Outside News MEANWHILE... By benjamin gamson, news editor
MAY 17th
After 17 months without a government, Israeli political rivals Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz form a unity government joining the Likud and Blue-and-White parties. Each agrees to serve 18 months of a combined three-year term, Netanyahu first.
25th
In Minneapolis, police officer Derek Chauvin kneels on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, killing him, while onlookers recorded the scene on cellphones in chilling videos that were shared nationwide. The videos showed that Mr. Floyd was not resisting and was begging for his life. His death led to nationwide peaceful protests and demonstrations, along with looting, fire-setting and destruction of property in many cities including Los Angeles.
JUNE 2nd
Former Vice President Joseph Biden clinches the Democratic nomination for president, defeating Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and a large and diverse field of candidates that had been running since 2019.
JULY 17th
Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who was brutally beaten by police during the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965 and went on to serve just under 33 years in the House of Representatives, dies of cancer at age 80.
AUGUST 11th
Former Vice President Joseph Biden chooses California Sen. Kamala Harris to be his running mate. If elected she would be the first female vice president as well as the first African-American and first vice president of Indian descent to serve.
SEPTEMBER 18th
18th
22nd
Subtropical storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic between the Azores and Portugal. This is only the second time that the National Weather Service had to start naming hurricanes using the Greek alphabet, having already used the 21 names for this year beginning with the letters A through W.
OCTOBER 2020
UAE and Bahrain treaties could signal start of new era, Israel Consul General says continued from page 1 agreed to on Aug. 13, and the deal between Israel and Bahrain was announced by President Trump on Sept. 11. According to Consul-General Newman, however, both treaties had been in the works for over a decade. “I have actually had the privilege of partaking in this process,” Dr. Newman said. “I visited UAE one year ago in July 2019 together with our foreign minister, and we visited UAE on an official visit with official meetings. Then it was still kept confidential.” Though Israel previously has not had diplomatic relations with any Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region, it reached similar agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. According to Consul-General Newman, the vast majority of Israelis support the recent deals -- around 90% -- and most of the opposition comes from those who believe Palestinians have been unfairly isolated, and on the opposite end, those who do not support the suspension of annexation. According to Consul-General Newman, the annexation may be temporarily suspended, but Israel will eventually follow through with it, though he did not say when. “There is an understanding that we suspend our intentions of any extension of sovereignty for a period of time,” Dr. Newman said. “That was agreed upon.” Max Rabin, who graduated from Shalhevet in 2005 and lives in Jerusalem, said he expects the new agreements to help Israel’s economy. “I know that economically this is expected to bring a lot of business into Israel, to provide a lot of business opportunities for Israelis outside,” Mr. Rabin said. “The foundation for all economic growth is trade, and Israel only looks westward for trade, [which] limits opportunities, whereas eastward there should be a lot more opportunity, a lot of wealthy countries.” According to the World Bank, the United Arab Emirates had a gross domestic product of over $422 billion in 2018. While Bahrain is not quite as wealthy as the UAE, its economy is ranked 23rd largest in the world. Galya Nisenbaum Aderet, who graduated from Shalhevet in 2009 and lives in Leshem, east of Tel Aviv, said she believed the agreements were a great achievement. But she said she had not seen much reaction from Israelis -- partly because of a huge resurgence of Covid in recent weeks. “Truthfully, for most people it wasn’t the main thing they were paying attention to because of the pandemic,” Ms. Aderet said. “A lot of people were feeling contemptuous that Bibi was able to go to this event in the White House while we’re all in lock-down. People were feeling that that’s a bit ridiculous and unfair.” Palestinians are mainly opposed to the Abraham Accords. A week before the signing, the Palestinian delegation to the Arab League proposed an official condemnation of the treaties. It did not pass because Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, and every Gulf nation declined to vote. Because of this, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki announced that the Palestinian delegation would be resigning from rotating-presidency of the Council of the Arab League, i24 Israel News reported. Dr. Sara Deen, president of the South Coast Interfaith Council, said she felt the agreements unfairly left out the Palestinians. “This agreement has nothing to do with the Palestinian people,” said Dr. Deen, whose parents are Pakistani immigrants. “We’ve seen a long history of this in this conflict. Whether you’re talking about Lebanon, you’re talking about Jordan or you’re talking about Egypt,
it’s the Palestinians that are thrown under the bus the quickest and the most easily by these regimes to further their own interests.” Further, according to Dr. Deen, the decisions of the UAE and Bahrain do not necessarily reflect the views of the Muslim world, even though both are Muslim countries. (She also said her views don’t necessarily represent those of the South Coast Interfaith Council.) “As a Muslim I feel like it’s important to say, there is no ‘Muslim world,’” said Dr. Deen. “It’s not like one entity or body that has one agenda. “I often think that this conflict becomes misconstrued or framed as Jews versus Muslims, and that’s just not accurate, because the Muslims are not a monolith group. The UAE making these diplomatic relations, there’s no feeling for me as a Muslim going, ‘Oh ok, we are now engaged with Israel.’ It’s kind of irrelevant.” As for the move to temporarily suspend annexation, Dr. Deen believes it doesn’t have much significance. “I think it’s just smoke and mirrors,” she said. According to media reports, the initial agreement between Israel and the UAE was agreed to during a telephone call among President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyanu, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (which is part of the UAE), Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Bahrain signed on afterwards. Iran’s military activities have been a longstanding source of worry for its neighbors, as well as for Israel and the United States, who both hope the recent agreements will reduce any threat. Consul-General Newman said the new agreements signify moderates joining together against radicals in the Middle East. “UAE and Bahrain are moderates in the Arab world and we can work together,” Consul-General Newman said. “We will stand together and confront Iran, [which is] one of the leaders of the radicals, one of the leading factors in the world today that’s supporting worldwide terrorism.” According to Consul-General Newman, Israel is also discussing normalizing diplomatic relations with between five and 10 other Arab nations, though he said he could not share the names of those countries. A few weeks after the peace agreements were finalized, President Trump was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norweigian Parliament. Media reports said his nomination letter expressed hope for further peace treaties to follow. “As it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE,” Mr. Tybring-Gjeddge wrote in his nomination letter, “this agreement could be a game changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity.” Opponents of the nomination argue that it is too soon to tell whether the agreements will indeed bring peace. Within Israel, however, many people are hopeful. Yoni Bain, who graduated from Shalhevet in 2005 and lives in Jerusalem, Israel, said he believes the peace treaties are a “step in the right direction.” “People see this as a major win for Israel,” Mr. Bain said. “I think putting us all in the right step to working together for the security of the region, and for the economic benefit for all parties, is really going to help everybody hopefully.” Consul-General Newman agrees. “The average Israeli is yearning for peace,” Dr. Newman said. “The fact that an Arab state comes forward and says, ‘We recognize Israel, we’re prepared to live in peace with Israel,’ it gives a tremendous moral support to the average Israeli. It’s a dream come true.”
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies in Washington, D.C., at age 87 of pancreatic cancer, becoming the first woman and the first Jew to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol. A political battle ensues over whether to fill the Court vacancy before or after the presidential election.
Coronavirus deaths pass 200,000 in the United States.
Photo courtesy of ge.usembassy.gov TREATY: President Trump (center) at the White House on Aug. 13 after announcing agreements to normalize diplomatic relations and further peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, with (from left), Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
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The Boiling Point • October 2020 • Special Report
awar ly awa con stan tanttly cons ree ‘constantly aware’
-- Shalhevet’s Fred Leach describes being Black in LA
BY Sam Rubanowitz, 2019-20 Senior Editor Mr. Fred Leach, whose title at school is Digital Firehawks Instructor, is part of Shalhevet’s Educational Support team. He oversees and helps students who take online classes or who use other academic accommodations. Along with his fellow Ed. Support teacher Valencia
Q &A The Boiling Point: What is your family situation and-or who do you live with? Mr. Fred Leach: I live with a roommate in an apartment in Southbay. Most of my family lives in Tallahassee, FL — though my little brother lives in Solvang, California with his wife (and new baby!!), and my sister lives in Colorado. BP: What neighborhood of Los Angeles do you live in?
Wilson, custodian Mary Hawkins, and new alumnus Jacob Benezra ‘20, Mr. Leach is also one of four African-Americans at Shalhevet. In light of the death of George Floyd and the national reaction that ensued, the Boiling Point reached out to get his perspective on these developments. Mr. Leach offered to reply to questions in writing. Below are all of his answers, sent to the Boiling Point on June 14.
BP: Is fear of police a part of your life that affects your life or your thinking in a day-to-day way? If so, why? BP: Do you know anyone personally who has been killed or injured by law enforcement in Los Angeles, or elsewhere? Mr. Leach: I do not personally know anyone who has been seriously hurt or killed by LAPD, but I do know many people who have had racially motivated incidents with the police. Also, I spent most of my life in Dallas where someone from the community I taught in was killed by the police. His name was Jordan Edwards, and though I didn’t know him personally, he was friends with many students I taught at Balch Springs Middle School.
Mr. Leach::Lawndale (Southbay), near Hermosa/Hawthorne
BP: What has been your overall experience with the police?
BP: How does it feel being an African-American man in Los Angeles now, compared to a month ago?
Mr. Leach::My experiences have been very mixed. Growing up I never really had issues with police, but as an adult, I have had several run-ins that felt discriminatory. There have been times where I’ve been pulled over and questioned, then let go with no ticket or explanation for why I was pulled over. When I lived with my parents in my early 20s, I was once pulled over and asked why I was in that neighborhood, questioned about whose car I was in (my own) and what I did for a living. My worst run-in was last year, when I was pulled over for making a right on red without stopping, and was pulled out of the car, and put in the back of their police car while they searched my vehicle. After about 30 minutes in the back of the police car, I was let go with a warning and a fix-it ticket to update my registration.
Mr. Leach::Everything feels heightened. I am always aware of my appearance and how that affects the way people perceive me, but now it seems to be on the forefront of my mind every day. I find myself trying to be as non-threatening as possible. BP: If different now, how was it a month ago? Mr. Leach: A month ago it was not quite as bad. Though wearing a mask to protect against COVID did create a little tension — there were many stories of people of color being harassed or persecuted by police because of their appearance in the masks. BP: How did you feel when you heard about and saw the video of the killing of George Floyd? Mr. Leach::I didn’t watch the video (couldn’t bring myself to), but it is sad to say I initially felt numb to it. It feels like some new injustice is happening everyday, and nothing ever gets done. Up until the protests started, I was growing tired of seeing the same hopeless cycle play out over and over (black person killed — cop put on leave — no justice).
“
Sheyna Schusterman ‘20 said that for her, Mr. Leach had been a “mentor, advisor, friend and teacher outside of the classroom.” “He always empowers the students who feel anxious before taking a test, and he’s able to put them in a confident mindset,” Sheyna said via text message. “He’s also great at giving advice and empowering students in the halls and giving them the support they need.”
BP: Have you been involved in any protests since the killing of George Floyd? If so, what has it been like to be there? Mr. Leach::I marched in the pride/BLM parade today in Hollywood/West Hollywood. Now that I’m back in town I’m eager to be involved with as many protests as I can. I have also donated some money to Black Lives Matter, and some of the different bail funds.
Mr. Fred Leach::Definitely. As a black man I am constantly aware of where I am and the chances that the police could be called. For example, the last 2 weeks I was in Solvang (small Dutch town North of Santa Barbara) with my brother. There are very few people of color there, and when I went on walks or went into town, I would always just mentally prepare myself to be questioned or stopped. BP: How big a problem do you think police misbehavior or mistreatment of African-Americans is in Los Angeles? Mr. Leach::Very big. I am not an expert on LA (I’ve only been here 5 years) but even still, the history of LA policing is very troubled. When you go to communities that are predominantly African American or Hispanic, you see it. The issues are systemic, and while the cops are a part of that problem, it goes even deeper. You can sense the tension. Where I live in Lawndale, the cops are constantly patrolling and it’s clear there’s large disconnect between them and our community. BP: Have you lived in other cities that you might compare Los Angeles to in this regard? Mr. Leach:: Dallas. Teaching definitely opens your eyes to the way people of color are perceived. I once witnessed kids be chased away after a school dance by cops using airsoft guns and mace. Another time, a kid that I coached was arrested in class and then paraded through the hallways as if to set an example. Even deeper than police issues, when you look at the achievement gap in education, the school-to-prison pipeline, and lack of resources for a lot of predominantly Black/Hispanic communities, it’s clear that solving the brutality issue is just a small drop in the pot of systemic racism. Law enforcement likes to blame their rough treatment on the large amounts of crime and corruption in low income areas. How can we expect anything less when the institution is not designed for people in these areas to succeed?
I am always aware of my blackness. Not really because anyone has done anything, but because I try to ensure that how I speak, work and behave is a positive representation of Black people.
The Boiling Point • October 2020 • Special Report
7
BP: Have you been surprised by the local or national reaction to the killing of George Floyd, and if so in what way, and if not why not? BP: Are you located near any violence or looting that has gone on within the past two weeks? Mr. Leach:: My girlfriend lives down the street from the Grove but we haven’t felt any danger or had any issues. Businesses have boarded up their windows to protect, but I have seen very little damage actually done.
BP: If so, what was your reaction when you heard about it or saw it? Mr. Leach:: Honestly, I think it’s all the natural progression of protest. Our community has been protesting peacefully and calling for justice for decades. Nothing gets done! People will eventually decide that peaceful protest is not enough. While looting obviously isn’t the ideal method, money talks in America, so destroying property and causing chaos is a method of getting the powers at be to listen. Dave Chapelle recently released a mini-special on Youtube called “8:46”, where he breaks it down a lot better than I do. Our country was founded on destruction of property: The Boston Tea Party is viewed as a shrewd statement made by the colonists to protest taxation without representation. When black people do it, it becomes irresponsible.
Mr. Fred Leach: I have been surprised to see how many diverse groups of people have been involved in protesting and calling for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless others. It’s been encouraging to see people in Los Angeles unite to fight against injustice. I have also been surprised by the steps being taken by some businesses and groups. The amount of money being donated to BLM and other justice causes is encouraging. That being said, we still have such a long way to go, and I really hope it doesn’t fade away like it has in the past. BP: How do you think your experience as a teacher at Shalhevet is different from that of your non-black colleagues? Mr. Leach: I won’t say my experience is so vastly different on a daily basis, but I am always aware of my blackness. Not really because anyone has done anything, but because I try to ensure that how I speak, work and behave is a positive representation of black people. The issue with racism or any form of bigotry is that most times you feel it indirectly and you never know when it will come, so you’re always just a little on edge. Along with that, I am also concerned about making people feel comfortable and ensuring that they can be open and honest with me. I think we live in a world where people are so scared to offend and that can cause awkwardness too. So far, Shalhevet has been a very welcoming place for me and I’ve really enjoyed my time. It’s also nice to have people like Mr. Weslow and Dr. Evins who I trust, and feel I could always come to if I felt like there was an issue. BP: How do you view your Shalhevet community vis-a-vis race, awareness, the situation of people of color in the U.S. or L.A.? Mr. Leach:: To be honest, I’m not sure. There are definitely a lot of people at the school who are well informed and who I view as allies — Dr. Evins, Eli, Esther, Aviva — Those are just the people that I have had the chance of speaking with personally, so I’m sure there are more.
BP: What would you like to convey to your students, colleagues, and/or friends that you think they don’t know? Mr. Leach::Two things: 1) ‘Black Lives Matter’ and Black people in general are not against white people or police! We are not for violence — We are against racism and police brutality. There are a lot of good cops and people of all races that we love, but we’re at the point where if you don’t support us, you’re against us, and that means you’re part of the problem! 2) The black experience is so diverse! I grew up in a mostly White suburb and have friends who have grown up all over: The hood, the suburbs, overseas, etc. I have black friends that are doctors, artists, educators, politicians, business owners, you name it— But just because we aren’t the “traditionally” oppressed stereotype of black doesn’t mean we can’t be/haven’t been affected by racism. Part of the black experience is that no matter what we do, whether we are poor or rich, there are systemic barriers that we have to overcome. They may affect us differently (large/small/life-threatening/trivial), but it’s always there. BP: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us? Mr. Leach:: Please continue to cover the protests and be purposeful with the language you use to describe them. You have such a prestigious platform and with that comes a lot of power. We are not a dangerous people, but I have noticed some news outlets using language that has violent connotations. That’s the type of stuff that is systemic and may not even be a conscious decision. That is why it is so important to be purposeful. To defeat systemic issues we need allies who are more than just “not racist”! We have to actively fight to dismantle the system that is built to oppress people of color.
Bp Photo By Maia Lefferman ‘20
UNEXPECTED: Shalhevet’s Digital Firehawks Instructor Fred Leach said that he was surprised to see the amount and diversity of support for justice for George Floyd and others. “It’s been encouraging to see people in Los Angeles unite to fight against injustice,” he said.
UNITED: People of all ages and races converged on the Hall of Justice near City Hall downtown on June 3 to protest police brutality against AfricanAmericans. Shalhevet students Maia Lefferman and Avital Jacobson were part of the crowd, which media reports estimated at more than 3,000 people.
page design by Sarah Feuer
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ARTS & Culture
OCTOBER 2020
Another first for Covid school: Art kits for every student continued from page 1 an interview. “No one had consistent art supplies — no one had even good paper to work with.” For this year, Ms. Garelick and Art Department Chair Ms. Roen Salem asked school administration if the school could provide supplies in advance. The new art kits have equipped students with materials such as sketchbooks, charcoal pencils, and pastels for creating art at home. Even with the kits, students and teachers alike say art class this fall is a far cry from last fall, when unmasked students huddled around the Art Room tables and made art with friends and teachers, creating a collaborative space that has always been a treasured part of art classes at Shalhevet. Zoom has its problems, and even the closure of museums has hurt. “We have a lot of fun in the art room — we tell jokes, we skip around the room, if someone has a birthday we might have a party — we do things that are a lot of fun,” said Ms. Salem. “Say one day I hear about something at the museum. We could walk over to the art museum, or we could walk around the block and sketch a building, and we can talk about it and how it’s done and the perspective. But you can’t do that on Zoom.” Ms. Garelick feels the same way, as do students. “I absolutely love being in-person with my students,” Ms. Garelick said. “I love playing off of their energy, and having conversations with them in class, and having a real personal approach to the room. I am going to try my hardest to still allow us to have that collaborative environment.” Sophomore Sam Graber is currently a student in Ms. Garelick’s virtual Composition and Design class and took her freshman Visual Art 101 elective last year. “Last year, art class had a great environment,” said Sam. “We were able to relax, listen to music, and talk to
our friends. This year we aren’t able to do those things.” SAS Studio Art senior Noa Silberstein also misses the social aspect. This year, after learning as a group for two years or more, the juniors and seniors in SAS Art had to transition to making art in solitude, their friends boxed into a few pixels before their eyes. “Doing art with your friends in the classroom is just fun,” said Noa. “You are in a better mood while you’re doing it, and it’s not as much as an assignment. It’s more just like I’m drawing while hanging out with friends.”
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Ms. Garelick also plans a bring-your-petto-class day, a create-your-own-virtual-background day, and continuing a tradition of student DJs playing music in the background. Ms. Salem is adding art history lessons into her curriculum and finding at-home art ideas like calligraphy collages. SAS students have particular skills they have to learn, such as drawing and shading objects, so Ms. Salem has students send pictures of their art to her via email and she comments on it virtually. In previous years, she would walk around the room and critique each student’s process while they were working.
ne problem that has been overcome from lastyear,however, is students’ lack of art supplies. When March came along and shut the school down, teachers had little to no time to allocate supplies for their students to use, let alone obtain and administer them. Ms. Garelick was teaching a new curriculum in her 10thtill, it’s not the same. grade Composition and Design class when Covid suddenly Senior Yael Rubin remembers fun times in the then-new moved all of her classes onto Zoom. art club during her freshman year with Ms. Salem and a few “I just did my best to do any assignments I thought could friends. That experience blossomed into a passion for art and work,” said Ms. Garelick. “[I] added a lot of new digital camaraderie in the class which carried her to SAS Art junior Zoom-based assignments that I came up with.” and senior year, all with Ms. Salem. This year, the art department in July reMs. Salem is now teaching optional ceived approval to purchase art supplies for Camp Firehawk sessions in the art room individual students. Ms. Garelick ordered with masks and following social distancart kits from an art supply distributor. ing precautions. We could walk over to the art The freshmen’s kits contained colored “It’s like old times,” she said. “I really museum, or we could walk pencils, markers, oil pastels, watercolor, enjoy it.” around the block and sketch a pencils, sharpies, scissors, rulers, blendShe finds it challenging to navigate the building, and we can talk about ers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, and a Zoom platform, and recently purchased a sketchbook. Sophomores were given two new personal computer to make it easier, it and how it’s done and the additional items: a pack of charcoal pencils she said. perspective. But you can’t do and a larger sketchbook. “For me,” she said, “it’s hard to hold that on Zoom.” SAS Art students received art supplies supplies, hold the computer, move it in Ziploc bags assembled by Ms. Salem, around, pick the right environment, [and] containing supplies from around the art — Ms. Roen Salem, not have my dog barking when the phone room. Ms. Salem explained that her stuArt Department Chair rings.” dents were given fewer supplies than Ms. Ms. Garelick has also struggled with Garelick’s students as they were more adZoom — and like many teachers, has vanced and were expected to already have grown to understand that no matter how the basics at home. well they prepare, something can always go wrong. “I taught three classes in a row the other day,” said Ms. Freshman Rami Melmed recalled going to Shalhevet before school started and receiving his own personal art pack. Garelick. “I sat in the exact same spot, taught the exact same Reflecting on what he called “pandemic positives,” Rami said information, and had the exact same login and WiFi. Class he enjoyed having art supplies with which to experiment one went flawlessly, class two I couldn’t get the video to play — the WiFi kept freezing — and then class three went perat home. Rami also said that although he looks forward to fectly again.” While teachers and students are better equipped now to experiencing art in person with his friends, he thinks that learning at home might help him focus on make art through Zoom, they are still not together in person. “Art class was always a way to just connect with friends,” learning art with less distractions. Ms. Garelick said the personal kits are help- Ms. Garelick said. “We could work and talk and hang out and ing, but she also has been placing students listen to music. So we’re still working and sort of hanging out into Zoom breakout rooms, using chat and we’re definitely listening to music… but we’re not able to features, and encouraging her students talk to each other in an organic way. I definitely miss that.” Ms. Salem, who has been teaching art traditionally at Shalto stay off of mute and contribute to hevet for almost 29 years, is taking the long view. achieve “a free flow of ideas.” “I don’t see a pro,” said Ms. Salem,. “I see the kids needing She also created assignments designed specially for online learn- to be with each other, be in class, have a break in the day for ing. For example, students in art, they always say it’s the best time and they are so peaceful her freshman Visual Arts Class and they get a rest from all the activities.” “It’s a challenge, I’ll tell you,” said Ms. Salem. “They are students were instructed to go outside and find tex- really sweet kids. I enjoy them. You know, I try to laugh it out. tured surfaces in nature, This too shall pass.” then draw them onto the silhouette of an apple — creating a “textured apple.”
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For Covid-19 nurses on opposite sides of the world, keeping families away is the hardest part Two nurses, one in New York and one in Jerusalem, say new roles, long hours and suiting up are all part of the job continued from page 1 out of nursing school at NYU and has only been a staff nurse for nine months. But both women are determined to save as many lives as possible. Their professions do not allow them to work from home through Zoom. As nurses, each has put her own life in jeopardy by working in close proximity to Covid-19 patients day in and day out. While they face some different challenges, their shared experiences as nurses in corona wards seem to outweigh any differences dictated by the countries and healthcare systems they work in.
borhood called Baka which is located in Jerusalem. “Working in the corona ward, my schedule has completely changed,” Chava said. She now works on weekends in addition to weekdays, her hours jumping from 40 to 60 a week. In hospitals, staff testing is key in controlling the spread of the virus. Hadassah Hospital, fortunately, has the means to test all staff members every two weeks, thereby giving them and their families peace of mind. Conversely, NYU Langone Hospital only tests staff when they are exhibiting signs of illness or are being transferred to another unit in the hospital. Chava said when staff members in her ward were first tested, it was discovered that 30 healthcare workers had contracted the virus, despite being asymptomatic. “Despite coming into contact with Covid-19 patients daily,” Chava explained that she feels completely safe, health-wise, coming home to her family every night because she is regularly tested. She reported that her children feel more confident about her working with these patients, “because they knew that I was negative constantly. That means the hospital knew what they were doing, I knew what I was doing, and it was safe for me to come home.”
Sydney grew up in Beverlywood with four siblings, including current sophomore Zoe Miller, her youngest sister. After graduating from Shalhevet, Sydney headed to Brandeis University to get a degree in business. But she realized in her senior year that her true calling was nursing. She transferred to NYU’s accelerated nursing program and graduated last spring. In September she started as a staff nurse at NYU, expecting to encounter various diseases throughout her career. But Covid-19 was not According to the World Health Organization, one of them — it didn’t yet exist. as of Oct. 2, 1,622 Israelis and 23,829 New Yorkers Seven months later she was being fitted for an had lost their lives to the novel coronavirus. Israel N95 mask in the ICU. Sydney said her unit was and New York City have similar populations: Israel the first at NYU to be designated for coronavirus. has 8.6 million according to Worldometer, and New “Things changed so quickly with this disease,” York City has 8.4 million, according to the New York Sydney said in an interview last month. “Soon the City Planning and Population Division. whole hospital was filled with Covid patients.” Photo Courtesy of Sydney Miller Neither Chava nor Sydney was actively working In March, Sydney was ICU-trained and taught in a Covid-19 unit by the end June. The number of how to suit up from head to toe in gloves, mask, STRONG: Sydney Miller ’13 is ready for her shift at NYU-Lagone cases had dropped in both Israel and New York. gown and face shield — every day. That protecHospital’s coronavirus unit April 20. Chava said she was trying to segway back into tive gear, she said, is a necessary part of her arsenal “regular life,” while still testing patients and healthin the fight to heal patients with Covid-19. care workers for coronavirus every morning. She said she feels supported by her hospital being normally has two roommates, but is currently living alone as they Sydney expected to return to the Covid floor if things got provided with fresh Protective Personal Equipment, also known both went to stay with their families when the pandemic hit. bad again. as PPEs, whenever she needs it — knowing that many other hos“I would not be able to do it without my incredible support So far, infections have stayed low in New York, while Israel is pitals around the U.S. and the world have not been able to do system of co-workers,” Sydney said. They lift one another up, in the throes of a huge spike in cases. the same for their staffs. she said, and are “always also there for a little bit of comic relief, But neither woman has had second thoughts about her choBut putting on, wearing, and then taking off PPE gear is not just to help us get through this time. I would not be able to do sen career. the most difficult safety precaution, she said. The harder probit without them.” “I love being a nurse, I thank God every day that I chose this lem, she said, is physical for my career and I’m a nurse,” said Chava. “Because I love it — distancing — not from On the other side of the world, Chava Gardner has also because I’m a hero and not because I’m an angel, and not other staff but from in“When we go in a patient’s faced many struggles while caring for COVID-19 patients, not because I’m this wonderful person.” fected patients. finding it difficult to ask patients’ families to stay away. No one knows how long it will take to discover a vaccine, or “When we go in a room, we have this feeling of hav“I was treating very old people who were there on their patient’s room, we have ing to get out as quickly as we own, and they were either Holocaust survivors or have been for the coronavirus to disappear. “It’s just a very scary time and I have my good days and my this feeling of having to through wars,” Chava told the Boiling Point in May. can” bad days,” said Sydney in May. “I try to remind myself as scary get out as quickly as we “They have marvelous and huge families, but none of them - Sydney Miller as it is now, we will get through this. It’s hard to see the end but can,” said Sydney in an were allowed to go in there,” she said. “It was the hardest and we will.” interview last month. saddest thing seeing these people die without their family “But I hate it. I don’t around them… It was just a very, very rough experience.” like that feeling.” Chava usually heads the pre-operative unit of Hadassah’s As a student and in her first year on staff, she could sit down nursing department, but when the first of five corona units were with a patient and try to distract them from their illness, or just opened at Hadassah, she quickly volunteered to work there. get to know them as a person. “The experience itself, some of it I’m telling you was very “I’m so used to being able to sit down with a patient and have difficult,” she told the Boiling Point in May. a conversation to make them feel a little bit better,” she said. But she was proud of her hospital’s response. “[This] has been the hardest for me to handle.” “Some of the things that we’ve done were amazing,” Chava NYU Langone Hospital has tried to give Covid-19 patients said. These included helping older patients Facetime with their support and attention in other ways, she said. For example, the families and even, in some cases, letting family members suit hospital staff provides iPads for all Covid-19 patients, for com- up in PPEs. munication with family members or hospital staff. “[Then they could] go in to say goodbye in person when we “It comes down to the little things we can do,” Sydney said. knew one of the patients was dying,” said Chava. “This way they “One of my colleagues had a patient whose birthday was at mid- weren’t totally on their own.” night, so we all got together and wrote a card… and stood by the That didn’t make it less emotional for Chava, however. glass doors [of the ICU], singing happy birthday.” “There were tears mixed up with my mask and my faceguard TEAM: At Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Chava According to Sydney, these are the gestures that make a big and there are just tears everywhere and that was a very special Gardner, left, was a pre-surgery nurse before difference for her patients. moment,” Chava said. “It was very emotional.” The big difference has been made by her co-workers. She volunteering for the Covid ward in March. Chava lives with her husband and four children in a neigh-
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From backyard minyans to distanced dinners, Covid Rosh Hashanah looked and felt different BY Olivia Fishman and Tehilla Fishman, 10th Grade
the Los Angeles County health department. Some shuls arranged such events in congregants’ backyards and encouraged members to Shalhevet Dean of Students Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg thought sign up for a limited number of spaces. Adina Kurzban attended an outdoor B’nai David minyan, while that it would be especially difficult to connect to God during the snior Joey Blumofe and his family hosted one. High Holidays this year. “My family has been hosting our shul in our backyard,” said “There is a certain mood and certain energy that happens in shul, where if you walk in and you are not prepared, you can go Joey, saying about 20 people had been coming on a typical Shabbat. For the High Holidays, he said, they set up differently. from a five to a 10 pretty quickly,” said Rabbi Schwarzberg. “We will be having around 40 people,” said Joey, who said he’d This year, no one went to shul -- at least not to sit and stand be one of them. and sing together in their usual buildings, and at least not for Rosh Senior Jack Resin planned to attend an outdoor minyan with Hashanah or Yom Kippur. “I think it’ll be much harder for everyone,” said Rabbi Schwarz- Judaic Studies teacher and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yagil Tsaidi. “I think he’s hosting something in his backyard through Beth berg. Jacob,” said Jack. With Covid-19 still spreading, members of the Shalhevet comStudents whose families belong to Conservative synagogues had munity had to figure out a way to celebrate Rosh Hashanah -- which began Friday night, Sept. 29 -- while adhering to pandemic-related the option of following services online, because those synagogues safety regulations set forth by the Los Angeles County Health De- don’t forbid the use of technology on Shabbat or festivals. Senior Jordan Simon, who attends Sinai Temple in Westwood, partment and the state of California. was planning on participating in live Rosh HaLos Angeles County still has a high shanah services broadcast to his house. threat level for Covid-19 and is only “I’ve never been a really connected person, but “This year, Sinai is doing all the services on allowing religious ceremonies to take this year there’s a lot more to pray for.” Zoom,” said Jordan. “Our rabbi said we’re one place outdoors and with safety modiof the only shuls in LA that are doing it live infications, according to the California — Adina Kurzban, 11th Grade stead of pre-recorded.” State Government website. Junior Henry Fried planned to attend the Shalhevet students belong to a vaoutdoor service of Temple Beth Am for the first riety of religious denominations and day of chag, and participate in Zoom services sub-groups that have different practices and customs, so one thing that actually was like other years was from home on the second day. Sophomore Josh Askari davened from home with his family’s that people celebrated Rosh Hashanah in different ways from one close friends and relatives. another. “This year, we’re using a Sefer Torah and we’re going to have Some attended services on Zoom, and others participated in small outdoor minyanim. Other students davened by themselves very close family and friends over,” said Josh, who said his family had bought the Torah for his bar mitzvah. “I’d rather be with [more at home. Like Rabbi Schwarzberg, some predicted it would be harder to of ] my friends and family up close, but this is the next best thing.” Sophomore Gabrielle Urman did not participate in socially disexperience the chag this year. But others thought it might be easier. Junior Adina Kurzban said that getting closer to God might be tant davening or online davening. Instead, she davened individually easier this year because many people are worried about the future, from her home. “My family doesn’t feel comfortable going to minyans because and prayer and reflection could be comforting. “I’ve never been a really connected person,” said Adina. “But we’re taking social distancing really seriously, so I’ll probably just daven at home,” said Gabrielle. this year there’s a lot more to pray for.” Connecting to God is not the only thing students associate with While synagogues’ physical doors must be closed because of the Rosh Hashanah. Several students surveyed by the Boiling Point said pandemic, outdoor, socially distanced prayer groups are allowed by
they were going to miss relatives who wouldn’t be able to join them this year -- even if they only live as far away as the Valley. Gabrielle Urman has hosted meals for past Rosh Hashanahs at her house for her cousins and grandparents, who visit her family yearly from the Valley and Arizona. “I’m devastated that I won’t be able to see my good friends and extended family this year,” said Gabrielle. “They make the holidays feel special and it’s going to be super difficult without them.” Junior Rayna Kent has had set meals with the same few families every year on Rosh Hashanah. This year, Rayna’s family was planning on hosting one meal, and for the other one, they planned to go to their friends’ backyard. Each family would have its own table and the host would cook food for both families. “It’s definitely weird, but I’m used to it already as we’ve been having people over for socially distanced meals,” said Rayna in an interview. Freshman Temma Kirshbaum and her family recently moved to Los Angeles from Irvine, Calif., and had been planning on returning to Irvine for the holidays. “It’s kind of heartbreaking -- I’ve lived there my whole life I guess, so it’s definitely different,” said Temma. Mrs. Malkie Hametz, and Director of Chesed, said she was not planning on attending shul this year, but not because there was no place for her to go. She has two small children, and would need child care -- something backyard minyans did not plan. Mrs. Hametz was hoping that Beth Jacob would have babysitters at its backyard minyanim, Things were different for everyone this year. But despite the uniqueness and challenges of Rosh Hashanah 5781, many students had confidence that they would be able to feel close to God and to their community. Freshman Zion Schlussel was one student who thought davening would be easier. “I’m going to feel more connected on my own instead of in a big public space,” said Zion, “because everyone is going to be in their own area and focused on themselves.” But like so much else about the pandemic, no one really knew what the Covid High Holidays would be like. Junior Ella Toczek only knew that they would not be as festive as usual. “I’m a little unsure going in,” said Ella, “but I’m hoping they will end up being fun.”
Simchat Torah: Embracing the Torah, away from the scroll BY Rebecca Cohen, 12th Grade I don’t have to tell you that this year’s holidays are going to be different. I don’t have to describe to you how it felt to sit and fast at home on Yom Kippur, instead of standing in shul, surrounded by people saying the same words, feeling the same feelings, and going through the same process. I don’t need to explain the sinking feeling in my heart when I think about not having meals in sukkot built by people whose place in my life I treasure. But what I can say is that this year, I’m changing the way I see these holidays. One of my favorite holidays on the Jewish calendar is Simchat Torah. Since I was young, it has been a night where I have felt like such a proud Jew, with the blur of faces dangling around me, with the weight of the Torah in my arms since the first time I was allowed to hold it around third grade. Every time I hold a Torah, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude towards my community and how important they always will be to me. It breaks my heart that this year, I won’t get to see the smiles on the faces of my friends and family as we dance and celebrate. But Simchat Torah does not just celebrate reaching the end of the Torah. We are celebrating the culmination of a cycle, one that we are excited to repeat and continue to learn from. We celebrate what we have discovered and realized over the past year, and we look forward to the potential of more. It is not just an end but a beginning, full of possibilities for growth. So we look back at what we have learned and how we have grown, and we look forward to what is next and what it will teach us and how it will help us become better and stronger people. We celebrate
our accomplishments and our failures alike, and look to our potential in the coming year. This Simchat Torah is the completion of a truly crazy cycle. In the last 12 months, so much has happened. Last year on the night of this holiday, I was in Rabbi Stein’s backyard, surrounded by my Shalhevet community, holding onto the hands of my friends and laughing and celebrating with my teachers. Since then, I have experienced my last Shalhevet chessed (community service) trip, my last opportunity to have a teacher in Shalhevet who I had never had before, and the intimidating creature that is school over Zoom. But this isn’t the only cycle that will be complete soon. In about eight months, I will be graduating from Shalhevet. My time here has been full of new experiences, and of learning about myself and my relationship with the Torah and Judaism, of becoming a strong Jewish woman who knows my strength and my potential, and that I am worthy of respect and a seat at the table.. As both these cycles are coming to a close -- the year and my time in high school -- I’ll admit that I am scared of what lies ahead. I have no idea what is going to happen! But that is okay. This Simchat Torah, I am going to celebrate that I have emerged from this latest cycle with more knowledge, both of myself and the amazing strength of my community. I invite that community to join me in embracing what lies ahead, in Judaism, in school, and in life, the same way we embrace the Torah during years when we can. No matter what the next cycles look like, we will always have these moments and cycles to look back on and appreciate. This year, Simchat Torah is not going to be about the feel of the Torah in our arms. Instead, it will be about the feeling of completing the Torah, and with it another year of our lives, in our hearts.
Cycles of growth
The Boiling Point • September 2020 • Opinion
Opinion
EDITORIALS
Executive Editor Ellie Orlanski
Ruth Bader Ginsburg z”l: One of us, who rocked America
Managing Editor Sarah Feuer
By the Boiling Point Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief Molly Litvak
News Editor Benjamin Gamson Life and Features Editor Liad Machmali Digital Media Editor Eli Weiss Layout Editors Zoe Miller Tehilla Fishman Amalia Abecassis Ezra Helfand Faculty Adviser Mrs. Joelle Keene The Boiling Point is the student-produced newspaper of Shalhevet High School and a public forum for the students and the community. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the members of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Executive Editor, News Editor, Life and Features Editor, Digital Media Editor and the faculty advisor. We welcome submissions for signed editorials from members of the Shalhevet Community, and the final decision about printing them is made by the Editorial Board. Letters to the Editor may be submitted via e-mail to shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. The Boiling Point reserves the right to edit letters and opinion submissions and all become the property of The Boiling Point. Signed opinion articles and advertisements in The Boiling Point do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Board or The Boiling Point as a whole. To advertise, please contact orlanskiellie@gmail.com Corrections: The Boiling Point encourages readers to inform the newspaper of any possible factual errors found in print or online by emailing us as at shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. When appropriate, we will fix the story online, and correct the error on Page 2 or on this page in the next print edition. Policies on conflict of interest and the use of anonymous sources can be viewed at shalhevetboilingpoint.com under the “Policies” tab. Sweepstakes Awards, 2016, 2018 Blue and Gold Comprehensive Writing Award 2016 National Award Winners 2007-2019 International First Place Award 2011-2016 George Gallup Award - 2019
National Scholastic Press Association
Online Pacemaker Award 2018 Pacemaker Finalist 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018 Online Pacemaker Finalist 2015, 2017, 2020
Story of the Year Awards 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 All-American 2009,
Awards in Jewish Scholastic Journalism 2013 - 2020
Crown Awards 2013-2020 Gold Circle Awards 2011-2020 Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have been only 5’1, but she was a giant. Not the kind of giant you see at the top of the beanstalk, nor the kind that becomes memorable by living infamously. No, she was a giant because of the way she changed the country for the better, and because of the legacy she left from years of fighting for what she believed. A strong women’s rights advocate, she worked tiressly to prove that gender discrimination was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution. Perhaps one of her most famous cases was United States V. Virginia, where she fought successfully for women to be able to attend the Virginia Military Institute -- a publicly funded military college which at the time G only admitted men. .OR L L She wasn’t just an advocate for women, however. Justice Ginsberg, who BA R I SK died Sept. 18, sought to achieve equality for everyone. She was part of the 2015 ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in all states. And earlier, as an attorney arguing before the Supreme Court in Weinberger V. Wiesenfeld, she represented a widowed man who was denied Social Security benefits for himself and his son after his wife died in childbirth. Indeed, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant, and though she may not have been a rapper like the Notorious B.I.G, the Supreme Court justice who became known as “Notorious RBG” was definitely a rockstar. And she was also one of us. The daughter of two Jews in Brooklyn, Justice Ginsburg considered her Jewish faith a strong part of her identity. After being appointed to the Supreme Court, she addressed the American Jewish Committee, saying, “I am a judge born, raised, and proud of being a Jew. The demand for justice runs through the entirety of the Jewish tradition. I hope, in my years on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, I will have the strength and the courage to remain constant in the service of that demand.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg certainly fulfilled this wish. As a federal Appeals Court judge in 1984, a Jewish soldier wanted to wear a kippah in the military and there was a policy that banned him from doing so. His case ultimately reached the U.S appeals court, where Ginsburg joined the minority opinion in defending his right to wear a kippah at work. Though the soldier appealed to the Supreme Court after this and lost again, his case set the stage for a bill that was passed later on in Congress that allowed Jewish soldiers to wear kippot. Aside from her historic contributions, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known to be personally extremely strong. Grief seemed to follow her throughout her life, though she never stopped working. The day before her high school graduation, her mother died. At Harvard Law School, she took notes for her husband while he struggled through cancer. In 2018, she broke three ribs and was back at the Court within days of her fall. Two years later, she participated in Supreme Court debate from the hospital after having a gallbladder treatment. Tough as she may have been, however, Ginsburg was also a character. When expressing a dissenting opinion, she wore her “dissenting collar,” and when communicating her approval, she would wear her “majority opinion collar.” In 2016 she had a walk-on role in the Washington National Opera. She was close personal friends with the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, and in 2018 she allowed herself to be filmed with her personal trainer doing her daily workout joined by Stephen Colbert. In her 87 years on earth, Ruth Bader Ginsburg rocked America. May we all, as Jews, strive to be as persistent, ambitious and effective as she was. Baruch Dayan Emet.
Simon J. Rockower Awards 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
corrections Double error In the story “Coleman now leads varsity girls and boys, Remer coaches JV” in our October 2019 print issue and a story online with the same title, The Boiling Point misspelled the name of the junior varsity boys basketball coach multiple times in multiple ways. His name is Adam Plax. Athletic Director Coach Jeff Remer excpects him to return this year. The Boiling Point regrets the errors and looks forward to welcoming Coach Plax back. The Boiling Point also incorrectly described the coaching staff of the Boys junior varisty team. Coach Jeff Remer was the assistant coach of the boys junior varsity team not the head coach, and Coach Adam Plax was the head coach. Jeff Remer was the head of the girls junior varsity team. The Boiling Point regrets the errors.
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OCTOBER 2020
Firehawk athletes support pros’ Jacob Blake walkouts By Noah Elad, Staff Writer
their outcries, so I applaud the players and what they’re doing.” Many pro athletes have shared their emotions Shalhevet Firehawk athletes were unanimously supportive of professional athletes’ boycotting in interviews, expressing their sorrow and concern games in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, about Jacob Blake and other African-Americans an African-American man, by police in Kenosha, killed or injured by police, including George Wisc., Aug. 23, recognizing the importance of Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kenbattling racism to many players across the various tucky. “They are talking about fear, we’re the one’s leagues. Junior Talia Tizabi, who plays center on the getting killed, we’re the ones getting shot, we’re basketball team, was one of seven Firehawk ath- the ones that were denied to live in certain communities,” said Los Angeles Clippers manager letes surveyed by the Boiling Point. “Often you hear a lot of people saying just Doc Rivers in a postgame interview on Aug. 25. dribble the ball, just get back to basketball, [but] “It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and basketball has nothing to do with this topic,” said this country does not love us back.” Andrew said it made sense for them to speak Talia. “While that might be a compelling point, I think it’s also important to keep in mind that out. “Sports is a really big part of our culture,” said they’re human, and yes they’re basketball players on the court, but they are Black people both off Andrew, “and seeing all of these big figures taking a stand against police brutality and the issue going and on the court. “There is no way to bring about change if on in our country right now is really powerful.” It was the Milwaukee Bucks who became the people aren’t aware of what needs changing,” she said in a voice message to the Boiling Point. “It’s first team to boycott their playoff basketball game, saying that after the shootimportant to keep in mind that ing of Jacob Blake, it didn’t these players that are choosing to seem right to play. Kenosha make a stand aren’t only speaking is a Milwaukee suburb. on behalf of Jacob Blake, but are also “There is no way to bring about change if people aren’t “The Bucks saw that no advocating for themselves.” one was taking action after After players from the Milwaukee aware of what needs changthe horrible incident,” said Bucks decided not to take the court ing.” senior Hilla Lasry, who plays on Aug. 26, at a playoff game in the -Talia Tizabi, 11th grade shooting guard on the FireOrlando bubble, the National Bashawk basketball team. “So ketball Association (NBA), Womthey decided to take action en’s National Basketball Associaand stated, ‘Despite the tion (WNBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL) and overwhelming plea for change, there has been no Major League Soccer (MLS) all postponed their action, so our focus today cannot be on basketgames, and the NBA considered canceling the re- ball.’” Professional athletes, many of whom are mainder of the playoffs. “I would definitely do the same thing as the members of minority groups, believe the problem players did,” said junior Andrew Petlak, who plays hits close to home, as they have watched people second base on the Firehawk baseball team. “Ob- like themselves unnecessarily shot and sometimes viously enough is enough and people have heard killed by police — George Floyd being the most well-known recent example. Los Angeles Lakers
star
BP Archive Photo by Alyssa Wallack SUPPORT: Talia Tizabi, left, and Hilla Lasry, right, warming up before a game last Nov. 8, both backed what the NBA players did. NBA player Lebron James said on Aug. 25, in a press conference, “We are scared as Black people in America. Black men, Black women, and Black kids — we are terrified.” Varsity basketball captain Zev Remer, who plays point guard, echoed James’ sentiments. “I think it’s the right thing, they’re doing it in a respectful way and they’re using the right that they don’t want to play because they feel that something is wrong in our society right now which is very understandable,” said Zev. “Watching sports is a way to escape reality for a couple of hours, and when you don’t have that escape it makes you think about issues that are in the world, and it doesn’t let you run away from the problems. If we can’t correct what’s wrong in the world, then we don’t deserve to watch them play,” said Zev. But even those who were unhappy about the boycott thought they had learned from it. Jack Metzger, sophomore Firehawk baseball player, said the delayed games were a missed chance for people to show unity. “One of the ways we could unite is through sports because most people enjoy sports, and if a sports player says a message, even if they continue playing their game, they will still listen,” said Jack. Sophomore Elijah Stern, who plays point guard on the JV team, was glad that the protests
didn’t extend past the weekend. “I think the sports games being postponed is the right thing to do, but I don’t think they should be postponed for more than one game,” said Elijah, who plays point guard on the JV team. “Shaquille O’Neal said today, canceling a sports season isn’t gonna turn a racist into a non-racist, and I completely agree with him.” Four MLB games were also postponed on Aug. 26, including a Dodger game and an Angels game. But by Aug. 29, all the leagues were up and running. There was little doubt, however, that more people knew about Jacob Blake than would have if sports had not gotten involved. “Before the Dodgers game [was canceled], I actually didn’t know at all about the incident and what happened to Jacob Blake, and so looking back at it, the players actually succeeded in grabbing my attention and I learned about what happened,” said Joshua Weissman, 11th-grade soccer player. “And that really wouldn’t have happened if they just played, and maybe if they just made an announcement I would be a lot less likely to look into it. So it was probably a good thing that they protested.” According to news reports. Jacob Blake is still in the hospital after being shot in the back seven
Arson at Chabad near U Delaware gives Div. 1 athlete a platform against hate By Benjamin Gamson, News Editor
okay, and then he thought about what he could do to help. He said that student athletes have a louder When Nathan Benyowitz saw pictures of an arvoice on campus. son attack burning the Chabad Jewish Center serv“Being a Jewish student athlete on campus, we ing the University of Delaware, he realized he had a kinda have a louder voice,” said Nathan. “When platform to take a stand against hate. you’re a Division 1 athlete, we’re kinda viewed on Nathan, who graduated from Shalhevet in 2017, a different platform. We have more platforms over is now a senior at the university in Newark, Del., social media and different areas that are difficult to where he plays Division 1 tennis for the Blue Hens. reach, that maybe a regular student might not be The fire is under investigation and has not been able to reach.” deemed a hate crime, the sight of flames destroying When George Floyd demonstrations and a synagogue was enough to make him act. Black Lives Matter protests were going on last “I came out with a statement on anti-semitism as a whole and all hate as a whole, just within the Photo courtesy of Aetna HH&L spring, UD Athletics asked African-American student athletes for statements, he said. So when the whole world, that Delaware Athletics pushed out, FIRE: Workers extinguished an arson fire Aug. 25 at Chabad Jewish Center in Newark, Delaware. Chabad fire occurred, they asked Nathan. with the Boiling Point. “I was like, this is my time to The university’s Associate Athletic Director for use my platform. This is my time to speak.” Athletics Communication, Scott Day, and Assistant fires together but have not ruled out that possibility,” the announceHis statement was first published on the athletic department’s Twitter and Instagram accounts and the social media ment said. It offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who has informa- Athletics Communication Director Maggie Hayon worked on the statement with him, Nathan said. tion about either of the two fires that took place in Newark. accounts of UD Men’s Tennis. “It was kinda like a mutual thing,” said Nathan. “I have worked “There is still no indication to suggest that the fire at the Chabad “Anti-Semitism, an unfortunate, but relevant issue in the world, goes unnoticed because of the lack of awarness and realization of Center for Jewish Life was a hate crime,” said Ms. Amanda Hils, with them a lot in their department so it was … me being like, I the oppression my religion has faced,” the statement said. “It’s when Public Information Officer for ATF Baltimore Field Division, in an think it’s time for me to speak up and come out with something, and then it was them kinda being like hey we really want you to it starts to hit close to home [that] I feel the need to use my voice email to the Boiling Point Sept. 29. speak up and come out with a statement.” ATF estimated the damage at $200,000. as a UD Jewish Student-Athlete to advocate the issue on Anti-SemIn his statement, Nathan encouraged people to speak out and The Chabad Jewish Center is not a University of Delaware camitism. “ support change. pus building, but along with Hillel is one of the Jewish organizaThe rabbi and his family live in a separate building and were “We unfortunately live in a world that is filled with hate,” he tions serving the school. unharmed. According to a Facebook statement by the Aetna Hose, Hook wrote. “If we pledge to be part of the change together, we do not It was the second arson attack in a month in the Newark area, & Ladder Company, one of the agencies responding to the fire, it need to face it alone!” the first having involved a townhouse on Aug. 17. The federal BuThe Newark Chabad community started a Go Fund Me page to reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which handles all began on Aug. 25 at around 11 p.m. Nathan said that in normal times, between 120 and 140 stu- raise $1 million. As of Oct. 1, it had raised more than $543,000. arson cases, is investigating both that fire and the Chabad fire, and dents share Friday night dinner there each week. He said that when Chabad officials are now planning a new $3 million center. did not rule out the possibility that the two might be connected. “At this time, investigators do not have evidence linking the two he heard about the fire, his first reaction was hoping everyone was